Read the Gospels in 40 Days
Chapter 13
The Parable of the Sower. 1 [a]On that day, Jesus went out of the house and sat down by the sea.(A) 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood along the shore. 3 [b]And he spoke to them at length in parables,[c] saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, 6 and when the sun rose it was scorched, and it withered for lack of roots. 7 Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it. 8 But some seed fell on rich soil, and produced fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold. 9 Whoever has ears ought to hear.”
The Purpose of Parables. 10 The disciples approached him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 [d]He said to them in reply, “Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. 12 (B)To anyone who has, more will be given[e] and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 [f](C)This is why I speak to them in parables, because ‘they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand.’ 14 (D)Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
‘You shall indeed hear but not understand,
you shall indeed look but never see.
15 Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and be converted,
and I heal them.’
The Privilege of Discipleship.[g] 16 (E)“But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear. 17 Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
The Explanation of the Parable of the Sower.[h] 18 (F)“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart. 20 The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and receives it at once with joy. 21 But he has no root and lasts only for a time. When some tribulation or persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22 The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but then worldly anxiety and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. 23 But the seed sown on rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirtyfold.”
The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat. 24 He proposed another parable to them.[i] “The kingdom of heaven may be likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds[j] all through the wheat, and then went off. 26 When the crop grew and bore fruit, the weeds appeared as well. 27 The slaves of the householder came to him and said, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ His slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29 He replied, ‘No, if you pull up the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them. 30 Let them grow together until harvest;[k] then at harvest time I will say to the harvesters, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles for burning; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”(G)
The Parable of the Mustard Seed.[l] 31 (H)He proposed another parable to them. “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a person took and sowed in a field. 32 [m](I)It is the smallest of all the seeds, yet when full-grown it is the largest of plants. It becomes a large bush, and the ‘birds of the sky come and dwell in its branches.’”
The Parable of the Yeast. 33 He spoke to them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast[n] that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”(J)
The Use of Parables. 34 [o](K)All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables. He spoke to them only in parables, 35 to fulfill what had been said through the prophet:[p]
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will announce what has lain hidden from the foundation [of the world].”(L)
The Explanation of the Parable of the Weeds. 36 Then, dismissing the crowds,[q] he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37 [r]He said in reply, “He who sows good seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world,[s] the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age,[t] and the harvesters are angels. 40 Just as weeds are collected and burned [up] with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom[u] all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. 42 (M)They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. 43 [v](N)Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears ought to hear.
More Parables.[w] 44 (O)“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in a field,[x] which a person finds and hides again, and out of joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46 When he finds a pearl of great price, he goes and sells all that he has and buys it. 47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea, which collects fish of every kind. 48 When it is full they haul it ashore and sit down to put what is good into buckets. What is bad they throw away. 49 Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth.
Treasures New and Old. 51 “Do you understand[y] all these things?” They answered, “Yes.” 52 [z]And he replied, “Then every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings from his storeroom both the new and the old.” 53 When Jesus finished these parables, he went away from there.
V. Jesus, the Kingdom, and the Church
The Rejection at Nazareth. 54 [aa]He came to his native place and taught the people in their synagogue.(P) They were astonished[ab] and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?(Q) 55 Is he not the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?(R) 56 Are not his sisters all with us? Where did this man get all this?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and in his own house.”(S) 58 And he did not work many mighty deeds there because of their lack of faith.
Chapter 14
Herod’s Opinion of Jesus. 1 [ac](T)At that time Herod the tetrarch[ad](U) heard of the reputation of Jesus(V) 2 and said to his servants, “This man is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead; that is why mighty powers are at work in him.”
The Death of John the Baptist. 3 (W)Now Herod had arrested John, bound [him], and put him in prison on account of Herodias,[ae] the wife of his brother Philip, 4 (X)for John had said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” 5 (Y)Although he wanted to kill him, he feared the people, for they regarded him as a prophet. 6 But at a birthday celebration for Herod, the daughter of Herodias performed a dance before the guests and delighted Herod 7 so much that he swore to give her whatever she might ask for. 8 Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” 9 The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and the guests who were present, he ordered that it be given, 10 and he had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 His disciples came and took away the corpse and buried him; and they went and told Jesus.
The Return of the Twelve and the Feeding of the Five Thousand.[af] 13 (Z)When Jesus heard of it, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. The crowds heard of this and followed him on foot from their towns. 14 When he disembarked and saw the vast crowd, his heart was moved with pity for them, and he cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples approached him and said, “This is a deserted place and it is already late; dismiss the crowds so that they can go to the villages and buy food for themselves.” 16 [Jesus] said to them, “There is no need for them to go away; give them some food yourselves.” 17 But they said to him, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have here.” 18 Then he said, “Bring them here to me,” 19 and he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking[ag] the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing, broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds. 20 They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the fragments left over[ah]—twelve wicker baskets full. 21 Those who ate were about five thousand men, not counting women and children.
The Walking on the Water.[ai] 22 (AA)Then he made the disciples get into the boat and precede him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. 23 (AB)After doing so, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When it was evening he was there alone. 24 Meanwhile the boat, already a few miles offshore, was being tossed about by the waves, for the wind was against it. 25 During the fourth watch of the night,[aj] he came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the sea they were terrified. “It is a ghost,” they said, and they cried out in fear. 27 At once [Jesus] spoke to them, “Take courage, it is I;[ak] do not be afraid.” 28 Peter said to him in reply, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” 29 He said, “Come.” Peter got out of the boat and began to walk on the water toward Jesus. 30 (AC)But when he saw how [strong] the wind was he became frightened; and, beginning to sink, he cried out, “Lord, save me!” 31 Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith,[al] why did you doubt?” 32 After they got into the boat, the wind died down. 33 [am](AD)Those who were in the boat did him homage, saying, “Truly, you are the Son of God.”
The Healings at Gennesaret. 34 (AE)After making the crossing, they came to land at Gennesaret. 35 When the men of that place recognized him, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought to him all those who were sick 36 (AF)and begged him that they might touch only the tassel on his cloak, and as many as touched it were healed.
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