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Bible in 90 Days

An intensive Bible reading plan that walks through the entire Bible in 90 days.
Duration: 88 days
EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)
Version
Matthew 26:57 - Mark 9:13

Jesus stands in front of all the important rulers

57 Then those men who had taken hold of Jesus took him to Caiaphas's house. Caiaphas was the most important priest. The teachers of God's Law and the important Jews were meeting there together with Caiaphas.[a]

58 Peter followed Jesus into the yard of Caiaphas' house. But he did not go near Jesus. He sat down in the yard with the police who worked in the temple. He wanted to see what would happen.

59 The leaders of the priests and all the Jewish leaders wanted to punish Jesus with death. So they tried to find some people who would say things against Jesus that were not true. 60 Many people did come. And they said things against Jesus that were not true. But still the Jewish leaders could not find a reason to kill Jesus.[b]

Then two men stood up and they said, 61 ‘We heard this man say, “I can destroy the temple and in three days I can build it again.” ’

62 Then Caiaphas stood up. He said to Jesus, ‘You must reply now to what these men have said against you. Are the things that they say true?’ 63 But Jesus did not say anything.

So Caiaphas said to him, ‘I use the authority of the God who lives. You must promise to tell us what is true. Are you the Messiah? Are you the Son of God?’

64 ‘You have said it,’ Jesus replied. ‘And I tell all of you, soon you will see the Son of Man. He will be sitting in the most important place at the right side of the Most Powerful God. You will also see him coming to earth. He will be riding on the clouds in the sky.’

65 Then Caiaphas tore his clothes to show that he was angry.[c] He said, ‘Jesus has spoken bad words against God. We do not need anyone else to speak against him. You have heard him speak bad words against God. 66 Do you think that he is guilty?’

They replied, ‘He is guilty and he deserves to die.’

67 Then some of them spat into Jesus' face. They also hit him with their fists. 68 When they hit him, they said, ‘Messiah! Show us that you are a prophet. Tell us who hit you!’

Peter says three times that he does not know Jesus

69 While all these things were happening, Peter was sitting outside in the yard. One of the girls who worked there went to him and she said, ‘You were also a friend of Jesus, the man from Galilee.’

70 Peter said in front of everyone who was there, ‘That is not true. I do not know what you are talking about.’

71 Peter then went out to the gate, and another servant girl saw him. This girl said to the people who were standing there, ‘This man was a friend of Jesus, the man from Nazareth.’

72 Peter answered again very strongly. He said, ‘I promise you, I really do not know that man!’

73 After a little time, other people who were standing at the gate spoke to Peter. They said, ‘We are sure that you too are one of that man's friends. We know this because you speak like people who live in Galilee.’

74 Peter said to them very strongly, ‘I tell you that I do not know that man. God will surely punish me if this is not true!’

Immediately after Peter said this, the cockerel sang. 75 Then Peter remembered that Jesus had said to him, ‘Tonight you will say three times that you do not know me. You will do it before the cockerel sings.’ So Peter went out of the yard. He began to weep a lot because he was very upset.

The important Jews take Jesus to stand in front of Pilate

27 Early the next morning, all the leaders of the priests and the important Jews met together. They decided how to make the Roman rulers kill Jesus. They tied Jesus' hands and feet and then they took him to Pilate's house. They put him under the authority of Pilate, who was the Roman ruler.[d]

Judas dies

Judas heard that the Jewish leaders wanted the Roman rulers to kill Jesus. Judas was the man who had helped Jesus' enemies to take hold of him. Now he was very sorry about what he had done. So he took back the 30 silver coins to the leaders of the priests and the important Jews. He said to them, ‘I have done the wrong thing. I helped you to take hold of a man who has done nothing wrong.’

They said to Judas, ‘That is not important to us. That is your problem.’

So Judas took the money and he threw it down on the floor in the temple. Then he went away. He hung himself from a rope so that he died.

The leaders of the priests picked up the coins. They said, ‘We used this money to catch and kill a man. So it is against our Law to use this same money for the temple.’ They decided to use the money to buy a field. They wanted to use the field to bury foreign people who died in the city. The field had been called ‘The Pot-maker's Field’. After this, it was called ‘The Field of Blood’. It is still called that even today. So the words that the prophet Jeremiah wrote long ago now became true.[e] He had said, ‘Then they took the 30 silver coins. It was the amount of money the people of Israel had agreed to pay for the man. 10 They used this money to buy the pot-maker's field. The Lord God had told me to do this.’

Pilate asks Jesus some questions

11 Now Jesus stood in front of the Roman ruler, Pilate. The ruler asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’

Jesus replied, ‘You have said it.’

12 The leaders of the priests and the important Jews spoke against Jesus. They said that he had done many bad things. Jesus did not answer them. 13 So Pilate said to Jesus, ‘You hear what these men are saying against you. You should reply.’ 14 But Jesus did not reply to what the men were saying against him, not even to one thing. Pilate was very surprised about this.

15 Each year, at the time for the Passover festival, the Roman ruler would let one person go free out of the prison. The people could choose which person should go free. 16 At that time, there was a man called Barabbas in prison. Everyone knew about the bad things that he had done. 17 When the crowd came together at Pilate's house, Pilate asked them, ‘Who do you want me to let go free? Should Barabbas go free? Or should it be Jesus, who is called the Messiah?’ 18 Pilate knew why the Jewish leaders had brought Jesus to him. They were jealous because people liked Jesus so much.

19 Pilate was sitting on his special seat as a judge. Then his wife sent a message to him. She said, ‘Do not do anything to that man. He has done nothing wrong. Last night I had a dream about him. It gave me a lot of trouble in my mind.’

20 But the leaders of the priests and the important Jews talked to the crowds of people. They said, ‘You must ask Pilate to let Barabbas go free. Then he must tell the soldiers to kill Jesus.’

21 Pilate asked the people again, ‘Which of these two men should go free?’ The people answered, ‘Barabbas.’

22 Then Pilate asked the people, ‘So what should I do with Jesus, who is called the Messiah?’ The people all shouted, ‘Take him and kill him on a cross!’

23 So Pilate said, ‘Why should I kill him? What bad things has he done?’

But the people shouted even louder, ‘Kill him on a cross!’

24 Then Pilate knew that he could not do anything to make them quiet. He thought that the people would start to fight his soldiers. So he took a dish of water and he washed his hands in front of the people. He said, ‘It is not because of me that this man will die. You are the people who have caused it to happen.’

25 All the people answered Pilate, ‘Yes, God should punish us and our children, if we have done the wrong thing.’

26 Then Pilate let Barabbas go free, as the crowd wanted. But he said to his soldiers, ‘Hit Jesus many times with a whip. Then take him and fix him to a cross to die.’

