Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Parable about a Farmer(A)
4 Then Jesus[a] began to teach again beside the sea. Such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it,[b] while the entire crowd remained beside the sea on the shore. 2 He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said, 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on stony ground, where they didn’t have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once, because the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn’t have any roots, they dried up. 7 Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes came up and choked them out, and they didn’t produce anything. 8 But others fell on good soil and produced a crop. They grew up, increased in size, and produced 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[c] 9 He added, “Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!”
The Purpose of the Parables(B)
10 When he was alone with the Twelve and those around him, they began to ask him about the parables. 11 He told them, “The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables 12 so that
‘they may see clearly but not perceive,
and they may hear clearly but not understand,
otherwise they might turn around and be forgiven.’”[d]
Jesus Explains the Parable about the Farmer(C)
13 Then he told them, “You don’t understand this parable, so how can you understand any of the parables? 14 The farmer sows the word. 15 Some people are like the seeds[e] along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16 Others are like the seeds[f] sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it, 17 but since they don’t have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away. 18 Still others are like the seeds[g] sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word, 19 but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can’t produce a crop. 20 Others are like the seeds[h] sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—30, 60, or 100 times what was sown.”[i]
A Light under a Basket(D)
21 Then Jesus[j] told them, “A lamp isn’t brought indoors to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? It’s to be put on a lamp stand, isn’t it? 22 Nothing is hidden except for the purpose of having it revealed, and nothing is secret except for the purpose of having it come to light. 23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen!
24 He went on to say to them, “Pay attention to what you’re hearing! You will be evaluated by the same standard with which you do your evaluating, and still more will be given to you, 25 because whoever has something, will have more given to him. But whoever has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.”
The Parable about a Growing Seed
26 He was also saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. 27 He sleeps and gets up night and day while the seeds sprout and grow, although he doesn’t know how 28 the ground produces grain by itself—first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. 29 But when the grain is ripe, he immediately starts cutting with his sickle because the harvest time has come.”
The Parable about a Mustard Seed(E)
30 He was also saying, “How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it? 31 It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. Although it’s the smallest of[k] all the seeds on earth, 32 when it’s planted it comes up and becomes larger than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that the birds in the sky can nest in its shade.”
Why Jesus Used Parables(F)
33 With many other parables like these, Jesus[l] kept speaking his message to them according to their ability to understand. 34 He did not tell them anything without using[m] a parable, though he explained everything to his disciples in private.
Jesus Calms the Sea(G)
35 That day, when evening had come, he told them, “Let’s cross to the other side.” 36 So they left the crowd and took him away in a boat without making any special preparations.[n] Other boats were with him. 37 A violent windstorm came up, and the waves began breaking into the boat, so that the boat was rapidly[o] becoming swamped.
38 But Jesus[p] was in the back of the boat, asleep on a cushion. So they woke him up and asked him, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to die?”
39 Then he got up, rebuked the wind, and told the sea, “Calm down! Be still!” Then the wind stopped blowing, and there was a great calm. 40 He asked them, “Why are you such cowards? Don’t you have any faith yet?”
41 Overcome with fear, they kept saying to one another, “Who is this man? Even the wind and the sea obey him!”
Jesus Heals a Demon-Possessed Man(H)
5 They arrived at the other side of the sea in the territory of the Gerasenes.[q] 2 Just as Jesus[r] stepped out of the boat, a man with an unclean spirit came out of the tombs and met him. 3 He lived among the tombs, and no one could restrain him any longer, not even with a chain. 4 He had often been restrained with shackles and chains, but had snapped the chains apart and broken the shackles in pieces. No one could tame him. 5 He kept screaming night and day among the tombs and on the mountainsides, and kept cutting himself with stones.
6 When he saw Jesus from a distance, he ran and fell down in front of him, 7 screaming in a loud voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you in the name of[s] God never to torment me!”
8 Jesus[t] had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 Then Jesus[u] asked him, “What’s your name?”
He told him, “My name is Legion,[v] because there are many of us.” 10 He kept pleading with Jesus[w] not to send them out of that region.
