Women Accompanying Jesus

1 Soon afterward he went on ⁿthrough cities and villages, proclaiming and ^obringing the good news of the kingdom of God. And the twelve were with him, 2 and also ^psome women who had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities: ^qMary, called Magdalene, ^rfrom whom seven demons had gone out, 3 and ^sJoanna, the wife of Chuza, Herod’s household manager, and Susanna, and many others, who provided for them¹ out of their means.

The Parable of the Sower

4 ^tAnd when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 ^u“A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, ^vit withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among ^wthorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded ^xa hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, ^y“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, ^z“To you it has been given to know ^athe secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so ^bthat ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 ^cNow the parable is this: The seed is ^dthe word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not ^ebelieve and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it ^fwith joy. But these have no root; they ^gbelieve for a while, and in time of testing ^hfall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but ⁱas they go on their way they are choked by the ^jcares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and ^kbear fruit ^lwith patience.

A Lamp Under a Jar

16 ^mn“No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 ^oFor nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 ^pTake care then how you hear, ^qfor to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

19 ^rThen his mother and ^shis brothers² came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those ^twho hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Calms a Storm

22 ^uOne day he got into a boat with his disciples, and he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side of ^vthe lake.” So they set out, 23 and as they sailed he fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on ^vthe lake, and they were filling with water and were in danger. 24 And they went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And he awoke and ^wrebuked the wind and the raging waves, and they ceased, ^xand there was a calm. 25 He said to them, “Where is your faith?” And they ^ywere afraid, and they ^zmarveled, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that ^ahe commands even winds and water, and they obey him?”

Jesus Heals a Man with a Demon

26 ^bThen they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes,³ which is opposite Galilee. 27 When Jesus⁴ had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house ^cbut among the tombs. 28 When he saw Jesus, he ^dcried out and fell down before him and said ^dwith a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, ^eSon of ^fthe Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29 For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon ^ginto the desert.) 30 Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, ^h“Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31 And they begged him not to command them to depart into ⁱthe abyss. 32 Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33 Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into ^jthe lake and drowned.

34 When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35 Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting ^kat the feet of Jesus, ^lclothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36 And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed⁵ man had been healed. 37 Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes ^masked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear. So he got into the boat and returned. 38 The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39 “Return to your home, and ⁿdeclare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him.

Jesus Heals a Woman and Jairus’s Daughter

40 Now when Jesus returned, the crowd ^owelcomed him, for they were all waiting for him. 41 ^pAnd there came a man named Jairus, who was ^qa ruler of the synagogue. And falling at Jesus’ feet, he implored him to come to his house, 42 for he had ^ran only daughter, about twelve years of age, and she was dying.

As Jesus went, the people ^spressed around him. 43 And there was a woman ^twho had had a discharge of blood for twelve years, and though she had spent all her ^uliving on physicians,⁶ she could not be healed by anyone. 44 She came up behind him and touched ^vthe fringe of his garment, and ^wimmediately her discharge of blood ceased. 45 And Jesus said, “Who was it that touched me?” When all denied it, Peter⁷ said, “Master, the crowds surround you and are pressing in on you!” 46 But Jesus said, “Someone touched me, for I perceive that ^xpower has gone out from me.” 47 And when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling, and falling down before him declared in the presence of all the people why she had touched him, and how she had been immediately healed. 48 And he said to her, “Daughter, ^yyour faith has made you well; ^ygo in peace.”

49 While he was still speaking, someone from ^zthe ruler’s house came and said, “Your daughter is dead; ^ado not trouble ^bthe Teacher any more.” 50 But Jesus on hearing this answered him, “Do not fear; only believe, and she will be well.” 51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except ^cPeter and ^dJohn and James, and the father and mother of the child. 52 And all were weeping and ^emourning for her, but he ^fsaid, “Do not weep, for ^gshe is not dead but ^hsleeping.” 53 And they laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But ⁱtaking her by the hand he called, saying, “Child, ^jarise.” 55 And ^kher spirit returned, and she got up at once. And he directed that something should be given her to eat. 56 And her parents were amazed, but ^lhe charged them to tell no one what had happened.

The Parable of the Sower

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house ^oand sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, ^pso that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And ^qhe told them many things in parables, saying: ^r“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but ^swhen the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, ^tthey withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among ^uthorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some ^va hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 ^wHe who has ears,¹ let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, ^x“To you it has been given to know ^ythe secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 ^zFor to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, ^aeven what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because ^bseeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, ^cnor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

16 But ⁱblessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 ⁱFor truly, I say to you, ^jmany prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 ^k“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of ^lthe kingdom and ^mdoes not understand it, ⁿthe evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately ^oreceives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but ^pendures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately ^qhe falls away.² 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but ^rthe cares of ^sthe world and ^tthe deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and ^munderstands it. He indeed ^ubears fruit and yields, in one case ^va hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, ^w“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds³ among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants⁴ of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ^x‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, ^y“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, ^z“The kingdom of heaven is like ^aa grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. ^b“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in ^cthree measures of flour, till it was ^dall leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 ^eAll these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:⁵

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into ⁱthe house. And his disciples came to him, saying, ^j“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is ^kthe sons of the kingdom. The weeds are ^lthe sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. ^mThe harvest is ⁿthe end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds ^oare gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at ⁿthe end of the age. 41 ^pThe Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all ^qcauses of sin and ^rall law-breakers, 42 ^sand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^tthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then ^uthe righteous will shine like the sun ^vin the kingdom of their Father. ^wHe who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven ^xis like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy ^yhe goes and sells all that he has and ^zbuys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding ^aone pearl of great value, ^ywent and sold all that he had and ^zbought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is ^blike a net that was thrown into the sea and ^cgathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, ^dmen drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at ^ethe end of the age. The angels will come out and ^fseparate the evil from the righteous 50 ^gand throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place ^gthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 ^h“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every ⁱscribe ^jwho has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who ^kbrings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 ^land coming to ^mhis hometown ⁿhe taught them in their synagogue, so that ^othey were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 ^pIs not this ^qthe carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not ^rhis brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And ^sthey took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, ^t“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, ^ubecause of their unbelief.