M’Cheyne Bible Reading Plan
13 That day Jesus left the house and sat down by the sea side.
2 Many people came to where he was. So he got into a boat and sat down. All the people stood on the land by the water.
3 He taught the people many things by telling them stories. He said, `Listen, a man went out to sow some seed.
4 As he sowed it, some of the seed fell on the road. Birds came and ate the seed.
5 Some seed fell on the stony ground. Not much earth covered the stones. The seed started to grow right away because it was not deep in the ground.
6 When the sun began to shine, it was too hot for the new plants. They died because they had no roots.
7 Some seed fell among the weeds. The weeds grew up and made the new plants die.
8 But some seed fell on good ground. The seed grew and the plants gave more seed. Some plants gave thirty seeds. Some gave sixty. And some gave a hundred.
9 Everyone who has ears, listen!'
10 The disciples came to Jesus and asked him, `Why do you tell the people these stories?'
11 Jesus answered them, `You can learn the secret things about the kingdom of heaven. But they cannot learn them.
12 Anyone who already has something will get more, and he will have plenty. But he who does not have anything, even the little that he has will be taken away from him.
13 That is why I tell them stories. They look, but they do not see. They listen, but they do not hear or understand.
14 They make what Isaiah the prophet said long ago, come true. `Isaiah said: "You will listen and listen, but you will not understand. You will look and look, but you will not see.
15 The hearts of these people have no feeling. They do not hear well with their ears. And they have shut their eyes. They do not want to see with their eyes. They do not want to hear with their ears. They do not want to understand in their hearts. They do not want to turn to me. If they did turn, I would heal them."
16 `God is blessing your eyes because they see. God is blessing your ears because they hear.
17 I tell you the truth. Many prophets and good men wanted to see what you see, but they did not see them. They wanted to hear what you hear, but they did not hear them.
18 `So listen to hear what the story means, about the man who sowed the seed.'
19 `People listen to the message about the kingdom of heaven. If anyone does not understand it, the devil comes along and takes the message out of his heart. That person is like the seed which fell on the road.
20 Some seed fell on the stony ground. That is like a person who hears the message and right away he is glad to hear it.
21 But it does not go down deep in his heart. He believes it for a short time. When trouble or a hard time comes because of the message, he stops believing.
22 Some seed fell among the weeds. That is like the person who hears the message. But he thinks about the things of this world. He wants to get money to be happy. These things push the message out of his heart. No good comes from it.
23 Some seed fell on good ground. That is like a person who hears the message and understands it. Much good comes from it. Some people are like the seed that gave a hundred more seeds. Some people are like the seed that gave sixty. Some people are like the seed that gave thirty.'
24 Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field.
25 While people were sleeping, a bad man came and sowed weeds among the good seed. Then he went away.
26 The good seed grew and the plants gave more seeds. Then the weeds grew too.
27 The servants came and said to the man who owned the field, "Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How did the weeds get here?"
28 `He answered them, "A bad man has done this." They asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?"
29 ` "No," said the man. "If you pull up the weeds, then the good plants will come up with them.
30 Let them both grow together until the harvest time. When it is time to cut it, I will say to the men who cut it, `Cut the weeds first. Tie them in bundles to be burned. Then put the grain into my storehouse.' " '
31 Jesus told the people another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A man took a mustard seed and planted it in his field.
32 A mustard seed is the smallest of all seeds. But the plant that grows from it is bigger than other plants. It is like a tree. It is so big that birds come and live in the branches.'
33 Jesus told them another story. He said, `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman took yeast and mixed it with many cups of flour. The yeast went all through the flour.'
34 Jesus told the people all these things in stories. He did not tell them anything without a story.
35 What the prophet of God said long ago, came true. He said, `I will use stories. I will tell things that have been secret since the world was made.'
36 Then Jesus left the people and went into the house. His disciples came to him. They said, `Tell us the meaning of the story about the weeds in the field.'
37 Jesus answered, `The person who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
38 The field is the world. The good seed means the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds mean those who belong to the bad one.