27 Then Pilate's soldiers took Jesus into the yard of the ruler's house. All the other soldiers in their group were there. 28 They removed Jesus' clothes from him. They put a dark red coat on him. 29 They used some branches with thorns to make a crown for him. Then they put it on his head. They put a long stick in his right hand. They went down on their knees in front of him. They laughed at him and they said, ‘Hello, King of the Jews, you are great!’[f]

30 Then the soldiers spat into Jesus' face. They took the stick and they hit Jesus on his head with it many times. 31 After they had laughed at him, they took the special coat off him. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they took him out to the place where they would kill him on a cross.

The soldiers kill Jesus on a cross

32 When they were going to that place, they met a man called Simon. He came from the city of Cyrene. The Roman soldiers told Simon that he must carry Jesus' cross. 33 The soldiers took Jesus to the place that is called Golgotha. (Golgotha means the place of a skull.[g] )

34 They tried to give Jesus some wine to drink. They had mixed some medicine into the wine. Jesus tasted it, but he would not drink it. 35 Then the soldiers fixed Jesus onto the cross. They took his clothes for themselves. They played a game to find out who would receive each piece of his clothes. 36 Then the soldiers sat down and they watched Jesus carefully. 37 Above his head they fixed a notice. This showed the reason why they were killing him. It said, ‘This man is Jesus, the king of the Jews.’ 38 Then the soldiers also fixed two robbers to crosses near to Jesus. One robber was at Jesus' right side, and one was at his left side.

39 The people who walked near there insulted Jesus. They laughed at him, 40 and they said, ‘You said that you could destroy the temple and then build it again in three days. If you really are the Son of God, save yourself. Come down from the cross.’

41 The leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law and the important Jews also laughed at him. 42 They said, ‘This man saved other people, did he? But he cannot save his own life! He says that he is the king of Israel. So he should come down from the cross now. Then we will believe in him. 43 He says that he trusts in God. So if God wants him, God should save him now. He did say that he is the Son of God.’ 44 Then the two robbers who were on the crosses next to Jesus also insulted him.

Jesus dies

45 It was now midday. The whole country became dark for three hours. 46 At about three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus shouted loudly, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ That means, ‘My God, my God, why have you left me alone?’

47 Some people who were standing there heard him. They said to each other, ‘He is shouting to Elijah.’

48 One of these people ran quickly and he brought a piece of cloth. He poured cheap wine on it, and he put it on the end of a stick. He lifted it up to Jesus so that he could drink the wine from it. 49 The other people said, ‘Wait! Now we will see if Elijah comes to save him.’

50 Then Jesus shouted again with a loud voice, and after that he died.

51 At that moment, the curtain inside the temple tore completely into two parts. It tore from the top down to the bottom. The ground shook and rocks broke into pieces. 52 Places in the ground where people had buried dead bodies opened up. Many of God's people who had died now became alive again. 53 After Jesus became alive again, those people came up out of those places. They went into God's city, Jerusalem. Many people saw them there.

54 The captain and his soldiers had been watching Jesus. They saw the ground shaking. They saw everything that had happened. They were very frightened and they said, ‘It must be true! This man really was the Son of God.’

55 There were also many women there. They were standing a long way away and they were watching these events. They had come with Jesus from Galilee to help him. 56 Mary from Magdala was there. Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Mary the mother of Zebedee's sons, were also there.

Joseph from Arimathea buries Jesus' body

57 That evening a rich man who came from a town called Arimathea went to Pilate. The man's name was Joseph, and he had become a disciple of Jesus. 58 Joseph asked Pilate for the dead body of Jesus. Pilate told his soldiers to give Jesus' body to Joseph. 59 So Joseph took Jesus' body. He put a clean piece of linen cloth around it. 60 Then he put the body in a large hole in a rock. He had made the hole for his own body when he died. After he put Jesus' body there, he rolled a very big stone across the front of the hole to shut it. Then he went away. 61 Mary from Magdala and Mary the mother of James were there. They were sitting where they could see the hole in the rock where Joseph had put Jesus' body.

Soldiers watch the place where Joseph had buried Jesus

62 The next day was the Jewish day of rest. The leaders of the priests and the Pharisees met together with Pilate. 63 They said to him, ‘Sir, that man told lies. When he was still living, he said, “Three days after I die, I will become alive again.” We know that is what he said. 64 So you should tell some soldiers to watch the place where Joseph put Jesus' body. They should watch there for the next three days. Then his disciples cannot come to take his body away. If they did that, then they could say to the people, “God has caused Jesus to become alive again.” This will be worse than the lies that Jesus told when he was alive.’

65 Pilate said to them, ‘OK. You may take a group of soldiers to watch the place. Let them fix the rock well, so that nobody can open it.’ 66 So the Jewish leaders and the soldiers went to the place where Joseph had put Jesus' body. They fixed the big stone that closed the front of the hole with a seal. Then they would know if someone had moved it. The soldiers stayed there to watch the place very carefully.

Jesus becomes alive again

28 After the day of rest had finished, Mary from Magdala and Mary the mother of James got up early. It was dawn on the first day of the week. They went to the hole in the rock where Joseph had put the dead body of Jesus.

At that moment, the ground moved about very strongly. One of the Lord God's angels came from heaven. He went to the rock. He rolled the big stone away from the hole and then he sat on top of it. He shone brightly like lightning. His clothes were very white like snow. The soldiers who were carefully watching that place were very frightened. They suddenly fell down on the ground. Like dead men, they could not move.

Then the angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid. I know that you are looking for Jesus. The soldiers killed him on a cross. But he is not here. He has become alive again. That is what he said would happen. Come here. You can see the place where he was lying. Then you must go quickly to his disciples. Tell them, “Jesus is alive again, and he is going to Galilee. You must also go there and you will see him.” That is the message that I have brought for you.’

So the women went away quickly from the hole in the rock. They were very frightened, but they were also very happy. They ran to tell the disciples the angel's message. At that moment, Jesus met the two women and he said, ‘Hello.’ They went near to him. They held on to his feet and they worshipped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go and tell my disciples to go to Galilee. They will see me there.’

The soldiers tell the leaders of the priests what happened

11 The women went to tell the disciples Jesus' message. At the same time, some of the soldiers who had watched the rock also went into the city. The soldiers told the leaders of the priests everything that had happened at the rock. 12 The leaders of the priests and the important Jews met together. They decided what they should do now. They gave the soldiers a lot of money as a bribe. 13 They said to the soldiers, ‘When people ask you, you must say this: “Jesus' disciples came to the rock in the night and they took his body away. We were asleep when they did this.” 14 If the Roman ruler Pilate hears about this, we will explain things to him. Do not be afraid. He will not punish you.’

15 The soldiers took the money. They told people what the Jewish leaders told them to say. Many Jews heard the soldiers' story. Even today they still believe that it happened like that.

Jesus appears to his apostles

16 After this, the 11 disciples went to Galilee. They went to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they arrived at the place, they saw Jesus. Then they went down on their knees and they worshipped him. But some of the disciples were not sure that it really was Jesus. 18 Jesus went near to them and he said to them, ‘God has given me authority over everyone and everything. I have all authority in heaven and in this world. 19 So you must go to people in every country of the world. Teach them how to become my disciples. Baptize them by the authority of God the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach them to obey everything that I have taught you. You can be sure that I will be with you always. I will be with you until the end of time.’

