Saturday Scripture: Matthew 14-18

Matthew Chapter 14 At that time Herod the Tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, ìThis is

John the Baptist. He has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him .î

For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother

Philip. For John had been saying to him, ìIt is not lawful for you to have her .î

Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

But when Herodís birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

Having been prompted by her mother, she said, ìGive me here on a platter the head of John the

Baptist .î Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests.

He sent and had John beheaded in the prison, and his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.

His disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and they went and reported to Jesus. Now when

Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself, and when the people heard of this, they followed

Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them, and healed their sick.

When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, ìThis place is desolate, and the hour is already late, so send the crowds away that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves .î

But Jesus said to them, ìThey do not need to go away. You give them something to eat .î

They said to Him, ìWe have here only five loaves and two fish .î And He said, ìBring them here to Me .î

Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven,

He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves, He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.

And they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets.

There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children. Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away.

After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. And when it was evening,

He was there alone. But the boat was already a long distance from the land, battered by the waves, for the wind was contrary.

And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea. When the disciples saw

Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, ìIt is a ghost !î And they cried out in fear.

But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, ìTake courage! It is I. Do not be afraid .î

Peter said to Him, ìLord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water .î And He said, ìCome .î

And Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, ìLord, save me !î

Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, ìYou of little faith, why did you doubt ?î

When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. And those who were in the boat worshipped Him, saying, ìYou are certainly

Godís Son .î When they had crossed over, they came to land at Genesaret. And when the men of that place recognized

Him, they sent word into all that surrounding district, and brought to Him all who were sick.

And they implored Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak, and as many as touched it were cured.

Matthew chapter 15. Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, ìWhy do your disciples break the tradition of the elders?

For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread .î And He answered and said to them, ìWhy do you yourselves transgress the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?

For God said, ìHonor your father and mother .î And He who speaks evil of father or mother is to be put to death.

But you say, ìWhoever says to his father or mother, ìWhatever I have that would help you ,î has been given to God.

He is not to honor his father or his mother. And by this you invalidated the word of God for the sake of your tradition.

You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you. This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.

But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men .î

After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, ìHear and understand. It is not what enters into the mouth that defiles the man, but what proceeds out of the mouth.

This defiles the man .î Then the disciples came and said to Him, ìDo you know that the

Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement ?î But He answered and said, ìEvery plant which

My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. Let them alone. They are blind guides of the blind.

And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit .î

Peter said to Him, ìExplain the parable to us .î Jesus said, ìAre you still lacking in understanding also?

Do you not understand that everything that goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is eliminated?

But the things that proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and those defile the man.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, slanders.

These are the things which defile the man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile the man .î

Jesus went away from there and withdrew into the district of Tyre and Sidon. And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, ìHave mercy on me,

Lord, son of David! My daughter is cruelly demon -possessed .î But He did not answer her a word.

And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, ìSend her away, because she keeps shouting at us .î

But He answered and said, ìI was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel .î

But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, ìLord, help me .î

And He answered and said, ìIt is not good to take the childrenís bread and throw it to the dogs .î

But she said, ìYes, Lord, but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masterís table .î

Then Jesus said to her, ìO woman, your faith is great. It shall be done for you as you wish .î

And her daughter was healed at once. Departing from there, Jesus went along by the

Sea of Galilee. And having gone up on the mountain, He was sitting there. And large crowds came to Him, bringing with them those who were lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others.

And they laid them down at His feet, and He healed them. So the crowd marveled as they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, and the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they glorified the

God of Israel. And Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, ìI feel compassion for the people, because they have remained with Me now three days and have nothing to eat.

I do not want to send them away hungry, for they might faint on the way .î The disciples said to Him, ìWhere would we get so many loaves in this desolate place to satisfy such a large crowd ?î

And Jesus said to them, ìHow many loaves do you have ?î And they said, ìSeven, and a few small fish .î

And He directed the people to sit down on the ground. And He took the seven loaves and the fish, and giving thanks,

He broke them and started giving them to the disciples. And the disciples gave them to the people.

And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, seven large baskets full.

And those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children. And sending away the crowds,

Jesus got into the boat and came to the region of Magadan. Matthew chapter 16

The Pharisees and Sadducees came up, and testing Jesus, they asked Him to show them a sign from heaven.

