The Death of John the Baptist
14 1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus, 2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has been raised from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." 3 For Herod had seized John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, 4 because John had been telling him, "It is not lawful for you to have her." 5 Herod wanted to put him to death, but he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet. 6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, 7 so he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."
9 The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he gave the order, 10 and he sent and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 Then John's disciples came, took the body, and buried it; and they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there by boat to a solitary place, off by himself. But when the crowds heard, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he stepped ashore, he saw a great crowd, and his heart went out to them with deep compassion, and he healed their sick. 15 As evening came, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a solitary place, and it's already late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy themselves food."
16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat."
17 They said to him, "We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish."
18 He said, "Bring them here to me." 19 Then he told the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, gave thanks and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up twelve baskets full of the leftover pieces. 21 Those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the crowds away. 23 After he had sent the crowds away, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24 but the boat was now far from land, battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. 25 About three o'clock in the morning he came to them, walking on the sea. a a v25 The fourth watch of the night was roughly 3:00 to 6:00 a.m. — the darkest, coldest stretch before dawn. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. "It's a ghost!" they said, and cried out in fear. 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once: "Take courage! It is I; do not be afraid."
28 Peter answered him, "Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water."
29 He said, "Come." So Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
30 But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid, and as he began to sink he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?" 32 And when they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of our Father."
34 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent word throughout all that surrounding region, and brought to him all who were sick, 36 and they begged him to let them just touch the fringe of his robe; and all who touched it were healed.