Luke 9:3-17

3He told them, “Don’t take anything along on the trip. Don’t take a walking stick, traveling bag, any food, money, or a change of clothes.

4When you go into a home, stay there until you’re ready to leave.

5If people don’t welcome you, leave that city, and shake its dust off your feet as a warning to them.”

6The apostles went from village to village, told the Good News, and cured the sick everywhere.

7Herod the ruler heard about everything that was happening. He didn’t know what to make of it. Some people were saying that John had come back to life.

8Others said that Elijah had appeared, and still others said that one of the prophets from long ago had come back to life.

9Herod said, “I had John’s head cut off. Who is this person I’m hearing so much about?” So Herod wanted to see Jesus.

10The apostles came back and told Jesus everything they had done. He took them with him to a city called Bethsaida so that they could be alone.

11But the crowds found out about this and followed him. He welcomed them, talked to them about God’s kingdom, and cured those who were sick.

12Toward the end of the day, the twelve apostles came to him. They said to him, “Send the crowd to the closest villages and farms so that they can find some food and a place to stay. No one lives around here.”

13Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish. Unless we go to buy food for all these people, that’s all we have.”

14(There were about five thousand men.) Then he told his disciples, “Have them sit in groups of about fifty.”

15So they did this.

16Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the crowd.

17All of them ate as much as they wanted. When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets.