And great crowds came to Him, bringing with them the lame, crippled, blind, mute, and many others, and they put them down at His feet; and He healed them.

When they approached the crowd, a man came up to Jesus, kneeling before Him and saying,

But if we say, ‘From men,’ we are afraid of the [response of the] crowd; for they all regard John as a prophet.”

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

Jesus went out again along the [Galilean] seashore; and all the people were coming to Him, and He was teaching them.

and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and [from the region] beyond the Jordan, and around Tyre and Sidon; a vast number of people came to Him because they were hearing about all [the things] that He was doing.

He directed the people to sit down on the ground; and taking the seven loaves, He gave thanks and broke them, and [repeatedly] gave them to His disciples to set before them, and they served the crowd.

The chief priests and the scribes heard this and began searching for a way to destroy Him; for they were afraid of Him, since the entire crowd was struck with astonishment at His teaching.

I assure you and most solemnly say to you, this generation [the people living when these signs and events begin] will not pass away until all these things take place.

All the people were trying to touch Him, because [healing] power was coming from Him and healing them all.

Then He took the five loaves and the two fish, and He looked up to heaven [and gave thanks] and blessed them, and broke them and kept giving them to the disciples to set before the crowd.

On the next day, when they came down from the mountain, a large crowd met Him.

Following Him was a large crowd of the people, including women who were mourning and wailing for Him.

Jesus looked up and saw that a large crowd was coming toward Him, and He said to Philip, “Where will we buy bread for these people to eat?”

But many from the crowd believed in Him. And they kept saying, “When the Christ comes, will He do more signs and exhibit more proofs than this Man?”

Listening to these words, some of the people said, “This is certainly the Prophet!”

But this [ignorant, contemptible] crowd that does not know the Law is accursed and doomed!”

And when this sound was heard, a crowd gathered, and they were bewildered because each one was hearing those in the upper room speaking in his own language or dialect.

So the Twelve called the disciples together and said, “It is not appropriate for us to neglect [teaching] the word of God in order to serve tables and manage the distribution of food.

What then should be done? They will certainly hear that you have arrived.

let the [latter] one know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save that one’s soul from death and cover a multitude of sins [that is, obtain the pardon of the many sins committed by the one who has been restored].

Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others].