Thematic Bible: Sermon


Thematic Bible



The same day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the shore of the lake; and great multitudes were gathered together to him, so that he went into a boat, and sat down; and all the multitude stood on the beach. And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow. read more.
And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. And others fell upon rocky places, where they had not much earth; and they sprung up immediately, because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them. And others fell upon good ground; and yielded fruit, some a hundred fold, some Sixty, some thirty fold. He that hath ears, let him hear. And the disciples came and said to him, Why dost thou speak to them in parables? He answered and said, Because to you it hath been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; but to them it hath not been given. For whoever hath, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever hath not, from him will be taken away even what he hath. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, nor understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, "Ye will hear indeed, and not understand; and ye will see indeed, and not perceive. For this peoples heart hath become gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn from their ways, and I should heal them." But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. Truly do I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which ye see, and did not see them; and to hear the things which ye hear, and did not hear them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, the Evil One cometh, and snatcheth away that which was sown in his heart; this man is what was sown by the wayside. And what was sown on the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and immediately receiveth it with joy, but, having no root within him, endureth only for a time; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth on account of the word, he immediately falleth away. And what was sown among the thorns, this is he that heareth the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. And what was sown on the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who also beareth fruit, and yieldeth, one a hundred fold, another sixty, another thirty fold. Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came, and sowed tares among the wheat; and went away. But when the blade grew up, and put forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said to him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? Whence then hath it tares? He said to them, An enemy did this. The servants say to him, Dost thou wish then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest, while ye gather up the tares, ye root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the tares, and bind them in bundles, to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. Another parable he put forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is the least indeed of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches. Another parable he spoke to them: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke to the multitudes in parables, and without a parable he spoke nothing to them; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet Isaiah, saying, "I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation [of the world]." Then he sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world; the good seed is the sons of the kingdom; but the tares are the sons of the Evil One; the enemy that sowed them is the Devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are angels. As therefore the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the world. The Son of man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all the stumblingblocks, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then will the righteous shine forth as the sun, in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears, let him hear. The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hid in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy thereof he goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking goodly pearls. And having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, cast into the sea, and bringing together fish of every kind; which, when it was full, they drew upon the beach, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. So will it be at the end of the world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Did ye understand all these things? They say to him, Yea. And he said to them, Thus then every scribe, instructed for the kingdom of heaven, is like a householder, who bringeth out from his storehouse things new and old.

And he taught them many things in parables, and said to them in his teaching, Hearken: Behold, a sower went forth to sow. And it came to pass, as he sowed some seeds fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. read more.
And others fell on rocky ground, where they had not much earth; and they sprung up immediately, because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up, and choked them, and they yielded no fruit. And others fell on good ground, and shooting up and growing yielded fruit; and bore as much as thirty, and sixty, and a hundred fold. And he said, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was in private, they who were about him, with the twelve, asked him about the parables. And he said to them, To you hath been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them, who are without, all things are done in parables; t hat seeing they may see, and not perceive, and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest 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 soweth the word. And these are they by the wayside, those where the word is sown, and when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in them. And these in like manner are they that are sown on the rocky places, those, who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with joy, and have no root in themselves, but endure only for a time; then, when affliction or persecution ariseth on account of the word, they immediately fall away. And others are they that are sown among the thorns; these are they who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they who are sown on the good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it; and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundred fold. And he said to them, Is a lamp brought to be put under the bushel, or under the bed, and not to be set on the lampstand? For there is nothing secret, unless to be made known; nor was any thing hidden, but that it should come to light. If any one hath ears to hear, let him hear. And he said to them, Take heed what ye hear. With what measure ye mete, it will be measured to you, and more will be added to you. For he that hath, to him will be given; and he that hath not, from him will be taken away even what he hath. And he said, Thus is the kingdom of God, as when a man has cast seed upon the ground, and sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed springs and grows up, he knows not how. For the earth brings forth fruit of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit puts itself forth, immediately he sends out the sickle, because the harvest is come. And he said, To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or under what comparison shall we set it forth? It is like a grain of mustard, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth; and when it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air can lodge under its shade. And with many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear.



And he came down with them, and stood on a level place with a great multitude of his disciples, and a great crowd of the people from all Judaea and Jerusalem and the seacoast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him, and to be healed of their diseases. And they that were harassed with unclean spirits were cured. And the whole multitude sought to touch him, because power went out of him and healed all. read more.
And raising his eyes toward his disciples, he said, Blessed are ye poor; for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are ye that hunger now; for ye will be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now; for ye will laugh. Blessed are ye when men hate you, and when they exclude you, and revile and cast out your name as evil, on account of the Son of man. Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy; for lo! your reward is great in heaven; for thus their fathers did to the prophets. But woe to you that are rich! for ye have received your consolation. Woe to you that are full now! for ye will hunger. Woe to you that laugh now! for ye will mourn and weep. Woe, when all men speak well of you! for so did their fathers of 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 are spiteful to you. To him that smiteth thee on one cheek, offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak, forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every one that asketh of thee; and from him that taketh away thy goods, demand them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also in like manner to them. And if ye love those who love you, what thanks do ye deserve? for sinners also love those who love them. For if ye do good to those who do good to you, what thanks do ye deserve? even sinners do the same. And if ye lend to those from whom ye expect to receive, what thanks do ye deserve? even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much in return. But love your enemies, and do good and lend, despairing of no one; and your reward will be great, and ye will be sons of the Most High; for he is kind to the unthankful and wicked. Be merciful, as your Father is merciful. And judge not, and ye will not be judged; and condemn not, and ye will not be condemned; forgive, and ye will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will men give into your bosom; for with what measure ye mete, it will be measured to you in return. And he spoke also a parable to them: Can the blind lead the blind? Will they not both fall into a ditch? A disciple is not above his teacher; but every one when fully instructed will be as his teacher. And why dost thou look at the mote in thy brothers eye, and not perceive the beam that is in thine own eye? How canst thou say to thy brother, Brother, let me take out the mote that is in thine eye, when thou thyself perceivest not the beam in thine own eye? Hypocrite! first cast the beam out of thine own eye, and then thou wilt see clearly to take out the mote that is in thy brothers eye. For there is no good tree that beareth bad fruit; and again, there is no bad tree that beareth good fruit. For every tree is known by its own fruit; for from thorns men do not gather figs, nor from a bramblebush do they gather grapes. The good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth that which is evil; for out of the abundance of his heart his mouth speaketh. But why call ye me Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Every one that cometh to me and heareth my sayings and doeth them, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house, who dug deep, and laid its foundation on a rock; and when a flood arose, the stream dashed against that house, and could not shake it; because it was well built. But he that heareth and doeth not, is like a man that built a house upon the earth without a foundation; against which the stream dashed, and it fell at once, and the ruin of that house was great.