The start of the good news

This is the start of the good news about Jesus Christ. He is the Son of God. The prophet Isaiah wrote this message from God in his book:[h]

‘Listen! I will send someone to prepare a way for you.
    He will tell people my message.
His voice will shout in the wilderness:
    “The Lord will come soon, so prepare a way for him.
    Make the paths straight for him.” ’[i]

So John went to a place in the wilderness. He baptized people and he spoke a message from God.[j] He said to people, ‘You have done many wrong things. You must turn away from them and change how you live. Then God will forgive you and I will baptize you.’

Many people who lived in Jerusalem and in the country of Judea went to listen to John.[k] The people told God about all the wrong things that they had done. Then John baptized them in the Jordan River. John wore clothes made from the hair of a camel. He also wore a belt made from leather. His usual food was locusts and honey from the wilderness.

John said to the people, ‘Another person will come soon. He is much greater than I am. I am not good enough even to undo his shoes for him. I have baptized you with water. But this man will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’

John baptizes Jesus

Soon after this, Jesus came from the town of Nazareth in Galilee. John baptized him in the Jordan River. 10 While Jesus was coming up out of the water, he saw the skies open. The Holy Spirit came down like a dove and he stayed on Jesus. 11 A voice spoke from heaven: ‘You are my Son and I love you. You make me very happy.’

Satan tries to cause Jesus to do wrong things

12 Immediately, the Holy Spirit sent Jesus out into the wilderness. 13 Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days. During this time, Satan tried to cause him to do wrong things. There were wild animals with Jesus in the wilderness. God's angels took care of him.

Jesus asks some men to be his disciples

14 Later, John was in prison. At that time, Jesus went to Galilee.[l] He told people the good news about God. 15 Jesus said, ‘Now is the time when the kingdom of God has come very near. You have done many wrong things. Turn away from them and change the way that you live. Believe God's good news.’

16 One day, Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee. He saw two brothers called Simon and Andrew.[m] Their job was to catch fish. They were throwing their nets into the lake to catch fish. 17 Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me and be my disciples. Then I will teach you how to catch people, instead of fish.’[n] 18 Simon and Andrew immediately put down their nets and they went with Jesus.[o]

19 Jesus continued to walk along the shore. Soon he saw two more men who were brothers. They were called James and John. They were the sons of Zebedee. They were in their boat and they were mending their nets. 20 Immediately, Jesus asked them to come with him. They left their father and his workers in the boat, and they went with Jesus to be his disciples.

Jesus causes a bad spirit to leave a man

21 Then Jesus and those disciples went into a town called Capernaum. On the next Jewish day of rest, Jesus went into the Jews' meeting place.[p] He began to teach the people there.

22 The people were very surprised at the things that Jesus taught them. When he taught them, he showed his authority. That was not like the way that the teachers of God's Law taught people. 23 In the meeting place, there was a man who had a bad spirit. The bad spirit caused the man to shout. 24 He said, ‘Jesus from Nazareth, leave us alone! Do not kill us! I know who you are. You are the Holy One and God has sent you.’

25 Jesus said to the bad spirit, ‘Be quiet! Come out of the man!’ 26 The bad spirit caused the man to shake and to fall down. It shouted loudly and then it came out of the man.

27 All the people were very surprised and they said to each other, ‘This is very strange. This man Jesus is teaching us something new and he speaks with authority. He can tell bad spirits what they must do. Then they do it.’ 28 Immediately, people began to hear the news about Jesus. Everywhere in Galilee, people were talking about him.

Jesus makes many people well

29 Then Jesus left the meeting place. He took James and John with him to the home of Simon and Andrew. 30 The mother of Simon's wife was ill in bed. Her body was very hot. Immediately, Simon and Andrew told Jesus about her. 31 So Jesus went to her and he held her hand. Then he helped her to sit up and she was well again. Immediately she prepared food for her visitors.

32-33 That evening, when the sun had gone down, people in the town came to Jesus.[q] They brought to him everyone who was ill. And they brought people with bad spirits in them. All these people were standing together near the door of the house. 34 Jesus caused many sick people to become well. They had many different kinds of illness. He also caused many bad spirits to leave people. The spirits knew who he was. So Jesus did not let them speak.

Jesus prays alone in a quiet place

35 Jesus got up very early the next morning, while it was still dark. He went to a place where he could be alone. He prayed there. 36 Simon and the other disciples went to look for him. 37 When they found him, they said, ‘Everyone is looking for you.’

38 Jesus replied, ‘We should go to other towns near here. Then I can teach the people there too. That is the reason why I came here.’ 39 So Jesus travelled everywhere in Galilee. He taught the people in the Jewish meeting places. He caused bad spirits to come out of people.

A man with a disease in his skin

40 One day, a man who had a disease of the skin came to Jesus. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. The man said. ‘If you want, you can make me well. Please do it.’

41 Jesus felt very sorry for the man. He put out his hand towards the man and he touched him. ‘I do want to help you,’ Jesus said, ‘Be clean again!’ 42 Immediately, the disease left the man.

43 Jesus sent the man away immediately and he spoke to the man with strong words. 44 He said, ‘Listen to me. Do not tell anyone about this. Instead, go and show yourself to the priest. Take him a gift for God. Moses' law tells you what you should give when you are clean again after this kind of disease. This will show everyone that you are now well again.’ 45 But instead, the man went away and he talked to everybody. He told them what had happened to him. Because he did this, it became too difficult for Jesus to go into the towns. Everybody knew him. So Jesus stayed in places in the wilderness. People came from all the places around there to see him.

Jesus helps a man who cannot walk

Several days after that, Jesus returned to Capernaum. People heard the news that he had come back to his home. Many people came into the house. The house was so full that there was no room, even outside the door. Jesus was teaching people about the good news. Four men came. They were carrying another man on a mat. That man could not move his legs. They could not reach Jesus because of the crowd. So they made a hole in the roof above the place where Jesus was.[r] They helped the man to go down through the hole. He was still lying on his mat. Jesus saw the man and his friends. He knew that they believed in him. So he said to the man who could not walk, ‘My friend, I forgive you for your sins.’

But some teachers of God's Law were sitting there. They thought about the words that Jesus had spoken to the man. They thought, ‘This man Jesus should not have said that. He is speaking as if he is God. Only God can forgive people for their sins.’

Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit what the teachers were thinking. He said to them, ‘You should not think these things. I said to this man who cannot walk, “I forgive you for your sins.” Instead, I could have said to him, “Stand up! Pick up your mat and walk.” Which of those is easier for me to say? 10 But I want you to know this. I, the Son of Man, have authority on earth to forgive people for their sins.’[s] Then he said to the man who could not walk, 11 ‘I am saying to you, stand up! Pick up your mat and go home.’ 12 Immediately, the man stood up. He picked up his mat and he walked out of the house. Everyone watched him do this. The people were very surprised. They praised God and they said, ‘God is great. We have never seen anything like this before.’

