Thematic Bible


Thematic Bible



When anyone hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and carries off the seed that was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. And what was sown upon the thin rocky soil illustrates the man who hears the message and bubbling over with joy at once accepts it, but it takes no real root in him, and he lasts only a little while, and just as soon as suffering and persecution come for the truth's sake, he at once yields and falls. read more.
And what was sown among the thorns illustrates the man who hears the message, and the worries of the times and the pleasures of being rich choke the truth out, and he yields no fruit.

The ones along the path are those who have the message sown in their hearts, but as soon as it is sown there, Satan comes and carries off the message that has been sown in their hearts. In like manner these are the ones sown on rocky ground; as soon as they hear the truth, they accept it with ecstasy, but it does not take real root in them, and so they last only a little while; then when trouble or persecution comes on account of the truth, they at once fall by the way. read more.
A different class are those people sown among the thorns. They are people who listen to the message, but the worries of the times, the deceiving pleasures of being rich, and evil desires for other things, creep in and choke the truth out, and it yields nothing.


For there are many insubordinate people, mere talkers with nothing to say, but deceivers of their own minds, especially those of the circumcision party, whose mouths must be stopped, for they upset whole families by teaching things they ought not to think, for the sake of dishonest gain. One of them, a prophet of their own countrymen, has said, "Cretans are always liars, wicked brutes, lazy bellies." read more.
Now this tendency is true. So continue correcting them severely, that they may be healthy in faith, by ceasing to give attention to Jewish myths and to the commands of men who turn their backs on the truth. To the pure everything is pure, but to the impure and unbelieving nothing is pure, but their very minds and consciences are impure. They profess to know God, but by their actions they disown Him; they are detestable, disobedient, and useless for anything good.


But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down!

Those along the path illustrate those who hear it, but then the devil comes and carries off the message from their hearts, so that they may not believe it and be saved. The portion of them on the rock illustrates those who accept the message, bubbling over with joy when they first hear it, but it takes no real root. They believe for awhile, but in the time of testing they fall away. And the portion of them falling among the thorns illustrates those who hear it, but as soon as they pass on they are choked out by the worries and wealth and pleasures of life, and thus yield no mature fruit.

Jesus answered him, "If anyone really loves me, he will observe my teaching, and my Father will love him, and both of us will come in face-to-face fellowship with him; yes, we will make our special dwelling place with him. Whoever does not really love me does not observe my teaching; and yet the teaching which you are listening to is not mine but comes from the Father who has sent me.


But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these."

Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, and asked Him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our forefathers? For they do not practice washing their hands when they take their meals." But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you? read more.
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Everything I have that might be used for helping you, is devoted to God," is under no obligation at all to help his parent.' So you have set aside what God has said for the sake of what has been handed down to you. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied beautifully about you, when he said: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is an empty show; the things they teach are only men's precepts.'" And He called the people to Him and said, "Listen to this and learn it! It is not what goes into a man's mouth that makes him foul; no, it is what comes out of a man's mouth that makes him foul." Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were knocked breathless to hear what you have just said?" He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant must be rooted up. Let them alone. They are blind teachers! And if one blind man guides another, they will both fall into the ditch." Then Peter said to Him, "Explain the maxim for us." And He said, "Are you too, even yet, without understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and afterwards into the waste? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they make the man foul. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, immorality, stealing, false witnessing, irreverent speech. These are the things that make a man foul, but eating with unwashed hands does not make a man foul."

They had noticed that some of His disciples were in the habit of eating their meals without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to make them clean. For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers, and will never eat until they have carefully washed their hands, and they never eat anything brought from the market until they wash it; and they have many other religious practices which they got from their forefathers, as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pans. read more.
And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these." Again He called the people to Him and said, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from the outside can make him foul, but the things that come from the inside of a man are the things that make him foul." Omitted Text. Now when He had left the crowd and gone home, His disciples were asking Him the meaning of this story. And He answered them, "Are you too without understanding yet? Do you not know that nothing from the outside that goes into a man can make him foul, because it does not reach his heart but only his stomach, and then passes off into the waste?" In thus speaking He made all foods clean. He kept on saying, "The thing that comes from the inside of a man is the thing that makes him foul, for from the inside, that is, from the hearts of men, designs for doing evil come, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, abusiveness, haughtiness, thoughtlessness. All these evils come from the inside of a man and make him foul."



