|
John the Baptist Beheaded
1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports
about Jesus, 2 and he said to his attendants, “This is John
the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why
miraculous powers are at work in him.”
3 Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put
him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s
wife, 4 for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful
for you to have her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but he
was afraid of the people, because they considered him a
prophet.
6 On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced
for them and pleased Herod so much 7 that he promised with
an oath to give her whatever she asked. 8 Prompted by her
mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of
John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of
his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request
be granted 10 and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His
head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who
carried it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came and took
his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard what had happened, he withdrew by
boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the
crowds followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When Jesus
landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and
healed their sick.
15 As evening approached, the disciples came to him
and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting
late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages
and buy themselves some food.”
16 Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You
give them something to eat.”
17 “We have here only five loaves of bread and two
fish,” they answered.
18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 And he
directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the
five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he
gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20
They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up
twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. 21
The number of those who ate was about five thousand men,
besides women and children.
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the
boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he
dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went
up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came,
he was there alone, 24 but the boat was already a
considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves
because the wind was against it.
25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking
on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the
lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and
cried out in fear.
27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage!
It is I. Don’t be afraid.”
28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to
come to you on the water.”
29 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the
boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when
he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried
out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught
him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”
32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died
down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him,
saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. 35 And when the men of that place recognized
Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People
brought all their sick to him 36 and begged him to let the
sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched
him were healed. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
