Matthew 14:13-36; Matthew 15; Matthew 16; Matthew 17:1-20

Matthew 14:13-36

13 When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.

14 When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15 When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

16 “They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.”

17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

18 “Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said.

19 And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

20 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

21 About five thousand men were fed, besides women and children.

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds.

23 After He had dismissed them, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

24 but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.

26 When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.”

29 “Come,” said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

30 But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind died down.

33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”

34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

35 And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding region. People brought all the sick to Him

36 and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.

Matthew 15

1 Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked,

2 “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

3 Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

5 But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’

6 he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

7 You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

8 ‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

9 They worship Me in vain; they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’ ”

10 Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand.

11 A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

12 Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

13 But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.

14 Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

15 Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

16 “Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked.

17 “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

20 These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

22 And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

23 But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

25 The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

26 But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

28 “O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

29 Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

30 Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.

31 The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

32 Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

33 The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

35 And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

36 Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

37 They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

38 A total of four thousand men were fed, besides women and children.

39 After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Matthew 16

1 Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

2 But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’

3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.

4 A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

5 When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread.

6 “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

7 They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”

8 Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread?

9 Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

11 How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

12 Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

15 “But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

20 Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

21 From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”

23 But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

24 Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

26 What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

27 For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

28 Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

Matthew 17:1-20

1 After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

2 There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

3 Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters —one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

5 While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

6 When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.

7 Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Do not be afraid.”

8 And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

9 As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

10 The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

11 Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.

12 But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

13 Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

14 When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him.

15 “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

16 I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

17 “O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”

18 Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

19 Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

20 “Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”