New Testament in a Year

Chapter 8

Hearing the Word

The Women Who Minister to Jesus. ¹ After that, Jesus journeyed through towns and villages preaching and proclaiming the kingdom of God. Traveling with him were the Twelve, ^2 [a]as well as some women who had been cured of evil spirits and infirmities: Mary, called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out; ³ Joanna, the wife of Herod’s steward Chuza; Susanna; and many others. These women provided for them out of their own resources.

The Parable of the Sower.^{[b] 4} When a large crowd gathered together as people from every town flocked to him, he said in a parable: ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some of the seed fell along the path and was trampled upon, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶ Some fell on rock, and when it came up, it withered for lack of moisture. ⁷ Some seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it. ⁸ And some fell onto good soil, and when it grew it produced a crop of a hundredfold.”

After saying this, he cried out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of Parables.^{[c] 9} Then his disciples asked him what the parable meant. ¹⁰ He said, “To you has been granted knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but for others they are made known in parables, so that

¹¹ The Explanation of the Parable of the Sower.^[d]“The meaning of the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. ¹² The seed on the path represents those who hear, but then the devil comes and carries off the word from their hearts so that they may not come to believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on rock are the ones who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a short while, but in time of trial they fall away.

¹⁴ “That which has fallen among thorns are the ones who have heard, but as they go along, they are choked by the concerns and riches and pleasures of life, and they fail to produce mature fruit. ¹⁵ But that which is on rich soil are the ones who, when they have heard the word with a good and upright heart, keep it and yield a harvest through their perseverance.

¹⁶ The Parable of the Lamp.^[e]“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a pot or places it under a bed. Rather he places it on a lampstand so that those who enter may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing is concealed that will not be made known and brought to light. ¹⁸ Take great care, therefore, about how you listen. For to the one who has, more will be given; from the one who does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away.”

¹⁹ The True Family of Jesus.^[f] Then his mother and his brethren arrived, looking for him, but they could not get near him because of the crowd. ²⁰ He was told, “Your mother and your brethren^[g] are standing outside, and they want to see you.” ²¹ But he replied, “My mother and my brethren are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

The Progressive Revelation of the Mystery of Jesus

²² Jesus Calms the Storm.^[h] One day, Jesus got into a boat with his disciples and said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” And so they set forth, ²³ and as they sailed he fell asleep. Then a windstorm swept down on the lake. As a result, the boat was becoming filled with water, and they were in danger. ²⁴ So they went to him and awakened him, saying, “Master! Master! We are perishing!”

Then he awakened and rebuked the wind and the turbulent waves. They subsided and there was calm. ²⁵ He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were filled with fear and a sense of awe, and they said to one another, “Who can this be? He gives orders to the winds and the water, and they obey him.”