Matthew 14; Mark 6; Luke 9:1-17

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Matthew 14

1 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus.
2 "He is really John the Baptist, who has come back to life," he told his officials. "That is why he has this power to perform miracles."
3 For Herod had earlier ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. He had done this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife.
4 For some time John the Baptist had told Herod, "It isn't right for you to be married to Herodias!"
5 Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the Jewish people, because they considered John to be a prophet.
6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the whole group. Herod was so pleased
7 that he promised her, "I swear that I will give you anything you ask for!"
8 At her mother's suggestion she asked him, "Give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!"
9 The king was sad, but because of the promise he had made in front of all his guests he gave orders that her wish be granted.
10 So he had John beheaded in prison.
11 The head was brought in on a plate and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.
12 John's disciples came, carried away his body, and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard about it, and so they left their towns and followed him by land.
14 Jesus got out of the boat, and when he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with pity for them, and he healed their sick.
15 That evening his disciples came to him and said, "It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. Send the people away and let them go to the villages to buy food for themselves."
16 "They don't have to leave," answered Jesus. "You yourselves give them something to eat!"
17 "All we have here are five loaves and two fish," they replied.
18 "Then bring them here to me," Jesus said.
19 He ordered the people to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
20 Everyone ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left over.
21 The number of men who ate was about five thousand, not counting the women and children.
22 Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away.
23 After sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone;
24 and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it.
25 Between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water.
26 When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. "It's a ghost!" they said, and screamed with fear.
27 Jesus spoke to them at once. "Courage!" he said. "It is I. Don't be afraid!"
28 Then Peter spoke up. "Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you."
29 "Come!" answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus.
30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. "Save me, Lord!" he cried.
31 At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, "What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?"
32 They both got into the boat, and the wind died down.
33 Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. "Truly you are the Son of God!" they exclaimed.
34 They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret,
35 where the people recognized Jesus. So they sent for the sick people in all the surrounding country and brought them to Jesus.
36 They begged him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Mark 6

