1He left there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
2When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed, saying, "Where did this man get these things?" and, "What is this wisdom that has been given to him, that such powerful works are done by his hands?"
3Isn't this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judah, and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" They were offended by him.
4Jesus said to them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown, among his own relatives, and in his own house."
5He could not do any powerful work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.
6He was amazed by their lack of faith. He went around the villages teaching.
7He called the twelve disciples to himself and began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority over evil spirits.
8He instructed them to take nothing for their journey except a staff: no bread, no bag, and no money in their purse,
9but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
10He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place.
11Whoever will not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave that place, shake off the dust from under your feet as a testimony against them. I assure you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that city!"
12They went out and preached that people should change their ways.
13They cast out many demons, and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
14King Herod heard about Jesus, because his name had become well-known, and he said, "John the Baptizer has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in him."
15But others said, "He is Elijah." Still others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of the past."
16But when Herod heard this, he said, "This must be John, the one I had beheaded. He has come back to life."
17Herod himself had sent men to arrest John and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, whom Herod had married.
18That was because John had told Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
19Herodias was furious with John and wanted to kill him, but she couldn't.
20Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John, he was deeply moved and enjoyed hearing him.
21Then an opportune day came. It was Herod's birthday, and he gave a dinner party for his important officials, army commanders, and the leading citizens of Galilee.
22When the daughter of Herodias came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. The king said to the young woman, "Ask me for anything you want, and I will give it to you."
23And he promised her with an oath, "Whatever you ask me for, I will give you, even up to half of my kingdom."
24She left and asked her mother, "What should I ask for?" Her mother replied, "The head of John the Baptist."
25She immediately rushed back to the king and made her request, "I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a platter right now."
26The king became very sad, but because of his promise and his dinner guests, he didn’t want to refuse her.
27So the king immediately sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. The executioner went and beheaded John in the prison,
28and brought his head on a platter. He gave it to the young woman, and the young woman gave it to her mother.
29When John's followers heard about this, they came and took his body and placed it in a tomb.
30The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught.
31He said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest." For there were so many people coming and going that they didn't even have a chance to eat.
32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a secluded place.
33Many people saw them leave and recognized them. They ran on foot from all the towns and arrived there ahead of them.
34When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd, and he felt deep compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
35By late afternoon, his followers came to him and said, "This is a remote place, and it's already getting late.
36Send them away so they can go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves food, because they have nothing to eat.
37But he answered them, "You give them something to eat." They asked him, "Should we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give them something to eat?"
38He said to them, "How many loaves of bread do you have? Go check." After they found out, they said, "Five loaves and two fish."
39He told them to have everyone sit down in groups on the green grass.
40They sat down in rows, by hundreds and by fifties.
41He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to his disciples to hand out, and he divided the two fish among everyone.
42Everyone ate until they were full.
43They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces of bread and fish.
44There were five thousand men who ate the loaves of bread.
45Immediately, he made his disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he sent the crowd away.
46After he said goodbye to them, he went up the mountain to pray.
47When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and he was alone on the land.
48He saw that they were struggling to row because the wind was against them. Around the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea, and he intended to pass by them.
49But when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and cried out;
50because they all saw him and were terrified. But he immediately spoke to them and said, "Be encouraged! It's me! Don't be afraid."
51He got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped. They were extremely amazed and wondered among themselves;
52because they hadn't understood the miracle of the loaves, and their minds were still closed off.
53Once they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret and docked the boat.
54When they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him,
55and they ran throughout that whole region. They began bringing those who were sick, on their mats, to wherever they heard he was.
56Wherever he went—into villages, cities, or the countryside—people laid the sick in the marketplaces and begged him to let them touch just the edge of his cloak. And everyone who touched him was healed.