Thematic Bible: Sermon


Thematic Bible



On that day Jesus, having gone out of the house, was sitting by the seaside. And there were gathered to Him great multitudes; so that He, having entered into a boat, sat down, and all the multitudes were standing on the beach. And He spake to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went forth to sow. read more.
And, in his sowing, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds, coming, devoured them. And others fell on the rocky places, where they had not much earth; and straightway they sprang up, because they had not depth of earth. And, the sun having risen, they were scorched; and, because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. And others fell on the good ground, and were yielding fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He that has ears let him hear." And the disciples, having come near, said to Him, "Wherefore dost Thou speak to them in parables?" And He, answering, said to them, "Because to you it has been given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be made to abound; but whosoever has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him. On this account, I speak to them in parables; because, seeing, they see not; and, hearing, they hear not, nor understand. And to them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which says, 'With hearing ye will hear, and will not understand; and, seeing, ye will see, and will not perceive; for the heart of this people was made gross, and with their ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn, and I should heal them.' But happy are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what ye are seeing, and did not see them; and to hear what ye are hearing, and did not hear them. Hear ye, therefore, the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the Kingdom, and understands it not, the evil one comes, and snatches away what has been sown in his heart: this is he that was sown by the wayside. And he that was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and straightway with joy receives it; yet he has not root in himself, but is only temporary; and, when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, straightway he stumbles. And he that was sown among the thorns, this is he that hears the word; and the anxiety of the age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But he that was sown on the good ground, this is he that hears the word and understands it; who, indeed, bears fruit, and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." Another parable He set before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven was likened to a man who sowed good seed in his field; and, while men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares in the midst of the wheat, and went away. And, when the blade sprang up, and produced fruit, then appeared the tares also. And the servants of the house-holder, corning near, said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Whence, then, has it tares?' And he said to them, 'An enemy did this.' The servants say to him, 'Do you wish, then, that we, going, should gather them up?' He says, 'No; lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Suffer both to grow together until the harvest. And, in the season of harvest, I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them into bundles, with the view of burning them; but gather the wheat into my barn.'" Another parable He set before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man, having taken, sowed in his field: which, indeed, is less than all the seeds; but, when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and roost in its branches." Another parable He spake to them: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven, which a woman, taking, hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened." All these things Jesus spake to the multitudes in parables; and, without a parable, He was wont to speak nothing to them; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world." Then, leaving the multitudes, He went into the house; and His disciples came to Him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field." And, answering, He said, "He that sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world: and the good seed, these are the sons of the Kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed them is the Devil; and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. As, therefore, the tares are gathered up, and are burned with fire, so shall it be in the end of the age. The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of the Kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those who do iniquity; and they will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth! Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He that has ears let him hear. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and in his joy he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; and, having found one pearl of great price, departing, he has sold all that he had, and bought it. "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net, cast into the sea, and gathering of every kind; which, when it was filled having drawn it up again upon the beach, and sitting down, they gathered the good into vessels, but cast away the bad. So will it be at the end of the age. The angels will go forth, and will separate the wicked from the midst of the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be the weeping, and the gnashing of teeth. "Did ye understand all these things?" They say to Him, "Yes;" and He said to them, "Therefore, every scribe, having been made a disciple to the Kingdom of heaven, is like a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old."

