Study Desk

Then 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."

Then 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.

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

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

Then 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.

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

Immediately 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.

Wherever 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.

They noticed that some of his disciples failed to follow the Jewish ritual of hand washing before eating.

Then Jesus went into a house to get away from the crowd, and his disciples asked him what he meant by the parable he had just used.

Right away a woman who had heard about him came and fell at his feet. Her little girl was possessed by an evil spirit,

A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.

Jesus led him away from the crowd so they could be alone. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting on his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue.

Instantly the man could hear perfectly, and his tongue was freed so he could speak plainly!

About this time another large crowd had gathered, and the people ran out of food again. Jesus called his disciples and told them,

His disciples replied, "How are we supposed to find enough food to feed them out here in the wilderness?"

So Jesus told all the people to sit down on the ground. Then he took the seven loaves, thanked God for them, and broke them into pieces. He gave them to his disciples, who distributed the bread to the crowd.

Immediately after this, he got into a boat with his disciples and crossed over to the region of Dalmanutha.

When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had arrived, they came and started to argue with him. Testing him, they demanded that he show them a miraculous sign from heaven to prove his authority.

When he heard this, he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why do these people keep demanding a miraculous sign? I tell you the truth, I will not give this generation any such sign."