A Prophet Without Honor
1Jesus left there and went to his hometown of Nazareth. His disciples went with him. 2When the Sabbath day came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these remarkable miracles he is doing? 3Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son? Isn’t this the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” They were not pleased with him at all.
4Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town. He doesn’t receive any honor among his relatives or in his own home.” 5Jesus placed his hands on a few sick people and healed them. But he could not do any other miracles there. 6He was amazed because they had no faith.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples
Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7He called the 12 disciples to him. Then he began to send them out two by two. He gave them authority to drive out evil spirits.
8Here is what he told them to do. “Take only a walking stick for your trip. Do not take bread or a bag. Take no money in your belts. 9Wear sandals. But do not take extra clothes. 10When you are invited into a house, stay there until you leave town. 11Some places may not welcome you or listen to you. If they don’t, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet. That will be a witness against the people living there.”
12They went out. And they preached that people should turn away from their sins. 13They drove out many demons. They poured olive oil on many sick people and healed them.
John the Baptist’s Head Is Cut Off
14King Herod heard about this. Jesus’ name had become well known. Some were saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That is why he has the power to do miracles.”
15Others said, “He is Elijah.”
Still others claimed, “He is a prophet. He is like one of the prophets of long ago.”
16But when Herod heard this, he said, “I had John’s head cut off. And now he has been raised from the dead!”
17In fact, it was Herod himself who had given orders to arrest John. He had him tied up and put in prison. He did this because of Herodias. She was the wife of Herod’s brother Philip. But now Herod was married to her. 18John had been saying to Herod, “It is against the Law for you to be married to your brother’s wife.” 19Herodias couldn’t forgive John for saying that. She wanted to kill him. But she could not, 20because Herod was afraid of John. So he kept John safe. Herod knew John was a holy man who did what was right. When Herod heard him, he was very puzzled. But he liked to listen to John.
21Finally the right time came. Herod gave a banquet on his birthday. He invited his high officials and military leaders. He also invited the most important men in Galilee. 22Then the daughter of Herodias came in and danced. She pleased Herod and his dinner guests.
The king said to the girl, “Ask me for anything you want. I’ll give it to you.” 23And he gave her his promise. He said to her, “Anything you ask for I will give you. I’ll give you up to half my kingdom.”
24She went out and said to her mother, “What should I ask for?”
“The head of John the Baptist,” she answered.
25At once the girl hurried to ask the king. She said, “I want you to give me the head of John the Baptist on a big plate right now.”
26The king was very upset. But he thought about his promise and his dinner guests. So he did not want to say no to the girl. 27He sent a man right away to bring John’s head. The man went to the prison and cut off John’s head. 28He brought it back on a big plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. 29John’s disciples heard about this. So they came and took his body. Then they placed it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
30The apostles gathered around Jesus. They told him all they had done and taught. 31But many people were coming and going. So they did not even have a chance to eat. Then Jesus said to his apostles, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place. You need to get some rest.”
32So they went away by themselves in a boat to a quiet place. 33But many people who saw them leaving recognized them. They ran from all the towns and got there ahead of them. 34When Jesus came ashore, he saw a large crowd. He felt deep concern for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.
35By that time it was late in the day. His disciples came to him. “There is nothing here,” they said. “It’s already very late. 36Send the people away. Then they can go to the nearby countryside and villages to buy something to eat.”
37But Jesus answered, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “That would take more than half a year’s pay! Should we go and spend that much on bread? Are we supposed to feed them?”
38“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked. “Go and see.”
When they found out, they said, “Five loaves and two fish.”
39Then Jesus directed them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40So they sat down in groups of 100s and 50s. 41Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke the loaves into pieces. Then he gave them to his disciples to pass around to the people. He also divided the two fish among them all. 42All of them ate and were satisfied. 43The disciples picked up 12 baskets of broken pieces of bread and fish. 44The number of men who had eaten was 5,000.
Jesus Walks on the Water
45Right away Jesus made his disciples get into the boat. He had them go on ahead of him to Bethsaida. Then he sent the crowd away. 46After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray.
47Later that night, the boat was in the middle of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was alone on land. 48He saw the disciples pulling hard on the oars. The wind was blowing against them. Shortly before dawn, he went out to them. He walked on the lake. When he was about to pass by them, 49they saw him walking on the lake. They thought he was a ghost, so they cried out. 50They all saw him and were terrified.
