John’s Questions

11 ^(A)When Jesus had finished ^[a]giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He went on from there ^(B)to teach and ^[b]preach in their cities.

^2 (C)Now while in prison, ^(D)John heard about the works of Christ, and he sent word by his disciples, ³ and said to Him, “Are You ^(E)the Coming One, or are we to ^[c]look for someone else?” ⁴ Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see: ^5 (F)those who are blind receive sight and those who limp walk, those with leprosy are cleansed and those who are deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the ^(G)poor have the ^[d]gospel preached to them. ⁶ And blessed is ^[e]any person who ^(H)does not ^[f]take offense at Me.”

Jesus’ Tribute to John

⁷ As these disciples of John were going away, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into ^(I)the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ^8 [g]But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ ^[h]palaces! ^9 [i]But what did you go out to see? ^(J)A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and one who is more than a prophet. ¹⁰ This is the one about whom it ^[j]is written:

¹¹ Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist! Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. ¹² And ^(L)from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has been treated violently, and violent men take it by force. ¹³ For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. ¹⁴ And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is ^(M)Elijah who ^[l]was to come. ^15 (N)The one who has ears to hear, ^[m]let him hear.

¹⁶ “But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call out to the other children, ¹⁷ and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a song of mourning, and you did not ^[n]mourn.’ ¹⁸ For John came neither ^(O)eating nor ^(P)drinking, and they say, ‘^(Q)He has a demon!’ ¹⁹ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a ^[o]heavy drinker, ^(R)a friend of tax collectors and ^[p]sinners!’ And yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.”

The Unrepenting Cities

²⁰ Then He began to reprimand the cities in which most of His ^[q](S)miracles were done, because they did not repent. ²¹ “^(T)Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, ^(U)Bethsaida! For if the ^[r]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(V)Tyre and ^(W)Sidon, they would have repented long ago in ^[s](X)sackcloth and ashes. ²² Nevertheless I say to you, ^(Y)it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on ^(Z)the day of judgment than for you. ²³ And you, ^(AA)Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You will be ^(AB)brought down to ^(AC)Hades! For if the ^[t]miracles that occurred in you had occurred in ^(AD)Sodom, it would have remained to this day. ²⁴ Nevertheless I say to you that ^(AE)it will be more tolerable for the land of ^(AF)Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

Come to Me

^25 [u](AG)At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, ^(AH)Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that ^(AI)You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and have revealed them to infants. ²⁶ Yes, ^(AJ)Father, for this way was well pleasing in Your sight. ^27 (AK)All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father ^(AL)except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son determines to reveal Him.

²⁸ “^(AM)Come to Me, all ^[v]who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take My yoke upon you and ^(AN)learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and ^(AO)you will find ^[w]rest for your souls. ³⁰ For ^(AP)My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.”

Sabbath Questions

12 ^[a](A)At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to ^(B)pick the heads of grain and eat. ² Now when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what ^(C)is not lawful to do on a Sabbath!” ³ But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions— ⁴ how he entered the house of God, and ^(D)they ate the ^[b]consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? ⁵ Or have you not read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple ^[c]violate the Sabbath, and yet are innocent? ⁶ But I say to you that something ^(E)greater than the temple is here. ⁷ But if you had known what this ^[d]means: ‘^(F)I desire ^[e]compassion, ^[f]rather than sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned ^[g]the innocent.

Lord of the Sabbath

⁸ For ^(G)the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

^9 (H)Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. ¹⁰ And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned ^[h]Jesus, asking, “^(I)Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might bring charges against Him. ¹¹ But He said to them, “^(J)What man ^[i]is there among you who ^[j]has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? ^12 (K)How much more valuable then is a person than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do ^[k]good on the Sabbath.” ¹³ Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” ^(L)He stretched it out, and it was restored to ^[l]normal, like the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and ^[m](M)conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

¹⁵ But Jesus, ^[n]aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and ^(N)He healed them all, ¹⁶ and ^(O)warned them not to ^[o]tell who He was. ¹⁷ This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled:

The Pharisees Rebuked

^22 (W)Then a ^(X)demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to ^[x]Jesus, and He healed him so that the man who was unable to speak talked and ^[y]could see. ²³ And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the ^(Y)Son of David, can he?” ²⁴ But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man ^(Z)casts out demons only by ^[z]Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

^25 (AA)And ^(AB)knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and no city or house divided against itself will stand. ²⁶ And if ^(AC)Satan is casting out Satan, he ^[aa]has become divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷ And if ^(AD)by ^[ab]Beelzebul I cast out the demons, ^(AE)by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore, they will be your judges. ²⁸ But ^(AF)if I cast out the demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. ²⁹ Or, how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

The Unpardonable Sin

^30 (AG)The one who is not with Me is against Me; and the one who does not gather with Me scatters.