But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these."



But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these."

Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, and asked Him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our forefathers? For they do not practice washing their hands when they take their meals." But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you? read more.
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.' But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Everything I have that might be used for helping you, is devoted to God," is under no obligation at all to help his parent.' So you have set aside what God has said for the sake of what has been handed down to you. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied beautifully about you, when he said: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is an empty show; the things they teach are only men's precepts.'" And He called the people to Him and said, "Listen to this and learn it! It is not what goes into a man's mouth that makes him foul; no, it is what comes out of a man's mouth that makes him foul." Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were knocked breathless to hear what you have just said?" He answered, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant must be rooted up. Let them alone. They are blind teachers! And if one blind man guides another, they will both fall into the ditch." Then Peter said to Him, "Explain the maxim for us." And He said, "Are you too, even yet, without understanding? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and afterwards into the waste? But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and they make the man foul. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, immorality, stealing, false witnessing, irreverent speech. These are the things that make a man foul, but eating with unwashed hands does not make a man foul."

The Pharisees met about Him, and also some scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They had noticed that some of His disciples were in the habit of eating their meals without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to make them clean. For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers, read more.
and will never eat until they have carefully washed their hands, and they never eat anything brought from the market until they wash it; and they have many other religious practices which they got from their forefathers, as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pans. And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these." Again He called the people to Him and said, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from the outside can make him foul, but the things that come from the inside of a man are the things that make him foul." Omitted Text. Now when He had left the crowd and gone home, His disciples were asking Him the meaning of this story. And He answered them, "Are you too without understanding yet? Do you not know that nothing from the outside that goes into a man can make him foul, because it does not reach his heart but only his stomach, and then passes off into the waste?" In thus speaking He made all foods clean. He kept on saying, "The thing that comes from the inside of a man is the thing that makes him foul, for from the inside, that is, from the hearts of men, designs for doing evil come, sexual immorality, stealing, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, licentiousness, envy, abusiveness, haughtiness, thoughtlessness. All these evils come from the inside of a man and make him foul."

Then some Pharisees and scribes from Jerusalem came to Jesus, and asked Him, "Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our forefathers? For they do not practice washing their hands when they take their meals." But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you?

The Pharisees met about Him, and also some scribes who had come from Jerusalem. They had noticed that some of His disciples were in the habit of eating their meals without first giving their hands a ceremonial washing to make them clean. For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers, read more.
and will never eat until they have carefully washed their hands, and they never eat anything brought from the market until they wash it; and they have many other religious practices which they got from their forefathers, as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pans. And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these." Again He called the people to Him and said, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand. Nothing that goes into a man from the outside can make him foul, but the things that come from the inside of a man are the things that make him foul."

For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers, Verse ConceptsAblutionelders, as community leadersJews, TheCharacteristics Of PhariseesHow People EatThe Elderlypharisees

and how I outstripped many of my own age among my people in my devotion to the Jewish religion, because I surpassed all others in my zeal for the traditions handed down by my forefathers. Verse ConceptsLegalismPharisees, Beliefs OfNew Age BeliefsResolving Conflictzealotscredibility

And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' read more.
"You give up what God has commanded,

But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.'

Because they could not agree among themselves, they started to leave, when Paul had spoken one word more: "The Holy Spirit beautifully expressed it in speaking to your forefathers through the prophet Isaiah: 'Go to this people and say to them, "You will listen, and listen, and never understand, and you will look, and look, and never see! For this people's soul has grown dull, and they scarcely hear with their ears, and they have shut tight their eyes, so that they may never see with their eyes, and understand with their souls, and turn to me, that I may cure them."'





