Matthew 13-14

Matthew 13

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

²Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.

³And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.

⁴And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

⁵Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.

⁶But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.

⁸Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.

⁹He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁰Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

¹²Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’

¹⁴In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

¹⁵For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

¹⁸Consider, then, the parable of the sower:

¹⁹When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

²⁰The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

²¹But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

²²The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²³But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

²⁴Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

²⁵But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away.

²⁶When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

³¹He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

³²Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

³³He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.

³⁵So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

³⁶Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

³⁸The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

³⁹and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

⁴¹The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.

⁴²And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

⁴⁵Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

⁴⁶When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.

⁴⁷Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.

⁴⁸When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.

⁴⁹So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,

⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.

⁵²Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place.

⁵⁴Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked.

⁵⁵“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

⁵⁶Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?”

⁵⁷And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.”

⁵⁸And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.

Matthew 14

¹At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus

²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

⁴because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.”

⁵Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

⁶On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod

⁷so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.

⁸Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

⁹The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted

¹⁰and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.

¹¹John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

¹²Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

¹³When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.

¹⁴When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

¹⁵When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

¹⁶“They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

¹⁸“Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said.

¹⁹And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

²⁰They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

²¹About five thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds.

²³After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

²⁴but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

²⁵During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.

²⁶When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.

²⁷But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

²⁸“Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.”

²⁹“Come,” said Jesus. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

³⁰But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

³²And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind died down.

³³Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”

³⁴When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

³⁵And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding region. People brought all the sick to Him

³⁶and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.