SOAP: Sunday, March 9, 2008

Matthew 9:14-17 (NLT)

Mt 14:1 When Herod Antipas heard about Jesus,
Mt 14:2 he said to his advisers, "This must be John the Baptist come back to life again! That is why he can do such miracles."
Mt 14:3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).
Mt 14:4 John kept telling Herod, "It is illegal for you to marry her."
Mt 14:5 Herod would have executed John, but he was afraid of a riot, because all the people believed John was a prophet.
Mt 14:6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased him,
Mt 14:7 so he promised with an oath to give her anything she wanted.
Mt 14:8 At her mother’s urging, the girl asked, "I want the head of John the Baptist on a tray!"
Mt 14:9 The king was sorry, but because of his oath and because he didn’t want to back down in front of his guests, he issued the necessary orders.
Mt 14:10 So John was beheaded in the prison,
Mt 14:11 and his head was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who took it to her mother.
Mt 14:12 John’s disciples came for his body and buried it. Then they told Jesus what had happened.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
Mt 14:13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he went off by himself in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where he was headed and followed by land from many villages.
Mt 14:14 A vast crowd was there as he stepped from the boat, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
Mt 14:15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, "This is a desolate place, and it is getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves."
Mt 14:16 But Jesus replied, "That isn’t necessary—you feed them."
Mt 14:17 "Impossible!" they exclaimed. "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish!"