Herod Beheads John the Baptist
1Herod, the ruler [1] of Galilee, started getting reports about Jesus around this time. 2Herod told his servants, “This guy has to be John the Baptist, back from the dead. That would explain why he’s able to do all these miracles.”3Herod jumped to that conclusion because he had arrested John earlier. He had John tied up and thrown in prison. He did it because that’s what his wife, Herodias, wanted. She was the ex-wife of Herod’s brother, Philip. 4Herodias got mad at John because he told Herod, “It’s illegal for you to be married to this woman.” [2] 5Herod wanted to execute John. But he didn’t do it. He was afraid of how the people would react. They were convinced John was a prophet.
6Herod’s birthday came around, and Herodias’s daughter gave him a birthday present: She danced for him. He liked it. Yep. 7He liked it so much that he promised to give her whatever she wanted. 8After checking with her mother, she told Herod, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
9Herod didn’t like that request at all. It put the pressure on him. But he was stuck. He had made that promise in front of all his dinner guests. So, he gave the order. 10He had John’s head cut off in prison.
11John’s head was brought out on a platter and given to the girl. She gave it to her mother. 12John’s disciples came to the prison, claimed the body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.
5,000 for a Fish Dinner
13When Jesus heard about John, he got into a boat and sailed off to an isolated place where he could be alone. It didn’t work, though. When people from towns in the area heard about what happened, they followed Jesus on foot, along the shoreline. 14When he stepped out of the boat and saw the large crowd, his heart melted with compassion. He healed everyone who was sick.15That evening, the disciples came over to him and said, “We’re out in the middle of nowhere and it’s starting to get late. You should send people away, so they can go into the villages and buy some food for themselves.”
16But Jesus said, “They don’t need to leave. You need to give them something to eat.”
17They told Jesus, “We don’t have anything here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”
18Jesus said, “Give them to me.” 19He told the crowd to sit on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and two fish in his hands and looked up into the sky. He said a prayer of thanks. Then he tore the loaves into smaller pieces. He gave the bread to the disciples, and he told them to distribute the food to the people.
20Everyone ate. They kept eating until they were full. The disciples gathered the leftovers: 12 baskets full. 21Five thousand men ate this meal. That’s not counting women and children who ate too.
Jesus Walks on Water in a Windstorm
22As soon as the meal was over, Jesus told his disciples to get in the boat and sail to the opposite shore. [3] As they sailed away, Jesus stayed behind and told the people to go home. 23After the crowd left, Jesus climbed up the hillside to pray. He stayed there until it got dark. 24By this time, the boat was already far out on the lake. The disciples were fighting headwinds and high waves.25Sometime between 3 and 6 a.m., [4] Jesus showed up—walking on the water. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. They screamed, “It’s a ghost!” [5] Then they screamed some more.
27Jesus quickly replied, “Courage, it’s me. Don’t be afraid.”
28Peter called out and said, “Lord, if it’s really you, call me out on the water.”
29Jesus said, “Okay, come on out.”
Peter stepped out of the boat and onto the water. He started walking toward Jesus. 30But when Peter realized how strong the wind was, it scared him. Then quickly, he started to sink. He screamed, “Lord, save me!”
31Right away, Jesus reached out his hand and grabbed Peter. Jesus said, “Oh my, you sure don’t have much faith. Why did you start doubting?”
32When the two of them got into the boat, the wind calmed. 33The disciples in the boat stopped to worship Jesus by acknowledging, “You are, without a doubt, the Son of God.”
