The Question about the Sabbath
The Parable of the Sower
The Death of John the Baptist
1 Not long afterward Jesus was walking through some wheat fields on a Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, so they began to pick heads of wheat and eat the grain. 2 When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Jesus, “Look, it is against our Law for your disciples to do this on the Sabbath!” 3 Jesus answered, “Have you never read what David did that time when he and his men were hungry? 4 He went into the house of God, and he and his men ate the bread offered to God, even though it was against the Law for them to eat it—only the priests were allowed to eat that bread. 5 Or have you not read in the Law of Moses that every Sabbath the priests in the Temple actually break the Sabbath law, yet they are not guilty? 6 I tell you that there is something here greater than the Temple. 7 The scripture says, ‘It is kindness that I want, not animal sacrifices.’ If you really knew what this means, you would not condemn people who are not guilty; 8 for the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”The Man with a Paralyzed Hand
9 Jesus left that place and went to a synagogue,The Purpose of the Parables
(Mark 4.10-12; Luke 8.9, 10)
10 where there was a man who had a paralyzed hand. Some people were there who wanted to accuse Jesus of doing wrong, so they asked him, “Is it against our Law to heal on the Sabbath?” 11 Jesus answered, “What if one of you has a sheep and it falls into a deep hole on the Sabbath? Will you not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 And a human being is worth much more than a sheep! So then, our Law does allow us to help someone on the Sabbath.”Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
(Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17; John 6.1-14)
13 Then he said to the man with the paralyzed hand, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out, and it became well again, just like the other one. 14 Then the Pharisees left and made plans to kill Jesus.God's Chosen Servant
15 When Jesus heard about the plot against him, he went away from that place; and large crowds followed him. He healed all the sick 16 and gave them orders not to tell others about him. 17 He did this so as to make come true what God had said through the prophet Isaiah:Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
18 “Here is my servant, whom I have chosen,the one I love, and with whom I am pleased.
I will send my Spirit upon him,
and he will announce my judgment to the nations.
19 He will not argue or shout,
or make loud speeches in the streets.
20 He will not break off a bent reed,
nor put out a flickering lamp.
He will persist until he causes justice to triumph,
21 and on him all peoples will put their hope.”
Jesus and Beelzebul
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Then some people brought to Jesus a man who was blind and could not talk because he had a demon. Jesus healed the man, so that he was able to talk and see. 23 The crowds were all amazed at what Jesus had done. “Could he be the Son of David?” they asked.The Parable of the Weeds
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they replied, “He drives out demons only because their ruler Beelzebul gives him power to do so.” 25 Jesus knew what they were thinking, and so he said to them, “Any country that divides itself into groups which fight each other will not last very long. And any town or family that divides itself into groups which fight each other will fall apart. 26 So if one group is fighting another in Satan's kingdom, this means that it is already divided into groups and will soon fall apart! 27 You say that I drive out demons because Beelzebul gives me the power to do so. Well, then, who gives your followers the power to drive them out? What your own followers do proves that you are wrong! 28 No, it is not Beelzebul, but God's Spirit, who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you. 29 “No one can break into a strong man's house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house. 30 “Anyone who is not for me is really against me; anyone who does not help me gather is really scattering.The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Mark 4.30-32; Luke 13.18, 19)
31 For this reason I tell you: people can be forgiven any sin and any evil thing they say; but whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who says something against the Son of Man can be forgiven; but whoever says something against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven—now or ever.A Tree and Its Fruit
The Parable of the Yeast
(Luke 13.20, 21)
33 “To have good fruit you must have a healthy tree; if you have a poor tree, you will have bad fruit. A tree is known by the kind of fruit it bears.Jesus' Use of Parables
(Mark 4.33, 34)
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 You snakes—how can you say good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of. 35 A good person brings good things out of a treasure of good things; a bad person brings bad things out of a treasure of bad things.Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 “You can be sure that on the Judgment Day you will have to give account of every useless word you have ever spoken. 37 Your words will be used to judge you—to declare you either innocent or guilty.”The Demand for a Miracle
