Read the Gospels in 40 Days
The Parable of the Sower
4 (A)And He began to teach again (B)by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that (C)He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2 And He was teaching them many things in (D)parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3 “Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and it happened that as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 And other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6 And after the sun rose, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7 And other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no [a]crop. 8 And other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they were yielding a [b]crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9 And He was saying, “(E)He who has ears to hear, [c]let him hear.”
10 And when He was alone, [d]His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11 And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to (F)those who are outside, everything comes (G)in parables, 12 so that (H)while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, lest they return and be forgiven.”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
13 (I)And He *said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14 The sower sows the word. 15 And these are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown: when they hear, immediately (J)Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16 And in a similar way, these are the ones being sown on the rocky places: those who, when hearing the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they [e]fall away. 18 And others are those being sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19 but the worries of (K)the [f]world, and the (L)deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for anything else enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20 And those are the ones which were sown on the good soil: they who hear the word and accept it and (M)are bearing fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.”
21 And He was saying to them, “(N)Is a lamp brought to be put under a [g]basket or under a bed? Is it not to be put on the lampstand? 22 (O)For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed; nor has anything been secret, but that it would come to light. 23 (P)If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Beware what you listen to. [h](Q)By your standard of measure it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you. 25 (R)For whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.”
The Parable of the Seed
26 And He was saying, “The kingdom of God is like a man who casts seed upon the soil; 27 and he sleeps and rises, night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows—how, he himself does not know. 28 The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head. 29 But when the grain [i]is ripe, he immediately [j](S)puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
30 (T)And He was saying, “How shall we (U)compare the kingdom of God, or by what parable shall we present it? 31 It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the soil, though it is [k]smallest of all the seeds that are upon the soil, 32 yet when it is sown, it grows up and becomes [l]largest of all the garden plants and forms large branches; so that (V)the birds of the [m]air can nest under its shade.”
33 And with many such parables He was speaking the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34 and He was not speaking to them (W)without a parable; but He was (X)explaining everything privately to His own disciples.
Jesus Calms a Storm
35 (Y)And on that day, when evening came, He *said to them, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 [n]And leaving the crowd, they *took Him along with them (Z)in the boat, just as He was; and other boats were with Him. 37 And a great windstorm *arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat so that the boat was already filling up. 38 And Jesus Himself was in the stern, sleeping on the cushion; and they *got Him up and *said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” 39 And He woke up and (AA)rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Silence! Be still.” And the wind died down and [o]it became [p]perfectly calm. 40 And He said to them, “Why are you so cowardly? (AB)Do you still have no faith?” 41 And they became [q]very afraid and were saying to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him?”
Jesus Saves a Man with Many Demons
5 (AC)Then they came to the other side of the sea, into the region of the Gerasenes. 2 And when He got out of (AD)the boat, immediately a man from the tombs (AE)with an unclean spirit met Him, 3 who had his dwelling among the tombs. And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; 4 because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him. 5 And constantly, night and day, among the tombs and in the mountains, he was crying out and gashing himself with stones. 6 And seeing Jesus from a distance, he ran up and bowed down before Him; 7 and crying out with a loud voice, he *said, “[r](AF)What do I have to do with You, Jesus, (AG)Son of (AH)the Most High God? I implore You by God, do not torment me!” 8 For He had been saying to him, “Come out of the man, you unclean spirit!” 9 And He was asking him, “What is your name?” And he *said to Him, “My name is (AI)Legion; for we are many.” 10 And he began pleading with Him earnestly not to send them out of the region. 11 Now there was a large herd of swine feeding [s]nearby on the mountain. 12 And the demons pleaded with Him, saying, “Send us into the swine so that we may enter them.” 13 And Jesus gave them permission. And coming out, the unclean spirits entered the swine; and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea, about two thousand of them; and they were drowned in the sea.
14 And their herdsmen ran away and reported it in the city and in the countryside. And the people came to see what it was that had happened. 15 And they *came to Jesus and *observed the (AJ)demon-possessed man sitting down, (AK)clothed and (AL)in his right mind, the very man who had the “(AM)legion”; and they became frightened. 16 And those who had seen it recounted to them how this had happened to the (AN)demon-possessed man, and all about the swine. 17 And they began to (AO)plead with Him to leave their region. 18 (AP)And as He was getting into the boat, the man who had been (AQ)demon-possessed was pleading with Him that he might [t]accompany Him. 19 And He did not let him, but He *said to him, “(AR)Go home to your people and report to them [u]what great things the Lord has done for you, and how He had mercy on you.” 20 And he went away and began to (AS)preach in the (AT)Decapolis [v]what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was marveling.
Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’ Daughter
21 (AU)And when Jesus had crossed over again in (AV)the boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him; and so He [w]stayed (AW)by the seashore. 22 (AX)And one of (AY)the synagogue [x]officials named Jairus *came up, and on seeing Him, *fell at His feet 23 and *pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “My little daughter is at the point of death; please come, that by coming, (AZ)You may lay Your hands on her, so that she will [y]be saved and live.” 24 And He went off with him; and a large crowd was following Him and pressing in on Him.
25 And a woman—who had a hemorrhage for twelve years 26 and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse— 27 after hearing about Jesus, she came up in the crowd behind Him and touched His garment. 28 For she was saying, “If I just touch His garments, I will [z]be saved from this.” 29 And immediately the flow of her blood was dried up; and she knew within her body that she had been healed of her (BA)affliction. 30 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that (BB)the power proceeding from Him had gone forth, turned around in the crowd and was saying, “Who touched My garments?” 31 And His disciples were saying to Him, “You see the crowd pressing in on You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’” 32 And He was looking around to see the woman who had done this. 33 But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. 34 And He said to her, “Daughter, (BC)your faith has [aa]saved you; (BD)go in peace and be healed of your (BE)affliction.”
