Chronological NT Plan

¹When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus,

²he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”

³For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).

⁴John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry her.”

⁵Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.

⁶But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,

⁷so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted.

⁸At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!”

⁹Then the king regretted what he had said; but because of the vow he had made in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.

¹⁰So John was beheaded in the prison,

¹¹and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.

¹²Later, John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.

¹³As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns.

¹⁴Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵That evening the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary — you feed them.”

¹⁷“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here,” he said.

¹⁹Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people.

²⁰They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers.

²¹About 5,000 men were fed that day, in addition to all the women and children!

²²Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and cross to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people home.

²³After sending them home, he went up into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while he was there alone.

²⁴Meanwhile, the disciples were in trouble far away from land, for a strong wind had risen, and they were fighting heavy waves.

²⁵About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water.

²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. In their fear, they cried out, “It’s a ghost!”

²⁷But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here! ”

²⁸Then Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s really you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.”

²⁹“Yes, come,” Jesus said. So Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. “Save me, Lord!” he shouted.

³¹Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him. “You have so little faith,” Jesus said. “Why did you doubt me?”

³²When they climbed back into the boat, the wind stopped.

³³Then the disciples worshiped him. “You really are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.

³⁴After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret.

³⁵When the people recognized Jesus, the news of his arrival spread quickly throughout the whole area, and soon people were bringing all their sick to be healed.

³⁶They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

¹Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown.

²The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?”

³Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

⁴Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.”

⁵And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.

⁶And he was amazed at their unbelief. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve Disciples Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.

⁷And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits.

⁸He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick — no food, no traveler’s bag, no money.

⁹He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes.

¹⁰“Wherever you go,” he said, “stay in the same house until you leave town.

¹¹But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

¹²So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God.

¹³And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil.

¹⁴Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.”

¹⁵Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.”

¹⁶When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded, has come back from the dead.”

¹⁷For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her.

¹⁸John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.”

¹⁹So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless,

²⁰for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.

²¹Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee.

²²Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.”

²³He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”

²⁴She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?” Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”

²⁵So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”

²⁶Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her.

²⁷So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison,

²⁸brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother.

²⁹When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb.

³⁰The apostles returned to Jesus from their ministry tour and told him all they had done and taught.

³¹Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.

³²So they left by boat for a quiet place, where they could be alone.

³³But many people recognized them and saw them leaving, and people from many towns ran ahead along the shore and got there ahead of them.

³⁴Jesus saw the huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things.

³⁵Late in the afternoon his disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late.

³⁶Send the crowds away so they can go to the nearby farms and villages and buy something to eat.”

³⁷But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”

³⁸“How much bread do you have?” he asked. “Go and find out.” They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.”

³⁹Then Jesus told the disciples to have the people sit down in groups on the green grass.

⁴⁰So they sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.

⁴¹Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people. He also divided the fish for everyone to share.

⁴²They all ate as much as they wanted,

⁴³and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftover bread and fish.

⁴⁴A total of 5,000 men and their families were fed.

⁴⁵Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his disciples get back into the boat and head across the lake to Bethsaida, while he sent the people home.

⁴⁶After telling everyone good-bye, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

⁴⁷Late that night, the disciples were in their boat in the middle of the lake, and Jesus was alone on land.

⁴⁸He saw that they were in serious trouble, rowing hard and struggling against the wind and waves. About three o’clock in the morning Jesus came toward them, walking on the water. He intended to go past them,

⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the water, they cried out in terror, thinking he was a ghost.

⁵⁰They were all terrified when they saw him. But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage! I am here! ”

⁵¹Then he climbed into the boat, and the wind stopped. They were totally amazed,

⁵²for they still didn’t understand the significance of the miracle of the loaves. Their hearts were too hard to take it in.

⁵³After they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. They brought the boat to shore

⁵⁴and climbed out. The people recognized Jesus at once,

⁵⁵and they ran throughout the whole area, carrying sick people on mats to wherever they heard he was.

⁵⁶Wherever he went — in villages, cities, or the countryside — they brought the sick out to the marketplaces. They begged him to let the sick touch at least the fringe of his robe, and all who touched him were healed.

¹One day Jesus called together his twelve disciples and gave them power and authority to cast out all demons and to heal all diseases.

²Then he sent them out to tell everyone about the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

³“Take nothing for your journey,” he instructed them. “Don’t take a walking stick, a traveler’s bag, food, money, or even a change of clothes.

⁴Wherever you go, stay in the same house until you leave town.

⁵And if a town refuses to welcome you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.”

⁶So they began their circuit of the villages, preaching the Good News and healing the sick.

⁷When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about everything Jesus was doing, he was puzzled. Some were saying that John the Baptist had been raised from the dead.

⁸Others thought Jesus was Elijah or one of the other prophets risen from the dead.

⁹“I beheaded John,” Herod said, “so who is this man about whom I hear such stories?” And he kept trying to see him.

¹⁰When the apostles returned, they told Jesus everything they had done. Then he slipped quietly away with them toward the town of Bethsaida.

¹¹But the crowds found out where he was going, and they followed him. He welcomed them and taught them about the Kingdom of God, and he healed those who were sick.

¹²Late in the afternoon the twelve disciples came to him and said, “Send the crowds away to the nearby villages and farms, so they can find food and lodging for the night. There is nothing to eat here in this remote place.”

¹³But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered. “Or are you expecting us to go and buy enough food for this whole crowd?”

¹⁴For there were about 5,000 men there. Jesus replied, “Tell them to sit down in groups of about fifty each.”

¹⁵So the people all sat down.

¹⁶Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the loaves into pieces, he kept giving the bread and fish to the disciples so they could distribute it to the people.

¹⁷They all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward, the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers!