Read the Gospels in 40 Days

Jesus tells a story about a farmer's seeds

4 Again, Jesus began to teach people near the edge of Lake Galilee. A large crowd came together to listen to him. So he went and sat in a boat that was on the water. The crowd of people stayed on the shore. ² Jesus used stories to teach them many things. He said to them, ³ ‘Listen to me! A farmer went out to plant seeds in his field.^{[a] 4} While he was throwing the seeds, some of them fell on the path. The birds came and they ate those seeds. ⁵ Other seeds fell on ground which had many rocks. There was not much soil in that place. The seeds quickly began to grow, because the soil was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, it burned the young plants. They soon died because they had not grown down well into the soil. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorn bushes. Those bushes grew up with the young plants. They stopped the seeds from growing into strong plants. So the plants could not make any new seeds. ⁸ But some seeds fell on good soil. Good strong plants grew from these seeds. Some plants made 30 new seeds. Some plants made 60 new seeds. And some plants made 100 new seeds.’

⁹ Then Jesus said, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say!’

Jesus explains to his disciples why he uses stories

¹⁰ When Jesus was alone, the 12 apostles and other people who were there asked him about the stories. ¹¹ Jesus replied, ‘God has let you understand how he rules in the lives of his people. But these other people only listen to stories. ¹² This is so that:

If they did understand, they would turn to God. Then God would forgive them.’

Jesus explains the story about the seeds

¹³ Then Jesus answered the people who had asked him about the story. ‘You should understand this story. If you do not understand it, you will not understand any of my stories. ¹⁴ The seeds are like the message from God. The farmer is like a person who tells people about that message. ¹⁵ Some seeds fell on the path. That is like some people who listen to the message. But then Satan comes and he quickly takes the message away from their minds. ¹⁶ Some of the seeds fell on soil with rocks in it. This is also like some people who hear God's message. These people are happy to believe it for a time. ¹⁷ But they are like plants that have not grown down well into the soil. So they only believe for a short time. They may have problems. Or because they obey God's message, other people may do bad things to them. When that happens, these people soon stop believing. ¹⁸ Some seeds fell among thorn bushes. This is like some other people who hear God's message. ¹⁹ But they have many troubles in their minds. They think that more money and other valuable things will make them happy. So they do not let God's message change them. They are like plants that do not grow well and make new seeds. ²⁰ But some seeds fell on good soil. This is like other people who listen to the message from God. They understand the message and they believe it. These people are like good plants that grow well. From one seed, some good plants make 30 new seeds. Other good plants make 60 new seeds, and some good plants make 100 new seeds.’

People put a light in a high place

²¹ Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Nobody brings a lamp into a house and puts it under a pot or under a bed. You do not do that. You put it up on a high place.^{[b] 22} God hides some things now. But there will be a time when people will see them. God keeps some things secret now. But there will be a time when people will understand those things.’ ²³ Then Jesus said, ‘You have ears, so listen well to what I say.’

²⁴ Jesus then said, ‘Think carefully about the things that you hear. God will give to you in the same way that you give to other people. And you will receive even more. ²⁵ A person who has received some things will receive more things. Some other people have nothing. They will lose even the little bit that they do have.’^[c]

Jesus tells a story about seeds

²⁶ Then Jesus said, ‘I will tell you a story about the kingdom of God. It is like this: A man throws seeds in his field. ²⁷ Then he sleeps each night and he wakes up each day. The seeds start to grow into plants. They continue to grow. The man does not know how this happens. ²⁸ The soil causes the plants to grow. The leaves of the plant grow first. Then the flowers appear. Then the plant makes new seeds. ²⁹ When the new seeds have completely grown, the man will cut down the plants. It is time for him to take the seeds to use for food.’

Jesus tells a story about a very small seed

³⁰ Jesus said, ‘I will tell you another story about the kingdom of God. This story shows what the kingdom of God is like. ³¹ It is like this: A man takes a seed of the plant called mustard. He plants it in the soil. It is smaller than any other seed that people plant in the soil. ³² But when it starts to grow, it becomes bigger than the largest bush. It will have big branches. Then the birds will come and they will live there. They will build their nests in the shade of the branches.’

³³ Jesus taught God's message to the people. He used many stories like these. He told the people as much as they could understand. ³⁴ He always used stories to teach the people. Then he explained everything to his own disciples when he was alone with them.

Jesus stops a storm

³⁵ On that same day, in the evening, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘We should go across the lake to the other side.’ ³⁶ So they went and left the crowd behind. Jesus was already in the boat. So the disciples took him across the lake. Some other boats also went with them. ³⁷ Then a strong wind began to blow across the lake. Water began to go into the boat and fill it. Soon the boat was almost going under the water. ³⁸ Jesus was in a comfortable place at the back of the boat. He was sleeping. The disciples woke him. They said to him, ‘Teacher, we will die here in the water! Please do something!’

