Jesus left that place and went to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get all this?” they said. “What is this wisdom he’s been given? And these miracles that happen through his hands — 3 isn’t this the carpenter, Mary’s son, the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters right here with us?” And they took offense at him.[1]
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 He could not do any miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled at their unbelief.
Then he went around the villages teaching.
7 He called the Twelve to him and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the journey except a staff — no bread, no bag, no money in their belts. 9 They were to wear sandals but not put on a second tunic.
10 He told them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a witness against them.”
12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should change their hearts. 13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
14 King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead, and that is why these powers are at work in him.”[2] 15 Others said, “He is Elijah.” Still others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
16 But when Herod heard this, he said, “John — the one I beheaded — has been raised.”
17 For Herod himself had sent men and seized John and bound him in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married. 18 John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
19 So Herodias held a grudge against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not, 20 because Herod feared John. He knew John was an upright and holy man, so he protected him. When he listened to John, he was greatly puzzled, yet he liked to hear him speak.
21 Then an opportune day came. On his birthday, Herod gave a banquet for his nobles, his military commanders, and the leading men of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask me for, I will give you — up to half my kingdom.”
24 She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptizer,” she said.
25 The girl hurried back in at once to the king and made her request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptizer on a platter.”
26 The king was crushed, but because of his oaths and his guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 Immediately the king sent an executioner and ordered him to bring John’s head. The man went and beheaded John in the prison, 28 brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother.
29 When John’s disciples heard about this, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 The messengers gathered back around Jesus and reported to him everything they had done and taught. 31 He said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a quiet place and rest a while.” For many people were coming and going, and they did not even have time to eat.
32 So they went away in the boat to a quiet place by themselves. 33 But many people saw them leaving and recognized them, and from all the towns they ran on foot and got there ahead of them. 34 When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. His heart went out to them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
35 When it was already late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it is already late. 36 Send them away so they can go to the surrounding farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “Should we go and spend two hundred denarii on bread and give it to them to eat?”[3]
38 He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five — and two fish.”
39 Then he ordered them to have everyone sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven, blessed the food, and broke the loaves. He gave them to his disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. 42 Everyone ate and was satisfied, 43 and they picked up twelve baskets full of broken pieces, and of the fish. 44 Those who ate the loaves numbered five thousand men.
45 Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, toward Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. 46 After he had sent them off, he went up on the mountain to pray.
47 When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land. 48 He saw them straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch of the night, he came toward them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them,[4] 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out — 50 for they all saw him and were terrified.
Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage. It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51 Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were utterly astonished among themselves, 52 for they had not understood about the loaves. Their hearts were hardened.
53 When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and anchored there. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus 55 and ran throughout that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was. 56 And wherever he went — into villages, towns, or the countryside — they laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him to let them touch even the tassel of his cloak. And all who touched him were saved.[5]
Notes
Note 1. The Greek word here, tektōn, means a skilled builder or craftsman — someone who worked in wood, and often in stone as well. In first-century Galilee this marked Jesus as a member of the artisan working class. ↩
Note 2. This is Herod Antipas, who held the lesser title of “tetrarch” — ruler of a quarter — over Galilee and Perea. Matthew and Luke call him tetrarch; Mark calls him “king” throughout the story. ↩
Note 3. A denarius was roughly a day’s pay for an ordinary laborer, so two hundred denarii represented something like two-thirds of a year’s wages. ↩
Note 4. The Romans split the night from sunset to sunrise into four three-hour watches. The fourth watch ran from about 3 a.m. to dawn. ↩
Note 5. Kraspedon — the tassel, tzitzit in Hebrew, that Israelite men were commanded to wear on the corners of the outer garment (Numbers 15:37–41). ↩