Recognising the Son of God

Ben Harris | Jun 11, 2023

Scripture: Matthew 14:13-36 , 15:21-39

Feeding of the Five Thousand

13 When Jesus heard about it,(A) he withdrew from there by boat to a remote place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns. 14 When he went ashore,[a] he saw a large crowd, had compassion on them, and healed their sick.(B)

15 When evening came, the disciples(C) approached him and said, “This place is deserted, and it is already late.[b] Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

16 “They don’t need to go away,” Jesus told them. “You give them something to eat.”

17 “But we only have five loaves and two fish here,” they said to him.

18 “Bring them here to me,” he said. 19 Then he commanded the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(D) 20 Everyone ate and was satisfied. They picked up twelve baskets full of leftover pieces.(E) 21 Now those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Walking on the Water

22 Immediately(F) he[c] made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 After dismissing the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. Well into the night, he was there alone.(G) 24 Meanwhile, the boat was already some distance[d] from land,[e] battered by the waves, because the wind was against them. 25 Jesus came toward them walking on the sea(H) very early in the morning.[f] 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and they cried out in fear.

27 Immediately Jesus spoke to them. “Have courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”(I)

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.”

29 He said, “Come.”

And climbing out of the boat, Peter started walking on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strength of the wind,[g] he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand, caught hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?”(J)

32 When they got into the boat, the wind ceased. 33 Then those in the boat worshiped him and said, “Truly you are the Son of God.”(K)

Miraculous Healings

34 When they had crossed over,(L) they came to shore at Gennesaret.(M) 35 When the men of that place recognized him, they alerted the whole vicinity and brought to him all who were sick. 36 They begged him that they might only touch the end of his robe, and as many as touched it were healed.(N)

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Footnotes

  1. 14:14 Lit Coming out (of the boat)
  2. 14:15 Lit and the time (for the evening meal) has already passed
  3. 14:22 Other mss read Jesus
  4. 14:24 Lit already many stadia; one stadion = 600 feet
  5. 14:24 Other mss read already in the middle of the sea
  6. 14:25 Lit fourth watch of the night = 3 to 6 a.m.
  7. 14:30 Other mss read saw the wind

A Gentile Mother’s Faith

21 When Jesus left there,(A) he withdrew to the area of Tyre and Sidon.(B) 22 Just then a Canaanite woman from that region came and kept crying out,[a] “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely tormented by a demon.”(C)

23 Jesus did not say a word to her. His disciples(D) approached him and urged him, “Send her away because she’s crying out after us.”

24 He replied, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”(E)

25 But she came, knelt before him, and said, “Lord, help me!”

26 He answered, “It isn’t right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”(F)

27 “Yes, Lord,” she said, “yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.”

28 Then Jesus replied to her, “Woman, your faith is great. Let it be done for you as you want.” And from that moment[b] her daughter was healed.(G)

Healing Many People

29 Moving on from there,(H) Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee.(I) He went up on a mountain and sat there, 30 and large crowds came to him, including the lame, the blind, the crippled, those unable to speak, and many others. They put them at his feet, and he healed them. 31 So the crowd was amazed when they saw those unable to speak talking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing,(J) and they gave glory to the God of Israel.

Feeding of the Four Thousand

32 Jesus called his disciples and said,(K) “I have compassion on the crowd, because they’ve already stayed with me three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away hungry, otherwise they might collapse on the way.”

33 The disciples said to him, “Where could we get enough bread in this desolate place(L) to feed such a crowd?”

34 “How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked them.

“Seven,” they said, “and a few small fish.”

35 After commanding the crowd to sit down on the ground, 36 he took the seven loaves and the fish, gave thanks, broke them, and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.(M) 37 They all ate and were satisfied. They collected the leftover pieces—seven large baskets full. 38 Now there were four thousand men who had eaten, besides women and children. 39 After dismissing the crowds, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.[c](N)

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Footnotes

  1. 15:22 Other mss read and cried out to him
  2. 15:28 Lit hour
  3. 15:39 Other mss read Magdala

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