Thematic Bible: Converts


Thematic Bible



But that sown on the good ground is this: he who hears the Word and understands; who also bears fruit and produces one truly a hundredfold; and one sixty; and one thirty.

And a great crowd coming together, and those in each city coming to Him, He spoke by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, the one fell by the roadside and was trampled; and the birds of the air devoured it. And other fell on a rock, and sprouting, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. read more.
And other fell amidst thorns, and springing up with the thorns, they choked it. And other fell on good ground and sprang up, and bore fruit a hundredfold. And when He had said these things, He cried, He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples asked Him, saying, What might this parable be? And He said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God. But to others I speak in parables, so that seeing they might not see and hearing they might not understand. And the parable is this: The seed is the Word of God. Those by the roadside are the ones who hear; then the Devil comes and takes the Word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who, when they hear, receive the Word with joy. And these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And those which fell among thorns are the ones who, when they have heard, go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of life, and do not bear to maturity. But those on the good ground are the ones who, in an honest and good heart, having heard the Word, keep it and bring forth fruit with patience.

And some fell on the good ground and yielded fruit, indeed one a hundredfold, and one sixty, and one thirty.


Then, seeing the thing happening, the proconsul believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

who was with the proconsul of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man. He called for Barnabas and Saul and asked to hear the Word of God.

In which pursuit also traveling to Damascus with authority and power of decision from the chief priests, at midday, along the highway, O king, I and those with me saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun; shining around me. And all of us falling to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew dialect, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads. read more.
And I said, Who are you, lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom you persecute. But rise and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of what you saw, and in what I shall appear to you; delivering you from the people and the nations, to whom I now send you in order to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the authority of Satan to God, so that they may receive remission of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me. After this, king Agrippa, I did not disobey the heavenly vision. But to those first in Damascus, and Jerusalem, and to all the country of Judea, and to the nations, I made known the command to repent and to turn to God, doing works worthy of repentance Because of these things, having caught me in the temple, The Jews tried to kill me. Then having obtained help from God, I stand until this day, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said was going to happen; whether the Christ was liable to suffer, whether first by a resurrection of the dead He was going to proclaim light to the people and to the nations.


But going out, they made Him known in all that land.

Then the neighbors and those who had seen him before, that he was blind, said, Is this not he who was sitting and begging? Some said, This is he. Others said, He is like him. He said, I am he. Then they said to him, How were your eyes opened? read more.
He answered and said, A man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, Go to the pool of Siloam and wash. And going and washing, I received sight. Then they said to him, Where is he? He said, I do not know. They brought him who once was blind to the Pharisees. And it was a sabbath when Jesus made the clay and opened his eyes. Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said to them, He put clay upon my eyes, and I washed, and I see. Therefore some of the Pharisees said, This man is not from God, because he does not keep the sabbath. Others said, How can a man, a sinner, do such miracles? And there was a division among them. They said to the blind man again, What do you say about him, for he has opened your eyes? He said, He is a prophet. But the Jews did not believe concerning him, that he had been blind and had received his sight, until they called the parents of him having received sight. And they asked them, saying, Is this your son, whom you say was born blind? How then does he now see? His parents answered them and said, We know that this is our son, and that he was born blind. But by what means he now sees, we do not know. Or who has opened his eyes, we do not know. He is of age, ask him. He will speak for himself. His parents spoke these things because they feared the Jews, for the Jews had already agreed that if anyone confessed that He was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue. Therefore his parents said, He is of age, ask him. Then a second time they called the man who was blind and said to him, Give glory to God. We know that this man is a sinner. He answered and said, Whether He is a sinner, I do not know; one thing I do know, that being blind, now I see. Then they said to him again, What did he do to you? How did he open your eyes? He answered them, I have told you already, and you did not hear. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also desire to be His disciples? Then they reviled him and said, You are his disciple, but we are Moses' disciples. We know that God spoke to Moses, but we do not know from where this man is. The man answered and said to them, Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know from where He is, and He has opened my eyes. But we know that God does not hear sinners, but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. From everlasting it was not heard that anyone opened the eyes of one who was born blind. If this One were not of God, He could do nothing. They answered and said to him, You were altogether born in sins, and do you teach us? And they cast him out. Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and finding him, He said to him, Do you believe on the Son of God? And he answered and said, Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him? And Jesus said to him, You have both seen Him, and it is He who is speaking with you. And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshiped Him.


And they cried to Jehovah and said, We beg You, O Jehovah, we beg You, let us not perish for this man's life, and do not lay on us innocent blood. For You, O Jehovah, have done as it pleased You.

Then the seamen were afraid, and each man cried to his god. And they threw out the ship's articles in the ship, into the sea in order to lighten it. But Jonah had gone down into the hold of the ship; and he lay there, and was fast asleep. And the chief of the seaman came to him and said to him, What is it to you, O sound sleeper? Arise, call upon your God! It may be that our god will notice us, and we will not perish.

And he said to them, I am a Hebrew; and I fear Jehovah, the God of heaven, who has made the sea and the dry land.



Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth. And they sprang up immediately, because they had no deepness of earth.

But that which was sown on the stony places is this: he who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy. But he has no root in himself, and is temporary. For when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the Word, he immediately stumbles.