39 The bad man who planted the weeds is the devil. The harvest time is the end of this world. The men who cut the harvest are angels.
40 The weeds are gathered and burned in a fire. That is the way it will be at the end of the world.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels. They will gather everything that is bad and the people who do bad things. They will take them out of his kingdom.
42 They will put them into the big fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.
43 Then the people who are right with God will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Everyone who has ears, listen.'
44 `The kingdom of heaven is like this. Something worth a lot of money is buried in a field. A man found it and covered it again. He was so glad that he went and sold everything he had. Then he bought that field.'
45 `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A trader was looking for fine stones called pearls.
46 He found a pearl that was worth a lot of money. Then he went and sold everything he had and bought it.'
47 `The kingdom of heaven is like this. A fish net was thrown into the sea. It caught all kinds of fish.
48 When it was full, the men pulled it to the land. They sat down and picked out the good fish into baskets. But they threw the bad fish away.
49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and take the bad people away from the good people.
50 They will put the bad people into the never-ending hell fire. There they will cry and make a noise with their teeth.'
51 Jesus asked, `Have you understood all these stories?' The disciples said, `Yes.'
52 Then Jesus said to them, `So anyone who knows the law and has learned about the kingdom of heaven, is like the headman of a house. He can bring both new things and old things out of what he has stored up.'
53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he went away from there.
54 He went back to his home town and he taught people in their meeting house. They were very much surprised and said, `Where did he learn all this? Where did he get the power to do these big works?
55 Is he not the carpenter's son? Is not Mary his mother? Are not James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers?
56 Are not his sisters all here with us? Where did he get all this?'
57 They did not understand Jesus. Jesus said to them, `Other people honour a man who is a prophet. But the people in his own country and home do not honour him.'
58 Jesus could not do many big works in that place because the people did not believe in him.
13 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers. They were Barnabas, Simeon Niger, Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen who grew up with Herod the ruler, and Saul.
2 They were worshipping the Lord and fasting [not eating food for a time]. The Holy Spirit said, `Give me Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have called them.'
3 The men fasted and talked to God. Then they laid their hands on Barnabas and Paul and sent them on their way.
4 Barnabas and Saul left Antioch. The Holy Spirit sent them to the town of Seleucia. From there they went in a boat to the island of Cyprus.
5 When they reached the town of Salamis, they told God's word in the meeting places of the Jews. John was with them to help.
6 They went through all the island to the town of Paphos. There they met a witch doctor. He was a Jew named Bar-Jesus. He was not a true prophet.
7 This witch-doctor was with Sergius Paulus, the ruler of the country. Sergius Paulus was a wise man. He wanted to hear God's word, so he called for Barnabas and Saul.
8 The witch-doctor was also called Elymas. He tried to stop them. He did not want the ruler to believe the truth.
9 Then Saul, who is also called Paul, being filled with the Holy Spirit, looked at him.
10 `You son of the devil!' he said. `You do nothing but tell lies and make much trouble. You hate everything that is right. The Lord's way is right. Will you not stop spoiling his way?
11 See now, the Lord's hand is upon you. You will be blind and will not be able to see the sun for a while.' And right then something like a dark cloud came over Elymas' eyes. He went around begging someone to take his hand and lead him.
12 The ruler saw what had happened. And he was very much surprised at the teaching about the Lord. He believed it.
13 Paul and his friends left Paphos in a boat. They went to the town of Perga in the district of Pamphylia. There John left them and went back to Jerusalem.
14 The others went on from Perga. They came to Antioch in the district of Pisidia. On the Sabbath day they went into the meeting house and sat down.
15 First, someone read from the books of the law and the prophets. Then the rulers of the meeting house called Paul and Barnabas and said, `Men and brothers, have you something to say that will help us? Please say it.'
16 Then Paul stood up and put out his hand. He said, `Men of Israel and you who worship and fear God, please listen to me.
