The Lord's Relentless Judgment on Israel

The Parable of the Sower

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^(A)and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, ^(B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And ^(C)he told them many things in parables, saying: ^(D)“A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but ^(E)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^(F)they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among ^(G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^(H)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (I)He who has ears,^[a] let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, ^(J)“To you it has been given to know ^(K)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (L)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^(M)even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^(N)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^(O)nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

¹⁶ But ^(U)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ^17 (V)For truly, I say to you, ^(W)many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

^18 (X)“Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of ^(Y)the kingdom and ^(Z)does not understand it, ^(AA)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^(AB)receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but ^(AC)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^(AD)he falls away.^{[b] 22} As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^(AE)the cares of ^(AF)the world and ^(AG)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^(AH)understands it. He indeed ^(AI)bears fruit and yields, in one case ^(AJ)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

A Plea to Return to the Lord

²⁶ For consider your calling, brothers: ^(A)not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,^[a] not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But ^(B)God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; ^(C)God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; ²⁸ God chose what is low and despised in the world, even ^(D)things that are not, to ^(E)bring to nothing things that are, ²⁹ so ^(F)that no human being^[b] might boast in the presence of God. ³⁰ And because of him^[c] you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us ^(G)wisdom from God, ^(H)righteousness and ^(I)sanctification and ^(J)redemption, ³¹ so that, as it is written, ^(K)“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”

Proclaiming Christ Crucified

2 And I, when I came to you, brothers,^{[d] (L)}did not come proclaiming to you ^(M)the testimony^[e] of God with lofty speech or wisdom. ² For I decided to know nothing among you except ^(N)Jesus Christ and him crucified. ³ And ^(O)I was with you ^(P)in weakness and in fear and much trembling, ⁴ and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of ^(Q)the Spirit and of power, ⁵ so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men^[f] but ^(R)in the power of God.

Wisdom from the Spirit

⁶ Yet among ^(S)the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not ^(T)a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, ^(U)who are doomed to pass away. ⁷ But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, ^(V)which God decreed before the ages for our glory. ⁸ None of ^(W)the rulers of this age understood this, for ^(X)if they had, they would not have crucified ^(Y)the Lord of glory. ⁹ But, as it is written,

¹⁰ these things ^(AC)God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even ^(AD)the depths of God. ¹¹ For who knows a person's thoughts ^(AE)except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now ^(AF)we have received not ^(AG)the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this ^(AH)in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, ^(AI)interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.^[g]

¹⁴ The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are ^(AJ)folly to him, and ^(AK)he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ The ^(AL)spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one. ^16 (AM)“For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But ^(AN)we have the mind of Christ.