And one of the hanged criminals blasphemed Him, saying, If you are Christ, save Yourself and us. But answering, the other rebuked him, saying, Do you not fear God, since you are in the same condemnation. And we indeed justly so, for we receive the due reward of our deeds, but this Man has done nothing amiss. read more.
And he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom. And Jesus said to him, Truly I say to you, Today you shall be with Me in Paradise.


And being awakened, and seeing the doors of the prison being open, drawing a sword, the jailer was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul called out with a loud voice, saying, Do yourself no harm, for we are all here. Then asking for a light he rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. read more.
And leading them outside, he said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your household. And they spoke the Word of the Lord to him, and to all who were in his household. And taking them in that hour of the night, he washed from their stripes. And he was baptized, he and all his, immediately. And bringing them up to the house, he set a table before them and rejoiced, believing in God with all his household.


The woman then left her waterpot and went into the city and said to the men, Come see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Is this One not the Christ? And they went out of the city and came to Him. read more.
In the meantime His disciples were asking Him, saying, Master, eat. But He said to them, I have food to eat which you do not know. Therefore the disciples said to one another, No one brought Him anything to eat? Jesus said to them, My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work. Do you not say, It is yet four months, and the harvest comes? Behold, I say to you, Lift up your eyes and look on the fields, for they are white to harvest already. And he who reaps receives wages and gathers fruit to life eternal, so that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. And in this is the saying true, One sows and another reaps. I sent you to reap that on which you bestowed no labor. Other men labored, and you have entered into their labor. And many of the Samaritans of that city believed upon Him because of the saying of the woman, who testified, He told me all that I ever did. Then as the Samaritans had come to Him, they begged Him that He would stay with them. And He stayed there two days. And many more believed because of His own word. And they said to the woman, Now we believe, not because of your saying, for we have heard Him ourselves and know that this is truly the Christ, the Savior of the world.


And a certain woman named Lydia heard us, a seller of purple of the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God; whose heart the Lord opened, so that she attended to the things which were spoken by Paul. And when she was baptized, she and her household, she begged us, saying, If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house and stay. And she constrained us.


The woman then left her waterpot and went into the city and said to the men, Come see a man who told me all things that I ever did. Is this One not the Christ?


One of the two who heard John and followed Him was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, We have found the Messiah (which is, being translated, the Christ).


The day after, Jesus desired to go forth into Galilee. And He found Philip and said to him, Follow Me. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, We have found Him of whom Moses wrote in the Law and the Prophets, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.


Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same Scripture and preached the gospel of Jesus to him. And as they passed along the way, they came on some water. And the eunuch said, See, here is water, what hinders me from being baptized? Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, it is lawful. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. read more.
And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch. And he baptized him.


And they went out to see what had been done. And they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had departed sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid. Also those who saw it told them how the demon-possessed one was healed. And all the multitude of the neighborhood of the Gadarenes were seized with a great fear, and asked Him to depart from them. And entering into the boat, He returned. read more.
And the man out of whom the demons had gone out begged Him, desiring to be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, Return to your own house and declare what God has done to you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout all the city what great things Jesus had done to him.


And some of them believed and joined themselves to Paul and Silas, both a great multitude of the worshiping Greeks, and not a few of the chief women.

Therefore many of them believed, and quite a few of honorable Greek women and men.


And a decree is given by me, that every people, nation, and language, who speak anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, shall be made into mere members, and his house shall be made an outhouse. Because there is no other God who can deliver in this way.


When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown by the wayside.

And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.



And some fell among thorns. And the thorns sprung up and choked them.


But in going, it happened as he drew near to Damascus, even suddenly a light from the heaven shone around him. And he fell to the earth and heard a voice saying to him, Saul, Saul, why do you persecute Me? And he said, Who are you, lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom you persecute. It is hard for you to kick against the goads. read more.
And trembling and astonished, he said, Lord, what will You have me to do? And the Lord said to him, Arise and go into the city, and you shall be told what you must do. And the men who journeyed with him stood speechless, indeed hearing a voice but seeing no one. And Saul was lifted up from the earth, his eyes were opened, but he saw no one. But they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And he was three days not seeing, and did not eat or drink. And there was a certain disciple in Damascus named Ananias. And the Lord said to him in a vision, Ananias! And he said, Behold me, Lord. And the Lord said to him, Arise and go into the street which is called Straight and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, he is praying, and has seen in a vision a man named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him so that he might receive his sight. And Ananias answered, Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how many evil things he has done to Your saints at Jerusalem. And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your Name. But the Lord said to him, Go! For this one is a chosen vessel to Me, to bear My name before nations and kings and the sons of Israel. For I will show him what great things he must suffer for My name's sake. And Ananias went and entered into the house. And putting his hands on him, he said, Brother Saul, the Lord, Jesus, who appeared to you in the way in which you came, has sent me to you that you might see and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And instantly scales as it were fell from his eyes, and he instantly saw again. And rising up, he was baptized.


And the synagogue being broken up, many of the Jews and of the devout proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God.




And Ruth said, Do not beg me to leave you, to return from following after you. For where you go, I will go. Where you stay, I will stay. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God.


Return to your own house and declare what God has done to you. And he went his way and proclaimed throughout all the city what great things Jesus had done to him.


And He commanded them, that they should tell no one. But the more He commanded them, so much the more they proclaimed it.







If I am not an apostle to others, yet doubtless I am to you, for you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.