Jesus Feeds More Than 5000^(A)

³⁰ The apostles Jesus had sent out came back to him. They gathered around him and told him about all they had done and taught. ³¹ Jesus and his followers were in a very busy place. There were so many people that he and his followers did not even have time to eat. He said to them, “Come with me. We will go to a quiet place to be alone. There we will get some rest.”

³² So Jesus and his followers went away alone. They went in a boat to a place where no one lived. ³³ But many people saw them leave and knew who they were. So people from every town ran to the place where they were going and got there before Jesus. ³⁴ As Jesus stepped out of the boat, he saw a large crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd to care for them. So he taught the people many things.

³⁵ It was now very late in the day. Jesus’ followers came to him and said, “No one lives around here, and it is already very late. ³⁶ So send the people away. They need to go to the farms and towns around here to buy some food to eat.”

³⁷ But Jesus answered, “You give them some food to eat.”

They said to Jesus, “We can’t buy enough bread to feed all these people. We would all have to work a month to earn enough to buy that much bread!”

³⁸ Jesus asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have now? Go and see.”

They counted their loaves of bread. They came to Jesus and said, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”

³⁹ Then Jesus said to them, “Tell everyone to sit in groups on the green grass.” ⁴⁰ So all the people sat in groups. There were about 50 or 100 people in each group.

⁴¹ Jesus took the five loaves and two fish. He looked up to the sky and thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces, which he gave to his followers to distribute to the people. Then he divided the two fish among everyone there.

⁴² They all ate until they were full. ⁴³ After they finished eating, the followers filled twelve baskets with the pieces of bread and fish that were left. ⁴⁴ There were about 5000 men there who ate.

Jesus Walks on Water^(B)

⁴⁵ Then Jesus told the followers to get into the boat. He told them to go to the other side of the lake to Bethsaida. He said he would come later. He stayed there to tell everyone they could go home. ⁴⁶ After he said goodbye to them, he went up into the hills to pray.

⁴⁷ That night, the boat was still in the middle of the lake. Jesus was alone on the land. ⁴⁸ He saw the boat far away on the lake. And he saw the followers working hard to row the boat. The wind was blowing against them. Sometime between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus went out to the boat, walking on the water. He continued walking until he was almost past the boat. ⁴⁹ But the followers saw Jesus walking on the water. They thought he was a ghost, and they started screaming. ⁵⁰ It scared them all to see him. But he spoke to them and said, “Don’t worry! It’s me! Don’t be afraid.” ⁵¹ When he got into the boat with the followers, the wind stopped. The followers were completely amazed. ⁵² They could not believe what happened. It was like the miracle he did with the bread. They still didn’t understand what that meant.

Jesus Heals Many Sick People^(C)

⁵³ Jesus and his followers went across the lake and came to shore at Gennesaret. They tied the boat there. ⁵⁴ When they were out of the boat, the people there saw Jesus. They knew who he was, ⁵⁵ so they ran to tell others throughout that area. They brought sick people on mats to every place Jesus went. ⁵⁶ Jesus went into towns, cities, and farms around that area. And every place he went, the people brought sick people to the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch any part of his coat. And all those who touched him were healed.