11 Now a large herd of pigs was grazing on a hillside nearby. 12 So the demons[x] begged him, “Send us among the pigs, so that we can go into them!” 13 So he let them do this. The unclean spirits came out of the man[y] and went into the pigs, and the herd of about 2,000 rushed down a steep slope into the sea and drowned there.[z]
14 Now when those who had been taking care of the pigs ran away, they reported what had happened[aa] in the city and countryside. So the people[ab] went to see what had happened. 15 When they came to Jesus and saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons, sitting there dressed and in his right mind, they were frightened. 16 The people who had seen it told them what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. 17 So they began to beg Jesus[ac] to leave their territory.
18 As Jesus[ad] was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed kept begging him to let him go with him. 19 But Jesus[ae] wouldn’t let him. Instead, he told him, “Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you.” 20 So the man[af] left and began proclaiming in the Decapolis[ag] how much Jesus had done for him. And everyone was utterly amazed.
Jesus Heals a Woman and Resurrects a Girl(I)
21 When Jesus again had crossed to the other side in a boat,[ah] a large crowd gathered around him by the seashore. 22 Then a synagogue leader named Jairus arrived. When he saw Jesus,[ai] he fell at his feet 23 and begged him urgently, saying, “My little daughter is dying. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may get well and live.” 24 So Jesus[aj] went with him. A huge crowd kept following him and jostling him.
25 Now there was a woman who had been suffering from chronic bleeding for twelve years. 26 Although she had endured a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all of her money, she had not been helped at all, but rather grew worse. 27 Since she had heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his robe, 28 because she had been saying, “If I can just touch his robe, I will get well.” 29 Her bleeding stopped at once, and she felt in her body that she was healed from her illness.
30 Immediately Jesus became aware that power had gone out of him. So he turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?”
31 His disciples asked him, “You see the crowd jostling you, and yet you ask, ‘Who touched me?’” 32 But he kept looking around to look at the woman who had done this. 33 So the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came forward fearfully, fell down trembling in front of him, and told him the whole truth.
34 He told her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace and be healed from your illness.”
35 While he was still speaking, some people[ak] came from the synagogue leader’s home[al] and said, “Your daughter is dead. Why bother the Teacher anymore?”
36 But when Jesus heard[am] what they said, he told the synagogue leader, “Stop being afraid! Just keep on believing.” 37 Jesus[an] allowed no one to go further with him except Peter, James, and John, the brother of James.
38 When they came to the home of the synagogue leader, Jesus[ao] saw mass confusion. People[ap] were crying and sobbing loudly. 39 He entered the house[aq] and asked them, “Why all this confusion and crying? The child isn’t dead. She’s sleeping.” 40 They laughed and laughed at him. But when he had driven all of them outside, he took the child’s father and mother, along with the men who were with him, and went into the room[ar] where the child was.
41 He took her by the hand and told her, “Talitha koum,”[as] which means, “Young lady, I tell you, get up!” 42 The young lady got up at once and started to walk. She was twelve years old. Instantly they were overcome with astonishment. 43 But Jesus[at] strictly ordered them not to let anyone know about this. He also told them to give her something to eat.
Jesus is Rejected at Nazareth(J)
6 Jesus[au] left that place and went back to his hometown,[av] and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were utterly amazed. “Where did this man get all these things?” they asked. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What great miracles are being done by his hands! 3 This is the builder,[aw] the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon, isn’t it? His sisters are here with us, aren’t they?” And they were offended by him.
4 Jesus had been telling them, “A prophet is without honor only in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his own home.” 5 He couldn’t perform a miracle there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around to the villages and continued teaching.
Jesus Sends Out the Twelve(K)
7 He called the Twelve and began to send them out two by two, giving them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing along on the trip except a walking stick—no bread, no traveling bag, nothing in their moneybag. 9 They could wear sandals but not take along an extra shirt.[ax] 10 He told them repeatedly, “Whenever you go into a home, stay there until you leave that place. 11 If any place will not welcome you and the people[ay] refuse to listen to you, when you leave, shake its dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went and preached that people[az] should repent. 13 They also kept driving out many demons and anointing with oil many who were sick, and healing them.
