Chapter 6

J¹esus went on from there and came to His hometown, accompanied by His disciples. ²When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these ideas?” they asked. “What is this wisdom He has been given? And how can He perform such miracles? ³Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him. ⁴Then Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own household is a prophet without honor.” ⁵So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them. ⁶And He was amazed at their unbelief.

T⁷hen Jesus called the Twelve to Him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits. ⁸He instructed them to take nothing but a staff for the journey — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts — ⁹and to wear sandals, but not a second tunic. ¹⁰And He told them, “When you enter a house, stay there until you leave that area. ¹¹If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”

¹²So they set out and preached that the people should repent. ¹³They also drove out many demons and healed many of the sick, anointing them with oil.

N¹⁴ow King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known, and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵Others were saying, “He is Elijah,” and still others, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen from the dead!” ¹⁷For Herod himself had ordered that John be arrested and bound and imprisoned, on account of his brother Philip’s wife Herodias, whom Herod had married. ¹⁸For John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife!” ¹⁹So Herodias held a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she had been unable, ²⁰because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man. When he heard John’s words, he was greatly perplexed; yet he listened to him gladly.

²¹On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²When the daughter of Herodias came and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests, and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give you, up to half my kingdom!” ²⁴Then she went out and asked her mother, “What should I request?” ²⁵At once the girl hurried back to the king with her request: “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter immediately.” ²⁶The king was consumed with sorrow, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her. ²⁷So without delay, the king commanded that John’s head be brought in. He sent an executioner, who went and beheaded him in the prison. ²⁸The man brought John’s head on a platter and presented it to the girl, who gave it to her mother. ²⁹When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.

M³⁰eanwhile, the apostles gathered around Jesus and brought Him news of all they had done and taught. ³¹And He said to them, “Come with Me privately to a solitary place, and let us rest for a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat. ³²So they went away in a boat by themselves to a solitary place. ³³But many people saw them leaving and recognized them. They ran together on foot from all the towns and arrived before them. ³⁴When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

³⁵By now the hour was already late. So the disciples came to Jesus and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. ³⁶Dismiss the crowd so they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷But Jesus told them, “You give them something to eat.” ³⁸“Go and see how many loaves you have,” He told them. ³⁹Then Jesus directed them to have the people sit in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. ⁴¹Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus spoke a blessing and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to His disciples to set before the people. And He divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²They all ate and were satisfied, ⁴³and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish. ⁴⁴And there were five thousand men who had eaten the loaves.

I⁴⁵mmediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to Bethsaida, while He dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶After bidding them farewell, He went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and Jesus was alone on land.

⁴⁸He could see that the disciples were straining to row, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea. He intended to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw Him walking on the sea, they cried out, thinking He was a ghost — ⁵⁰for they all saw Him and were terrified. ⁵¹But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.” Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. And the disciples were utterly astounded, ⁵²for they had not understood about the loaves, but their hearts had been hardened.

W⁵³hen they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and moored the boat. ⁵⁴As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus ⁵⁵and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was. ⁵⁶And wherever He went — villages and towns and countrysides — they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.