Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth

(Matthew 13:53-58; Luke 4:16-30)

1Jesusa left that place and went back to his hometown,b and his disciples followed him. 2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were utterly amazed. “Where did this man get all these things?” they asked. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What great miracles are being done by his hands! 3This is the builder,c the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn’t it? His sisters are here with us, aren’t they?” And they were offended by him.

4Jesus had been telling them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own home.” 5He couldn’t perform a miracle there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around to the villages and continued teaching.

Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

(Matthew 10:1, 5-15; Luke 9:1-6)

7He called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits. 8He instructed them to take nothing along on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no traveling bag, nothing in their moneybag. 9They could wear sandals but not take along an extra shirt.d 10He told them repeatedly, “Whenever you go into a home, stay there until you leave that place. 11If any place will not welcome you and the peoplee refuse to listen to you, when you leave, shake its dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12So they went and preached that peoplef should repent. 13They also kept driving out many demons and anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.

The Death of John the Baptist

(Matthew 14:1-12; Luke 9:7-9)

14King Herod heard about this, because Jesus’g name had become well-known. He wash saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That’s why he is able to do these miracles.”

15Others were saying, “He is Elijah.”

Still others were saying, “He is a prophet like one of the otheri prophets.”

16But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised,” 17because Herod himself had sent men who arrestedj John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom Herodk had married.

18John had been telling Herod, “It’s not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19So Herodias bore a grudge against Johnl and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t do it 20because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that Johnm was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John,n he did much of what he said.o In fact, he liked listening to him.

21An opportunity came during Herod’s birthday celebration, when he gave a banquet for his top officials, military officers, and the most important people of Galilee. 22When the daughter of Herodiasp came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. So the king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23He swore with an oath to her, “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”

24So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”

Her motherq replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”

25Immediately the girlr hurried back to the king with her request, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

26The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. 27So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’ss head. The soldiert went and beheaded him in prison. 28Then he brought John’su head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29When John’sv disciples heard about this, they came and carried off his body and laid it in a tomb.

Jesus Feeds More than Five Thousand People

(Matthew 14:13-21; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-14)

30The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. 31He told them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while,” because so many people were coming and goingw that they didn’t even have time to eat. 32So they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33But when many people saw them leave and recognized them, they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34When he got out of the boat,x he saw a large crowd. He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.

35When it was quite late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and it’s already late. 36Send the crowdsy away so that they can go to the neighboring farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”

They asked him, “Should we go and buy 200 denariiz worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”

38He asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.”

They found out and told him, “Five loavesaa and two fish.”

39Then he ordered them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them. Then he broke the loaves in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people.bb He also divided the two fish among them all. 42All of them ate and were filled. 43Then the disciplescc picked up twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish. 44There were 5,000 men who had eaten the loaves.

Jesus Walks on the Sea

(Matthew 14:22-33; John 6:16-21)

45Jesusdd immediately had his disciples get into a boat and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him, while he sent the crowd away. 46After saying goodbye to them, he went up on a hillside to pray. 47When evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, while he was alone on the land. 48He saw that his disciplesee were straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawnff he came to them, walking on the sea. He intended to go up right beside them, 49but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and began to scream. 50All of them saw him and were terrified. Immediately he told them, “Have courage! It’s me. Stop being afraid!”

51Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciplesgg were utterly astounded, 52because they didn’t understand the significance of the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

(Matthew 14:34-36)

53When they had crossed over, they came ashore at Gennesaret and anchored the boat. 54As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus.hh 55They ran all over the countryside and began carrying the sick on their mats to any place where they heard he was. 56Wherever he went, whether into villages, towns, or farms, peopleii would place their sick in the marketplaces and beg him to let them touch even the tassel of his garment, and everyone who touched it was healed.