Matthew 14

The Death of John the Baptist

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus,2 and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."3 For Herod had seized John and bound him and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,t4 because John had been saying to him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."5 And though he wanted to put him to death, he feared the people, because they held him to be a prophet.6 But when Herod's birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company and pleased Herod,7 so that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.8 Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."9 And the king was sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he commanded it to be given.10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison,11 and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.12 And his disciples came and took the body and buried it, and they went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 Now when Jesus heard this, he 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.14 When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.15 Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves."16 But Jesus said, "They need not go away; you give them something to eat."17 They said to him, "We have only five loaves here and two fish."18 And he said, "Bring them here to me."19 Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over.21 And 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 before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds.23 And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone,24 but the boat by this time was a long wayt from the land,t beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them.25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea.26 But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" and they cried out in fear.27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."

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

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

34 And when they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.35 And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and brought to him all who were sick36 and implored him that they might only touch the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

Matthew 15

Traditions and Commandments

1 Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,2 "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat."3 He answered them, "And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?4 For God commanded, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and, 'Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.'5 But you say, 'If anyone tells his father or his mother, "What you would have gained from me is given to God,"t 6 he need not honor his father.' So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the wordt of God.7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 "'This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
9 in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"

What Defiles a Person

10 And he called the people to him and said to them, "Hear and understand:11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person."12 Then the disciples came and said to him, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?"13 He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up.14 Let them alone; they are blind guides.t And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit."15 But Peter said to him, "Explain the parable to us."16 And he said, "Are you also still without understanding?17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?t 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone."

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

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

Jesus Heals Many

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

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

32 Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "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."33 And the disciples said to him, "Where are we to get enough bread in such a desolate place to feed so great a crowd?"34 And Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven, and a few small fish."35 And directing the crowd to sit down on the ground,36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.37 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces left over.38 Those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.39 And after sending away the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

Matthew 16

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

1 And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.2 He answered them,t "When it is evening, you say, 'It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.'3 And in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.4 An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." So he left them and departed.

The Leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees

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

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"16 Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."17 And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.18 And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rockt I will build my church, and the gates of hellt shall not prevail against it.19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosedt in heaven."20 Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

21 From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.22 And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, "Far be it from you, Lord!t This shall never happen to you."23 But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrancet to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man."

Take Up Your Cross and Follow Jesus

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.25 For whoever would save his lifet will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."