Thematic Bible: Sermon


Thematic Bible



Now on the same day, Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the sea-side: and many people were gathered together to bear Him, so that He went into a ship and sat down, and all the multitude stood upon the shore; and He spake to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold a sower went out to sow; read more.
and as he was sowing, some seeds fell by the way-side, and the birds came and ate them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and they soon sprung up indeed, because they had no depth of earth; but when the sun rose, they were burnt up, and withered; because they had no root: and others fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: but others fell on good ground, and yielded fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty, and some thirty. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." And the disciples came to Him and said, Why dost thou speak to them in parables? And He answered them, saying, Because it is granted unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not granted: for whosoever really hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have abundantly; but whosoever thus hath not, even that which he hath, shall be taken away from him: for this reason I speak to them in parables; because though they see, they will not see; and though they hear, they will not hear, nor understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, Ye shall hear by the hearing of the ear, and not understand; and in seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: for the heart of this people is grown stupid, and their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; least they should see at all with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear: for indeed I tell you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear what ye hear, and have not heard them. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the gospel-kingdom, and regardeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and snatcheth away that which was sown in his heart: this is he who received the seed as by the way-side. And he who received the seed as upon stony grounds, is one that heareth the word and immediately receiveth it with joy: yet hath he no root in himself, and therefore is but for a short season; and when affliction cometh, or persecution on account of the word, he is as soon disgusted. And he that received the seed among the thorns, is one that likewise heareth the word; but the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choketh the word, and so it becometh unfruitful. But he who received the seed into good ground, is one that heareth and understandeth the word, who indeed beareth fruit, and yieldeth, like fertile lands, some an hundred-fold, some sixty, some thirty. Another parable propounded He unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man, who sowed good grain in his ground: but while men were asleep, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. Now when the blade shot forth, and produced the corn, then the tares also appeared. So the servants came to their master, and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? whence then are the tares? And he said unto them, Some enemy hath done this. The servants therefore said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, No: least in plucking up the tares ye root up the corn along with them. Let both grow together till harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather the weeds together, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but carry the wheat into my barn. Another parable delivered He unto them, saying, The gospel-kingdom is like a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. Which is indeed one of the lest of all seeds: but when it is grown, is the greatest among herbs, and even becometh a tree; so that the birds of the air come and lodge in it's branches. Another parable spake He unto them, saying, The gospel-kingdom is like leaven, which a woman took and put into a large quantity of dough, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus in parables to the multitudes; and at this time He spake nothing to them without a parable: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, I will publish things which have been concealed from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus leaving the multitude went into the house; and his disciples came to Him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field: and He answered them, and said, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world; the good seed are the children of my kingdom; and the tares are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered together, and burnt in the fire; so shall it be in the end of the world: the Son of man will send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all that commit offences, and those who do iniquity, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. But the righteous shall then shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hid in a field, which a man having found conceals, and being rejoiced at it goes and sells all that he has, and purchases that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking precious pearls, who, having found one of great value, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net, that was cast into the sea, and inclosed fishes of various sorts; which, when it was full, they dragged to the shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, and threw out the bad. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and separate the wicked from among the righteous; and shall cast them into the fiery furnace, and there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then saith Jesus unto them, Did ye understand all these? they say unto Him, Yes, Lord: and He said unto them, Therefore every teacher, who has been thus instructed in the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven, is like a master of a family, who brings forth out of his store things new and old.

