Matthew 14:13-34

13Jesus heard about what had happened to John. After that, he went away from that place. He sailed in a boat to a quiet place where he could be alone. But the crowd heard where Jesus had gone. So they left their towns and they went on land to the place where he was going.

14Jesus got out of the boat. He saw a large crowd there on the shore. He felt sorry for them. There were sick people among them and he made them well again.

15When it was almost evening, Jesus' disciples came to speak to him. They said to him, ‘We are in a place where there are no houses. It will soon be dark. Send the crowd away now, so that they can go to the villages near here. Then they can buy some food for themselves to eat.’

16Jesus said to them, ‘The people do not need to go away. You should give them some food to eat.’

17But the disciples said, ‘We only have five loaves of bread and two fish.’

18‘Bring the bread and fish here to me,’ Jesus said.

19Then he said to the large crowd, ‘Sit down on the grass.’ He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and he thanked God for the bread and the fish. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave the pieces of bread to his disciples, and they gave them to the crowd.

20Then everybody ate. They all had enough food and they were not hungry any more. Then the disciples picked up all the bits of food that people had not eaten. They filled 12 baskets with little bits of bread and fish.

21About 5,000 men ate the bread and fish. Women and children also ate it with them.

22Immediately after this, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Get in the boat and sail across to the other side of the lake.’ Jesus said that he would first send the crowd away. Then he would also leave.

23So Jesus sent the crowd away. After they had gone, he went up on a mountain alone to pray. When it became dark, he was still there alone.

24At this time the boat with the disciples in it was in the middle of the lake. It was a long way from the land. The wind was blowing against the boat and the water was hitting it.

25Then, when it was nearly dawn, Jesus walked on the water towards his disciples.

26The disciples saw him walking on the water. They were very frightened. ‘It is a spirit,’ they said. They screamed loudly because they were afraid.

27But immediately Jesus said to them. ‘Be brave! It is I. Do not be afraid.’

28Peter replied, ‘Lord, is it really you? If it is you, say to me, “Come here! Walk to me on the water.” ’

29Jesus said to him, ‘Come to me.’ So Peter got down out of the boat. He walked on the water and he came towards Jesus.

30But then Peter saw that the wind was still blowing strongly. He became afraid and he began to go down into the water. He shouted to Jesus, ‘Lord, save me!’

31Immediately, Jesus put out his hand and he took hold of Peter. He said to Peter, ‘You should trust me more than you do. Why did you not believe that I could help you?’

32Jesus and Peter climbed up into the boat. Then the strong wind stopped.

33The disciples who were in the boat went down on their knees. They praised Jesus and they said to him, ‘It is true. You are really the Son of God.’

34They sailed across the lake and reached the shore at a place called Gennesaret.