Matthew 14–28

The Death of John the Baptist

14^vAt that time ^wHerod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, ²and he said to his servants, ^x“This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ³For ^yHerod had seized John and bound him and ^zput him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,^{1 4}because John had been saying to him, ^a“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵And though he wanted to put him to death, ^bhe feared the people, because they held him to be ^ca prophet. ⁶But when Herod’s ^dbirthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod, ⁷so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. ⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given. ¹⁰He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, ¹¹and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹²And ^ehis disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

¹³Now when Jesus heard this, ^fhe withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴When he went ashore he ^gsaw a great crowd, and ^ghe had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; ^hsend the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ⁱyou give them something to eat.” ¹⁷They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” ¹⁸And he said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, ^jhe looked up to heaven and ^ksaid a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ²¹And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

^22lImmediately he ^mmade the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. ²³And after he had dismissed the crowds, ⁿhe went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^oevening came, he was there alone, ²⁴but the boat by this time was a long way² from the land,³ beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵And ^lin the fourth watch of the night⁴ he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^pthey were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^q“Take heart; it is I. ^qDo not be afraid.”

²⁸And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” ²⁹He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and ^rwalked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the wind,⁵ he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^s“Lord, save me.” ³¹Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^t“O you of little faith, why did you ^udoubt?” ³²And when they got into the boat, ^sthe wind ceased. ³³And ^vthose in the boat ^wworshiped him, saying, ^x“Truly you are ^ythe Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^34zAnd when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^aGennesaret. ³⁵And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^bbrought to him all who were sick ³⁶and implored him that they might only touch ^cthe fringe of his garment. And ^das many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

15^eThen Pharisees and ^fscribes came to Jesus ^ffrom Jerusalem and said, ^2g“Why do your disciples break ^hthe tradition of the elders? ^jFor they do not wash their hands when they eat.” ³He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, ^k‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^l‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ ⁵But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,”^{1 6}he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^mmade void the word² of God. ⁷ⁿYou hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

^8o“ ‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

⁹in vain do they worship me,

teaching as ^pdoctrines the commandments of men.’ ”

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰And he called the people to him and said to them, ^q“Hear and understand: ^11rit is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” ¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were ^soffended when they heard this saying?” ¹³He answered, ^t“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^uwill be rooted up. ¹⁴Let them alone; ^vthey are blind guides.³ And ^wif the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵But Peter said to him, ^x“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶And he said, ^y“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷Do you not see that ^zwhatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{4 18}But ^awhat comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹For out of the heart come ^bevil thoughts, ^cmurder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^dslander. ^20eThese are what defile a person. But ^fto eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21gAnd Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²²And behold, ^ha Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ⁱ“Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” ²³But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, ^j“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴He answered, ^k“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵But she came and ^lknelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and ^mthrow it to the dogs.” ²⁷She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ⁿthe crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” ²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^ogreat is your faith! ^pLet it be done for you as you desire.” ^qAnd her daughter was ^phealed instantly.⁵

Jesus Heals Many

^29rJesus went on from there and walked ^sbeside the Sea of Galilee. And he ^twent up on the mountain and sat down there. ³⁰And great crowds came to him, bringing with them ^uthe lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and they put them at his feet, and he healed them, ^31vso that the crowd wondered, when they saw the mute speaking, ^wthe crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And ^xthey glorified ^ythe God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

^32zThen Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^a“I have compassion on the crowd because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat. And I am unwilling to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.” ³³And the disciples said to him, “Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?” ³⁴And Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, ^b“Seven, and a few small fish.” ³⁵And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground, ³⁶he took the seven loaves and the fish, and ^chaving given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷And ^dthey all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over. ³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. ³⁹And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of ^eMagadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16^fAnd the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^gto test him ^hthey asked him to show them ⁱa sign from heaven. ²He answered them,^{1 j}“When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’ ³And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’ ^kYou know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^lthe signs of the times. ^4mAn evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ⁿhe left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

⁵When the disciples reached the other side, they had forgotten to bring any bread. ⁶Jesus said to them, “Watch and ^obeware of ^pthe leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸But ^qJesus, aware of this, said, ^r“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9sDo you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^tthe five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰Or ^uthe seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹¹How is it that you fail to understand that I did not speak about bread? ^oBeware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12vThen they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^wthe teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13xNow when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” ¹⁴And they said, “Some say ^yJohn the Baptist, others say ^zElijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” ¹⁵He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” ¹⁶Simon Peter replied, ^a“You are ^bthe Christ, ^cthe Son of ^dthe living God.” ¹⁷And Jesus answered him, ^e“Blessed…