Matthew 12:15-14:12

New King James Version

Behold, My Servant

¹⁵ But when Jesus knew it, ^(A)He withdrew from there. ^(B)And great ^[a]multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. ¹⁶ Yet He ^(C)warned them not to make Him known, ¹⁷ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:

A House Divided Cannot Stand^(F)

^22 (G)Then one was brought to Him who was demon-possessed, blind and mute; and He healed him, so that the ^[b]blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³ And all the multitudes were amazed and said, “Could this be the ^(H)Son of David?”

^24 (I)Now when the Pharisees heard it they said, “This fellow does not cast out demons except by ^[c]Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.”

²⁵ But Jesus ^(J)knew their thoughts, and said to them: “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶ If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they shall be your judges. ²⁸ But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, ^(K)surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. ^29 (L)Or how can one enter a strong man’s house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house. ³⁰ He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad.

The Unpardonable Sin^(M)

³¹ “Therefore I say to you, ^(N)every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, ^(O)but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³² Anyone who ^(P)speaks a word against the Son of Man, ^(Q)it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

A Tree Known by Its Fruit^(R)

³³ “Either make the tree good and ^(S)its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (T)Brood^[d] of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? ^(U)For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. ³⁵ A good man out of the good treasure ^[e]of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. ³⁶ But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷ For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

The Scribes and Pharisees Ask for a Sign^(V)

^38 (W)Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “An evil and ^(X)adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. ^40 (Y)For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ^41 (Z)The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and ^(AA)condemn it, ^(AB)because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AC)The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

An Unclean Spirit Returns^(AD)

^43 (AE)“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, ^(AF)he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. ⁴⁴ Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; ^(AG)and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers Send for Him^(AH)

⁴⁶ While He was still talking to the multitudes, ^(AI)behold, His mother and ^(AJ)brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. ⁴⁷ Then one said to Him, “Look, ^(AK)Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

⁴⁸ But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My ^(AL)brothers! ⁵⁰ For ^(AM)whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

The Parable of the Sower^(AN)

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house ^(AO)and sat by the sea. ^2 (AP)And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that ^(AQ)He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³ Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ^(AR)“Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. ⁶ But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. ⁸ But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ^(AS)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ^9 (AT)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables^(AU)

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

¹¹ He answered and said to them, “Because ^(AV)it has been given to you to know the ^[f]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ^12 (AW)For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

¹⁶ But ^(BC)blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; ¹⁷ for assuredly, I say to you ^(BD)that many prophets and righteous men desired 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^(BE)

^18 (BF)“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word ^(BG)of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰ But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately ^(BH)receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when ^(BI)tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately ^(BJ)he stumbles. ²² Now ^(BK)he who received seed ^(BL)among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears ^(BM)fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

²⁴ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; ²⁵ but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. ²⁶ But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. ²⁷ So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but ^(BN)gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed^(BO)

³¹ Another parable He put forth to them, saying: ^(BP)“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, ³² which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ^(BQ)tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Leaven^(BR)

^33 (BS)Another parable He spoke to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three ^[h]measures of meal till ^(BT)it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and the Parables

^34 (BU)All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, ³⁵ that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying:

The Parable of the Tares Explained

³⁶ Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”

³⁷ He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ^38 (BX)The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are ^(BY)the sons of the wicked one. ³⁹ The enemy who sowed them is the devil, ^(BZ)the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. ⁴⁰ Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out His angels, ^(CA)and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, ^42 (CB)and will cast them into the furnace of fire. ^(CC)There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (CD)Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(CE)He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and ^(CF)sells all that he has and ^(CG)buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, ⁴⁶ who, when he had found ^(CH)one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and ^(CI)gathered some of every kind, ⁴⁸ which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, ^(CJ)separate the wicked from among the just, ⁵⁰ and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”

^51 [i]Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They said to Him, “Yes, ^[j]Lord.”

⁵² Then He said to them, “Therefore every ^[k]scribe instructed ^[l]concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure ^(CK)things new and old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth^(CL)

⁵³ Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. ^54 (CM)When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ^55 (CN)Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And ^(CO)His brothers ^(CP)James, ^[m]Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So they ^(CQ)were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, ^(CR)“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸ Now ^(CS)He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(CT)

14 At that time ^(CU)Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.” ^3 (CV)For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴ Because John had said to him, ^(CW)“It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, ^(CX)because they counted him as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod. ⁷ Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.

⁸ So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, “Give me John the Baptist’s head here on a platter.”

⁹ And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. ¹⁰ So he sent and had John beheaded in prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.