The Death of John the Baptist(L)
14 King Herod heard about this, because Jesus’[ba] name had become well-known. He was[bb] saying, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead! That’s why he is able to do these miracles.”
15 Others were saying, “He is Elijah.”
Still others were saying, “He is a prophet like one of the other[bc] prophets.”
16 But when Herod heard about it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised,” 17 because Herod himself had sent men who arrested[bd] John, bound him with chains, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, whom Herod[be] had married.
18 John had been telling Herod, “It’s not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 So Herodias bore a grudge against John[bf] and wanted to kill him. But she couldn’t do it 20 because Herod was afraid of John. He knew that John[bg] was a righteous and holy man, and so he protected him. Whenever he listened to John,[bh] he did much of what he said.[bi] In fact, he liked listening to him.
21 An opportunity came during Herod’s birthday celebration, when he gave a banquet for his top officials, military officers, and the most important people of Galilee. 22 When the daughter of Herodias[bj] came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. So the king told the girl, “Ask me for anything you want, and I’ll give it to you.” 23 He swore with an oath to her, “I’ll give you anything you ask for, up to half of my kingdom.”
24 So she went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother[bk] replied, “The head of John the Baptist.”
25 Immediately the girl[bl] hurried back to the king with her request, “I want you to give me right now the head of John the Baptist on a platter.”
26 The king was deeply saddened, yet because of his oaths and his guests he was reluctant to refuse her. 27 So without delay the king sent a soldier and ordered him to bring John’s[bm] head. The soldier[bn] went and beheaded him in prison. 28 Then he brought John’s[bo] head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When John’s[bp] disciples heard about this, they came and carried off his body and laid it in a tomb.
Jesus Feeds More than Five Thousand People(M)
30 The apostles gathered around Jesus and told him everything they had done and taught. 31 He told them, “Come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest for a while,” because so many people were coming and going[bq] that they didn’t even have time to eat. 32 So they went away in a boat to a deserted place by themselves. 33 But when many people saw them leave and recognized them, they hurried on foot from all the towns and arrived ahead of them. 34 When he got out of the boat,[br] he saw a large crowd. He had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd, and he began to teach them many things.
35 When it was quite late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a deserted place, and it’s already late. 36 Send the crowds[bs] away so that they can go to the neighboring farms and villages and buy themselves something to eat.”
37 But he answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
They asked him, “Should we go and buy 200 denarii[bt] worth of bread and give it to them to eat?”
38 He asked them, “How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.”
They found out and told him, “Five loaves[bu] and two fish.”
39 Then he ordered them to have all the people sit down in groups on the green grass. 40 So they sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed them. Then he broke the loaves in pieces and kept giving them to his disciples to set before the people.[bv] He also divided the two fish among them all. 42 All of them ate and were filled. 43 Then the disciples[bw] picked up twelve baskets full of leftover bread and fish. 44 There were 5,000 men who had eaten the loaves.
Jesus Walks on the Sea(N)
45 Jesus[bx] immediately had his disciples get into a boat and cross to Bethsaida ahead of him, while he sent the crowd away. 46 After saying goodbye to them, he went up on a hillside to pray. 47 When evening had come, the boat was in the middle of the sea, while he was alone on the land. 48 He saw that his disciples[by] were straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. Shortly before dawn[bz] he came to them, walking on the sea. He intended to go up right beside them, 49 but when they saw him walking on the sea, they thought it was a ghost and began to scream. 50 All of them saw him and were terrified. Immediately he told them, “Have courage! It’s me. Stop being afraid!”
51 Then he got into the boat with them, and the wind stopped blowing. The disciples[ca] were utterly astounded, 52 because they didn’t understand the significance of the loaves. Instead, their hearts were hardened.
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret(O)
53 When they had crossed over, they came ashore at Gennesaret and anchored the boat. 54 As soon as they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus.[cb] 55 They ran all over the countryside and began carrying the sick on their mats to any place where they heard he was. 56 Wherever he went, whether into villages, towns, or farms, people[cc] would place their sick in the marketplaces and beg him to let them touch even the tassel of his garment, and everyone who touched it was healed.
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