(Mark 8.11, 12; Luke 11.29-32)
38 Then some teachers of the Law and some Pharisees spoke up. “Teacher,” they said, “we want to see you perform a miracle.” 39 “How evil and godless are the people of this day!” Jesus exclaimed. “You ask me for a miracle? No! The only miracle you will be given is the miracle of the prophet Jonah. 40 In the same way that Jonah spent three days and nights in the big fish, so will the Son of Man spend three days and nights in the depths of the earth. 41 On the Judgment Day the people of Nineveh will stand up and accuse you, because they turned from their sins when they heard Jonah preach; and I tell you that there is something here greater than Jonah! 42 On the Judgment Day the Queen of Sheba will stand up and accuse you, because she traveled all the way from her country to listen to King Solomon's wise teaching; and I assure you that there is something here greater than Solomon!The Return of the Evil Spirit
43 “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can't find one,The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house empty, clean, and all fixed up.The Parable of the Pearl
45 Then it goes out and brings along seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in worse shape than at the beginning. This is what will happen to the evil people of this day.”Jesus' Mother and Brothers
46 Jesus was still talking to the people when his mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside, asking to speak with him.The Parable of the Net
47 So one of the people there said to him, “Look, your mother and brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak with you.” 48 Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 49 Then he pointed to his disciples and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants is my brother, my sister, and my mother.”The Question about the Sabbath
The Parable of the Sower
The Death of John the Baptist
1 That same day Jesus left the house and went to the lakeside, where he sat down to teach. 2 The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it, while the crowd stood on the shore. 3 He used parables to tell them many things. “Once there was a man who went out to sow grain. 4 As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. 6 But when the sun came up, it burned the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. 7 Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants bore grain: some had one hundred grains, others sixty, and others thirty.”The Man with a Paralyzed Hand
9 And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”The Purpose of the Parables
(Mark 4.10-12; Luke 8.9, 10)
10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” 11 Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has.Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
(Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17; John 6.1-14)
13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. 14 So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;
they will look and look, but not see,
God's Chosen Servant
15 because their minds are dull,and they have stopped up their ears
and have closed their eyes.
Otherwise, their eyes would see,
their ears would hear,
their minds would understand,
and they would turn to me, says God,
and I would heal them.’ 16 “As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. 17 I assure you that many prophets and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
18 “Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means. 19 Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them. 20 The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. 21 But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once.Jesus and Beelzebul
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. 23 And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as one hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.”The Parable of the Weeds
24 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. 25 One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants grew and the heads of grain began to form, then the weeds showed up. 27 The man's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’ 28 ‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. 30 Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’”The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Mark 4.30-32; Luke 13.18, 19)
31 Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.”A Tree and Its Fruit
The Parable of the Yeast
(Luke 13.20, 21)
33 Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with a bushel of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”Jesus' Use of Parables
(Mark 4.33, 34)
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 Jesus used parables to tell all these things to the crowds; he would not say a thing to them without using a parable. 35 He did this to make come true what the prophet had said,“I will use parables when I speak to them;
I will tell them things unknown since the creation of the world.”
Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, “Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.” 37 Jesus answered, “The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man;The Demand for a Miracle
(Mark 8.11, 12; Luke 11.29-32)
38 the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One; 39 and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered up and burned in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age: 41 the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things, 42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.The Return of the Evil Spirit
43 Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.The Parable of the Pearl
45 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls,Jesus' Mother and Brothers
46 and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.The Parable of the Net
47 “Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish. 48 When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into the buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away. 49 It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good 50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and gnash their teeth.New Truths and Old
51 “Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them. “Yes,” they answered. 52 So he replied, “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who takes new and old things out of his storage room.”Jesus Is Rejected at Nazareth
53 When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place 54 and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles? 55 Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Aren't all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?” 57 And so they rejected him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.” 58 Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.The Question about the Sabbath
The Parable of the Sower
The Death of John the Baptist
1 At that time Herod, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus. 2 “He is really John the Baptist, who has come back to life,” he told his officials. “That is why he has this power to perform miracles.” 3 For Herod had earlier ordered John's arrest, and he had him tied up and put in prison. He had done this because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife. 4 For some time John the Baptist had told Herod, “It isn't right for you to be married to Herodias!” 5 Herod wanted to kill him, but he was afraid of the Jewish people, because they considered John to be a prophet. 6 On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced in front of the whole group. Herod was so pleased 7 that he promised her, “I swear that I will give you anything you ask for!” 8 At her mother's suggestion she asked him, “Give me here and now the head of John the Baptist on a plate!”The Man with a Paralyzed Hand
9 The king was sad, but because of the promise he had made in front of all his guests he gave orders that her wish be granted.The Purpose of the Parables
(Mark 4.10-12; Luke 8.9, 10)
10 So he had John beheaded in prison. 11 The head was brought in on a plate and given to the girl, who took it to her mother. 12 John's disciples came, carried away his body, and buried it; then they went and told Jesus.Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
(Mark 6.30-44; Luke 9.10-17; John 6.1-14)
13 When Jesus heard the news about John, he left there in a boat and went to a lonely place by himself. The people heard about it, and so they left their towns and followed him by land. 14 Jesus got out of the boat, and when he saw the large crowd, his heart was filled with pity for them, and he healed their sick.God's Chosen Servant
15 That evening his disciples came to him and said, “It is already very late, and this is a lonely place. Send the people away and let them go to the villages to buy food for themselves.” 16 “They don't have to leave,” answered Jesus. “You yourselves give them something to eat!” 17 “All we have here are five loaves and two fish,” they replied.Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower
18 “Then bring them here to me,” Jesus said. 19 He ordered the people to sit down on the grass; then he took the five loaves and the two fish, looked up to heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. 20 Everyone ate and had enough. Then the disciples took up twelve baskets full of what was left over. 21 The number of men who ate was about five thousand, not counting the women and children.Jesus and Beelzebul
Jesus Walks on the Water
22 Then Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead to the other side of the lake, while he sent the people away. 23 After sending the people away, he went up a hill by himself to pray. When evening came, Jesus was there alone;The Parable of the Weeds
24 and by this time the boat was far out in the lake, tossed about by the waves, because the wind was blowing against it. 25 Between three and six o'clock in the morning Jesus came to the disciples, walking on the water. 26 When they saw him walking on the water, they were terrified. “It's a ghost!” they said, and screamed with fear. 27 Jesus spoke to them at once. “Courage!” he said. “It is I. Don't be afraid!” 28 Then Peter spoke up. “Lord, if it is really you, order me to come out on the water to you.” 29 “Come!” answered Jesus. So Peter got out of the boat and started walking on the water to Jesus. 30 But when he noticed the strong wind, he was afraid and started to sink down in the water. “Save me, Lord!” he cried.The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Mark 4.30-32; Luke 13.18, 19)
31 At once Jesus reached out and grabbed hold of him and said, “What little faith you have! Why did you doubt?” 32 They both got into the boat, and the wind died down.A Tree and Its Fruit
The Parable of the Yeast
(Luke 13.20, 21)
33 Then the disciples in the boat worshiped Jesus. “Truly you are the Son of God!” they exclaimed.Jesus' Use of Parables
(Mark 4.33, 34)
Jesus Heals the Sick in Gennesaret
34 They crossed the lake and came to land at Gennesaret, 35 where the people recognized Jesus. So they sent for the sick people in all the surrounding country and brought them to Jesus.Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds
36 They begged him to let the sick at least touch the edge of his cloak; and all who touched it were made well.© 1992 American Bible Society