³⁹ Jesus woke up and he spoke strongly to the wind and to the water. ‘Be quiet!’ he said. ‘Stop!’ Then the wind stopped and the water became quiet again.

⁴⁰ Jesus said to his disciples, ‘You should not be afraid like that. You should trust me.’

⁴¹ But the disciples became very afraid. They said to each other, ‘Who is this man? Even the wind and the water obey him.’

A man with many bad spirits

5 Jesus and his disciples came to the other side of the lake. They came to a place where the Gerasene people lived.^[d]

^2-4 Jesus got out of the boat. Immediately, a man with a bad spirit in him came to him. This man lived outside, among some graves. He was very strong and nobody could hold him. People often put chains around his ankles to hold him. They wanted to keep him in a safe place. But he broke the chains that held him. ⁵ The man often walked in the place where the dead people were and on the hills. Every day and every night, he screamed and he used stones to cut himself.

⁶ He saw Jesus a long way away and he ran to meet him. He went down on his knees in front of Jesus. ⁷ He screamed loudly, ‘Jesus, you are the Son of the Most High God! What are you doing here? Please, promise God that you will not hurt me.’ ⁸ He said that because Jesus had already said to the bad spirit, ‘Come out of this man.’

⁹ Then Jesus asked the man, ‘What is your name?’

The man replied, ‘My name is Army because there are so many bad spirits in me.’

¹⁰ He said to Jesus many times, ‘Please do not send these bad spirits away from this place.’

¹¹ A large group of pigs was eating on the hill. ¹² The bad spirits said, ‘Jesus, send us to the pigs. Let us go into them.’ ¹³ Jesus let them do this. So the bad spirits came out of the man and they went into the pigs. There were about 2,000 pigs. They rushed together down the hill into the lake. All the pigs died there in the water.

¹⁴ The men who were taking care of these pigs ran away. They told the people in the town and in the villages what had happened. Then those people came to see the place for themselves. ¹⁵ They came to Jesus. They saw the man that the army of bad spirits had ruled. He was now sitting there quietly. He was wearing clothes and his mind was well again. When the people saw this, they were afraid. ¹⁶ The people who had seen this told other people what had happened to the man. They also explained what happened to the pigs. ¹⁷ Then the people who lived there said to Jesus, ‘Please go away. Leave this place.’

¹⁸ Jesus got back into the boat. The man that the bad spirits had ruled spoke to him. He told Jesus that he wanted to go with him. ¹⁹ But Jesus did not let him do this. Jesus said to him, ‘Go to your home and to your friends. Tell them what the Lord has done for you. Tell them how he has been kind to you.’ ²⁰ So the man went away. He began to speak to many people in the region called ‘The ten cities’. He told them about the great things that Jesus had done for him. All the people were very surprised.

Jesus makes a dead girl live

²¹ Jesus returned to the other side of the lake in the boat. While he was by the lake, a large crowd came to him. ²² A man called Jairus came to Jesus. He was a leader at the Jewish meeting place. When he saw Jesus, he went down on his knees in front of him. ²³ He said, ‘My little daughter is very ill and she will die very soon. Please come to my house and put your hands on her. Then she will be well and she will live.’ ²⁴ So Jesus went with Jairus.

A large crowd followed Jesus. The people were pushing against him. ²⁵ There was a sick woman who had lost blood for 12 years. ²⁶ She had paid many doctors to help her to become well. But they could not do anything. Now she had spent all her money. She had not become well. Instead, she was now worse. ²⁷ People had told her about Jesus. So she came in the crowd behind him and she touched his coat. ²⁸ She said, ‘Even if I can only touch his clothes, I will become well again.’ ²⁹ As soon as she touched Jesus' coat, the blood stopped. She felt in her body that her illness was better. She knew that she was well again.

³⁰ Jesus knew immediately that something powerful had gone out from him. So he turned around in the crowd and he asked, ‘Who touched my clothes?’

³¹ His disciples replied, ‘You can see that the crowd is pushing against you. So you cannot ask who touched you!’

³² But Jesus looked around him. He wanted to see who had touched him. ³³ The woman knew what had happened to her. She felt very afraid. But she came to Jesus, and she went down on her knees in front of him. Then she told him everything that had happened to her. ³⁴ Jesus said to her, ‘Young woman, you are now well again because you believed in me. Have peace in your mind. Go now and have no more pain.’

