Matthew 14:13--16:20
The Feeding of the Five Thousand
14:13 Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
14:14 As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
14:15 When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, “This is an isolated place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
14:16 But he replied, “They don’t need to go. You give them something to eat.”
14:17 They said to him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
14:18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied.
14:19 Then he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
14:20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.
14:21 Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.
Walking on Water
14:22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds.
14:23 And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
14:24 Meanwhile the boat, already far from land, was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it.
14:25 As the night was ending, Jesus came to them walking on the sea.
14:26 When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out with fear.
14:27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them: “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”
14:28 Peter said to him, “Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water.”
14:29 So he said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
14:30 But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
14:31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”
14:32 When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.
14:33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
14:34 After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
14:35 When the people there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him.
14:36 They begged him if they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
Breaking Human Traditions
15:1 Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,
15:2 “Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat.”
15:3 He answered them, “And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
15:4 For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.’
15:5 But you say, ‘If someone tells his father or mother, “Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,”
15:6 he does not need to honor his father.’ You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.
15:7 Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,
15:8 ‘This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me,
15:9 and they worship me in vain,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’”
True Defilement
15:10 Then he called the crowd to him and said, “Listen and understand.
15:11 What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person.”
15:12 Then the disciples came to him and said, “Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?”
15:13 And he replied, “Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.
15:14 Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”
15:15 But Peter said to him, “Explain this parable to us.”
15:16 Jesus said, “Even after all this, are you still so foolish?
15:17 Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?
15:18 But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person.
15:19 For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
15:20 These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person.”
A Canaanite Woman’s Faith
15:21 After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
15:22 A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!”
15:23 But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, “Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us.”
15:24 So he answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”
15:25 But she came and bowed down before him and said, “Lord, help me!”
15:26 “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs,” he said.
15:27 “Yes, Lord,” she replied, “but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”
15:28 Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.
Healing Many Others
15:29 When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down.
15:30 Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
15:31 As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
The Feeding of the Four Thousand
15:32 Then Jesus called the disciples and said, “I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.”
15:33 The disciples said to him, “Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?”
15:34 Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They replied, “Seven – and a few small fish.”
15:35 After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
15:36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.
15:37 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
15:38 Not counting children and women, there were four thousand men who ate.
15:39 After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
The Demand for a Sign
16:1 Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
16:2 He said, “When evening comes you say, ‘It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,’
16:3 and in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.’ You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.
16:4 A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” Then he left them and went away.
The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees
16:5 When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread.
16:6 “Watch out,” Jesus said to them, “beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”
16:7 So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, “It is because we brought no bread.”
16:8 When Jesus learned of this, he said, “You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread?
16:9 Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
16:10 Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up?
16:11 How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!”
16:12 Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
Peter’s Confession
16:13 When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?”
16:14 They answered, “Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
16:15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16:16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
16:17 And Jesus answered him, “You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!
16:18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
16:19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”
16:20 Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.