Matthew 14

The Death of John the Baptist

1 “Herod the ruler heard about what Jesus was doing.”

2 “He told his people, ‘This must be John the Baptist, risen from the dead, that is why He is doing all these miracles!’”

3 “See, Herod had arrested John, chained him up, and thrown him in prison because of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife.”

4 “John had told Herod, ‘Listen, it is not right for you to be married to her.’”

5 “Herod wanted to kill John, but he was scared of the people because they saw John as a prophet.”

6 “On Herod’s birthday, Herodias’s daughter danced for the guests and impressed Herod so much,”

7 “that he promised her anything she wanted, even swore an oath.”

8 “Her mom told her to say, ‘Bring me John the Baptist’s head on a platter.’”

9 “Herod did not want to do it, but because he made an oath in front of his guests, he gave the order.”

10 “They chopped off John’s head in prison,”

11 “and brought it on a platter to the girl, who gave it to her mom.”

12 “John’s disciples came, got his body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.”

Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

13 “When Jesus heard about John, He dipped out in a boat to a quiet spot. But the crowd followed Him on foot from the towns.”

14 “When Jesus landed and saw the massive crowd, He felt bad for them and healed their sick.”

15 “By evening, the disciples said, ‘Listen, this place is remote, and it is getting late. Send the people away so they can buy food in the villages.’”

16 “Jesus said, ‘They do not need to leave. You feed them.’”

17 “They said, ‘We only got five loaves of bread and two fish.’”

18 “Jesus said, ‘Bring them to Me.’”

19 “He told the crowd to sit down on the grass. He took the loaves and fish, looked to heaven, blessed them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to hand out.”

20 “Everyone ate until they were full, and the disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftovers.”

21 “About 5,000 men ate, not counting the women and kids.”

Jesus Walks on Water

22 “Right after that, Jesus made the disciples get in the boat and head to the other side while He sent the crowd away.”

23 “After sending them off, He went up on a mountain to pray alone. By nightfall, He was still there by Himself.”

24 “Meanwhile, the disciples were in the boat, far from land, struggling against the wind and waves.”

25 “Late at night, Jesus came to them, walking on the water.”

26 “When they saw Him walking on the water, they freaked out and said, ‘It is a ghost!’ They screamed in fear.”

27 “But Jesus said, ‘Chill! It is Me. Do not be scared.’”

28 “Peter said, ‘Lord, if it is really You, tell me to come to You on the water.’”

29 “Jesus said, ‘Come on.’ So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water toward Jesus.”

30 “But when Peter saw the wind and waves, he got scared, started sinking, and shouted, ‘Lord, save me!’”

31 “Jesus reached out, grabbed him, and said, ‘Why did you doubt, man, Where is your faith?’”

32 “When they climbed into the boat, the wind died down.”

33 “The disciples worshiped Him and said, ‘Truly, You are the Son of God.’”

Jesus Heals Many in Gennesaret

34 “They crossed over and landed at Gennesaret.”

35 “The people there recognized Jesus and sent word to the surrounding area. Everyone brought their sick to Him.”

36 “They begged Him to let the sick just touch the edge of His cloak, and everyone who touched it was healed.”