Thematic Bible: Sermon


Thematic Bible



That day Jesus left the house and sat down beside the sea. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the entire crowd stood on the shore. Then he began to tell them many things in parables. He said, "Listen! A farmer went out to sow. read more.
As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on stony ground, where they did not have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once because the soil wasn't deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they did not have any roots, they dried up. Other seeds fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes grew higher and choked them out. But other seeds fell on good soil and produced a crop, some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. Let the person who has ears listen!" Then the disciples came and asked Jesus, "Why do you speak to people in parables?" He answered them, "You have been given knowledge about the secrets of the kingdom from heaven, but it hasn't been given to them, because to anyone who has something, more will be given, and he will have more than enough. But from the one who doesn't have anything, even what he has will be taken away from him. That's why I speak to them in parables, because "they look but don't see, and they listen but don't hear or understand.' "With them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says: "You will listen and listen but never understand. You will look and look but never comprehend, for this people's heart has become dull, and their ears are hard of hearing. They have shut their eyes so that they might not see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' "How blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear! I tell all of you with certainty, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but did not see them, and to hear the things you hear but did not hear them." "Listen, then, to the parable about the farmer. When anyone hears the word about the kingdom yet doesn't understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on the stony ground, this is the person who hears the word and accepts it joyfully at once, but since he doesn't have any root in himself, he lasts for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, he immediately falls away. As for what was sown among the thorn bushes, this is the person who hears the word, but the worries of life and the deceitful pleasures of wealth choke the word so that it can't produce a crop. But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word, understands it, and produces a crop that yields 100, 60, or 30 times what was sown." He presented another parable to them: "The kingdom from heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. While people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. When the crop came up and bore grain, the weeds appeared, too. "The owner's servants came and asked him, "Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn't you? Then where did these weeds come from?' "He told them, "An enemy did this!' "The servants asked him, "Do you want us to go and pull them out?' "He said, "No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, "Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles for burning, but bring the wheat into my barn."'" He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom from heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all seeds, when it is fully grown it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, and the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches." He told them another parable: "The kingdom from heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened." Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet when he said, "I will open my mouth to speak in parables. I will declare what has been hidden since the creation of the world." Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and asked, "Explain to us the parable about the weeds in the field." He answered, "The person who sowed good seed is the Son of Man, while the field is the world. The good seed are those who belong to the kingdom, while the weeds are those who belong to the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the Devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels. Just as weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes others to sin and those who practice lawlessness and they will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Let the person who has ears listen!" "The kingdom from heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid. In his excitement he went and sold everything he had and bought that field." "Again, the kingdom from heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it." "Again, the kingdom from heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea that gathered all kinds of fish. When it was full, the fishermen hauled it ashore. Then they sat down, sorted the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away. That is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, cull out the evil people from among the righteous ones, and will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth." "Do you understand all these things?" They told him, "Yes." Then he told them, "That is why every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom from heaven is like the master of a household who brings both new and old things out of his treasure chest."

