1In those days, when there was a very large crowd and they had nothing to eat, Jesus called his disciples and said to them,
2“I feel compassion for these people, because they have been with me for three days now and have nothing to eat.
3If I send them home hungry, they will collapse on the way, because some of them have traveled a long distance.”
4His followers asked him, “Where can anyone get enough bread here in this deserted place to feed all these people?”
5He asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have?” They replied, “Seven.”
6He told the crowd to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves of bread, gave thanks, broke them into pieces, and gave them to his followers to distribute. And they distributed them to the crowd.
7They also had a few small fish. After blessing them, he told the followers to distribute these as well.
8Everyone ate until they were full. Afterwards, they collected seven large baskets full of the leftover pieces.
9About four thousand people had eaten. Then he sent them away.
10Immediately, he got into a boat with his followers and went to the region of Dalmanutha.
11The Pharisees came out and started questioning him, demanding a sign from heaven to test him.
12He sighed deeply and said, “Why does this generation ask for a sign? I tell you the truth, no sign will be given to this generation.”
13He left them, got back into the boat, and went to the other side of the lake.
14The followers had forgotten to bring bread, and they only had one loaf with them in the boat.
15He warned them, saying, “Be careful! Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.”
16They discussed among themselves, saying, “It’s because we don’t have any bread.”
17Jesus knew what they were thinking and asked them, “Why are you discussing that you have no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts still stubborn?
18You have eyes, but do you not see? You have ears, but do you not hear? Do you not remember?
19When I broke the five loaves for five thousand people, how many baskets full of leftover pieces did you collect?” They answered him, “Twelve.”
20“And when I broke the seven loaves for four thousand people, how many baskets full of leftover pieces did you collect?” They told him, “Seven.”
21He asked them, “Do you still not understand?”
22He came to Bethsaida. People brought a blind man to him and begged him to touch the man.
23Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. He spit on the man's eyes and placed his hands on him, then asked if he could see anything.
24The man looked up and said, "I see people, but they look like trees walking around."
25Then Jesus placed his hands on the man's eyes again. The man looked intently, and his sight was fully restored; he could see everyone clearly.
26Jesus sent him home, telling him, "Don't go into the village or tell anyone there about this."
27Jesus and his disciples went out to the villages near Caesarea Philippi. On the way, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say I am?"
28They told him, "Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others say one of the prophets."
29Then he asked them, "But who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "You are the Christ."
30Jesus ordered them not to tell anyone about him.
31He then began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things. He would be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and would be killed, but after three days he would rise again.
32He spoke very openly about this. Peter took him aside and began to criticize him.
33But Jesus turned around, and when he saw his disciples, he told Peter off, saying, "Get away from me, Satan! Your thoughts are not God's thoughts, but human thoughts."
34He called the crowd and his disciples to him and said, "If anyone wants to follow me, they must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me.
35For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will save it.
36What good does it do a person to gain the whole world, yet lose their very soul?
37What can anyone offer in exchange for their soul?
38For if anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels."