Matthew 14
14
John the Baptist Beheaded
1At that time #Mark 6:14–29; Luke 9:7–9Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus 2and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” 3#Matt. 4:12; Mark 6:17; Luke 3:19, 20For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. 4Because John had said to him, #Lev. 18:16; 20:21“It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, #Matt. 21:26; Luke 20:6because they counted him as a prophet.
6But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. 7Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”
9And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. 11And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.
Feeding the Five Thousand
13#Matt. 10:23; 12:15; Mark 6:32–44; Luke 9:10–17; John 6:1, 2When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities. 14And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He #Matt. 9:36; Mark 6:34was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick. 15#Mark 6:35; Luke 9:12When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, “This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.”
16But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17And they said to Him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18He said, “Bring them here to Me.” 19Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, #1 Sam. 9:13; Matt. 15:36; 26:26; Mark 6:41; 8:7; 14:22; Luke 24:30; Acts 27:35; (Rom. 14:6)He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. 20So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained. 21Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Sea
22Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. 23#Mark 6:46; Luke 9:28; John 6:15And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. #John 6:16Now when evening came, He was alone there. 24But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.
25Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. 26And when the disciples saw Him #Job 9:8walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear.
27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good #Acts 23:11; 27:22, 25, 36cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.”
28And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.”
29So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 30But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”
31And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of #Matt. 6:30; 8:26little faith, why did you doubt?” 32And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.
33Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly #Ps. 2:7; Matt. 16:16; 26:63; Mark 1:1; Luke 4:41; John 1:49; 6:69; 11:27; Acts 8:37; Rom. 1:4You are the Son of God.”
Many Touch Him and Are Made Well
34#Mark 6:53; Luke 5:1When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. 35And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick, 36and begged Him that they might only #(Mark 5:24–34)touch the hem of His garment. And #Matt. 9:20; Mark 3:10; (Luke 6:19); Acts 19:12as many as touched it were made perfectly well.
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
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.
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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.