Jesus asks Levi to be his disciple

13 Jesus went to the shore of Lake Galilee again. A large crowd came to him, and he taught them. 14 While Jesus was walking along, he saw a man called Levi. Levi was the son of Alphaeus. His job was to take taxes from people.[t] He was sitting in his office. Jesus said to him, ‘Come with me and be my disciple.’ Levi stood up and he went with Jesus.

15 Then Jesus went to eat a meal at Levi's house. Many people followed Jesus and they ate there with him and with his disciples. Many of these were bad people and also men who took taxes. 16 Some teachers of God's Law who were Pharisees saw what was happening.[u] They said to Jesus' disciples, ‘He is eating with bad people and men who take taxes. That is not right.’

17 Jesus heard what these people were saying. He said to them, ‘People who are well do not need a doctor. It is people who are ill that need a doctor. Some people think that they always obey God. I did not come to help people like that. Some people know that they have done wrong things. I am asking those people to come to me for help.’

18 At this time, the disciples of John the Baptist and the disciples of the Pharisees were fasting. Some people came to Jesus and they asked him this question: ‘The disciples of John and the disciples of the Pharisees often fast for a time. So why do your disciples never do that?’[v]

19 Jesus answered them, ‘When a man marries, his friends cannot refuse to eat. They cannot fast while he is with them. 20 But there will be a time when people will take the man away from his friends. At that time his friends will fast.’[w]

21 Then Jesus said, ‘Nobody uses a piece of new cloth to mend an old coat. If he does, the new cloth will cause the old cloth to tear again. It will make a bigger hole than before. 22 And nobody pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does that, the new wine will tear the old wineskins. He will lose the wine and the wineskins will spoil. Instead, you must put new wine into new wineskins.’[x]

Jesus answers questions about the day of rest

23 On one Jewish day of rest, Jesus and his disciples were walking through some fields where wheat was growing. While they were walking along, his disciples picked some grains of wheat. 24 Some Pharisees said to Jesus, ‘Look at what your disciples are doing. They should not do that on our day of rest. It is against God's Law.’

25 Jesus replied, ‘You have certainly read about what David did one day.[y] He and the men who were with him were very hungry. They needed food to eat. 26 David went into the temple. He ate the special bread that was there. He gave some of it to his men to eat as well. This happened during the time that Abiathar was the leader of the priests. It is against God's Law for anyone except the priests to eat that special bread.’

27 Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘God wanted to help people. So he made a day for them when they should rest. He did not make people so that they could keep laws about the day of rest. 28 So you should know that the Son of Man has authority over the laws about the day of rest.’

Jesus makes a man well

Another time, Jesus went into the Jewish meeting place. A man was there. His hand was very small and weak, so he could not use it. Some Pharisees were watching Jesus carefully. They wanted to find a reason to say that Jesus was doing wrong things. It was the Jewish day of rest. So the Pharisees watched Jesus to see if he would make the man well on this day. Jesus said to the man, ‘Stand here in front of everyone.’

Then Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘Is it right for us to do good things on our day of rest? Or should we do bad things? Should we save a person's life? Or should we kill people?’

Nobody said anything.

Jesus looked round at everybody. He felt angry with them. He also felt sad because they did not want to learn. Then he said to the man, ‘Lift up your hand.’ The man lifted his hand and it became well. He could use it again. The Pharisees left the meeting place immediately. They went to meet with some other people who were friends with the ruler, Herod.[z] The Pharisees talked with them about how they could kill Jesus.

Crowds follow Jesus

Jesus left that place and he went away to Lake Galilee with his disciples. A large crowd of people from Galilee followed them. Many people also came to him from Judea, from Jerusalem and from a region of Israel called Idumea. They also came from places on the other side of the Jordan River, and from the towns called Tyre and Sidon. Many people had heard about the things that Jesus was doing. That is why all these people came to him. The crowd was very large. So Jesus asked his disciples to prepare a small boat for him. They did this so that the people would not push against him. 10 Sick people were pushing to the front, because they were trying to touch him. They knew that he had made many people well. 11 Often, a person with a bad spirit saw Jesus. Then, the spirit caused the person to fall down on the ground in front of Jesus. The spirit caused that person to shout out, ‘You are the Son of God.’ 12 Jesus often had to say to the bad spirits, ‘You must not tell anyone who I am.’

Jesus chooses 12 apostles

13 Jesus went up a mountain. He chose some men and he asked them to go there with him. So they met together with him there. 14 He chose a group of 12 men. He called them his apostles.[aa] He wanted them to be with him. And he would send them to teach people about God. 15 He gave these men authority to cause bad spirits to leave people. 16 These are the names of the 12 apostles:

Simon, (Jesus called him Peter).

17 James and John who were the sons of Zebedee. Jesus called them ‘Boanerges’. It means ‘men who are like thunder’.

18 Andrew,

Philip,

Bartholomew,

Matthew,[ab]

Thomas,

James, who was the son of Alphaeus,

Thaddaeus,[ac]

Simon the Zealot

19 and Judas Iscariot, who later gave Jesus to his enemies.

Jesus talks about Satan

20 Then Jesus went into a house. A crowd of people came together there again. There were so many people that Jesus and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 People told his family what was happening. So they went to take him away with them. They thought that Jesus was crazy.[ad]

22 Some teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem. They said, ‘Jesus has a bad spirit called Beelzebul in him. That is Satan, the one who rules all the bad spirits. This man can send bad spirits out of people because Satan gives him authority.’[ae]

23 So Jesus spoke to the teachers of God's Law. He said, ‘Come here and listen to me.’ He used stories to explain to them, ‘Satan would not fight against himself! 24 If armies in the same country start to fight each other, then they will destroy their own country. 25 And if the people in one family start to fight against each other, they will destroy their own family. 26 So Satan would not attack himself. If he did that, he would destroy his own power. That would be the end of him. 27 Nobody can easily go into the house of a strong man to rob him. To do that, he must first tie up the strong man. Then he can take away all that man's valuable things. 28 I tell you this: God can forgive all the wrong things that people do. He can also forgive people who say bad things against him. 29 But God will never forgive people who say bad things against the Holy Spirit. Those people will always be guilty of a terrible sin.’

30 Jesus said that to the teachers of God's Law, because they had said, ‘Jesus has a bad spirit in him.’

Jesus' mother and his brothers come to look for him

31 Then, Jesus' mother and his brothers arrived and they stood outside the house. They sent someone into the house with a message. They wanted Jesus to come out to speak to them. 32 A crowd of people was sitting around Jesus. Somebody said to him, ‘Look! Your mother and brothers are outside. They are looking for you.’

