Thematic Bible: Sermon
Thematic Bible
Sermon » Beside lake galilee
On that same day, after Jesus had left the house, he took his seat on the seashore; and such a great crowd gathered about him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the crowd stood on the beach. Then he told them many truths in parables. "Behold," he said, "the sower went forth to sow; read more.
and as he sowed, some seed fell by the roadside, and the birds came and ate it. Some fell on rocky ground where there was not much earth. Now because it had no depth of soil, it sprang up at once; but when the sun rose it was scorched, and withered away because it had no root. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it. But some fell on good soil, and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear!" Now when his disciples came up to him, they said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus answered. "To you it has been granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it has not been granted. "For whoever holds, to him shall more be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever does not hold, from him shall be taken away even what he holds. "This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them is being fulfilled that prophecy of Isaiah which says. "Hearing you will hear and not understand; Seeing you will see and not perceive; For the heart of his people is made fat, Their ears are dull of hearing; Their eyes, too, have they closed, Lest some day their eyes should perceive, And their ears should hear, And their heart should understand and turn, And I should heal them. "But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears because they hear. "In solemn truth I tell you that many prophets and holy men have seen it not, and to hear what you are hearing, and have not heard it. "Listen then, to the parable of the sower. "Whenever any one hears the message of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. "This is the seed sown by the wayside. And the word, and at once receives it with joy. "But he has no root in himself; he continues for a time, but when trouble arises, or persecutions, on account of the word, at once he stumbles and falls. "And the seed sown among thorns is he who hears the word, but the anxieties of the age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. "But the seed sown in good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit, and makes now an hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty." He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven," he said, "is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; "but while men were asleep his enemy came and sowed tares among his wheat and went away. "And when the blade shot up and formed the wheat-kernel, then the tares also appeared. "The slaves of the owner went to him and said: "'Was it not good seed, sir, that you sowed in your field? From whence then, do you get tares?' "'It is an enemy who has done this,' he answered. "The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and collect them?' "'No,' he answered, 'for fear lest while you are collecting the tares, you at the same time pull up the wheat. "Let both grow together until harvest, and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to first gather the tares and tie them in bundles for burning, but to bring all the wheat into my store-house.'" He set forth to them another parable, saying. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard-seed which a man took and planted in his field. "This is indeed the smallest of seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than any herb, and becomes a tree, so that the winged things of the sky come and roost in its branches." He told them another parable. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened." Jesus told all this to the crowd in parables; indeed he never spoke to them except in parables, in fulfilment of the word spoken by the prophet, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things kept secret since the foundation of the world." After he had sent the people away and gone into the house, his disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable about the weeds in the field." "The sower of the seed," he answered, "is the Son of man; "the field is the world; the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; the weeds, the sons of the Evil One. "The enemy who sows the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are the angels. "Just as the weeds are collected together and burnt with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. "The son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all hindrances, and whoever practices iniquity, "and will throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. "And then shall the just shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears to hear, listen! "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in the ground, which a man finds but buries again, and then in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that land. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of beautiful pearls. "When he finds one of great price, he goes and sells everything he has and buys it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. "When it was full they hauled it upon the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets, but threw the worthless fish away. "So will it be at the end of the age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from the righteous, and fling them into the furnace of fire. "There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. "Have you understood all this?" he asked. "We have," they answered him. "Then," said he, "every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."
