Thematic Bible: Sermon


Thematic Bible



And that same day Jesus went out from the house and sat down by the sea. And great crowds were gathered together to him, so that going on board ship himself he sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore. And he spoke to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow: read more.
and as he sowed, some grains fell along the way, and the birds came and devoured them; and others fell upon the rocky places where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang up out of the ground because of not having any depth of earth, but when the sun rose they were burned up, and because of not having any root were dried up; and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them; and others fell upon the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty. He that has ears, let him hear. And the disciples came up and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables? And he answering said to them, Because to you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens, but to them it is not given; for whoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall be caused to be in abundance; but he who has not, even what he has shall be taken away from him. For this cause I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand; and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall behold and not see; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear; for verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye behold and did not see them, and to hear the things which ye hear and did not hear them. Ye, therefore, hear the parable of the sower. From every one who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown in his heart: this is he that is sown by the wayside. But he that is sown on the rocky places this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, but has no root in himself, but is for a time only; and when tribulation or persecution happens on account of the word, he is immediately offended. And he that is sown among the thorns this is he who hears the word, and the anxious care of this life, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he that is sown upon the good ground this is he who hears and understands the word, who bears fruit also, and produces, one a hundred, one sixty, and one thirty. Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens has become like a man sowing good seed in his field; but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel amongst the wheat, and went away. But when the blade shot up and produced fruit, then appeared the darnel also. And the bondmen of the householder came up and said to him, Sir, hast thou not sown good seed in thy field? whence then has it darnel? And he said to them, A man that is an enemy has done this. And the bondmen said to him, Wilt thou then that we should go and gather it up? But he said, No; lest in gathering the darnel ye should root up the wheat with it. Suffer both to grow together unto the harvest, and in time of the harvest I will say to the harvestmen, Gather first the darnel, and bind it into bundles to burn it; but the wheat bring together into my granary. Another parable set he before them, saying, The kingdom of the heavens is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field; which is less indeed than all seeds, but when it is grown is greater than herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of heaven come and roost in its branches. He spoke another parable to them: The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until it had been all leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them, so that that should be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the world's foundation. Then, having dismissed the crowds, he went into the house; and his disciples came to him, saying, Expound to us the parable of the darnel of the field. But he answering said, He that sows the good seed is the Son of man, and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one; and the enemy who has sowed it is the devil; and the harvest is the completion of the age, and the harvestmen are angels. As then the darnel is gathered and is burned in the fire, thus it shall be in the completion of the age. The Son of man shall send his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all offences, and those that practise lawlessness; and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that has ears, let him hear. The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure hid in the field, which a man having found has hid, and for the joy of it goes and sells all whatever he has, and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls; and having found one pearl of great value, he went and sold all whatever he had and bought it. Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a seine which has been cast into the sea, and which has gathered together of every kind, which, when it has been filled, having drawn up on the shore and sat down, they gathered the good into vessels and cast the worthless out. Thus shall it be in the completion of the age: the angels shall go forth and sever the wicked from the midst of the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Jesus says to them, Have ye understood all these things? They say to him, Yea, Lord. And he said to them, For this reason every scribe discipled to the kingdom of the heavens is like a man that is a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.

And he taught them many things in parables. And he said to them in his doctrine, Hearken: Behold, the sower went forth to sow. And it came to pass as he sowed, one fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured it. read more.
And another fell on the rocky ground, where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprung up out of the ground because it had no depth of earth; and when the sun arose it was burnt up, and because of its not having any root, it withered. And another fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And another fell into the good ground, and yielded fruit, growing up and increasing; and bore, one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred. And he said, He that has ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, those about him with the twelve asked him as to the parables. And he said to them, To you is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all things are done in parables, that beholding they may behold and not see, and hearing they may hear and not understand, lest it may be, they should be converted and they should be forgiven. And he says to them, Do ye not know this parable? and how will ye be acquainted with all the parables? The sower sows the word: and these are they by the wayside where the word is sown, and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. And these are they in like manner who are sown upon the rocky places, who when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, and they have no root in themselves, but are for a time: then, tribulation arising, or persecution on account of the word, immediately they are offended. And others are they who are sown among the thorns: these are they who have heard the word, and the cares of life, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And these are they who have been sown on the good ground, such as hear the word and receive it, and bear fruit; one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred fold. And he said to them, Does the lamp come that it should be put under the bushel or under the couch? Is it not that it should be set upon the lamp-stand? For there is nothing hidden which shall not be made manifest; nor does any secret thing take place, but that it should come to light. If any one have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said to them, Take heed what ye hear; with what measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you; and there shall be more added to you. For whosoever has, to him shall be given; and he who has not, even what he has shall be taken from him. And he said, Thus is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast the seed upon the earth, and should sleep and rise up night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he does not know how. The earth bears fruit of itself, first the blade, then an ear, then full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is produced, immediately he sends the sickle, for the harvest is come. And he said, How should we liken the kingdom of God, or with what comparison should we compare it? As to a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown upon the earth, is less than all seeds which are upon the earth, and when it has been sown, mounts up and becomes greater than all herbs, and produces great branches, so that the birds of heaven can roost under its shadow. And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear,

and having descended with them, he stood on a level place, and a crowd of his disciples, and a great multitude of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases; and those that were beset by unclean spirits were healed. And all the crowd sought to touch him, for power went out from him and healed all. read more.
And he, lifting up his eyes upon his disciples, said, Blessed are ye poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from them, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as wicked, for the Son of man's sake: rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in the heaven, for after this manner did their fathers act toward the prophets. But woe to you rich, for ye have received your consolation. Woe to you that are filled, for ye shall hunger. Woe to you who laugh now, for ye shall mourn and weep. Woe, when all men speak well of you, for after this manner did their fathers to the false prophets. But to you that hear I say, Love your enemies; do good to those that hate you; bless those that curse you; pray for those who use you despitefully. To him that smites thee on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him that would take away thy garment, forbid not thy body-coat also. To every one that asks of thee, give; and from him that takes away what is thine, ask it 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 that love you, what thank is it to you? for even sinners love those that love them. And if ye do good to those that do good to you, what thank is it to you? for even sinners do the same. And if ye lend to those from whom ye hope to receive, what thank is it to you? for even sinners lend to sinners that they may receive the like. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be sons of the Highest; for he is good to the unthankful and wicked. Be ye therefore merciful, even as your Father also is merciful. And judge not, and ye shall not be judged; condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned. Remit, and it shall be remitted to you. Give, and it shall be given to you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall be given into your bosom: for with the same measure with which ye mete it shall be measured to you again. And he spoke also a parable to them: Can a blind man lead a blind man? shall not both fall into the ditch? The disciple is not above his teacher, but every one that is perfected shall be as his teacher. But why lookest thou on the mote which is in the eye of thy brother, but perceivest not the beam which is in thine own eye? or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, allow me, I will cast out the mote that is in thine eye, thyself not seeing the beam that is in thine eye? Hypocrite, cast out first the beam out of thine eye, and then thou shalt see clear to cast out the mote which is in the eye of thy brother. For there is no good tree which produces corrupt fruit, nor a corrupt tree which produces good fruit; for every tree is known by its own fruit, for figs are not gathered from thorns, nor grapes vintaged from a bramble. The good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, brings forth good; and the wicked man out of the wicked, brings forth what is wicked: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things that I say? Every one that comes to me, and hears my words and does them, I will shew 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; but a great rain coming, the stream broke upon that house, and could not shake it, for it had been founded on the rock. And he that has heard and not done, is like a man who has built a house on the ground without a foundation, on which the stream broke, and immediately it fell, and the breach of that house was great.