33 Jesus replied, ‘I will tell you who my mother and brothers really are.’

34 Then he looked at the people who were sitting around him. He said, ‘Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My brothers and sisters and my mother are the people who do what God wants.’[af]

Jesus tells a story about a farmer's seeds

Again, Jesus began to teach people near the edge of Lake Galilee. A large crowd came together to listen to him. So he went and sat in a boat that was on the water. The crowd of people stayed on the shore. Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said to them, ‘Listen to me! A farmer went out to plant seeds in his field.[ag] While he was throwing the seeds, some of them fell on the path. The birds came and they ate those seeds. Other seeds fell on ground which had many rocks. There was not much soil in that place. The seeds quickly began to grow, because the soil was not deep. But when the sun rose, it burned the young plants. They soon died because they had not grown down well into the soil. Other seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants. So the plants could not make any new seeds. But some seeds fell on good soil. Good strong plants grew from these seeds. Some plants made 30 new seeds. Some plants made 60 new seeds. And some plants made 100 new seeds.’

Then Jesus said, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’

Jesus explains to his disciples why he uses stories

10 When Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and other people who were there asked him about the stories. 11 Jesus replied, ‘God has let you understand how he rules in the lives of his people. But these other people only listen to stories. 12 This is so that:

“They are always looking but they do not see clearly.
They are always listening but they do not understand.”

If they did understand, they would turn to God. Then God would forgive them.’

Jesus explains the story about the seeds

13 Then Jesus answered the people who had asked him about the story. ‘You should understand this story. If you do not understand it, you will not understand any of my stories. 14 The seeds are like the message from God. The farmer is like a person who tells people about that message. 15 Some seeds fell on the path. That is like some people who listen to the message. But then Satan comes and he quickly takes the message away from their minds. 16 Some of the seeds fell on soil with rocks in it. This is also like some people who hear God's message. These people are happy to believe it for a time. 17 But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. So they only believe for a short time. They may have problems. Or because they obey God's message, other people may do bad things to them. When that happens, these people soon stop believing. 18 Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. This is like some other people who hear God's message. 19 But they have many troubles in their minds. They think that more money and other valuable things will make them happy. So they do not let God's message change them. They are like plants that do not grow well and make new seeds. 20 But some seeds fell on good soil. This is like other people who listen to the message from God. They understand the message and they believe it. These people are like good plants that grow well. From one seed, some good plants make 30 new seeds. Other good plants make 60 new seeds, and some good plants make 100 new seeds.’

People put a light in a high place

21 Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Nobody brings a lamp into a house and puts it under a pot or under a bed. You do not do that. You put it up on a high place.[ah] 22 God hides some things now. But there will be a time when people will see them. God keeps some things secret now. But there will be a time when people will understand those things.’ 23 Then Jesus said, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say.’

24 Jesus then said, ‘Think carefully about the things that you hear. God will give to you in the same way that you give to other people. And you will receive even more. 25 A person who has received some things will receive more things. Some other people have nothing. They will lose even the little bit that they do have.’[ai]

Jesus tells a story about seeds

26 Then Jesus said, ‘I will tell you a story about the kingdom of God. It is like this: A man throws seeds in his field. 27 Then he sleeps each night and he wakes up each day. The seeds start to grow into plants. They continue to grow. The man does not know how this happens. 28 The soil causes the plants to grow. The leaves of the plant grow first. Then the flowers appear. Then the plant makes new seeds. 29 When the new seeds have completely grown, the man will cut down the plants. It is time for him to take the seeds to use for food.’

Jesus tells a story about a very small seed

30 Jesus said, ‘I will tell you another story about the kingdom of God. This story shows what the kingdom of God is like. 31 It is like this: A man takes a seed of the plant called mustard. He plants it in the soil. It is smaller than any other seed that people plant in the soil. 32 But when it starts to grow, it becomes bigger than the largest bush. It will have big branches. Then the birds will come and they will live there. They will build their nests in the shade of the branches.’

33 Jesus taught God's message to the people. He used many stories like these. He told the people as much as they could understand. 34 He always used stories to teach the people. Then he explained everything to his own disciples when he was alone with them.

Jesus stops a storm

35 On that same day, in the evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘We should go across the lake to the other side.’ 36 So they went and left the crowd behind. Jesus was already in the boat. So the disciples took him across the lake. Some other boats also went with them. 37 Then a strong wind began to blow across the lake. Water began to go into the boat and fill it. Soon the boat was almost going under the water. 38 Jesus was in a comfortable place at the back of the boat. He was sleeping. The disciples woke him. They said to him, ‘Teacher, we will die here in the water! Please do something!’

39 Jesus woke up and he spoke strongly to the wind and to the water. ‘Be quiet!’ he said. ‘Stop!’ Then the wind stopped and the water became quiet again.

40 Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You should not be afraid like that. You should trust me.’

41 But the disciples became very afraid. They said to each other, ‘Who is this man? Even the wind and the water obey him.’

A man with many bad spirits

Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake. They came to a place where the Gerasene people lived.[aj]

2-4 Jesus got out of the boat. Immediately, a man with a bad spirit in him came to him. This man lived outside, among some graves. He was very strong and nobody could hold him. People often put chains around his ankles to hold him. They wanted to keep him in a safe place. But he broke the chains that held him. The man often walked in the place where the dead people were and on the hills. Every day and every night, he screamed and he used stones to cut himself.

He saw Jesus a long way away and he ran to meet him. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. He screamed loudly, ‘Jesus, you are the Son of the Most High God! What are you doing here? Please, promise God that you will not hurt me.’ He said that because Jesus had already said to the bad spirit, ‘Come out of this man.’

Then Jesus asked the man, ‘What is your name?’

The man replied, ‘My name is Army because there are so many bad spirits in me.’

10 He said to Jesus many times, ‘Please do not send these bad spirits away from this place.’

11 A large group of pigs was eating on the hill. 12 The bad spirits said, ‘Jesus, send us to the pigs. Let us go into them.’ 13 Jesus let them do this. So the bad spirits came out of the man and they went into the pigs. There were about 2,000 pigs. They rushed together down the hill into the lake. All the pigs died there in the water.

14 The men who were taking care of these pigs ran away. They told the people in the town and in the villages what had happened. Then those people came to see the place for themselves. 15 They came to Jesus. They saw the man that the army of bad spirits had ruled. He was now sitting there quietly. He was wearing clothes and his mind was well again. When the people saw this, they were afraid. 16 The people who had seen this told other people what had happened to the man. They also explained what happened to the pigs. 17 Then the people who lived there said to Jesus, ‘Please go away. Leave this place.’

18 Jesus got back into the boat. The man that the bad spirits had ruled spoke to him. He told Jesus that he wanted to go with him. 19 But Jesus did not let him do this. Jesus said to him, ‘Go to your home and to your friends. Tell them what the Lord has done for you. Tell them how he has been kind to you.’ 20 So the man went away. He began to speak to many people in the region called ‘The ten cities’. He told them about the great things that Jesus had done for him. All the people were very surprised.