and as he sowed, some seed fell by the roadside, and the birds came and ate it. Some fell on rocky ground where there was not much earth. Now because it had no depth of soil, it sprang up at once; but when the sun rose it was scorched, and withered away because it had no root. Some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it. But some fell on good soil, and bore a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear!" Now when his disciples came up to him, they said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus answered. "To you it has been granted to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it has not been granted. "For whoever holds, to him shall more be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever does not hold, from him shall be taken away even what he holds. "This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them is being fulfilled that prophecy of Isaiah which says. "Hearing you will hear and not understand; Seeing you will see and not perceive; For the heart of his people is made fat, Their ears are dull of hearing; Their eyes, too, have they closed, Lest some day their eyes should perceive, And their ears should hear, And their heart should understand and turn, And I should heal them. "But happy are your eyes, because they see, and your ears because they hear. "In solemn truth I tell you that many prophets and holy men have seen it not, and to hear what you are hearing, and have not heard it. "Listen then, to the parable of the sower. "Whenever any one hears the message of the kingdom, and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. "This is the seed sown by the wayside. And the word, and at once receives it with joy. "But he has no root in himself; he continues for a time, but when trouble arises, or persecutions, on account of the word, at once he stumbles and falls. "And the seed sown among thorns is he who hears the word, but the anxieties of the age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. "But the seed sown in good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit, and makes now an hundredfold, now sixty, now thirty." He told them another parable. "The kingdom of heaven," he said, "is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; "but while men were asleep his enemy came and sowed tares among his wheat and went away. "And when the blade shot up and formed the wheat-kernel, then the tares also appeared. "The slaves of the owner went to him and said: "'Was it not good seed, sir, that you sowed in your field? From whence then, do you get tares?' "'It is an enemy who has done this,' he answered. "The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us to go and collect them?' "'No,' he answered, 'for fear lest while you are collecting the tares, you at the same time pull up the wheat. "Let both grow together until harvest, and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to first gather the tares and tie them in bundles for burning, but to bring all the wheat into my store-house.'" He set forth to them another parable, saying. "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard-seed which a man took and planted in his field. "This is indeed the smallest of seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than any herb, and becomes a tree, so that the winged things of the sky come and roost in its branches." He told them another parable. He said, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until the whole was leavened." Jesus told all this to the crowd in parables; indeed he never spoke to them except in parables, in fulfilment of the word spoken by the prophet, I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things kept secret since the foundation of the world." After he had sent the people away and gone into the house, his disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable about the weeds in the field." "The sower of the seed," he answered, "is the Son of man; "the field is the world; the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; the weeds, the sons of the Evil One. "The enemy who sows the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age. The reapers are the angels. "Just as the weeds are collected together and burnt with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. "The son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all hindrances, and whoever practices iniquity, "and will throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. "And then shall the just shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let him who has ears to hear, listen! "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure buried in the ground, which a man finds but buries again, and then in his joy goes and sells all that he has and buys that land. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of beautiful pearls. "When he finds one of great price, he goes and sells everything he has and buys it. "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. "When it was full they hauled it upon the beach, and sat down and sorted the good fish into baskets, but threw the worthless fish away. "So will it be at the end of the age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from the righteous, and fling them into the furnace of fire. "There shall be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth. "Have you understood all this?" he asked. "We have," they answered him. "Then," said he, "every scribe who has been instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."
Then he began teaching them in parables many things. In his teaching he said to them. "Listen! the Sower once went out to sow, and as he sowed, it happened that some seed fell on the road, and birds came and picked it up; read more.
