9. But Herod said, "I had John's head cut off. So who is it that I hear such things about?" And he tried to see Jesus.
10. The apostles returned. They told Jesus what they had done. Then he took them with him. They went off by themselves to a town called Bethsaida.
11. But the crowds learned about it and followed Jesus. He welcomed them and spoke to them about God's kingdom. He also healed those who needed to be healed.
12. Late in the afternoon the Twelve came to him. They said, "Send the crowd away. They can go to the nearby villages and countryside. There they can find food and a place to stay. There is nothing here."
13. Jesus replied, "You give them something to eat." The disciples answered, "We have only five loaves of bread and two fish. We would have to go and buy food for all this crowd."
14. About 5,000 men were there. But Jesus said to his disciples, "Have them sit down in groups of about 50 each."
15. The disciples did so, and everyone sat down.
16. Jesus took the five loaves and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and gave thanks. He broke them into pieces. Then he gave them to the disciples to set in front of the people.
17. All of them ate and were satisfied. The disciples picked up 12 baskets of leftover pieces.
18. One day Jesus was praying alone. Only his disciples were with him. He asked them, "Who do the crowds say I am?"
19. They replied, "Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say that one of the prophets of long ago has come back to life."
20. "But what about you?" he asked. "Who do you say I am?" Peter answered, "The Christ of God."
21. Jesus strongly warned them not to tell this to anyone.
22. He said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things. The elders will not accept him. The chief priests and teachers of the law will not accept him either. He must be killed and on the third day rise from the dead."
23. Then he said to all of them, "If anyone wants to follow me, he must say no to himself. He must pick up his cross every day and follow me.
24. If he wants to save his life, he will lose it. But if he loses his life for me, he will save it.
25. What good is it if someone gains the whole world but loses or gives up his very self?