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went away from there and came to His hometown, and His disciples accompanied Him. 2 When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished.
“Where did this Man get all these things?” they asked. “What is this wisdom that has been given to Him? How is it that He performs these miracles with His own hands? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t His sisters here with us?” And they took offence at Him.
4 Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour, except in his hometown, and among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 So he could not perform any miracles there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief.
Then Jesus went teaching in the villages round about. 7 He called the Twelve to Himself, and sent them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
8 He instructed them to take nothing for their journey, except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. 9 They were to wear sandals, but not to put on an extra tunic. 10 And He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. 11 And if any the people in any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake off the dust that is on your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them!”
12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons, and anointed many people with oil who were sick and healed them.
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”
15 Others said, “It is Elijah.”
Still others said, “He is a prophet like one of the prophets of old.”
16 When Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”
17 For Herod himself had given orders for men to arrest John, and have him bound and put in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing he was a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly perplexed, yet he would hear him gladly.
21 But an opportune time came when Herod on his birthday held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask of me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” Herodias told her.
25 Immediately she hurried back to the king and said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter straight away.”
26 The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oath and his guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 So the king immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. So he went and beheaded John in the prison, 28 and brought back his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. Then the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 The apostles returned and gathered around Jesus, and reported to Him all they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away with Me by yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
32 So they went away by themselves in a boat to a deserted place. 33 But many people from all the towns saw them leaving and recognized them, and they ran on foot and arrived there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things. 35 When it grew late in the day, His disciples came to Him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already late in the day. 36 Send the people away, so they can go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But He answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to Him, “Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”
When they had found out they said, “Five, and two fish.”
39 Then He instructed them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, Jesus looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied. 43 Then the disciples picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. 44 The number of men who had eaten the loaves was about five thousand men.
45 Immediately He made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. 46 After He had left them, He went up on a mountain to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 He saw they were being battered as they rowed, for the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, 49 but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought He was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were terrified.
Immediately He spoke to them and said, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were utterly astounded, 52 for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they came to the land at Gennessaret and anchored there. 54 As they got out of the boat, people immediately recognized Jesus. 55 They hurried through that whole region and began to bring the sick people on mats to wherever they heard He was. 56 And wherever He would go, into villages, towns, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might touch even the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were made well.