Jesus Walks on Water

16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,

17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.

18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.

19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.

20But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

21Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

23Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

30So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

33For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

Mark 6

1Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples.

2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?

3Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”

5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

6He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.

7Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over impure spirits.

8These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

9Wear sandals but not an extra shirt.

10Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

11And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”

12They went out and preached that people should repent.

13They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

14King Herod heard about this, for Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

15Others said, “He is Elijah.” And still others claimed, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago.”

16But when Herod heard this, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised from the dead!”

17For Herod himself had given orders to have John arrested, and he had him bound and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had married.

18For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”

19So Herodias nursed a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But she was not able to,

20because Herod feared John and protected him, knowing him to be a righteous and holy man. When Herod heard John, he was greatly puzzled ; yet he liked to listen to him.

21Finally the opportune time came. On his birthday Herod gave a banquet for his high officials and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

22When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner guests. The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.”

23And he promised her with an oath, “Whatever you ask I will give you, up to half my kingdom.”

24She went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” “The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.

25At once the girl hurried in to the king with the request: “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”

26The king was greatly distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her.

27So he immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. The man went, beheaded John in the prison,

28and brought back his head on a platter. He presented it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother.

29On hearing of this, John’s disciples came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

30The apostles gathered around Jesus and reported to him all they had done and taught.

31Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.”

32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a solitary place.

33But many who saw them leaving recognized them and ran on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them.

34When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

35By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. “This is a remote place,” they said, “and it’s already very late.

36Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”

37But he answered, “You give them something to eat.”They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s wages ! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?”

38“How many loaves do you have?” he asked. “Go and see.”When they found out, they said, “Five—and two fish.”

39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

40So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.

41Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to distribute to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all.

42They all ate and were satisfied,

43and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces of bread and fish.

44The number of the men who had eaten was five thousand.

45Immediately Jesus made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd.

46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.

47Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.

48He saw the disciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them,

49but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out,

50because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

51Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. They were completely amazed,

52for they had not understood about the loaves; their hearts were hardened.

53When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and anchored there.

54As soon as they got out of the boat, people recognized Jesus.

55They ran throughout that whole region and carried the sick on mats to wherever they heard he was.

56And wherever he went—into villages, towns or countryside—they placed the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

Matthew 14

1At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,

2and 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.”

3Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

4for John had been saying to him: “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

5Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.

6On Herod’s birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much

7that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

8Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

9The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted

10and had John beheaded in the prison.

11His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

12John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

13When 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.

14When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

15As 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.”

16Jesus 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.

19And 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.

20They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

21The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd.

23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone,

24and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake.

26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,” they said, and cried out in fear.

27But 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.

30But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?”

32And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.

33Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

35And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him

36and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

John 6

1Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias),

2and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick.

3Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples.

4The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

5When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”

6He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

7Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

8Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up,

9“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

10Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there).

11Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

12When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”

13So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

14After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.”

15Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

16When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,

17where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.

18A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.

19When they had rowed about three or four miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened.

20But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”

21Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

22The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone.

23Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks.

24Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

25When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?”

26Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.

27Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.”

28Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”

29Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

30So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do?

31Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’ ”

32Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.

33For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

34“Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

35Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

36But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

37All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.

38For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

39And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

40For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

41At this the Jews there began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”

42They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”

43“Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.

44“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day.

45It is written in the Prophets: ‘They will all be taught by God.’Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from him comes to me.

46No one has seen the Father except the one who is from God; only he has seen the Father.

47Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life.

48I am the bread of life.

49Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.

50But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.

51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

53Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.

55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.

56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.

57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

60On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”

61Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?

62Then what if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!

63The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

64Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him.

65He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled them.”

66From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.

67“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.

68Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

69We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”

70Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!”

71(He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)