And He taught them many things in parables, and said to them in His teaching, "Hearken! behold the sower went forth to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it. read more.
And other fell on the rocky ground where it had not much earth; and straightway it sprang up, because of not having depth of earth; and, when the sun rose, it was scorched; and, because it had no root, it was dried up. And other fell among the thorns; and the thorns sprang up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And others fell into the good ground, and were yielding fruit, springing up and growing; and bore, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold." And He said, "He that has ears to hear, let him hear." And, when He was alone, those who were about Him with the twelve asked Him as to the parables. And He said to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the Kingdom of God, but to those without all things are done in parables; that, seeing, they may see, and not perceive; and, hearing, they may hear, and not understand; lest haply they should turn, and be forgiven." And He saith to them, "Know ye not this parable? And how will ye know all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are those by the wayside, where the word is sown; and, when they hear, straightway Satan comes, and catches away the word which has been sown in them. And these likewise are those sown upon the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, straightway with joy receive it; and they have no root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, straightway they stumble. And others are those sown among the thorns. These are those who heard the word, and the anxieties of the age, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires about other things entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And these are the ones sown on the good ground: such as hear the word, and receive it, and bear fruit, thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold." And He said to them, "Is the lamp brought to be put under the measure, or under the bed! Is it not, that it may be put on the lampstand? For there is nothing hid, except that it should be manifested; nor was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. If any one has ears to hear, let him hear." And He said to them, "Take heed what ye hear. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you; and more will be added. For he that has, to him shall be given; and he that has not, from him shall be taken away even what he has." And He said, "So is the Kingdom of God, as if a man should cast the seed upon the earth; and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, he knows not how. The earth of itself bears fruit; first the blade, then the head, then the full grain in the head. But, when the fruit permits, straightway he puts forth the sickle, because the harvest has come." And He said, "How shall we liken the Kingdom of God, or in what parable shall we set it forth? It is like to a grain of mustard, which when it is sown upon the earth, though it is less than all the seeds that are upon the earth, yet, when it is sown, grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches; so that the birds of the heaven can lodge under its shadow." And with many such parables He spake the word to them, as they were able to hear it.



and, descending with them, He stood upon a level place; and a large multitude of His disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, were present, who came to hear Him, and to be healed of their diseases; and those troubled with unclean spirits were being healed; and all the multitude were seeking to touch Him; because power was coming forth from Him, and was healing them all. read more.
And He, lifting up His eyes on His disciples, said, "Happy, ye poor; because yours is the Kingdom of God. "Happy, ye who are hungering now; because ye will be filled. "Happy, ye who are weeping now; because ye shall laugh. "Happy are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from themselves, and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. "Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; for, behold, your reward is great in Heaven; for, after the same manner, were their fathers wont to do to the prophets. "But woe to you that are rich! because ye are receiving your consolation! "Woe to you who are filled now; because ye shall hunger! "Woe to you who are laughing now; because ye shall mourn and weep! "Woe to you when all men speak well of you; for in this same manner were their fathers wont to do to the false prophets. "But I say to you who hear, love your enemies; do good to those who hate you; bless those who curse you; pray for those who revile you. "To him who smites you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, withhold not your coat also. "Give to every one who asks of you; and of him who takes away your goods, ask them not back. "And as ye wish that men should do to you, do ye also to them in like manner. "And, if ye love those who love you, what charm have you? for even the sinners love those who love them. "And, if ye do good to those who do good to you, what charm have you? even the sinners do the same. "And, if ye lend to those from whom ye hope to receive, what charm have you? even the sinners lend to sinners, that they may receive back as much. "But love your enemies; and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and ye will be sons of the Most High; because He is kind to the unthankful and evil. "Be ye merciful, even as your Father is merciful. "And judge not, and ye shall not be judged; and condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. "Release, and ye shall be released. "Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will they give into your bosom; for with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again." And He spake also a parable to them: "Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a pit? A disciple is not above the teacher; but every one, when perfected, shall be as his teacher. "And why do you behold the mote that is in your brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, suffer me to cast out the mote that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! cast first the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to cast out the mote that is in your brother's eye. "For there is no good tree that bears corrupt fruit; nor again a corrupt tree that bears good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit; for they do not gather figs of thorns, nor do they gather grapes from a bramble bush. "The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and the evil, out of the evil treasure brings forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of the heart does his mouth speak. "But why do ye call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not the things that I say? "Every one who comes to Me, and hears My words, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep, and laid a foundation on the rock; and, a flood coming, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it; because it was well built. But he who heard and did not, is like a man who built a house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the stream broke, and straightway it collapsed; and the ruin of that house was great."