He began teaching them many things in parables. While he was teaching them he said, "Listen! A farmer went out to sow. As he was sowing, some seeds fell along the path, and birds came and ate them up. read more.
Others fell on stony ground, where they didn't have a lot of soil. They sprouted at once, because the soil wasn't deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched. Since they didn't have any roots, they dried up. Others fell among thorn bushes, and the thorn bushes came up and choked them out, and they didn't produce anything. But others fell on good soil and produced a crop. They grew up, increased in size, and produced 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown." He added, "Let the person who has ears to hear, listen!" When he was alone with the Twelve and those around him, they began to ask him about the parables. He told them, "The secret about the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything comes in parables so that "they may see clearly but not perceive, and they may hear clearly but not understand, otherwise they might turn around and be forgiven.'" Then he told them, "You don't understand this parable, so how can you understand any of the parables? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like the seeds along the path, where the word is sown. When they hear it, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others are like the seeds sown on the stony ground. When they hear the word, at once they joyfully accept it, but since they don't have any roots, they last for only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall away. Still others are like the seeds sown among the thorn bushes. These are the people who hear the word, but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of wealth, and the desires for other things come in and choke the word so that it can't produce a crop. Others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops 30, 60, or 100 times what was sown." Then Jesus told them, "A lamp isn't brought indoors to be put under a basket or under a bed, is it? It's to be put on a lamp stand, isn't it? Nothing is hidden except for the purpose of having it revealed, and nothing is secret except for the purpose of having it come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him listen! He went on to say to them, "Pay attention to what you're hearing! You will be evaluated by the same standard with which you do your evaluating, and still more will be given to you, because whoever has something, will have more given to him. But whoever has nothing, even what he has will be taken away." He was also saying, "The kingdom of God is like a man who scatters seeds on the ground. He sleeps and gets up night and day while the seeds sprout and grow, although he doesn't know how the ground produces grain by itself first the stalk, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But when the grain is ripe, he immediately starts cutting with his sickle because the harvest time has come." He was also saying, "How can we show what the kingdom of God is like, or what parable can we use to describe it? It's like a mustard seed planted in the ground. Although it's the smallest of all the seeds on earth, when it's planted it comes up and becomes larger than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that the birds in the sky can nest in its shade." With many other parables like these, Jesus kept speaking his message to them according to their ability to understand.



Then Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place, along with many of his disciples and a large gathering of people from all over Judea, Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Even those who were being tormented by unclean spirits were being healed. The entire crowd was trying to touch him, because power was coming out from him and healing all of them. read more.
Then Jesus looked at his disciples and said, "How blessed are you who are destitute, because the kingdom of God is yours! How blessed are you who are hungry now, because you will be satisfied! How blessed are you who are crying now, because you will laugh! "How blessed are you whenever people hate you, avoid you, insult you, and slander you because of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because your reward in heaven is great! That's the way their ancestors used to treat the prophets. "But how terrible it will be for you who are rich, because you have had your comfort! How terrible it will be for you who are full now, because you will be hungry! How terrible it will be for you who are laughing now, because you will mourn and cry! "How terrible it will be for you when everyone says nice things about you, because that's the way their ancestors used to treat the false prophets!" "But I say to you who are listening: Love your enemies. Do good to those who hate you. Bless those who curse you, and pray for those who insult you. If someone strikes you on the cheek, offer him the other one as well, and if someone takes your coat, don't keep back your shirt, either. Keep on giving to everyone who asks you for something, and if anyone takes what is yours, do not insist on getting it back. Whatever you want people to do for you, do the same for them. "If you love those who love you, what thanks do you deserve? Why, even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners do that. If you lend to those from whom you expect to get something back, what thanks do you deserve? Even sinners lend to sinners to get back what they lend. Rather, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High, because he is kind even to ungrateful and evil people. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." "Stop judging, and you'll never be judged. Stop condemning, and you'll never be condemned. Forgive, and you'll be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A large quantity, pressed together, shaken down, and running over will be put into your lap, because you'll be evaluated by the same standard with which you evaluate others." He also told them a parable: "One blind person can't lead another blind person, can he? Both will fall into a ditch, won't they? A disciple is not better than his teacher. But everyone who is fully-trained will be like his teacher. "Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye but fail to notice the beam in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, "Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you don't see the beam in your own eye? You hypocrite! First remove the beam from your own eye, and then you'll see clearly enough to remove the speck from your brother's eye." "A good tree doesn't produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn't produce good fruit, because every tree is known by its own fruit. People don't gather figs from thorny plants or pick grapes from a thorn bush. A good person produces good from the good treasure of his heart, and an evil person produces evil from an evil treasure, because the mouth speaks from the overflow of the heart." "Why do you keep calling me "Lord, Lord,' but don't do what I tell you? I will show you what everyone is like who comes to me, hears my words, and acts on them. They are like a person building a house, who dug a deep hole to lay the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the floodwaters pushed against that house but couldn't shake it, because it had been founded on the rock. But the person who hears what I say but doesn't act on it is like someone who built a house on the ground without any foundation. When the floodwaters pushed against it, that house quickly collapsed, and the resulting destruction of that house was extensive."


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