A Story About Planting Seed

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Large crowds gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat down, while the people stood on the shore. ³ Then Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. ⁴ While he was planting, some seed fell by the road, and the birds came and ate it all up. ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much dirt. That seed grew very fast, because the ground was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, the plants dried up, because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. ⁸ Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced a crop. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more. ⁹ Let those with ears use them and listen.”

Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach

¹⁰ The followers came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you use stories to teach the people?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “You have been chosen to know the secrets about the kingdom of heaven, but others cannot know these secrets. ¹² Those who have understanding will be given more, and they will have all they need. But those who do not have understanding, even what they have will be taken away from them. ¹³ This is why I use stories to teach the people: They see, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand. ¹⁴ So they show that the things Isaiah said about them are true:

¹⁶ But you are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears. ¹⁷ I tell you the truth, many prophets and good people wanted to see the things that you now see, but they did not see them. And they wanted to hear the things that you now hear, but they did not hear them.

Jesus Explains the Seed Story

¹⁸ “So listen to the meaning of that story about the farmer. ¹⁹ What is the seed that fell by the road? That seed is like the person who hears the message about the kingdom but does not understand it. The Evil One comes and takes away what was planted in that person’s heart. ²⁰ And what is the seed that fell on rocky ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and quickly accepts it with joy. ²¹ But he does not let the teaching go deep into his life, so he keeps it only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the teaching he accepted, he quickly gives up. ²² And what is the seed that fell among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching but lets worries about this life and the temptation of wealth stop that teaching from growing. So the teaching does not produce fruit^[a] in that person’s life. ²³ But what is the seed that fell on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces fruit, sometimes a hundred times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes thirty times more.”

A Story About Wheat and Weeds

²⁴ Then Jesus told them another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ That night, when everyone was asleep, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and then left. ²⁶ Later, the wheat sprouted and the heads of grain grew, but the weeds also grew. ²⁷ Then the man’s servants came to him and said, ‘You planted good seed in your field. Where did the weeds come from?’ ²⁸ The man answered, ‘An enemy planted weeds.’ The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to pull up the weeds?’ ²⁹ The man answered, ‘No, because when you pull up the weeds, you might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰ Let the weeds and the wheat grow together until the harvest time. At harvest time I will tell the workers, “First gather the weeds and tie them together to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.”’”

Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast

³¹ Then Jesus told another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field. ³² That seed is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants. It becomes big enough for the wild birds to come and build nests in its branches.”

³³ Then Jesus told another story: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and hid in a large tub of flour until it made all the dough rise.”

³⁴ Jesus used stories to tell all these things to the people; he always used stories to teach them. ³⁵ This is as the prophet said:

Jesus Explains About the Weeds

³⁶ Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His followers came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ Jesus answered, “The man who planted the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed are all of God’s children who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those people who belong to the Evil One. ³⁹ And the enemy who planted the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age, and the workers who gather are God’s angels.

⁴⁰ “Just as the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all who cause sin and all who do evil. ⁴² The angels will throw them into the blazing furnace, where the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain. ⁴³ Then the good people will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let those with ears use them and listen.

Stories of a Treasure and a Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so happy that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field.

⁴⁵ “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a man looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

A Story of a Fishing Net

⁴⁷ “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was put into the lake and caught many different kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets and threw away the bad fish. ⁴⁹ It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the good people. ⁵⁰ The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace, where people will cry and grind their teeth with pain.”

⁵¹ Jesus asked his followers, “Do you understand all these things?”

They answered, “Yes, we understand.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to them, “So every teacher of the law who has been taught about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house. He brings out both new things and old things he has saved.”

Jesus Goes to His Hometown

⁵³ When Jesus finished teaching with these stories, he left there. ⁵⁴ He went to his hometown and taught the people in the synagogue, and they were amazed. They said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and this power to do miracles? ⁵⁵ He is just the son of a carpenter. His mother is Mary, and his brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. ⁵⁶ And all his sisters are here with us. Where then does this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So the people were upset with Jesus.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and in his own home.”

⁵⁸ So he did not do many miracles there because they had no faith.

How John the Baptist Was Killed

14 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard the reports about Jesus. ² So he said to his servants, “Jesus is John the Baptist, who has risen from the dead. That is why he can work these miracles.”

³ Sometime before this, Herod had arrested John, tied him up, and put him into prison. Herod did this because of Herodias, who had been the wife of Philip, Herod’s brother. ⁴ John had been telling Herod, “It is not lawful for you to be married to Herodias.” ⁵ Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they believed John was a prophet.

⁶ On Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced for Herod and his guests, and she pleased him. ⁷ So he promised with an oath to give her anything she wanted. ⁸ Herodias told her daughter what to ask for, so she said to Herod, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter.” ⁹ Although King Herod was very sad, he had made a promise, and his dinner guests had heard him. So Herod ordered that what she asked for be done. ¹⁰ He sent soldiers to the prison to cut off John’s head. ¹¹ And they brought it on a platter and gave it to the girl, and she took it to her mother. ¹² John’s followers came and got his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.

More than Five Thousand Fed

¹³ When Jesus heard what had happened to John, he left in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. But the crowds heard about it and followed him on foot from the towns. ¹⁴ When he arrived, he saw a great crowd waiting. He felt sorry for them and healed those who were sick.

¹⁵ When it was evening, his followers came to him and said, “No one lives in this place, and it is already late. Send the people away so they can go to the towns and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ But Jesus answered, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ They said to him, “But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”

¹⁸ Jesus said, “Bring the bread and the fish to me.” ¹⁹ Then he told the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish and, looking to heaven, he thanked God for the food. Jesus divided the bread and gave it to his followers, who gave it to the people. ²⁰ All the people ate and were satisfied. Then the followers filled twelve baskets with the leftover pieces of food. ²¹ There were about five thousand men there who ate, not counting women and children.

Jesus Walks on the Water

²² Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home. ²³ After he had sent them away, he went by himself up into the hills to pray. It was late, and Jesus was there alone. ²⁴ By this time, the boat was already far away from land. It was being hit by waves, because the wind was blowing against it.

²⁵ Between three and six o’clock in the morning, Jesus came to them, walking on the water. ²⁶ When his followers saw him walking on the water, they were afraid. They said, “It’s a ghost!” and cried out in fear.

²⁷ But Jesus quickly spoke to them, “Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter said, “Lord, if it is really you, then command me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ Jesus said, “Come.”

And Peter left the boat and walked on the water to Jesus. ³⁰ But when Peter saw the wind and the waves, he became afraid and began to sink. He shouted, “Lord, save me!”

³¹ Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught Peter. Jesus said, “Your faith is small. Why did you doubt?”

³² After they got into the boat, the wind became calm. ³³ Then those who were in the boat worshiped Jesus and said, “Truly you are the Son of God!”

³⁴ When they had crossed the lake, they came to shore at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people there recognized Jesus, they told people all around there that Jesus had come, and they brought all their sick to him. ³⁶ They begged Jesus to let them touch just the edge of his coat, and all who touched it were healed.