The Daily Audio Bible

⁷ Herod the Tetrarch heard what was going on, and was very puzzled. Some people were saying that John had been raised from the dead. ⁸ Others were saying that Elijah had appeared; still others, that one of the old prophets had arisen.

⁹ “I beheaded John,” said Herod, “but I keep hearing all these things about this other fellow. Who is he?” And he tried to get to see him.

¹⁰ The apostles returned and told Jesus what they had done. He took them off and went away privately to a town called Bethsaida. ¹¹ When the crowds discovered, they followed him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed it.

¹² As the day wore on, the Twelve came to Jesus.

“Send the crowd away,” they said, “so that they can go into the villages and countryside nearby, find somewhere to stay, and get something to eat. We’re in quite a lonely spot here.”

¹³ “You give them something to eat,” he replied.

“All we’ve got here,” they said, “is five loaves and a couple of fishes—unless you mean we should go ourselves and buy food for all these people?” ¹⁴ (There were about five thousand men.)

“Get them to sit down,” Jesus said to them, “in groups of around fifty each.”

¹⁵ They did so, and everyone sat down. ¹⁶ Then Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven, blessed the food, divided it, and gave it to the disciples to pass around the crowd. ¹⁷ Everyone ate, and was satisfied. They took up twelve baskets of broken bits left over.

Peter’s declaration of Jesus’ messiahship

¹⁸ When Jesus was praying alone, his disciples gathered around him.

“Who do the crowds say I am?” he asked them.

¹⁹ “John the Baptist,” they responded. “And others say Elijah. Others say that one of the ancient prophets has arisen.”

²⁰ “What about you?” said Jesus. “Who do you say I am?”

“God’s Messiah,” answered Peter.

²¹ He gave them strict and careful instructions not to tell this to anyone.

²² “The son of man,” he said, “must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, and the chief priests, and the legal experts. He must be killed, and raised up on the third day.”

²³ He then spoke to them all. “If any of you want to come after me,” he said, “you must say no to yourselves, and pick up your cross every day, and follow me. ²⁴ If you want to save your life, you’ll lose it; but if you lose your life because of me, you’ll save it. ²⁵ What good will it do you if you win the entire world, but lose or forfeit your own self? ²⁶ If you’re ashamed of me and my words, the son of man will be ashamed of you, when he comes in the glory which belongs to him, and to the father, and to the holy angels.

²⁷ “Let me tell you,” he concluded, “there are some standing here who won’t experience death until they see God’s kingdom.”