Matthew 14

John the Baptist Beheaded

14At that time ^wHerod the tetrarch ^xheard the report about Jesus. ²“This is John the Baptist!” he told his servants. “He has been raised from the dead, and that’s why supernatural powers are at work in him.” ^y

³For Herod had arrested John, chained ^zhim, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, ^a4since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful ^bfor you to have her!” ⁵Though he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, since they regarded him as a prophet. ^c

⁶But when Herod’s birthday celebration came, Herodias’s daughter danced before them ^dand pleased Herod. ⁷So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. ⁸And prompted by her mother, she answered, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter!” ⁹Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests. ¹⁰So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. ¹²Then his disciples came, removed the corpse, ^eburied it, and went and reported to Jesus.

Feeding 5,000

¹³When Jesus heard about it, ^fHe withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed Him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴As He stepped ashore, ^gHe saw a huge crowd, felt compassion for them, and healed their sick. ^h

¹⁵When evening came, the disciples ⁱapproached Him and said, “This place is a wilderness, and it is already late. ^jSend the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶“They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to Him.

¹⁸“Bring them here to Me,” He said. ¹⁹Then He commanded the crowds to sit down ^kon the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ^l20Everyone ate and was filled. Then they picked up 12 baskets full of leftover pieces! ^m21Now those who ate were about 5,000 men, besides women and children.

Walking on the Water

²²Immediately ⁿHe ^omade the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds. ²³After dismissing the crowds, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone. ^p24But the boat was already over a mile ^qfrom land, ^rbattered by the waves, because the wind was against them. ²⁵Around three in the morning, ^sHe came toward them walking on the sea. ^t26When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” ^u

²⁸“Lord, if it’s You,” Peter answered Him, “command me to come to You on the water.”

²⁹“Come!” He said.

And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw the strength of the wind, ^vhe was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out His hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ^w32When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³Then those in the boat worshiped Him and said, “Truly You are the Son of God!” ^x

Miraculous Healings

³⁴Once they crossed over, ^ythey came to land at Gennesaret. ^z35When the men of that place recognized Him, they alerted ^athe whole vicinity and brought to Him all who were sick. ³⁶They were begging Him that they might only touch the tassel on His robe. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well. ^b