16
Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.
17
They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!
18
One day Jesus left the crowds to pray alone. Only his disciples were with him, and he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
19
“Well,” they replied, “some say John the Baptist, some say Elijah, and others say you are one of the other ancient prophets risen from the dead.”
20
Then he asked them, “But who do you say I am?” Peter replied, “You are the Messiah sent from God!”
21
Jesus warned his disciples not to tell anyone who he was.
22
“The Son of Man must suffer many terrible things,” he said. “He will be rejected by the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He will be killed, but on the third day he will be raised from the dead.”
23
Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
24
If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.
25
And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but are yourself lost or destroyed?