Beginning
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus left the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 A large crowd gathered around him. So he stepped into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen, a sower went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. Immediately the seed sprang up, because the soil was not deep. 6 But when the sun rose, the seed was scorched. Because it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked it. 8 But some seed fell on good ground and produced grain: some one hundred times, some sixty, and some thirty times more than was sown. 9 Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 The disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered them, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but it has not been given to them. 12 For whoever has will be given even more, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because even though they see, they do not see; and even though they hear, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says,
You will hear clearly, but you will never understand. You will see clearly, but you will never perceive. 15 Because this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are hard of hearing. They have closed their eyes. Otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, turn, and I would heal them.[a]
16 “But blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear. 17 Amen I tell you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you are seeing, but they did not see it. They longed to hear what you are hearing, but they did not hear it.
18 “So listen carefully to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the seed that was sown along the path. 20 The seed that was sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he is not deeply rooted and does not endure. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22 The seed that was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worry of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it produces no fruit. 23 But the seed that was sown on the good ground is the one who continues to hear and understand the word. Indeed he continues to produce fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times more than was sown.”
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. 27 The servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?’ 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because when you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds, bind them in bundles, and burn them. Then, gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Mustard Seed and Yeast
31 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 It is one of the smallest of seeds. But when it grows, it is larger than the other plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33 He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed into a bushel[b] of flour until the whole batch was leavened.”
34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds. He did not speak to them without telling a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.[c]
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 Then Jesus sent the people away and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
37 He answered them, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the Evil One. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will pull out of his kingdom everything that causes sin[d] and those who continue to break the law. 42 The angels will throw them into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.
The Treasure, the Pearl, and the Net
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid again. In his joy, he goes away and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls. 46 When he found one very valuable pearl, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When the net was filled, they pulled it onto the shore. They sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away. 49 That is how it will be at the end of the world. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous who are among them. 50 And they will throw the wicked into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” 51 Jesus said to them, “Did you understand all these things?”
They answered him, “Yes.”
52 He said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained as a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure both new things and old things.”
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.
A Prophet Without Honor
54 Jesus entered his hometown and taught in their synagogue. As a result, the people were amazed and said, “Where did this fellow get this wisdom and these miracles? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 And aren’t all of his sisters here with us? Where then did this fellow get all of these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own hometown and in his own house.” 58 He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Recalling the Death of John the Baptist
14 At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus. 2 He said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist! He has risen from the dead! That is why these powers are working in him.” 3 For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. 4 John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But when it was Herod’s birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced among them. This pleased Herod. 7 So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”
9 Although this saddened the king, because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that it be done. 10 He sent the order and had John beheaded in prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 John’s disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and reported this to Jesus.
Jesus Feeds More Than Five Thousand
13 When Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place to be alone. When the crowds heard this, they followed him on foot from the towns.
14 When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd. He had compassion on them and healed their sick. 15 When evening came, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away, so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 But Jesus said to them, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
17 They told him, “We have here only five loaves and two fish.”
18 “Bring them here to me,” he replied. 19 Then he instructed the people to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and the two fish. After looking up to heaven, he blessed them. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples. The disciples gave the food to the people. 20 They all ate and were filled. They picked up twelve basketfuls of what was left over from the broken pieces. 21 Those who ate were about five thousand men, not even counting women and children.
Jesus Walks on Water
22 Immediately Jesus urged the disciples to get into the boat and to go ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed the crowd, he went up onto the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone. 24 By then the boat was quite a distance from shore, being pounded by the waves because the wind was against it. 25 In the fourth watch of the night,[e] Jesus came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified and cried out in fear, “It’s a ghost!” 27 But Jesus spoke to them at once, saying, “Take heart! It is I! Do not be afraid.”
28 Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.”
29 Jesus said, “Come!”
Peter stepped down from the boat, walked on the water, and went toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the strong wind, he was afraid. As he began to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!”
31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” 32 When they got into the boat, the wind stopped. 33 Those who were in the boat worshipped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God!”
34 When they had crossed over, they came to the shore at Gennesaret. 35 When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding region. They brought to him all who were sick 36 and begged that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. All who touched it were completely cured.
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.