Jesus Gets No Respect at Home in Nazareth
1Jesus left the area and went back to his hometown, taking his disciples with him. [1] 2On his first Sabbath [2] back in Nazareth, Jesus went to the synagogue and started to teach the people. Many of the locals were shocked at what they heard. Talking among themselves they asked, “Where does he come up with this stuff? All these insights and the power to do miracles—where does it come from? 3Isn’t this guy a carpenter? He’s the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn’t he? Don’t his sisters still live here in town?” These people felt incredibly offended by Jesus.4Jesus told the people, “A prophet can get some respect just about everywhere he goes, except at home. Hometown folk, relatives, and the family don’t generally honor their homegrown prophet.” 5He wasn’t able to do many miracles there. He did heal a few sick people by putting his hands on them. 6The lack of faith that he saw in his hometown shocked him. He left and traveled around, teaching in neighboring villages.
Disciples on a Road Trip
7Jesus met with his dozen disciples and gave them a mission assignment. He was sending them out in pairs, two by two. He gave them the power to exorcise demons. 8He told them not to take any supplies with them, other than a walking stick. No bread. No bag. No money stuffed inside their belt.9He said it was okay for them to wear sandals. But he added, “Don’t take an extra pair of clothes.” 10He said, “Once you go into someone’s home, stay there and use that as your ministry base until you leave that area. [3] 11If you end up in a place where people don’t want you and won’t listen to you, leave. Shake their dirt off your feet. That will send your message of disapproval.” [4]
12The disciples left and told people to start saying no to sin. 13The disciples exorcised many demons. They healed many sick people by anointing them—pouring olive oil on them. [5]
John the Baptizer Beheaded
14King Herod [6] heard about what was going on. Jesus was well known throughout the region by this time. Some folks were saying, “Jesus is John the Baptizer, back from the dead. That’s how he’s able to do miracles.” 15Other folks were saying, “He’s Elijah.” And others said, “He’s a prophet like those classic prophets from ancient times.”16When Herod heard these rumors, he said, “Oh no! This guy has to be John, the man I beheaded. He’s back from the dead.” 17Earlier, Herod himself had ordered John arrested, tied, and detained in prison. Herod did it for his wife, Herodias. She used to be married to Herod’s brother, Philip.
18John had been telling Herod, “It’s not legal for you to marry your brother’s wife.” [7] 19This infuriated Herodias. She hated John and wanted to kill him. But she didn’t know how to get the job done. 20Herod was her problem. He was afraid of John. But he also respected him as a man devoted to God and justice. So Herod protected him. John’s messages left Herod confused, but Herod enjoyed listening to him anyhow.
21Herod’s birthday party provided the perfect time to kill John. Herod invited the most important people in Galilee. That included military commanders and government officials. 22Herodias had a daughter [8] who could dance. She danced [9] for Herod and his dinner guests. They liked what they saw. Herod liked it enough that he told the young girl, “Ask for whatever you want and I’ll give it to you.” 23Herod vowed he would do it. “As long as it’s no more than half of my kingdom, I’ll give you whatever you want.”
24So she checked with her mom. “What do you think I should ask for?”
Her mom said, “The head of John the Baptizer, of course.”
25Immediately, she rushed back to the king. She told him, “I want the head of John the Baptizer on a plate. And I want it now.”
26The king got very sad very quickly. But he had vowed to give her what she wanted. And he did it in front of a roomful of dinner guests. He had to do what he promised. 27The king didn’t hesitate. He called in the executioner and told him to come back with John’s head. The executioner went to the prison and beheaded John. 28He put the head on a plate, brought it back, and gave it to the young girl. The girl gave it to her mother.
29When John’s disciples found out what happened, they came and took John’s body and gave it a burial, putting it in a tomb.
No Alone Time for Jesus and Disciples
30The apostles [10] wrapped up their mission trip and came back to Jesus. They had told him about what they did on the trip and what they had taught the people.31Jesus said, “Let’s get out of here. Let’s go where we can be alone and rest for a while.” There was such a constant stream of people coming and going that Jesus and his disciples weren’t even getting a chance to eat. 32So they got in a boat and sailed off to a place where they thought they could be alone.
33Well, a lot of people saw them leaving and recognized them. Folks from towns all over the area tracked them, trailed them on foot, and beat the boat to where Jesus was headed. [11] 34When Jesus stepped out of the boat and saw a large crowd, his heart melted with compassion. They looked like sheep without a shepherd. So he started to teach them many lessons.
5,000 for a Fish Dinner
35Later in the day the disciples went to Jesus and said, “We’re out here in the middle of nowhere and it’s starting to get late. 36You should send them away so they can go to villages and buy something to eat.”37“No,” Jesus said. “You go ahead and give them something to eat.”
The disciples said, “What? It would take almost a year’s salary [12] to buy enough bread to feed this crowd!”
38Jesus asked, “Well, how many loaves do you have? Go and find out.”
They came back and reported, “Five. We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”
39Jesus told the crowd to sit in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat in groups. Some groups of 50. Others of 100. [13] 41Jesus picked up the five loaves of bread and two fish. He looked up at the sky and said a prayer of blessing. [14] Then he broke the bread into pieces and gave them to his disciples so they could pass them out. He did the same with the fish. 42Everyone ate as much as they wanted. They filled up. 43The disciples picked up the 12 baskets full of leftovers, bread as well as fish. 44This crowd of people who ate the fish and bread included 5,000 men. [15]
Jesus Walks on Water in a Windstorm
45As soon as the meal was over, Jesus told his disciples to get in the boat and go ahead of him to the other side of the lake, toward Bethsaida. [16] He said he would stay behind and get the people headed on their way home. 46After the people left, Jesus went to the mountain [17] to pray. 47Later that evening, the boat was still out in the lake while Jesus was alone on land. 48Jesus saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars, fighting against a strong wind. In the darkness before daylight, [18] Jesus stepped onto the lake and started walking toward the disciples. He caught up with them and was going to pass alongside them.49When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. [19] They screamed. 50They all saw Jesus. And they were all terrified out of their minds. Right away Jesus said to them, “Courage, men. It’s me. No need to be afraid.”
51Jesus climbed right into the boat with them. When he did, the wind suddenly died down. The disciples were absolutely amazed. 52They didn’t understand what had happened with the bread earlier. [20] Their heads were too thick. [21]