Jesus makes a dead girl live

21 Jesus returned to the other side of the lake in the boat. While he was by the lake, a large crowd came to him. 22 A man called Jairus came to Jesus. He was a leader at the Jewish meeting place. When he saw Jesus, he went down on his knees in front of him. 23 He said, ‘My little daughter is very ill and she will die very soon. Please come to my house and put your hands on her. Then she will be well and she will live.’ 24 So Jesus went with Jairus.

A large crowd followed Jesus. The people were pushing against him. 25 There was a sick woman who had lost blood for 12 years. 26 She had paid many doctors to help her to become well. But they could not do anything. Now she had spent all her money. She had not become well. Instead, she was now worse. 27 People had told her about Jesus. So she came in the crowd behind him and she touched his coat. 28 She said, ‘Even if I can only touch his clothes, I will become well again.’ 29 As soon as she touched Jesus' coat, the blood stopped. She felt in her body that her illness was better. She knew that she was well again.

30 Jesus knew immediately that something powerful had gone out from him. So he turned around in the crowd and he asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’

31 His disciples replied, ‘You can see that the crowd is pushing against you. So you cannot ask who touched you!’

32 But Jesus looked around him. He wanted to see who had touched him. 33 The woman knew what had happened to her. She felt very afraid. But she came to Jesus, and she went down on her knees in front of him. Then she told him everything that had happened to her. 34 Jesus said to her, ‘Young woman, you are now well again because you believed in me. Have peace in your mind. Go now and have no more pain.’

35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men arrived from the house of Jairus. He was the leader at the Jews' meeting place. The men said to Jairus, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not ask any longer for the teacher to come.’

36 Jesus heard what the men said to Jairus. But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. Instead, believe.’

37 Jesus took only Peter, James and James's brother, John, with him. He would not let anyone else go with him. 38 Then they came to Jairus's house. Jesus saw that there were many people there. They were crying and they were making a loud noise. 39 Jesus went into the house and he said to the people, ‘You should not be weeping and making a noise. The child is not dead. She is asleep.’ 40 The people laughed at Jesus when he said that.

Then Jesus sent them all out of the house. He went into the place where the child was lying. The child's father and mother went with him. He also took Peter, James and John with him. 41 Then Jesus held the girl's hand. He said to her, ‘Talitha koum.’ This means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, stand up!’[ak] 42 The girl stood up immediately and she walked about. She was 12 years old. The people there were very surprised. 43 Jesus said to them, ‘You must not tell anyone what has happened here. Now give the girl something to eat.’

Jesus goes to Nazareth

Jesus left that place. He went to his own town. His disciples went with him.[al]

When it was the Jewish day of rest, Jesus went to their meeting place. He began to teach the people who were there. Many of them were surprised about the things that he was saying to them. They said to each other, ‘How did this man learn all these things? How did he become so wise? How does he do all these powerful things? We know he is an ordinary man. He is the carpenter.[am] He is the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Simon and Judas. His sisters live here in the town among us. Isn't that true?’ So the people there turned against Jesus.

Then Jesus said to them, ‘If a man is a prophet from God, people everywhere will respect him. But the people in his own town will not accept him. Even his own people and his own family will not respect him.’

Jesus could not do any powerful miracles in his own town. But he did put his hands on a few sick people and he made them well. Jesus was very surprised because the people there would not believe in him.

Then he went to visit the other villages that were near there. He was teaching the people who lived in those villages.

Jesus sends the 12 apostles to tell God's message

Jesus asked his 12 apostles to come to him. He started to send them out to tell God's message to people. He sent them out two by two and he gave them authority over bad spirits.

Jesus told the disciples, ‘Only take a stick for the journey, nothing else. Do not take any bread or a bag. Do not take any money in your pockets. Wear shoes but do not take extra clothes. 10 In each town, stay at the first house that you go into. Continue to stay there until you leave that town. 11 Perhaps you might go to a town where the people do not accept you. They will not listen to you. So you should leave that town. Clean that town's dirt off your feet. Then it will be clear that they have done something wrong.’

12 So the 12 apostles went out. They told people that they must change the way that they live. They must stop doing wrong things. 13 The disciples caused many bad spirits to come out of people. They also put olive oil on many sick people, and the sick people became well.

Herod kills John the Baptist

14 People were talking about Jesus. King Herod heard about what was happening.[an] Some people were saying that Jesus was really John the Baptist. They said that John had died, but he had become alive again. ‘That is why this man can do these very powerful things,’ they said.

15 Other people said, ‘This man is Elijah.’ And other people said, ‘He is a prophet. He is like one of God's prophets who lived a long time ago.’[ao]

16 But when someone told Herod, he said, ‘This man is surely John. I sent a soldier to cut off his head. But he has become alive again!’

17 Herod himself had sent his soldiers to take hold of John. He had said to his soldiers, ‘Tie his hands and feet and put him in prison.’ Herod had done that because of his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Herod's brother, Philip. But Herod had married her. 18 John had said to him, ‘Herodias is your brother's wife. It is not right for you to have her as your wife.’[ap]

19 So Herodias was angry with John. She wanted to kill him. But she could not do that, 20 because Herod was afraid of John. Herod knew that John was a good man and a servant of God. So Herod kept John safe. Herod liked to listen to the things that John said. But he did not know what to think about those things.

21 One day, Herodias had her chance. It was Herod's birthday and he asked many people to come to a special meal. Important men and officers came. The rulers from Galilee were also there. 22 The daughter of Herodias came in and she danced. Herod and his visitors were very happy when they saw her dance.

King Herod said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything that you want. I will give it to you.’ 23 He made a strong promise, ‘I will give you anything that you ask me to give to you. I will even give you half of everything that I rule over.’

24 The girl went out and she said to her mother, ‘What should I ask him for?’ Her mother replied, ‘Ask for the head of John the Baptist.’

25 The girl went quickly to Herod and she said to him, ‘I want the head of John the Baptist. Put it on a plate! Do it now!’

26 Then Herod felt very sad. Because he had made a special promise, he did not want to refuse her. All his visitors had heard him. 27 So immediately, the king sent a soldier to go to John. The king told the soldier that he must bring John's head. So the soldier went to the prison and he cut off John's head there. 28 Then he brought it back on a plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29 People told John's disciples about what had happened. So they went to the prison. They took away John's body and they buried it.

Jesus gives food to 5,000 men and their families

30 The apostles all came to Jesus. They told him about all the things that they had done. And they told him what they had taught. 31 Many people were coming to Jesus and then going away. Jesus and his disciples were too busy even to eat. So Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me to a place where there are no other people. We should be alone together. Then we can rest for a short time.’

32 So they left all the people behind. They went away in a boat together to a quiet place. 33 But many people saw that they were leaving the town. Those people recognized them. So they ran out from all the towns around there. They went on land and reached the place before Jesus and the disciples. 34 Jesus got out of the boat and he saw a large crowd. He felt sorry for them. He thought to himself, ‘These people are like sheep that have nobody to take care of them.’ So he began to teach them many things.