Right away Jesus said to them, “Be brave! It is I. Don’t be afraid.” 51Then he climbed into the boat with them. The wind died down. And they were completely amazed. 52They had not understood about the loaves. They were stubborn.
53They went across the lake and landed at Gennesaret. There they tied up the boat. 54As soon as Jesus and his disciples got out, people recognized him. 55They ran through that whole area to bring to him those who were sick. They carried them on mats to where they heard he was. 56He went into the villages, the towns and the countryside. Everywhere he went, the people brought the sick to the market areas. Those who were sick begged him to let them touch just the edge of his clothes. And all who touched his clothes were healed.
Um profeta sem honra
(Mt 13.54-58; Lc 4.16-30)
1Logo depois disto, Jesus saiu daquela parte do país e voltou com os discípulos para a sua terra. 2No sábado seguinte, foi à sinagoga e começou a ensinar. Ao ouvirem-no, muitos ficaram admirados com a sua sabedoria e milagres. E diziam: “De onde lhe veio toda esta sabedoria? Como pode realizar tais milagres com as próprias mãos? 3Não é ele o carpinteiro, filho de Maria? Não é irmão de Tiago, José, Judas e Simão? E as suas irmãs não moram aqui mesmo, nesta localidade?” E estavam escandalizados com ele. 4Então Jesus disse-lhes: “Um profeta é honrado em qualquer lugar menos na sua terra, entre o seus parentes e no meio da própria casa.” 5Por não acreditarem nele, Jesus não pôde fazer ali nenhum grande milagre, a não ser colocar as mãos sobre alguns doentes e curá-los. 6Jesus estava admirado por causa da falta de fé deles.
Jesus envia os doze discípulos
(Mt 10.1, 9-14; Lc 9.1-6)
E andava pelas aldeias em redor a ensinar. 7Chamou os doze discípulos, começou a enviá-los dois a dois e deu-lhes autoridade sobre os espíritos impuros. 8Disse-lhes: “Nada levem convosco a não ser o bordão; nem comida, nem saco de viagem, nem dinheiro de cobre à cintura; 9sandálias, só as que tiverem nos pés, e nem mesmo uma muda de roupa.” 10E acrescentou: “Sempre que entrarem numa casa, fiquem nela até à vossa partida. 11Se uma qualquer localidade não vos receber nem ouvir, sacudam a poeira dos vossos pés, quando saírem, como testemunho de que abandonaram essa terra à sua própria sorte.”
12Então os discípulos partiram, incitando todos os que encontravam a abandonarem o pecado. 13Expulsaram muitos demónios e curaram muitos doentes, ungindo-os com azeite.
João Batista é degolado
(Mt 14.1-12; Lc 9.7-9)
14Não tardou que o rei Herodes ouvisse falar de Jesus, cujos milagres eram contados com espanto em toda a parte. Algumas pessoas declaravam que era João Batista que tinha voltado à vida. Por isso, diziam: “Não admira que possa fazer tais milagres!”
15Havia gente também que pensava que Jesus fosse Elias; outros, ainda, afirmavam que era um novo profeta igual aos do passado. 16Herodes, ao tomar conhecimento destes factos, disse: “Não! É João, a quem degolei. Ressuscitou dentre os mortos!”
17-19Porque Herodes mandara soldados meter João no cárcere, por andar sempre a dizer que não estava certo este casar-se com Herodíade, mulher de Filipe, irmão do próprio rei. Para se vingar, Herodíade queria que João fosse morto; mas sem a aprovação de Herodes nada podia fazer. 20Porque Herodes respeitava João, sabendo que era um homem justo e santo e protegia-o. Sempre que falava com João, Herodes ficava preocupado, mas gostava de ouvi-lo.
21Até que, por fim, chegou a oportunidade que Herodíade esperava. Herodes fazia anos e dera uma festa para a gente do palácio, para os oficiais do exército e para as pessoas importantes da Galileia. 22A certa altura, entrou a filha de Herodíade que dançou na presença dos convidados e agradou a todos. 23“Pede-me o que quiseres”, prometeu o rei, “que eu dou-te nem que seja metade do meu reino.”