³⁵ While Jesus was still speaking, some men arrived from the house of Jairus. He was the leader at the Jews' meeting place. The men said to Jairus, ‘Your daughter is dead. Do not ask any longer for the teacher to come.’

³⁶ Jesus heard what the men said to Jairus. But Jesus said to him, ‘Do not be afraid. Instead, believe.’

³⁷ Jesus took only Peter, James and James's brother, John, with him. He would not let anyone else go with him. ³⁸ Then they came to Jairus's house. Jesus saw that there were many people there. They were crying and they were making a loud noise. ³⁹ Jesus went into the house and he said to the people, ‘You should not be weeping and making a noise. The child is not dead. She is asleep.’ ⁴⁰ The people laughed at Jesus when he said that.

Then Jesus sent them all out of the house. He went into the place where the child was lying. The child's father and mother went with him. He also took Peter, James and John with him. ⁴¹ Then Jesus held the girl's hand. He said to her, ‘Talitha koum.’ This means, ‘Little girl, I say to you, stand up!’^{[e] 42} The girl stood up immediately and she walked about. She was 12 years old. The people there were very surprised. ⁴³ Jesus said to them, ‘You must not tell anyone what has happened here. Now give the girl something to eat.’

Jesus goes to Nazareth

6 Jesus left that place. He went to his own town. His disciples went with him.^[f]

² When it was the Jewish day of rest, Jesus went to their meeting place. He began to teach the people who were there. Many of them were surprised about the things that he was saying to them. They said to each other, ‘How did this man learn all these things? How did he become so wise? How does he do all these powerful things? ³ We know he is an ordinary man. He is the carpenter.^[g] He is the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Simon and Judas. His sisters live here in the town among us. Isn't that true?’ So the people there turned against Jesus.

⁴ Then Jesus said to them, ‘If a man is a prophet from God, people everywhere will respect him. But the people in his own town will not accept him. Even his own people and his own family will not respect him.’

⁵ Jesus could not do any powerful miracles in his own town. But he did put his hands on a few sick people and he made them well. ⁶ Jesus was very surprised because the people there would not believe in him.

Then he went to visit the other villages that were near there. He was teaching the people who lived in those villages.

Jesus sends the 12 apostles to tell God's message

⁷ Jesus asked his 12 apostles to come to him. He started to send them out to tell God's message to people. He sent them out two by two and he gave them authority over bad spirits.

⁸ Jesus told the disciples, ‘Only take a stick for the journey, nothing else. Do not take any bread or a bag. Do not take any money in your pockets. ⁹ Wear shoes but do not take extra clothes. ¹⁰ In each town, stay at the first house that you go into. Continue to stay there until you leave that town. ¹¹ Perhaps you might go to a town where the people do not accept you. They will not listen to you. So you should leave that town. Clean that town's dirt off your feet. Then it will be clear that they have done something wrong.’

¹² So the 12 apostles went out. They told people that they must change the way that they live. They must stop doing wrong things. ¹³ The disciples caused many bad spirits to come out of people. They also put olive oil on many sick people, and the sick people became well.

Herod kills John the Baptist

¹⁴ People were talking about Jesus. King Herod heard about what was happening.^[h] Some people were saying that Jesus was really John the Baptist. They said that John had died, but he had become alive again. ‘That is why this man can do these very powerful things,’ they said.

¹⁵ Other people said, ‘This man is Elijah.’ And other people said, ‘He is a prophet. He is like one of God's prophets who lived a long time ago.’^[i]

¹⁶ But when someone told Herod, he said, ‘This man is surely John. I sent a soldier to cut off his head. But he has become alive again!’

¹⁷ Herod himself had sent his soldiers to take hold of John. He had said to his soldiers, ‘Tie his hands and feet and put him in prison.’ Herod had done that because of his wife, Herodias. She had been the wife of Herod's brother, Philip. But Herod had married her. ¹⁸ John had said to him, ‘Herodias is your brother's wife. It is not right for you to have her as your wife.’^[j]

¹⁹ So Herodias was angry with John. She wanted to kill him. But she could not do that, ²⁰ because Herod was afraid of John. Herod knew that John was a good man and a servant of God. So Herod kept John safe. Herod liked to listen to the things that John said. But he did not know what to think about those things.

²¹ One day, Herodias had her chance. It was Herod's birthday and he asked many people to come to a special meal. Important men and officers came. The rulers from Galilee were also there. ²² The daughter of Herodias came in and she danced. Herod and his visitors were very happy when they saw her dance.

King Herod said to the girl, ‘Ask me for anything that you want. I will give it to you.’ ²³ He made a strong promise, ‘I will give you anything that you ask me to give to you. I will even give you half of everything that I rule over.’