35 When it was almost evening time, Jesus' disciples came and said to him, ‘We are in a place where there are no houses. Soon it will be dark. 36 The people do not have anything to eat. So send them away now. Tell them to go to the farms and villages that are near here. Then they can buy some food for themselves to eat.’

37 ‘You should give them some food to eat,’ Jesus replied.

But the disciples said, ‘We cannot go to buy bread for all these people. A man must work for eight months to get the 200 coins that we would need for that.[aq] We cannot get enough food to give to these people.’

38 Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.’ When they had looked, they told Jesus, ‘We have five loaves and two fish.’

39 Then Jesus told all the people to sit down on the green grass. He wanted them to sit in large groups. 40 So the people sat down in groups. Each group had 50 or 100 people in it. 41 Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and he thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave the pieces of bread to the disciples, and they gave the bread to the people. Jesus also broke the two fish into pieces for all the people. 42 Everyone ate and they all had enough food. They were not hungry any more. 43 Jesus' disciples then picked up all the bits of food that people had not eaten. They filled 12 baskets with little bits of bread and fish. 44 There were 5,000 men in the crowd that ate the food there.[ar]

Jesus walks on water

45 Immediately after this, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Get into the boat and sail across the lake to Bethsaida.’ Jesus said that he would first send the crowd away. Then he would also leave. 46 So he said ‘goodbye’ to the crowd. Then he went up on a mountain to pray.

47 That evening, the boat with the disciples in it was in the middle of the lake. Jesus was still alone on the land. 48 But he could see his disciples. They were trying to make the boat move along. But it was very difficult for them because the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. Then, when it was nearly dawn, Jesus walked on the water towards his disciples. He seemed to be going on past them. 49 But they saw that he was walking on the water. They thought, ‘It is a spirit.’ And they screamed out. 50 They all saw him and they were very afraid. But immediately, Jesus said to them, ‘Be brave. It is I. Do not be afraid.’ 51 Then Jesus got into the boat to be with them. The strong wind stopped. The disciples were completely surprised about what had happened. 52 They did not understand what Jesus had done with the loaves of bread. They were not ready to learn.

Jesus makes many sick people well

53 They sailed across the lake. They reached the shore at Gennesaret and they tied the boat there. 54 When they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus immediately. 55 They went to tell everyone who lived in places near there. They brought sick people to Jesus. They carried those people to him on mats. Whenever they knew where Jesus was, they brought sick people to him there. 56 Jesus went to villages, towns and farms. Everywhere that he went, they brought sick people to the market places. The sick people asked Jesus for help. They wanted to touch even the edge of his coat. Every sick person who touched him became well.

Jesus speaks to Pharisees and to some teachers of God's Law

A group of Pharisees and some teachers of God's Law came from Jerusalem to talk with Jesus. They had been watching Jesus' disciples. Some of the disciples did not wash their hands before they ate a meal. That is to say, they did not wash them in the right way. (The Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat food until they have washed their hands carefully. They do this because of what their leaders taught them. When they come from the market place, they always wash themselves carefully. Unless they do this, they do not eat anything. Their leaders also gave them rules about how they should wash cups, pots and metal bowls.)

The Pharisees and the teachers of God's Law said to Jesus, ‘Your disciples do not obey the things that our leaders taught many years ago. Your disciples have not washed their hands in the right way. They are eating their food with unclean hands. That is not right.’

Jesus said to them, ‘You are hypocrites! What God's prophet Isaiah wrote about you long ago is true:

    God says, “These people say good things about me,
    but they do not really want to obey me.
They say that I am great.
    But what they say has no purpose.
    They teach their own rules, which I did not give to them.” ’[as]

Jesus then said, ‘You have stopped obeying God. Instead you obey the ideas that men teach.’

He said to them, ‘You refuse to obey God's rules, because then you can keep your own ideas! 10 For example, Moses wrote, “You must love your father and your mother. You must obey them.” He also said, “You must kill anyone who curses his father or his mother.”[at] 11 But you teach that a person may say to his father or to his mother, “I would have given gifts to help you. But I cannot do that, because I have given them to God instead.” 12 If he says that, you let him do nothing to help his father or his mother. 13 This shows that you have not obeyed what God says is right. Instead, you have obeyed the ideas that you received from your leaders many years ago. And you do many other things like that.’

14 Jesus asked the crowd of people to come to him again. He said to them, ‘Listen to me, all of you, so that you can understand these things. 15 People do not become unclean because of things that go into their bodies from outside. They become unclean because of the things that come out from their minds. 16 [You have heard my words. So do what I say.’][au]

Jesus explains to his disciples what he had taught

17 Jesus left the crowd of people and he went into a house. Then his disciples asked him to explain what he had taught.

18 Jesus said, ‘I am surprised that you too do not understand what I am saying. You should understand that food will not make people unclean. Food goes into people's bodies from outside. 19 But food does not go into people's minds. It goes into their stomachs and then it passes out of their bodies.’

When Jesus said this, he was teaching that all foods are clean.

20 Jesus then said, ‘People become unclean because of what comes out from them, not because of what goes in. 21 Evil thoughts come out from people's minds. As a result they do wrong things. They have sex in wrong ways. They rob people. They murder people. 22 They have sex with another man's wife. They are greedy. They are cruel to other people. They deceive people. They live like wild animals. They are jealous of other people. They say bad things about other people. They are proud and foolish.

23 All these wrong things begin inside people's minds and then they come out. That is what makes them unclean.’

Jesus travels out of Israel

24 Jesus left that place. He went away to the region around Tyre. He went into a house. He did not want anyone to know that he was there. But it was not possible to keep this a secret. 25 Immediately, a certain woman heard that he was there. This woman had a daughter who had a bad spirit in her. The woman came to Jesus and she went down on her knees by his feet. 26 She was not a Jew. Her family was from Phoenicia in the country of Syria. She asked Jesus to make the bad spirit go out of her daughter.

27 Jesus said to the woman, ‘First, the children must eat all that they want. It is not right to take food from the children and then throw it to the dogs.’

28 The woman replied, ‘Yes, sir. That is true. But small pieces of food drop while the children eat. And the dogs under the table eat those pieces.’

29 ‘That is a good answer,’ Jesus replied. ‘Now the bad spirit has left your daughter. You may go.’

30 The woman went to her home. She saw her child, who was lying on the bed. The bad spirit had left the girl.

Jesus makes a man well again

31 Then Jesus went away from Tyre. He travelled through the city of Sidon. Then he went towards Lake Galilee. He was in the region called ‘The ten cities’.

32 Some people brought a man to Jesus. This man could not hear anything and he could not speak clearly. The people asked Jesus to put his hand on the man.

33 Jesus led the man away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spat on his hands and touched the man's tongue. 34 Jesus looked up towards heaven. He cried with a low, sad sound. Then he said to the man, ‘Ephphatha!’ That means, ‘Become open!’ 35 When Jesus said this, the man started to hear. Also, his tongue was able to move properly so that he could speak clearly.