24Ouvindo isto, ela saiu para se aconselhar junto da mãe, que lhe disse: “Pede-lhe a cabeça de João Batista!”
25Então voltou à presença do rei: “Dá-me a cabeça de João Batista numa bandeja!”
26O rei ficou muito triste com o pedido, mas teve vergonha de quebrar o juramento diante dos convidados. 27Mandou então um membro da sua guarda pessoal à prisão cortar a cabeça de João e trazê-la. O soldado matou João no cárcere 28e trouxe a sua cabeça numa bandeja, entregando-a à jovem, que a levou à mãe. 29Quando os discípulos de João souberam o que tinha acontecido, foram buscar o corpo e sepultaram-no num túmulo.
Jesus alimenta 5000 homens
(Mt 14.13-21; Lc 9.10-17; Jo 6.1-13)
30Por fim, os apóstolos voltaram da sua viagem. Foram ter com Jesus e contaram-lhe tudo o que tinham feito e como tinham falado às populações visitadas.
31Jesus disse-lhes: “Saiamos por um pouco do meio do povo para descansar.” Pois era tanta a gente que ia e vinha que mal tinham tempo para comer. 32E saíram de barco para um sítio mais sossegado. 33Contudo, muitos aperceberam-se disso e, correndo pela praia, foram esperá-los no ponto de desembarque. 34Quando Jesus saiu do barco, já lá se encontrava uma enorme multidão; teve compaixão deles, porque eram como ovelhas sem pastor e ensinou-lhes muitas coisas que precisavam de saber.
35Como a hora já fosse bastante avançada, os discípulos foram ter com Jesus e disseram: 36“Este lugar é deserto e a hora já vai avançada. Manda o povo retirar-se, para ir às aldeias e campos dos arredores comprar alguma coisa para comer.”
37Jesus respondeu: “Deem-lhes vocês de comer.” Responderam: “Como? Seria preciso duzentas moedas de prata6.37 Ver nota a Mt 20.2. para comprar comida para tanta gente!”
38“Quanta comida temos? Vão ver.” Eles voltaram, dizendo que havia cinco pães e dois peixes. 39Então Jesus disse à multidão que se sentasse. E sentaram-se, na erva verde, 40em grupos de cinquenta ou cem. 41E tomando os cinco pães e os dois peixes, Jesus ergueu os olhos para o céu e abençoou-os. Depois, partiu os pães em pedaços e deu-os aos discípulos, para que os oferecessem ao povo. E distribuiu também os dois peixes entre todos. 42Todos comeram até ficarem satisfeitos. 43E quando os sobejos foram recolhidos, as sobras dos peixes enchiam doze cestos. 44O número de homens que comeu foi de 5000.
Jesus anda sobre as águas
45Logo a seguir, Jesus mandou os discípulos voltar para o barco e partir à sua frente, atravessando o lago até Betsaida, enquanto ele tratava de mandar a multidão embora. 46Depois disto, Jesus subiu à montanha para orar.
47Caiu a noite, o barco já estava no meio do lago e ele ainda se encontrava sozinho em terra. 48Jesus viu que remavam com dificuldades, pois o vento soprava em sentido contrário. Por volta das quatro horas da madrugada, foi ter com eles, a caminhar sobre a água, e ia passar-lhes adiante. 49Ao verem-no caminhar sobre a água, gritaram de terror, pensando que fosse um fantasma. 50Todos o viam e ficaram inquietos. Imediatamente ele lhes disse: “Está tudo bem, sou eu, não tenham medo!” 51Então subiu para o barco e o vento cessou.
Os discípulos ficaram ali sentados, de boca aberta, sem compreender o que se passara. 52Porque ainda não tinham percebido quem Jesus realmente era, nem mesmo depois do milagre da tarde anterior. Os seus corações estavam endurecidos.
53Quando chegaram a Genezaré, do outro lado do lago, amarraram o barco. 54Mal desembarcaram, os habitantes reconheceram-no logo. 55Percorriam toda a região, começando a trazer-lhe os doentes em esteiras e padiolas. 56Aonde quer que fosse, aldeias, cidades e campo, punham os doentes nas praças e ruas, pedindo que os deixasse ao menos tocar na borda da sua roupa. E todos os que lhe tocavam ficavam curados.