And He taught them many things by similitudes, and said to them in his instruction, hearken, Behold a sower went out to sow: and in sowing, some fell by the way-side, and the birds came and ate it up: read more.
and some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth, and it sprang up immediately, because it had not depth of earth; but when the sun rose, it was burnt up, and withered because it had no root: and some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no fruit: and other fell on good ground, and yielded fruit springing up and increasing; and produced some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred-fold. And He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when He was apart from the multitude, those that were about Him with the twelve asked Him concerning the parable. And he said unto them, To you it is granted to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but unto them that are without all things are delivered in parables: that in seeing they may see and not perceive, and in hearing they may hear and not understand, least they should be converted, and their sins be forgiven them. Then saith He unto them, Do ye not understand this parable? how then will ye understand all my other parables. The sower is he that soweth the word. And these are they by the way-side: where the word is sown; but when they have heard it, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And in like manner, they that are sown as on stony grounds are such, as when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy, but have no root in themselves, and so continue but for a short season: and then, when affliction cometh, or persecution on account of the word, they are as soon offended. And those that are sown as among thorns, are these: such as hear the word indeed, but the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and inordinate desires after other things entering in choke the word, and so it becometh unfruitful. And these are they who are like seed sown on good ground: such as hear the word, and receive it; and bring forth fruit, some thirty-fold, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And He said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or a bed, and not to be set on a candlestick? for there is nothing hidden, which may not be revealed; nor was there any thing concealed, but in order to become manifest. If any one hath ears to hear, let him hear. And mind what ye hear: for with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you; and more shall be imparted to you that are observant: for whosoever hath, to him more shall be given; and he that hath not, even what he hath, or seemeth to have, shall be taken from him. And He said, The kingdom of God is as if a man should cast seed into the ground, and sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up, and increase; he knows not how. For the earth produces fruit of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear: but when the fruit is ripe, he immediately puts in the sickle, because the harvest is come. And He said, To what shall we compare the kingdom of God, or by what similitude shall we represent it? It is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which when it is sown in the ground, is one of the lest of all the seeds on the earth: but after it is sown, it grows up, and becomes greater than all herbs, and produces large branches, so that the birds of the air may lodge under it's shadow. And in many such parables spake He the word to them, as they had ability to hear it: but spake not to them without a parable.



and He came down the hill with them, and stood in the plain; with the rest of his disciples, and a great multitude of people from all the parts of Judea, and from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear Him and to be healed of their diseases, even those that were tormented by impure spirits: and they were healed. And all the people endeavoured to touch Him, for there went a divine virtue out of Him, and healed them all. read more.
And lifting up his eyes on his disciples He said, Blessed are ye though poor; for the kingdom of God is yours. Blessed are ye that hunger now; for ye shall be satisfied. Blessed are ye that weep now; for ye shall laugh. Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and reject you, and reproach you, and cast out your name as infamous on account of the Son of man. Rejoice in that day, and be exceeding glad; for behold, your reward is great in heaven: for thus did their fathers to the prophets. But wo unto you that are rich; for ye have received your consolation. Wo unto you that are full; for ye shall be hungry. Wo unto you that laugh now: for ye shall mourn and weep. Wo unto you when all men speak well of you; for their fathers did the same to the false prophets. But I say unto you my hearers, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them that abuse you; to him that smiteth thee on the one cheek, offer also the other; and let him that taketh away thy cloke, have thy coat too rather than strive with him: give to him that asketh thee, and from him that taketh thy goods on loan demand nothing. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them in like manner. If ye love only them that love you, what thanks are due to you? for even the wicked love those that love them: and if ye do good offices to them that do good to you, what thanks are due to you? for even wicked men do the same. And if ye lend to those from whom ye expect to receive, what thanks are due to you? for sinners also lend to sinners that they may receive an equivalent. But do ye love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing from it: and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the sons of the most High; for He is kind even to the ungrateful and the wicked: be ye therefore merciful as your heavenly Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed and shaken down and running over, shall they give into your bosom: for by the same measure, which ye measure with, shall it be measured back again to you. And He said to them by way of parable, Can a blind man guide a blind man? will they not both fall into a ditch? the learner is not above his teacher, tho' every complete scholar will become as learned as his master. But why dost thou look at the chaff in thy brother's eye, and takest no notice of the beam that is in thine own? or how canst thou say to thy brother, Brother let me take out the splinter that is in thine eye, when thou thyself seest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first take out the beam from thine own eye, and then thou wilt see distinctly how to take out the chaff that is in thy brother's eye. For that is not a good tree which produceth bad fruit, nor is the tree bad, which produceth good fruit: for every tree is known by it's fruit; for men do not gather figs from thorns, nor grapes from a bramble. A good man, out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil: for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh. But why do ye call me, Lord, Lord, and do not practise what I teach you? Whosoever cometh unto me, and heareth my instructions, and observeth them, I will shew you to whom he is like: he is like a man who in building an house digged deep, and laid the foundation upon a rock; and when a flood came, the torrent beat violently against that house, but could not shake it, for it was founded upon a rock. But he that heareth and observeth not, is like a man that built an house upon the ground without any foundation, which the flood beat violently upon, and immediately it fell down, and the ruin of that house was great.