Jesus Feeds a Hungry Crowd of 4,000
1It happened again. Jesus drew a large and hungry crowd that had no food. Jesus called his disciples together and said, 2“Listen, I feel for these people. They’ve stayed with me for three days and now they’re out of food. 3I could send them home without any food. But they would run out of energy along the way, and some of them have a long way to go.”4His disciples said, “Where are we going to get enough bread to feed these people? We’re out in the middle of nowhere.”
5Jesus asked, “Well, what do you have? How many loaves?”
They said, “Seven.”
6Jesus turned to the crowd and told them to sit on the ground. He took the seven loaves of bread, thanked God for them, and then broke them into pieces and gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the people. 7They also came up with a few small fish. Jesus said his thanks for the food, and then he gave the fish to the disciples to pass out to the crowd.
8People ate as much as they wanted. And there were seven baskets of leftovers. 9There were about 4,000 people in that crowd. Jesus sent them on their way home. 10As soon as the crowd left, so did Jesus. He got into the boat with his disciples and they sailed off to the territory of Dalmanutha. [1]
Jesus Says No to a Miracle
11Some Pharisees came to see Jesus. They started talking with him, testing him with tough questions. They ended up arguing with him and demanding that he perform a miracle to prove himself. 12His spirit sighed long and hard. “Why do you people always want a miracle?” Jesus asked. “Well, I’m not going to give you any. And that’s the truth.” 13Jesus walked out on them, got into the boat again, and crossed to the other side of the lake.Disciples Worry That They Forgot to Bring Bread
14The disciples forgot to bring bread with them when they got into the boat for the trip. [2] 15As they sailed across the lake Jesus warned his disciples, “Keep your eyes open. You’ve got to watch out for the Pharisees and Herod, and for the yeast they produce that permeates everything.” 16But all the disciples could talk about was the fact that no one brought bread.17Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said, “Guys, come on, why are you talking about bread you don’t have? Don’t you get what’s going on? Are your heads really that thick? [3] 18You have eyeballs, don’t you? Why can’t you see? You have ears, don’t you? Why can’t you hear? [4] And one more thing, what happened to your memory? 19Let me ask you guys something. When I fed 5,000 with five loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did we have?”
They said, “Twelve.”
20“When I fed the crowd of 4,000 with seven loaves of bread, how many baskets of leftovers did we have then?”
They said, “Seven.”
21Then Jesus said, “After all of this, you still don’t have any idea about what’s going on here?”
Jesus Uses Spit to Heal a Blind Man
22When they arrived at Bethsaida, some people brought a blind man to Jesus. They begged Jesus to touch him so he would be healed. 23Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the town. Jesus moistened the man’s eyes with spit [5] and then placed his hands on the man. Jesus asked, “What do you see?”24With part of his vision restored, the man said, “I see people walking around, but they look like trees.”
25Jesus then touched the man’s eyes, completely restoring his sight. The man saw everything clearly, in crisp detail. 26Jesus told the man to go back to his home, but “Don’t go back to the village.”
Jesus: Don’t Tell Anyone I’m the Messiah
27Jesus and his disciples left the area. They traveled to the villages in the area of Caesarea Philippi. [6] Along the way Jesus asked his disciples, “Who do people say I am?”28The disciples said, “Well, some say you’re John the Baptizer. Others say you’re the prophet Elijah. [7] Other folks say you’re a prophet.”
29“Okay,” Jesus said. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered: “You’re the Messiah.” [8]
30Jesus sternly warned the disciples not to tell anyone that he’s the Messiah.
Jesus: I Have to Die Before I Can Rise Again
31Jesus started teaching the disciples that he, the Son of Humans, [9] would have to suffer through a lot of misery. He said he would get rejected by the top Jewish leaders: the elders, chief priests, along with experts in the Law who are known as scribes. In the end, Jesus said, he would be killed—but three days later he would come back to life. 32Jesus was talking openly and matter-of-factly about this. Peter pulled him off to the side and told him to stop it.33Jesus looked over at his disciples, then he told Peter to stop it: “Get out of here, Satan! You’re not in sync with God. You’re thinking like a typical human.” 34Jesus called the crowd of people together with his disciples. Then he told the group, “If you want to follow me, you can’t do it by putting yourself first. You’ll need to make some big sacrifices. But do it. Follow me.
35“If you insist on living life your way instead of God’s way, you’ll be lost. But if you’re willing to lose your life for me and for the good news I’m teaching, you’ll be saved. 36What good would it do you to buy the whole world if it cost you your life?
37“Tell me, what’s your soul worth? 38If you’re ashamed of me and embarrassed by what I teach, the Son of Humans will be ashamed of you when he comes back in a glorious return, with the Father and holy angels.”