36 Jesus told the people that they must not tell anyone about this. But every time Jesus asked them not to say anything, they spoke even more about it. 37 The people were very surprised about everything that Jesus did. They said, ‘Jesus has done everything well. If people cannot hear, Jesus makes them able to hear. If people cannot speak, Jesus makes them able to speak.’

Jesus gives food to 4,000 people

At that time, another large crowd had come to hear Jesus. The people had nothing to eat. Jesus asked his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘I feel sorry for this crowd. They have been here with me now for three days and they do not have any food. I do not want to send them back to their homes while they are hungry. They might fall down during their journey because they are weak. Some of them have travelled a long way to come here.’

The disciples replied, ‘This place is far from any houses. We cannot get enough bread to feed all these people.’

‘How many loaves of bread do you have?’ Jesus asked. ‘We have seven loaves,’ they replied.

Jesus told the crowd that they should sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves in his hands and he thanked God for them. Then he broke the bread and he gave the pieces to his disciples. The disciples gave the bread to the people. The disciples also had a few small fish, so Jesus thanked God for these. Then he told his disciples to give the fish to the people too. The people ate, and they all had enough food. After the people had eaten, there were still lots of small pieces of food. Jesus' disciples filled seven baskets with these pieces. About 4,000 people were there and ate the food. Then Jesus sent the people away. 10 Immediately, he got into the boat with his disciples. They all returned to the part of the country called Dalmanutha.[av]

11 Some Pharisees came to Jesus. They began to argue with him. They wanted to see him do something powerful. That would show them that God had really sent him. 12 Jesus cried with a low, sad sound. He said, ‘People who are alive today want God to show them something powerful. But I tell you this: God will not do the powerful thing for them that they want.’ 13 Then Jesus left those Pharisees. He got back into the boat to go to the other side of the lake.

Jesus talks about the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod

14 Jesus' disciples had forgotten to take bread with them. They only had one loaf in the boat. 15 Jesus said to them, ‘Be careful. Do not accept the yeast of the Pharisees or the yeast of Herod.’[aw]

16 The disciples began to say to each other, ‘Jesus is saying that because we do not have any bread.’

17 Jesus knew what they were talking about. So he said to them, ‘You should not be arguing about the bread. You still do not understand my teaching. You seem unable to learn. 18 You are like people who have eyes but they cannot see with them. You are like people who have ears but they cannot hear with them. 19 Remember that I used five loaves of bread to feed 5,000 men. How many baskets did you fill with pieces of food that were left?’

‘There were 12 baskets,’ they replied.

20 Jesus asked them, ‘I also used seven loaves to feed 4,000 people. That time, how many baskets did you fill with pieces of food?’

‘There were seven baskets,’ they replied.

21 ‘You really should understand about me now,’ he said to them.

Jesus makes a blind man able to see

22 Jesus and his disciples came to a village called Bethsaida. Some people led a blind man to Jesus. They asked Jesus to touch the man. 23 Jesus took the blind man's hand and he led the man out of the village. Jesus put water from his own mouth on the man's eyes. And he put his hands on the man. ‘Can you see anything?’ Jesus asked.

24 The man looked up. He said, ‘I can see people. But they look like trees that are walking about.’

25 So Jesus put his hands on the man's eyes again. The man looked carefully and then his eyes were completely well. Now he could see everything clearly. 26 Jesus told the man that he must go back to his home. Jesus said, ‘Do not even go into the village.’

Peter says who Jesus is

27 Then Jesus and his disciples went to visit some villages. They were near to the town of Caesarea Philippi. On the way, Jesus asked his disciples, ‘When people talk about me, who do they say that I am?’

28 They replied, ‘Some people say that you are John the Baptist. Other people say that you are Elijah. And some other people say that you are one of God's prophets.’[ax]

29 Jesus asked them, ‘But what do you think? Who do you say that I am?’

Peter answered him, ‘You are the Messiah.’[ay]

30 Then Jesus warned his disciples that they must not tell anyone about him.

Jesus tells his disciples how he will die

31 Then Jesus began to teach his disciples about the things that must happen to the Son of Man.[az] He would have to suffer in many ways. The important Jews, the leaders of the priests and the teachers of God's Law would turn against him. People would kill him. But after three days, he would become alive again.

32 What Jesus said was very clear. Then Peter took Jesus away from the other disciples. Peter began to tell Jesus that he must not say things like that.

33 Jesus turned round and he looked at his disciples. He said that Peter was not saying good things. He said to Peter, ‘Satan, go away from me![ba] Your thoughts do not come from God. Instead, you are thinking like men think.’

34 Then Jesus asked the crowd and his disciples to come to him. He said to them, ‘A person who wants to come with me must not think about himself. He must decide that his own life is not important. He must be like someone who carries his own cross to go and die. Then he may come with me as my disciple. 35 Whoever wants to keep his own life safe will lose it. But whoever gives his life to serve me and God's good news will have true life. 36 A person may get everything in the whole world for himself. But if he loses his life, it will not be any good for him. 37 There is nothing that a person can give to get back his life.

38 People who are living today do not obey God. They are very bad. But you must not be ashamed of me or of my words. If you are, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you. One day he will return and God's holy angels will be with him. He will have the bright glory of his Father. He will be ashamed of you on that day if you are ashamed of him now.’

Three disciples see how great Jesus is

Jesus then said to them, ‘I tell you this: Some people who are standing here will see God begin to rule in his kingdom with great power. They will see that before they die.’

Six days after that, Jesus asked Peter, James and John to go with him. Jesus led them up a high mountain, where they were alone together. Peter, James and John saw Jesus change in front of them. His clothes became very white; they were shining. They were a brighter white than anyone on earth could wash them. Then Elijah and Moses appeared in front of the three disciples. Elijah and Moses were talking with Jesus.[bb][bc]

So Peter said to Jesus, ‘Teacher, it is good that we are here. Please let us build three huts. One hut will be for you. One hut will be for Moses. And one hut will be for Elijah.’ Peter did not really know what to say. That was because the three disciples were very afraid.[bd]

Then a cloud appeared and it covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son, and I love him. Listen to him.’

At that moment, the three disciples looked around. They saw that nobody else was there now. Only Jesus was there with them.

While they were walking down the mountain, Jesus said to the three disciples, ‘You must not tell anyone now about the things that you have just seen. One day the Son of Man will become alive again after his death. Then you can tell people about these things.’ 10 The three disciples kept these words secret. But they talked together about the words, ‘become alive again after his death’. They asked each other, ‘What does this mean?’

11 Then the three disciples asked Jesus, ‘Why do the teachers of God's Law say that God's prophet Elijah must return first, before the Messiah comes?’

12 Jesus said to them, ‘Elijah does come first. He makes everything ready. But what is written in the Bible about the Son of Man? It says that people will cause him to suffer a lot. They will think that he is nothing.[be] 13 But I tell you that Elijah has already come.[bf] People did to him everything that they wanted to do. The Bible already showed that those things would happen to him.’

EasyEnglish Bible (EASY)

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