17 The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers. He made the people into a large tribe when they were strangers in the land of Egypt. God brought them out of Egypt by his power.
18 For forty years in the wilderness God cared for them like a father.
19 God took seven tribes out of the land of Canaan. Then he divided the land among our people.
20 God gave judges to rule over them until Samuel the prophet came. About four hundred and fifty years had passed.
21 Then the people asked for a king. God gave them Saul. He was the son of Kish, a man from Benjamin's family. Saul was their king for forty years.
22 Then God took him away. He made David king over them. This is what God said about him, "David, Jesse's son, is the kind of man I love. He will do all that I want him to do."
23 God has given Israel a Saviour from David's family, as he promised to do. His name is Jesus.
24 Before he came, John [the baptiser] talked to all the people of Israel. He said they should stop doing wrong things and be baptised.
25 When John was finishing his work, he said, "Who do you think I am? I am not the one. But wait, someone else will come after me. I am not good enough to untie his shoe strings."
26 `Men and brothers, sons of Abraham, and all of you who worship God, the news of this way to be saved has been sent to us.
27 The people who live in Jerusalem and their rulers did not know who this Jesus really was. They did not understand the words of the prophets of God long ago which were read every Sabbath day. But even so, they did what the prophets had said they would do. They judged him.
28 They could not prove that he did anything wrong for which he should die. Yet they begged Pilate to kill him.
29 They did all the things that the prophets had written about him. Then they took him down from the cross made from a tree. They laid him in a grave cut from the rock.
30 But God raised him from death.
31 People had come with Jesus from Galilee to Jerusalem. They saw him many days. Now they tell people what they saw.
32 And we are bringing you this good news. God made a promise to our fathers long ago. Now he has made his promise come true.
33 We, their children, have now received the promise. He sent Jesus just as it was written in the second, "You are my Son. Today I have become your Father."
34 `God raised Jesus from death. His body did not go back to the grave to be spoiled. Here is what God said about it. "I will give to you the blessings which I promised David."
35 `In another psalm it says, "You will not let the body of your Holy One be spoiled."
36 `As for David, he did the work God wanted him to do for the people in his time. Then, after that, he died. He was buried with his fathers. His body spoiled.
37 But God has raised one from death. His body did not spoil.
38 `Men and brothers, understand this. It is because of this Jesus that we tell you your wrong ways will be forgiven you.
39 The law of Moses could not make you free. But this man makes you free. You will not be judged if you believe in him.
40 Be careful then, so that what the prophets said will not happen to you.
41 They said, "Look, you people who despise everything. You will look in wonder before you die. I will do something in your time. I will do something that you will not believe even if someone told you what it is." '
42 As Paul and Barnabas left the meeting house the people said, `Tell us these things again next Sabbath day.'
43 The meeting was finished. There were many Jews, also those who were not Jews but worshipped God. They followed Paul and Barnabas. Paul and Barnabus kept talking to the people and told them to keep on living in the way that will bring God's blessing.
44 The next Sabbath day almost all of the people in that city gathered to hear God's word.
45 The leaders of the Jews saw that many people came. They were very jealous. They talked back to Paul and said he was not telling the truth. They also said wrong things about him.
46 But Paul and Barnabas did not fear the Jewish leaders. They said, `We had to tell God's word to you first but you will not listen to it. By that you are saying you Jews are not good enough to live for ever. So we will go to the people who are not Jews.
47 That is what the Lord told us to do. He said, "I have made you to be a light to the people who are not Jews. You will tell people everywhere in the world how to be saved." '
48 Those who were not Jews heard this. They were glad and they thanked God for his message. All those who had been chosen to live for ever believed.
49 The word of the Lord was told through all that part of the country.
50 But the leaders of the Jews talked to the leading women who worshipped God and to the chief men of Antioch. They made plenty of trouble for Paul and Barnabas. They made them leave that part of the country.
51 So Paul and Barnabas shook the dust off their feet and left them. They went on to Iconium.
52 And the followers were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit.
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