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Jesus replied, “Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness.” Then John consented.
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Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
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Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
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For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
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Giving to the Needy
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
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Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
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But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
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The Parable of the Sower
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.
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Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
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Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
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“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
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When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
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But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
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The Parable of the Weeds
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
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But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.
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“The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
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He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
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and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
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For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.
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“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed.
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“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed?
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The Parable of the Sower
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
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“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
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The farmer sows the word.
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Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