1 Jesus left that place and went back to his hometown, followed by his disciples.
2 On the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue. Many people were there; and when they heard him, they were all amazed. "Where did he get all this?" they asked. "What wisdom is this that has been given him? How does he perform miracles?
3 Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him.
4 Jesus said to them, "Prophets are respected everywhere except in their own hometown and by their relatives and their family."
5 He was not able to perform any miracles there, except that he placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
6 He was greatly surprised, because the people did not have faith. Then Jesus went to the villages around there, teaching the people.
7 He called the twelve disciples together and sent them out two by two. He gave them authority over the evil spirits
8 and ordered them, "Don't take anything with you on the trip except a walking stick - no bread, no beggar's bag, no money in your pockets.
9 Wear sandals, but don't carry an extra shirt."
10 He also told them, "Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that place.
11 If you come to a town where people do not welcome you or will not listen to you, leave it and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a warning to them!"
12 So they went out and preached that people should turn away from their sins.
13 They drove out many demons, and rubbed olive oil on many sick people and healed them.
14 Now King Herod heard about all this, because Jesus' reputation had spread everywhere. Some people were saying, "John the Baptist has come back to life! That is why he has this power to perform miracles."
15 Others, however, said, "He is Elijah." Others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago."
16 When Herod heard it, he said, "He is John the Baptist! I had his head cut off, but he has come back to life!"
17 Herod himself had ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, whom he had married, even though she was the wife of his brother Philip.
18 John the Baptist kept telling Herod, "It isn't right for you to marry your brother's wife!"
19 So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him, but she could not because of Herod.
20 Herod was afraid of John because he knew that John was a good and holy man, and so he kept him safe. He liked to listen to him, even though he became greatly disturbed every time he heard him.
21 Finally Herodias got her chance. It was on Herod's birthday, when he gave a feast for all the top government officials, the military chiefs, and the leading citizens of Galilee.
22 The daughter of Herodias came in and danced, and pleased Herod and his guests. So the king said to the girl, "What would you like to have? I will give you anything you want."
23 With many vows he said to her, "I swear that I will give you anything you ask for, even as much as half my kingdom!"
24 So the girl went out and asked her mother, "What shall I ask for?" "The head of John the Baptist," she answered.
25 The girl hurried back at once to the king and demanded, "I want you to give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!"
26 This made the king very sad, but he could not refuse her because of the vows he had made in front of all his guests.
27 So he sent off a guard at once with orders to bring John's head. The guard left, went to the prison, and cut John's head off;
28 then he brought it on a plate and gave it to the girl, who gave it to her mother.
29 When John's disciples heard about this, they came and got his body, and buried it.
30 The apostles returned and met with Jesus, and told him all they had done and taught.
31 There were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples didn't even have time to eat. So he said to them, "Let us go off by ourselves to some place where we will be alone and you can rest a while."
32 So they started out in a boat by themselves to a lonely place.
33 Many people, however, saw them leave and knew at once who they were; so they went from all the towns and ran ahead by land and arrived at the place ahead of Jesus and his disciples.
34 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw this large crowd, and his heart was filled with pity for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began to teach them many things.
35 When it was getting late, his disciples came to him and said, "It is already very late, and this is a lonely place.
36 Send the people away, and let them go to the nearby farms and villages in order to buy themselves something to eat."
37 "You yourselves give them something to eat," Jesus answered. They asked, "Do you want us to go and spend two hundred silver coins on bread in order to feed them?"
38 So Jesus asked them, "How much bread do you have? Go and see." When they found out, they told him, "Five loaves and also two fish."
39 Jesus then told his disciples to make all the people divide into groups and sit down on the green grass.
40 So the people sat down in rows, in groups of a hundred and groups of fifty.
41 Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.
42 Everyone ate and had enough.
43 Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left of the bread and the fish.
44 The number of men who were fed was five thousand.
45 At once Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to Bethsaida, on the other side of the lake, while he sent the crowd away.
46 After saying good-bye to the people, he went away to a hill to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, while Jesus was alone on land.
48 He saw that his disciples were straining at the oars, because they were rowing against the wind; so sometime between three and six o'clock in the morning, he came to them, walking on the water. He was going to pass them by,
49 but they saw him walking on the water. "It's a ghost!" they thought, and screamed.
50 They were all terrified when they saw him. Jesus spoke to them at once, "Courage!" he said. "It is I. Don't be afraid!"
51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind died down. The disciples were completely amazed,
52 because they had not understood the real meaning of the feeding of the five thousand; their minds could not grasp it.
53 They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, where they tied up the boat.
54 As they left the boat, people recognized Jesus at once.
55 So they ran throughout the whole region; and wherever they heard he was, they brought to him the sick lying on their mats.
56 And everywhere Jesus went, to villages, towns, or farms, people would take their sick to the marketplaces and beg him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak. And all who touched it were made well.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.

Luke 9:1-17

1 Jesus called the twelve disciples together and gave them power and authority to drive out all demons and to cure diseases.
2 Then he sent them out to preach the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick,
3 after saying to them, "Take nothing with you for the trip: no walking stick, no beggar's bag, no food, no money, not even an extra shirt.
4 Wherever you are welcomed, stay in the same house until you leave that town;
5 wherever people don't welcome you, leave that town and shake the dust off your feet as a warning to them."
6 The disciples left and traveled through all the villages, preaching the Good News and healing people everywhere.
7 When Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about all the things that were happening, he was very confused, because some people were saying that John the Baptist had come back to life.
8 Others were saying that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life.
9 Herod said, "I had John's head cut off; but who is this man I hear these things about?" And he kept trying to see Jesus.
10 The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him, and they went off by themselves to a town named Bethsaida.
11 When the crowds heard about it, they followed him. He welcomed them, spoke to them about the Kingdom of God, and healed those who needed it.
12 When the sun was beginning to set, the twelve disciples came to him and said, "Send the people away so that they can go to the villages and farms around here and find food and lodging, because this is a lonely place."
13 But Jesus said to them, "You yourselves give them something to eat." They answered, "All we have are five loaves and two fish. Do you want us to go and buy food for this whole crowd?"
14 (There were about five thousand men there.) Jesus said to his disciples, "Make the people sit down in groups of about fifty each."
15 After the disciples had done so,
16 Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up to heaven, thanked God for them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to distribute to the people.
17 They all ate and had enough, and the disciples took up twelve baskets of what was left over.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.