²⁴ The girl went out and she said to her mother, ‘What should I ask him for?’ Her mother replied, ‘Ask for the head of John the Baptist.’

²⁵ The girl went quickly to Herod and she said to him, ‘I want the head of John the Baptist. Put it on a plate! Do it now!’

²⁶ Then Herod felt very sad. Because he had made a special promise, he did not want to refuse her. All his visitors had heard him. ²⁷ So immediately, the king sent a soldier to go to John. The king told the soldier that he must bring John's head. So the soldier went to the prison and he cut off John's head there. ²⁸ Then he brought it back on a plate. He gave it to the girl, and she gave it to her mother. ²⁹ People told John's disciples about what had happened. So they went to the prison. They took away John's body and they buried it.

Jesus gives food to 5,000 men and their families

³⁰ The apostles all came to Jesus. They told him about all the things that they had done. And they told him what they had taught. ³¹ Many people were coming to Jesus and then going away. Jesus and his disciples were too busy even to eat. So Jesus said to them, ‘Come with me to a place where there are no other people. We should be alone together. Then we can rest for a short time.’

³² So they left all the people behind. They went away in a boat together to a quiet place. ³³ But many people saw that they were leaving the town. Those people recognized them. So they ran out from all the towns around there. They went on land and reached the place before Jesus and the disciples. ³⁴ Jesus got out of the boat and he saw a large crowd. He felt sorry for them. He thought to himself, ‘These people are like sheep that have nobody to take care of them.’ So he began to teach them many things.

³⁵ When it was almost evening time, Jesus' disciples came and said to him, ‘We are in a place where there are no houses. Soon it will be dark. ³⁶ The people do not have anything to eat. So send them away now. Tell them to go to the farms and villages that are near here. Then they can buy some food for themselves to eat.’

³⁷ ‘You should give them some food to eat,’ Jesus replied.

But the disciples said, ‘We cannot go to buy bread for all these people. A man must work for eight months to get the 200 coins that we would need for that.^[k] We cannot get enough food to give to these people.’

³⁸ Jesus asked them, ‘How many loaves of bread do you have? Go and see.’ When they had looked, they told Jesus, ‘We have five loaves and two fish.’

³⁹ Then Jesus told all the people to sit down on the green grass. He wanted them to sit in large groups. ⁴⁰ So the people sat down in groups. Each group had 50 or 100 people in it. ⁴¹ Then Jesus took the five loaves of bread and the two fish. He looked up to heaven and he thanked God for the food. Then he broke the bread into pieces. He gave the pieces of bread to the disciples, and they gave the bread to the people. Jesus also broke the two fish into pieces for all the people. ⁴² Everyone ate and they all had enough food. They were not hungry any more. ⁴³ Jesus' disciples then picked up all the bits of food that people had not eaten. They filled 12 baskets with little bits of bread and fish. ⁴⁴ There were 5,000 men in the crowd that ate the food there.^[l]

Jesus walks on water

⁴⁵ Immediately after this, Jesus said to his disciples, ‘Get into the boat and sail across the lake to Bethsaida.’ Jesus said that he would first send the crowd away. Then he would also leave. ⁴⁶ So he said ‘goodbye’ to the crowd. Then he went up on a mountain to pray.

⁴⁷ That evening, the boat with the disciples in it was in the middle of the lake. Jesus was still alone on the land. ⁴⁸ But he could see his disciples. They were trying to make the boat move along. But it was very difficult for them because the wind was blowing in the opposite direction. Then, when it was nearly dawn, Jesus walked on the water towards his disciples. He seemed to be going on past them. ⁴⁹ But they saw that he was walking on the water. They thought, ‘It is a spirit.’ And they screamed out. ⁵⁰ They all saw him and they were very afraid. But immediately, Jesus said to them, ‘Be brave. It is I. Do not be afraid.’ ⁵¹ Then Jesus got into the boat to be with them. The strong wind stopped. The disciples were completely surprised about what had happened. ⁵² They did not understand what Jesus had done with the loaves of bread. They were not ready to learn.

Jesus makes many sick people well

⁵³ They sailed across the lake. They reached the shore at Gennesaret and they tied the boat there. ⁵⁴ When they got out of the boat, the people recognized Jesus immediately. ⁵⁵ They went to tell everyone who lived in places near there. They brought sick people to Jesus. They carried those people to him on mats. Whenever they knew where Jesus was, they brought sick people to him there. ⁵⁶ Jesus went to villages, towns and farms. Everywhere that he went, they brought sick people to the market places. The sick people asked Jesus for help. They wanted to touch even the edge of his coat. Every sick person who touched him became well.