Matthew 14
14
How John the Baptist Was Killed
1At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard the reports about Jesus. 2So Herod said to his servants, “Jesus is really John the Baptist. He has risen from death. That is why he is able to do these miracles.”
3Sometime before this, Herod had arrested John, tied him up, and put him into prison. Herod did this because of Herodias. Herodias was the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. 4Herod arrested John because he told Herod: “It is not right for you to have Herodias.” 5Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people. They believed that John was a prophet.
6On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests. Herod was very pleased with her, 7so he promised he would give her anything she wanted. 8Herodias told her daughter what to ask for. So she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” 9King Herod was very sad. But he had promised to give her anything she wanted, and the people eating with him had heard his promise. So Herod ordered that what she asked for be done. 10He sent men to the prison to cut off John’s head. 11And the men brought John’s head on a platter and gave it to the girl. She took it to her mother, Herodias. 12John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what happened.
More Than 5,000 People Fed
13When Jesus heard what happened to John, Jesus left in a boat. He went to a lonely place by himself. But when the crowds heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14When Jesus arrived, he saw a large crowd. He felt sorry for them and healed those who were sick.
15Late that afternoon, his followers came to Jesus and said, “No one lives in this place. And it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves.”
16Jesus answered, “They don’t need to go away. You give them some food to eat.”
17The followers answered, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”
18Jesus said, “Bring the bread and the fish to me.” 19Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. Then he looked to heaven and thanked God for the food. Jesus divided the loaves of bread. He gave them to his followers, and they gave the bread to the people. 20All the people ate and were satisfied. After they finished eating, the followers filled 12 baskets with the pieces of food that were not eaten. 21There were about 5,000 men there who ate, as well as women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22Then Jesus made his followers get into the boat. He told them to go ahead of him to the other side of the lake. Jesus stayed there to tell the people they could go home. 23After he said good-bye to them, he went alone up into the hills to pray. It was late, and Jesus was there alone. 24By this time, the boat was already far away on the lake. The boat was having trouble because of the waves, and the wind was blowing against it.
25Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus’ followers were still in the boat. Jesus came to them. He was walking on the water. 26When the followers saw him walking on the water, they were afraid. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.
27But Jesus quickly spoke to them. He said, “Have courage! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”
28Peter said, “Lord, if that is really you, then tell me to come to you on the water.”
29Jesus said, “Come.”
And Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. 30But when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”
31Then Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Jesus said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”
32After Peter and Jesus were in the boat, the wind became calm. 33Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
34After they crossed the lake, they came to the shore at Gennesaret. 35The people there saw Jesus and knew who he was. So they told people all around there that Jesus had come. They brought all their sick to him. 36They begged Jesus to let them just touch the edge of his coat to be healed. And all the sick people who touched it were healed.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 14: ICB
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright © 2015 by Tommy Nelson™, a Division of Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Matthew 14
14
The Death of John
1-2At about this time, Herod, the regional ruler, heard what was being said about Jesus. He said to his servants, “This has to be John the Baptizer come back from the dead. That’s why he’s able to work miracles!”
3-5Herod had arrested John, put him in chains, and sent him to prison to placate Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. John had provoked Herod by naming his relationship with Herodias “adultery.” Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid because so many people revered John as a prophet of God.
6-12But at his birthday celebration, he got his chance. Herodias’s daughter provided the entertainment, dancing for the guests. She swept Herod away. In his drunken enthusiasm, he promised her on oath anything she wanted. Already coached by her mother, she was ready: “Give me, served up on a platter, the head of John the Baptizer.” That sobered the king up fast. Unwilling to lose face with his guests, he did it—ordered John’s head cut off and presented to the girl on a platter. She in turn gave it to her mother. Later, John’s disciples got the body, gave it a reverent burial, and reported to Jesus.
Supper for Five Thousand
13-14When Jesus got the news, he slipped away by boat to an out-of-the-way place by himself. But unsuccessfully—someone saw him and the word got around. Soon a lot of people from the nearby villages walked around the lake to where he was. When he saw them coming, he was overcome with pity and healed their sick.
15Toward evening the disciples approached him. “We’re out in the country and it’s getting late. Dismiss the people so they can go to the villages and get some supper.”
16But Jesus said, “There is no need to dismiss them. You give them supper.”
17“All we have are five loaves of bread and two fish,” they said.
18-21Jesus said, “Bring them here.” Then he had the people sit on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples. The disciples then gave the food to the congregation. They all ate their fill. They gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. About five thousand were fed.
Walking on the Water
22-23As soon as the meal was finished, he insisted that the disciples get in the boat and go on ahead to the other side while he dismissed the people. With the crowd dispersed, he climbed the mountain so he could be by himself and pray. He stayed there alone, late into the night.
24-26Meanwhile, the boat was far out to sea when the wind came up against them and they were battered by the waves. At about four o’clock in the morning, Jesus came toward them walking on the water. They were scared to death. “A ghost!” they said, crying out in terror.
27But Jesus was quick to comfort them. “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
28Peter, suddenly bold, said, “Master, if it’s really you, call me to come to you on the water.”
29-30He said, “Come ahead.”
Jumping out of the boat, Peter walked on the water to Jesus. But when he looked down at the waves churning beneath his feet, he lost his nerve and started to sink. He cried, “Master, save me!”
31Jesus didn’t hesitate. He reached down and grabbed his hand. Then he said, “Faint-heart, what got into you?”
32-33The two of them climbed into the boat, and the wind died down. The disciples in the boat, having watched the whole thing, worshiped Jesus, saying, “This is it! You are God’s Son for sure!”
34-36On return, they beached the boat at Gennesaret. When the people got wind that he was back, they sent out word through the neighborhood and rounded up all the sick, who asked for permission to touch the edge of his coat. And whoever touched him was healed.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.