³¹ “^(AH)Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. ^32 (AI)And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in ^(AJ)this age or in the age to come.

Words Reveal Character

³³ “Either ^[ac]assume the tree to be good as well as its fruit good, or ^[ad]assume the tree to be bad as well as its fruit bad; for ^(AK)the tree is known by its fruit. ^34 (AL)You ^[ae]offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, express any good things? ^(AM)For the mouth speaks from that which fills the heart. ^35 (AN)The good person brings out of his good treasure good things; and the evil person brings out of his evil treasure evil things. ³⁶ But I tell you that for every ^[af]careless word that people ^[ag]speak, they will give an account of it on the ^(AO)day of judgment. ³⁷ For ^[ah]by your words you will be justified, and ^[ai]by your words you will be condemned.”

The Desire for Signs

³⁸ Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, ^(AP)we want to see a ^[aj]sign from You.” ³⁹ But He answered and said to them, “^(AQ)An evil and adulterous generation craves a ^[ak]sign; and so no ^[al]sign will be given to it except the ^[am]sign of Jonah the prophet; ⁴⁰ for just as ^(AR)Jonah was in the stomach of the sea monster for three days and three nights, so will ^(AS)the Son of Man be in the heart of the earth for ^(AT)three days and three nights. ^41 (AU)The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because ^(AV)they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something ^(AW)greater than Jonah is here. ^42 (AX)The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something ^(AY)greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³ “^(AZ)Now when the unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. ⁴⁴ Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵ Then it goes and brings along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they come in and live there; and ^(BA)the last condition of that person becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

Changed Relationships

^46 (BB)While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His ^(BC)mother and ^(BD)brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. ⁴⁷ [^[an]Someone said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.”] ⁴⁸ But ^[ao]Jesus replied to the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” ⁴⁹ And extending His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold: My mother and My brothers! ⁵⁰ For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother, and sister, and mother.”

Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 On that day Jesus had gone out of ^(A)the house and was sitting ^(B)by the sea. ² And large crowds gathered to Him, so ^(C)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³ And He told them many things in ^(D)parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵ Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Others fell ^[a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a ^(E)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. ^9 (F)The one who has ears, ^[b]let him hear.”

An Explanation for Parables

¹⁰ And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And ^[c]Jesus answered them, “^(G)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ^12 (H)For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³ Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while ^(I)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ And ^[d]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

^16 (L)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I say to you that ^(M)many 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 Sower Explained

¹⁸ “^(N)Listen then to the parable of the sower. ¹⁹ When anyone hears ^(O)the ^[i]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, ^(P)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. ²⁰ The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the ^[j]word, immediately he ^[k](Q)falls away. ²² And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of ^(R)the ^[l]world and the ^(S)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it ^[m]becomes unfruitful. ²³ But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some ^(T)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”

Weeds among Wheat

²⁴ Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “^(U)The kingdom of heaven ^[n]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed ^[o]weeds among the wheat, and left. ²⁶ And when the ^[p]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. ²⁷ And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? ^[q]How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ And he said to them, ‘^[r]An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ ²⁹ But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but ^(V)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed

³¹ He presented another parable to them, saying, “^(W)The kingdom of heaven is like ^(X)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; ³² and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that ^(Y)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Leaven

³³ He spoke another parable to them: “^(Z)The kingdom of heaven is like ^[s]leaven, which a woman took and hid in ^(AA)three ^[t]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them ^(AB)without a parable. ³⁵ This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be ^[u]fulfilled:

The Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then He left the crowds and went into ^(AD)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “^(AE)Explain to us the parable of the ^[v]weeds of the field.” ³⁷ And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is ^(AF)the Son of Man, ³⁸ and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are ^(AG)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are ^(AH)the sons of ^(AI)the evil one; ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is ^(AJ)the ^[w]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at ^(AK)the ^[x]end of the age. ^41 (AL)The Son of Man ^(AM)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom ^[y]all ^(AN)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, ⁴² and they ^(AO)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(AP)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^43 (AQ)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. ^(AR)The one who has ears, ^[z]let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴ “^(AS)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from ^[aa]joy over it he goes and ^(AT)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

⁴⁵ “Again, ^(AU)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶ and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

⁴⁷ “Again, ^(AV)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at ^(AW)the ^[ab]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and they ^(AX)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place ^(AY)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And ^[ac]Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

^53 (AZ)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ And ^(BA)He came to ^[ad]His hometown and ^(BB)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that ^(BC)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these ^[ae]miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is ^(BD)His mother not called Mary, and His ^(BE)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶ And ^(BF)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man acquire all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took ^(BG)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “^(BH)A prophet is not dishonored except in his ^[af]hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many ^[ag]miracles there because of their unbelief.