35 While He was still speaking, they *came from the house of the (BF)synagogue official, saying, “Your daughter has died; why trouble the Teacher anymore?” 36 But Jesus, overhearing what had been spoken, *said to the (BG)synagogue official, “(BH)Do not be afraid, only [ab]believe.” 37 And He allowed no one to accompany Him, except (BI)Peter and James and John the brother of James. 38 And they *came to the house of the (BJ)synagogue official; and He *saw a commotion, and people loudly crying and wailing. 39 And entering in, He *said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and crying? The child has not died, but is asleep.” 40 And they began laughing at Him. But putting them all out, He *took along the child’s father and mother and His own companions, and *entered the room where the child was. 41 And taking the child by the hand, He *said to her, “Talitha kum!” (which translated means, “Little girl, (BK)I say to you, arise!”). 42 And immediately the little girl stood up and began to walk, for she was twelve years old. And immediately they were completely astounded. 43 And He (BL)gave them strict orders that no one should know about this, and He said that some food should be given to her to eat.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
6 (BM)And Jesus went out from there and *came into [ac](BN)His hometown; and His disciples *followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began (BO)to teach in the synagogue; and (BP)many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such [ad]miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this man not (BQ)the carpenter, (BR)the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not (BS)His sisters here with us?” And they were taking (BT)offense at Him. 4 And Jesus was saying to them, “(BU)A prophet is not without honor except in [ae](BV)his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no [af]miracle there except that He (BW)laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was marveling at their unbelief.
(BX)And He was going around the villages teaching.
The Twelve Sent Out
7 (BY)And (BZ)He *summoned the twelve and began to send them out (CA)in pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits; 8 (CB)and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only—no bread, no [ag]bag, no money in their belt— 9 but [ah]to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two [ai]tunics.” 10 And He was saying to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you [aj]leave town. 11 And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, (CC)shake the dust [ak]off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.” 12 (CD)And they went out and [al]preached that men should repent. 13 And they were casting out many demons and (CE)were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
The Death of John the Baptist
14 (CF)And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “(CG)John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.” 15 But others were saying, “He is (CH)Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is (CI)a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
17 For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of (CJ)Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “(CK)It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 (CL)Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able; 20 for (CM)Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; [am]but he [an]used to enjoy listening to him. 21 And a strategic day came when Herod on his birthday (CN)gave a banquet for his great men and [ao]military commanders and the leading men (CO)of Galilee; 22 and when the daughter of (CP)Herodias herself came in and danced, she pleased Herod and [ap]his dinner guests; and the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you want and I will give it to you.” 23 And he swore to her, “Whatever you ask of me, I will give it to you; up to (CQ)half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “What shall I ask for?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And immediately she came in a hurry to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And although the king was very sorry, yet because of his oaths and because of [aq]his dinner guests, he did not want to refuse her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back his head. And he went and beheaded him in the prison, 28 and brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 And when his disciples heard this, they came and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
30 (CR)And the (CS)apostles *gathered together with Jesus; and they reported to Him all that they had done and taught. 31 And He *said to them, “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” (For there were many people coming and going, and (CT)they did not even have time to eat.) 32 (CU)And they went away in (CV)the boat to a desolate place by themselves.
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
33 And the people saw them going, and many recognized them and ran there together on foot from all the cities, and got there ahead of them. 34 And when Jesus went [ar]ashore, He (CW)saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because (CX)they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. 35 And when it was already quite late, His disciples came to Him and began saying, “[as]This place is desolate and it is already quite late; 36 send them away so that they may go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves [at]something to eat.” 37 But He answered and said to them, “You give them something to eat!” (CY)And they *said to Him, “Shall we go and spend two hundred [au](CZ)denarii on bread and give them something to eat?” 38 And He *said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go look!” And when they found out, they *said, “Five, and two fish.” 39 And He commanded them all to [av]sit down by [aw]groups on the green grass. 40 And they [ax]sat down in groups of hundreds and of fifties. 41 And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He (DA)blessed the food and broke the loaves. And He kept giving them to the disciples to set before them, and He divided up the two fish among them all. 42 And they all ate and were satisfied, 43 and they picked up twelve full (DB)baskets of the broken pieces, and also of the fish. 44 And there were (DC)five thousand men who ate the loaves.
Jesus Walks on the Sea
45 (DD)And immediately Jesus made His disciples get into (DE)the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side to (DF)Bethsaida, while He Himself was sending the crowd away. 46 And after (DG)bidding them farewell, He left (DH)for the mountain to pray.
47 And when it was evening, the boat was in the middle of the sea, and He was alone on the land. 48 And seeing them [ay]straining at the oars, for the wind was against them, at about the [az](DI)fourth watch of the night He *came to them, walking on the sea; and He was intending to pass by them. 49 But when they saw Him walking on the sea, they thought that it was a ghost, and cried out; 50 for they all saw Him and were [ba]terrified. But immediately He spoke with them and *said to them, “(DJ)Take courage; it is I, (DK)do not be afraid.” 51 Then He got into (DL)the boat with them, and the wind stopped; and they were [bb]utterly amazed, 52 for (DM)they [bc]had not gained any insight about the loaves, but their [bd]heart (DN)was hardened.
Many Healed at Gennesaret
53 (DO)And when they had crossed over they came to land at Gennesaret, and moored to the shore. 54 And when they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, 55 and ran about that whole region and began to carry here and there on their mats those who were sick, to [be]the place they heard He was. 56 And wherever He was entering villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the marketplaces, and pleading with Him that they might just (DP)touch (DQ)the fringe of His garment; and as many as touched it were being [bf]saved from their sicknesses.
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