The Life of Jesus

He asked them, "How many loaves do you have? Go and check." When they had found out, they said, "Five. And two fish."

Then he ordered all the people to sit down in groups on the green grass.

They sat down in groups of fifty or a hundred.

Then he took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up toward heaven, made a b'rakhah. Next he broke up the loaves and began giving them to the talmidim to distribute. He also divided up the two fish among them all.

They all ate as much as they wanted,

and they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces and fish.

Those who ate the loaves numbered five thousand men.

Immediately Yeshua had his talmidim get in the boat and go on ahead of him toward the other side of the lake, toward Beit-Tzaidah, while he sent the crowds away.

After he had left them, he went into the hills to pray.

When night came, the boat was out on the lake, and he was by himself on land.

He saw that they were having difficulty rowing, because the wind was against them; so at around four o'clock in the morning he came toward them, walking on the lake! He meant to come alongside them;

but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought it was a ghost and let out a shriek;

for they had all seen him and were terrified. However, he spoke to them. "Courage," he said, "it is I. Stop being afraid!"

He got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. They were completely astounded,

for they did not understand about the loaves; on the contrary, their hearts had been made stone-like.

After they had made the crossing, they landed at Ginosar and anchored.

As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized him

and began running around throughout that whole region and bringing sick people on their stretchers to any place where they heard he was.

Wherever he went, in towns, cities or country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces. They begged him to let them touch even the tzitzit on his robe, and all who touched it were healed.

The P'rushim and some of the Torah-teachers who had come from Yerushalayim gathered together with Yeshua

and saw that some of his talmidim ate with ritually unclean hands, that is, without doing n'tilat-yadayim.

(For the P'rushim, and indeed all the Judeans, holding fast to the Tradition of the Elders, do not eat unless they have given their hands a ceremonial washing.

Also, when they come from the marketplace they do not eat unless they have rinsed their hands up to the wrist; and they adhere to many other traditions, such as washing cups, pots and bronze vessels.)

The P'rushim and the Torah-teachers asked him, "Why don't your talmidim live in accordance with the Tradition of the Elders, but instead eat with ritually unclean hands?"

Yeshua answered them, "Yesha`yahu was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites -- as it is written, `These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far away from me.