But He replied to them, ìWhen it is evening, you say, ìIt will be fair weather, for the sky is red .î

And in the morning, ìThere will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening .î Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times?

An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and a sign will not be given it, except the sign of Jonah .î

And He left them and went away. And the disciples came to the other side of the sea, but they had forgotten to bring any bread.

And Jesus said to them, ìWatch out, and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees .î

They began to discuss this among themselves, saying, ìHe said that because we did not bring any bread .î

But Jesus, aware of this, said, ìYou men of little faith, why do you discuss among yourselves that you have no bread?

Do you not yet understand or remember the five loaves of the five thousand, and how many baskets full you picked up?

Or the seven loaves of the four thousand, and how many large baskets full you picked up?

How is it that you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread, but beware of the leaven of the

Pharisees and Sadducees ?î Then they understood that He did not say to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the teaching of the

Pharisees and Sadducees. Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, He was asking

His disciples, ìWho do people say that the Son of Man is ?î And they said, ìSome say

John the Baptist, and others Elijah, but still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets .î

He said to them, ìBut who do you say that I am ?î Simon Peter answered, ìYou are the

Christ, the Son of the God .î And Jesus said to him, ìBlessed are you,

Simon Bar -Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ. From that time

Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day.

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, ìGod forbid it, Lord, this shall never happen to you .î

But He turned and said to Peter, ìGet behind Me, Satan. You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on Godís interests, but manís .î

Then Jesus said to His disciples, ìIf anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow

Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.

Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the

Son of Man coming in His kingdom. Matthew 17. 6 days later

Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John His brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves.

And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.

If You wish, I will make three tabernacles here, one for You and one for Moses and one for Elijah.

While He was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them. And behold, a voice out of the cloud said,

This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him.

When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. And Jesus came to them and touched them and said,

Get up and do not be afraid. And lifting up their eyes, they saw no one except Jesus Himself alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, Tell the vision to no one until the

Son of Man has risen from the dead. And His disciples asked Him, Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?

And He answered and said, Elijah is coming and will restore all things. But I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.

So also the Son of Man is going to suffer at their hands. Then the disciples understood that He had spoken to them about John the

Baptist. When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, falling on his knees before Him and saying,

Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is a lunatic and is very ill, for he often falls into the fire and often into the water.

I brought him to your disciples, and they could not cure him. And Jesus answered and said,

You unbelieving and perverted generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall

I put up with you? Bring him here to Me. And Jesus rebuked him, and the demon came out of him, and the boy was cured at once.

Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, Why could we not drive it out?

And He said to them, Because of the littleness of your faith. For truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain,

Move from here to there, and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.

But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting. And while they were gathering together in Galilee, Jesus said to them,

The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and He will be raised on the third day.

And they were deeply grieved. When they came to Capernaum, those who collected the two drachma tax came to Peter and said,

Does your teacher not pay the two drachma tax? He said, Yes. And when he came into the house,

Jesus spoke to him first, saying, What do you think, Simon? From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs or poll tax, from their sons or from strangers?

When Peter said, From strangers, Jesus said to him, Then the sons are exempt.

However, so that we do not offend them, go to the sea and throw in a hook, and take the first fish that comes up, and when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel.

Take that, and give it to them for you and me. Matthew chapter 18.

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?

And he called a child to himself and set him before them, and said, Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.

And whoever receives one such child in my name, receives me. But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks, for it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come.

But woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes. If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you.

It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire.

If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of my

Father who is in heaven, for the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety -nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying?

If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety -nine which have not gone astray.

So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private. If he listens to you, you have won your brother, but if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church, and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a

Gentile and a tax collector. Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by my

Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in my name,

I am there in their midst. Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him, up to seven times?

Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.

When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talons was brought to him, but since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.

So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will repay you everything.

And the lord of that slave felt compassion, and released him, and forgave him the debt.

But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii, and he seized him and began to choke him, saying,

Pay back what you owe me. So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying,

Have patience with me, and I will repay you. But he was unwilling, and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.

So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved, and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.

Then summoning him, his lord said to him, You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave in the same way that I had mercy on you?

And his lord moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.

My heavenly father will also do the same to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.

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