<t /><p class="bodytext">Immediately Jesus<n id="1" /> made his disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dispersed the crowd.

<p class="bodyblock">Now<n id="1" /> they wanted to arrest him (but they feared the crowd), because they realized that he told this parable against them. So<n id="2" /> they left him and went away.<n id="3" />p>

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now<n id="1" /> Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,<n id="2" /> and the crowd was pressing around him<n id="3" /> to hear the word of God.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Now Jesus&#8217;<n id="1" /> mother and his brothers<n id="2" /> came to him, but<n id="3" /> they could not get near him because of the crowd.

I knew that you always listen to me,<n id="1" /> but I said this<n id="2" /> for the sake of the crowd standing around here, that they may believe that you sent me.&#8221;

When they were not able to bring him in because of the crowd, they removed the roof<n id="1" /> above Jesus.<n id="2" /> Then,<n id="3" /> after tearing it out, they lowered the stretcher the paralytic was lying on.

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then<n id="1" /> Jesus<n id="2" /> called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, &#8220;If anyone wants to become my follower,<n id="3" /> he must deny<n id="4" /> himself, take up his cross,<n id="5" /> and follow me.

But<n id="1" /> since they found<n id="2" /> no way to carry him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof<n id="3" /> and let him down on the stretcher<n id="4" /> through the roof tiles<n id="5" /> right<n id="6" /> in front of Jesus.<n id="7" />

There was<n id="1" /> a lot of grumbling<n id="2" /> about him among the crowds.<n id="3" /> Some were saying, &#8220;He is a good man,&#8221; but others, &#8220;He deceives the common people.&#8221;<n id="4" />

and when he found him, he brought him to Antioch.<n id="1" /> So<n id="2" /> for a whole year Barnabas and Saul<n id="3" /> met with the church and taught a significant number of people.<n id="4" /> Now it was in Antioch<n id="5" /> that the disciples were first called Christians.<n id="6" />p>

And you see and hear that this Paul has persuaded<n id="1" /> and turned away<n id="2" /> a large crowd,<n id="3" /> not only in Ephesus<n id="4" /> but in practically all of the province of Asia,<n id="5" /> by saying<n id="6" /> that gods made by hands are not gods at all.<n id="7" />

After the city secretary<n id="1" /> quieted the crowd, he said, &#8220;Men of Ephesus, what person<n id="2" /> is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the keeper<n id="3" /> of the temple of the great Artemis<n id="4" /> and of her image that fell from heaven?<n id="5" />

When the seven days were almost over,<n id="1" /> the Jews from the province of Asia<n id="2" /> who had seen him in the temple area<n id="3" /> stirred up the whole crowd<n id="4" /> and seized<n id="5" /> him,

<t /><p class="bodytext">Then Jesus called the<n id="1" /> disciples and said, &#8220;I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don&#8217;t want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way.&#8221;

Now the day began to draw to a close,<n id="1" /> so<n id="2" /> the twelve came and said to Jesus,<n id="3" /> &#8220;Send the crowd away, so they can go into the surrounding villages and countryside and find lodging<n id="4" /> and food, because we are in an isolated place.&#8221;<n id="5" />