"So why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not practice what I tell you? Verse ConceptsDeception, Forbidden By GodProfessingChrist Is LordCalling




But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Verse ConceptsHoliness, Purpose OfLegalismLipsPretenceProfessingLack Of MeaningGod And The HeartMere TalkNamed Prophets Of The LordProphecies concerningHypocritesHypocrisy


But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these."


because you know that you have not been ransomed with things that perish as silver or gold, from the futile way of living taught by your fathers, Verse ConceptsFutilityemptinessGoldMarketsRiches, Nature OfRiches, Description OfPossessions DecayingTransient WealthUseless EndeavourPeople Are CorruptibleMoney's Deficienciesfearlessliberationredeemed

At that time Jesus walked one sabbath through the wheat fields, and His disciples became hungry, and began to pull the heads of wheat and eat them. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Just look! Your disciples are doing something that it is against the law to do on the sabbath!" But He said to them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his soldiers became hungry? read more.
How he went into the house of God, and they ate the sacred loaves, which it was against the law for him or his soldiers to eat, or for anyone except the priests? Or, did you never read in the law that the priests in the temple break the sabbath, and yet are not guilty? But I tell you, there is something greater than the temple here! If you only knew what that saying means, 'It is mercy and not sacrifice that I want,' you would not have condemned men who are not guilty. For the Son of Man is Lord of the sabbath."

"Why do your disciples break the rules handed down by our forefathers? For they do not practice washing their hands when they take their meals." But He answered, "Why do you too break God's command for the sake of the rules that have been handed down to you? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother,' and 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death.' read more.
But you say, 'Whoever tells his father or mother, "Everything I have that might be used for helping you, is devoted to God," is under no obligation at all to help his parent.' So you have set aside what God has said for the sake of what has been handed down to you.

For the Pharisees and all the Jews practice the customs handed down to them from their forefathers, and will never eat until they have carefully washed their hands, and they never eat anything brought from the market until they wash it; and they have many other religious practices which they got from their forefathers, as the washing of cups, pitchers, and pans. And so the Pharisees and the scribes asked Him, "Why is it that your disciples do not practice the customs handed down from our forefathers, but eat their meals without purifying their hands?" read more.
But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down!

One Sabbath He happened to be passing through the wheat fields, and His disciples were pulling and eating the heads of wheat, rubbing them in their hands. And some of the Pharisees said, "Why are you doing what is against the law to do on the Sabbath?" Jesus answered them, "Did you never read what David did, when he and his soldiers became hungry? read more.
How he went into the house of God and took and ate the sacred loaves, which it was against the law for anyone to eat except the priests, and gave some to his soldiers?" Then He said to them, "The Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath." On another Sabbath He found Himself in the synagogue teaching; and there was there a man whose right hand was withered. And the scribes and the Pharisees were closely watching Him to see whether He would cure him on the Sabbath, in order to get a charge against Him. But He knew what they were thinking, and He said to the man with the withered hand, "Get up and stand at the front." So he got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, "Is it right on the Sabbath to do people good, or to do them evil, to save life or to take it?" Then He glanced around at them all and said to him, "Put out your hand." And he did so, and his hand was at once completely restored. But they were filled with fury and began to discuss what they could do to Jesus.


But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these."



But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Their worship of me is but an empty show; the things they teach are but men's precepts.' "You give up what God has commanded, read more.
you cling to what men hand down. You are fine teachers to cancel what God commanded, in order to keep what men have handed down! For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother,' and again, 'Whoever curses his father or mother must certainly be put to death,' but you say if a man tells his father or mother, 'Everything I have that may be of use to you is Corban,' that is, consecrated to God, you let him off from doing anything more for his father or mother; and so you set aside what God has said by what you have handed down. You have many other practices like these."





"So why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not practice what I tell you? Verse ConceptsDeception, Forbidden By GodProfessingChrist Is LordCalling




But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Verse ConceptsHoliness, Purpose OfLegalismLipsPretenceProfessingLack Of MeaningGod And The HeartMere TalkNamed Prophets Of The LordProphecies concerningHypocritesHypocrisy





"So why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' but do not practice what I tell you? Verse ConceptsDeception, Forbidden By GodProfessingChrist Is LordCalling




But He answered them, "Isaiah beautifully prophesied about you hypocrites; as the Scripture says: "'This people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far, far away from me; Verse ConceptsHoliness, Purpose OfLegalismLipsPretenceProfessingLack Of MeaningGod And The HeartMere TalkNamed Prophets Of The LordProphecies concerningHypocritesHypocrisy