some other seed fell on stony soil, where it had not much earth; and it sprang up quickly because it had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose it was scorched and withered away because it had no root. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so that it yielded no crop. But some seed fell into good soil and yielded a crop that sprang up and increased, yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. "Any one who has ears to hear," he added, "let him listen to this." When he was alone his followers and the Twelve began asking about the parables. He went on to say to them. "The secret truth concerning the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside everything is told in parables, so that, "for all their looking they may not see, and for all their hearing, they may not understand, lest perchance they should turn and be pardoned. "You do not understand this parable," said Jesus. "Then how will you understand the other parables? "What the Sower sows is the Word. There are those 'on the wayside' where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan immediately comes and snatches away the Word which has been sown in them. And like the sowing upon 'stony ground' are those who, whenever they hear the Word, at once receive it with joy, but because they have no root in themselves they last for a time; but when suffering or persecution ensues because of the Word, they at once fall away. There are others who are 'sown among thorns.' When they have heard the Word, the anxieties of life and the snares of wealth, and all sorts of other ambitions, come in to choke the Word, so that it proves unfruitful. But those, on the other hand, who were sown on that good soil, are those who listen to the Word, and welcome it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold." He went on to say. "Is the lamp brought in to be put under the bushel or the bed? Is it not rather to be put on the lamp-stand? There is nothing hidden except what is to be disclosed, and nothing concealed except what is to be revealed. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." And he said to them. "Take heed what you hear. With what measure you measure it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you. For he who holds, to him will more be given, and he who holds not, from him will be taken even what he holds." "It is with the kingdom of God," he continued, "as if a man should have sown seed in the earth; night and day he sleeps and wakes while the seed is sprouting and growing tall, he knows not how. Of its own accord the earth bears its crops; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Then as soon as the crop is ready the man has the sickle put in at once, because harvest-time is come. "To what shall we compare the kingdom of God?" he said again. "in what parable shall we set it forth? It is like a mustard-seed, which, when sown in the soil, is the smallest seed in the world; yet when sown shoots up and becomes larger than any plant, sending out such branches that the wild birds build their nests under its shadow." With many such illustrations Jesus used to tell his message to people as far as they were able to receive it;
some other seed fell on stony soil, where it had not much earth; and it sprang up quickly because it had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose it was scorched and withered away because it had no root. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked it, so that it yielded no crop. But some seed fell into good soil and yielded a crop that sprang up and increased, yielding thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold. "Any one who has ears to hear," he added, "let him listen to this." When he was alone his followers and the Twelve began asking about the parables. He went on to say to them. "The secret truth concerning the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside everything is told in parables, so that, "for all their looking they may not see, and for all their hearing, they may not understand, lest perchance they should turn and be pardoned. "You do not understand this parable," said Jesus. "Then how will you understand the other parables? "What the Sower sows is the Word. There are those 'on the wayside' where the Word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan immediately comes and snatches away the Word which has been sown in them. And like the sowing upon 'stony ground' are those who, whenever they hear the Word, at once receive it with joy, but because they have no root in themselves they last for a time; but when suffering or persecution ensues because of the Word, they at once fall away. There are others who are 'sown among thorns.' When they have heard the Word, the anxieties of life and the snares of wealth, and all sorts of other ambitions, come in to choke the Word, so that it proves unfruitful. But those, on the other hand, who were sown on that good soil, are those who listen to the Word, and welcome it, and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold." He went on to say. "Is the lamp brought in to be put under the bushel or the bed? Is it not rather to be put on the lamp-stand? There is nothing hidden except what is to be disclosed, and nothing concealed except what is to be revealed. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." And he said to them. "Take heed what you hear. With what measure you measure it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you. For he who holds, to him will more be given, and he who holds not, from him will be taken even what he holds." "It is with the kingdom of God," he continued, "as if a man should have sown seed in the earth; night and day he sleeps and wakes while the seed is sprouting and growing tall, he knows not how. Of its own accord the earth bears its crops; first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. Then as soon as the crop is ready the man has the sickle put in at once, because harvest-time is come. "To what shall we compare the kingdom of God?" he said again. "in what parable shall we set it forth? It is like a mustard-seed, which, when sown in the soil, is the smallest seed in the world; yet when sown shoots up and becomes larger than any plant, sending out such branches that the wild birds build their nests under its shadow." With many such illustrations Jesus used to tell his message to people as far as they were able to receive it;
Sermon » Of jesus, "on the mount,"
Sermon » Of jesus, "on the plain,"
With these he came down till he reached a level place, where there was a great crowd of his disciples and a great many people from all Judea and Jerusalem and from the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon. These came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases. Those who were tormented by unclean spirits were healed also. The whole crowd were trying to touch him, because power emanated from him and cured them all. read more.
