Matthew 14-16

English Standard Version

The Death of John the Baptist

14 ^(A)At that time ^(B)Herod the tetrarch heard about the fame of Jesus, ² and he said to his servants, ^(C)“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 ^(D)Herod had seized John and bound him and ^(E)put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,^{[a] 4} because John had been saying to him, ^(F)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And though he wanted to put him to death, ^(G)he feared the people, because they held him to be ^(H)a prophet. ⁶ But when Herod's ^(I)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 ^(J)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, ^(K)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 ^(L)saw a great crowd, and ^(M)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; ^(N)send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” ¹⁶ But Jesus said, “They need not go away; ^(O)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, ^(P)he looked up to heaven and ^(Q)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 (R)Immediately he ^(S)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, ^(T)he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When ^(U)evening came, he was there alone, ²⁴ but the boat by this time was a long way^[b] from the land,^[c] beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. ²⁵ And ^(V)in the fourth watch of the night^[d] he came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶ But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, ^(W)they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. ²⁷ But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ^(X)“Take heart; it is I. ^(Y)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 ^(Z)walked on the water and came to Jesus. ³⁰ But when he saw the wind,^[e] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ^(AA)“Lord, save me.” ³¹ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ^(AB)“O you of little faith, why did you ^(AC)doubt?” ³² And when they got into the boat, ^(AD)the wind ceased. ³³ And ^(AE)those in the boat ^(AF)worshiped him, saying, ^(AG)“Truly you are ^(AH)the Son of God.”

Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret

^34 (AI)And when they had crossed over, they came to land at ^(AJ)Gennesaret. ³⁵ And when the men of that place recognized him, they sent around to all that region and ^(AK)brought to him all who were sick ³⁶ and implored him that they might only touch ^(AL)the fringe of his garment. And ^(AM)as many as touched it were made well.

Traditions and Commandments

15 ^(AN)Then Pharisees and ^(AO)scribes came to Jesus ^(AP)from Jerusalem and said, ^2 (AQ)“Why do your disciples break ^(AR)the tradition of the elders? ^(AS)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, ^(AT)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ^(AU)‘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,”^{[f] 6} he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have ^(AV)made void the word^[g] of God. ^7 (AW)You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

What Defiles a Person

¹⁰ And he called the people to him and said to them, ^(AZ)“Hear and understand: ^11 (BA)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 ^(BB)offended when they heard this saying?” ¹³ He answered, ^(BC)“Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted ^(BD)will be rooted up. ¹⁴ Let them alone; ^(BE)they are blind guides.^[h] And ^(BF)if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” ¹⁵ But Peter said to him, ^(BG)“Explain the parable to us.” ¹⁶ And he said, ^(BH)“Are you also still without understanding? ¹⁷ Do you not see that ^(BI)whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?^{[i] 18} But ^(BJ)what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. ¹⁹ For out of the heart come ^(BK)evil thoughts, ^(BL)murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, ^(BM)slander. ^20 (BN)These are what defile a person. But ^(BO)to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”

The Faith of a Canaanite Woman

^21 (BP)And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon. ²² And behold, ^(BQ)a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, ^(BR)“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, ^(BS)“Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” ²⁴ He answered, ^(BT)“I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” ²⁵ But she came and ^(BU)knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” ²⁶ And he answered, “It is not right to take the children's bread and ^(BV)throw it to the dogs.” ²⁷ She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat ^(BW)the crumbs that fall from their masters' table.” ²⁸ Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, ^(BX)great is your faith! ^(BY)Be it done for you as you desire.” ^(BZ)And her daughter was ^(CA)healed instantly.^[j]

Jesus Heals Many

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

Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

^32 (CJ)Then Jesus called his disciples to him and said, ^(CK)“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, ^(CL)“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 ^(CM)having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. ³⁷ And ^(CN)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 ^(CO)Magadan.

The Pharisees and Sadducees Demand Signs

16 ^(CP)And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and ^(CQ)to test him ^(CR)they asked him to show them ^(CS)a sign from heaven. ² He answered them,^{[k] (CT)}“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.’ ^(CU)You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret ^(CV)the signs of the times. ^4 (CW)An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So ^(CX)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 ^(CY)beware of ^(CZ)the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ⁷ And they began discussing it among themselves, saying, “We brought no bread.” ⁸ But ^(DA)Jesus, aware of this, said, ^(DB)“O you of little faith, why are you discussing among yourselves the fact that you have no bread? ^9 (DC)Do you not yet perceive? Do you not remember ^(DD)the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you gathered? ¹⁰ Or ^(DE)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? ^(DF)Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” ^12 (DG)Then they understood that he did not tell them to beware of the leaven of bread, but of ^(DH)the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

Peter Confesses Jesus as the Christ

^13 (DI)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 ^(DJ)John the Baptist, others say ^(DK)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, ^(DL)“You are ^(DM)the Christ, ^(DN)the Son of ^(DO)the living God.” ¹⁷ And Jesus answered him, ^(DP)“Blessed are you, ^(DQ)Simon Bar-Jonah! For ^(DR)flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, ^(DS)but my Father who is in heaven. ¹⁸ And I tell you, ^(DT)you are Peter, and ^(DU)on this rock^[l] I will build my church, and ^(DV)the gates of ^(DW)hell^[m] shall not prevail against it. ¹⁹ I will give you ^(DX)the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and ^(DY)whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed^[n] in heaven.” ^20 (DZ)Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.

Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection

^21 (EA)From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that ^(EB)he must go to Jerusalem and ^(EC)suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on ^(ED)the third day be raised. ²² And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord!^[o] This shall never happen to you.” ²³ But he turned and said to Peter, ^(EE)“Get behind me, Satan! You are ^(EF)a hindrance^[p] to me. For you ^(EG)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 ^(EH)deny himself and ^(EI)take up his cross and follow me. ²⁵ For ^(EJ)whoever would save his life^[q] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. ²⁶ For ^(EK)what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or ^(EL)what shall a man give in return for his soul? ^27 (EM)For the Son of Man is going to come with ^(EN)his angels in the glory of his Father, and ^(EO)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 ^(EP)taste death ^(EQ)until they see the Son of Man ^(ER)coming in his kingdom.”