Then raising his eyes upon his disciples he began to say to them. "Blessed are you poor, For the kingdom of God is yours. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, For you shall be filled. "Blessed are you who are wailing now, For you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when men shall hate you, And excommunicate you and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil because of the Son of man. "Rejoice in that day and exult, For your reward is great in heaven; For even so did their fathers to the prophets. "But woe to you rich! For you already have received your consolation. "Woe unto you who are full now! For you shall suffer hunger. "Woe to you who are laughing now! For you shall wail and weep. "Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you! For even so did their fathers to the false prophets. "But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Bless those who curse you, pray for those who calumniate you. To him who gives you a blow on the jaw Turn the other jaw also; And from him who is robbing you of your cloak Withhold not your coat also. Give to every one who asks you; And do not demand your goods back from him who is taking them away. And as you would like men to do to you, So do you also to them. "If you love those who love you what credit is it to you? Why even sinners love those who love them. "And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even sinners do the same. "And if you lend to those from whom you are hoping to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so as to get as much back. "But you must love even your enemies and be kind to them, And lend, despairing of no man. Then your reward will be great, And you will be the sons of the Most High; For he is kind even to the ungrateful and to the evil. "Do you therefore be merciful, As your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you shall not be judged; Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned; "Pardon, and you shall be pardoned; Give, and gifts shall be given to you; Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they shall pour into your bosom. For with what measure you measure, they will measure back to you." He also told them a parable. "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? "There is no disciple who is above his master; But every one when he is completely trained will be like his master. "And why do you look at the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but never consider the beam that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother. "Brother, allow me to pull that splinter out of your eye," when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! Take out first the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter from your brother's eye. "For there is not good tree which bears worthless fruit, nor again any worthless tree which bears good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. "You do not gather figs from thorns, and grapes are not plucked from a bramble-bush. "The good man out of the good treasure-house of his heart brings forth good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure-house of his heart brings forth evil; for the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. "And why are you calling me Lord, Lord, and not doing what I tell you? "I will show whom the man that comes to me, and listens to my works, and does them, is like. "He is like a man who is building a house who digged and went deep and laid a foundation upon rock. And, when a flood came, the torrent dashed against that house, but could not move, because it had been founded upon rock. "But he who listens but does not do, is like a man who built a house upon the soil, without foundations, against which the torrent burst, and at once it fell in, and the ruin of that house was great."
Then raising his eyes upon his disciples he began to say to them. "Blessed are you poor, For the kingdom of God is yours. "Blessed are you who are hungry now, For you shall be filled. "Blessed are you who are wailing now, For you shall laugh. "Blessed are you when men shall hate you, And excommunicate you and reproach you, and cast out your name as evil because of the Son of man. "Rejoice in that day and exult, For your reward is great in heaven; For even so did their fathers to the prophets. "But woe to you rich! For you already have received your consolation. "Woe unto you who are full now! For you shall suffer hunger. "Woe to you who are laughing now! For you shall wail and weep. "Woe to you when all men shall speak well of you! For even so did their fathers to the false prophets. "But to you who are listening to me I say, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, Bless those who curse you, pray for those who calumniate you. To him who gives you a blow on the jaw Turn the other jaw also; And from him who is robbing you of your cloak Withhold not your coat also. Give to every one who asks you; And do not demand your goods back from him who is taking them away. And as you would like men to do to you, So do you also to them. "If you love those who love you what credit is it to you? Why even sinners love those who love them. "And if you are kind to those who are kind to you, what credit is it to you? Even sinners do the same. "And if you lend to those from whom you are hoping to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, so as to get as much back. "But you must love even your enemies and be kind to them, And lend, despairing of no man. Then your reward will be great, And you will be the sons of the Most High; For he is kind even to the ungrateful and to the evil. "Do you therefore be merciful, As your Father is merciful. "Do not judge, and you shall not be judged; Do not condemn, and you shall not be condemned; "Pardon, and you shall be pardoned; Give, and gifts shall be given to you; Full measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they shall pour into your bosom. For with what measure you measure, they will measure back to you." He also told them a parable. "Can a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? "There is no disciple who is above his master; But every one when he is completely trained will be like his master. "And why do you look at the splinter that is in your brother's eye, but never consider the beam that is in your own eye? "Or how can you say to your brother. "Brother, allow me to pull that splinter out of your eye," when you do not see the beam in your own eye? Hypocrite! Take out first the beam from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the splinter from your brother's eye. "For there is not good tree which bears worthless fruit, nor again any worthless tree which bears good fruit; for each tree is known by its own fruit. "You do not gather figs from thorns, and grapes are not plucked from a bramble-bush. "The good man out of the good treasure-house of his heart brings forth good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure-house of his heart brings forth evil; for the mouth speaks out of the abundance of the heart. "And why are you calling me Lord, Lord, and not doing what I tell you? "I will show whom the man that comes to me, and listens to my works, and does them, is like. "He is like a man who is building a house who digged and went deep and laid a foundation upon rock. And, when a flood came, the torrent dashed against that house, but could not move, because it had been founded upon rock. "But he who listens but does not do, is like a man who built a house upon the soil, without foundations, against which the torrent burst, and at once it fell in, and the ruin of that house was great."