Matthew 13

Parable of the Soils

1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, a sower went out to sow.4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!10 And the disciples came and said to Him, Why do You speak to them in parables?11 He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,And seeing you will see and not perceive;15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.18 Therefore hear the parable of the sower:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Parable of the Wheat and Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?28 He said to them, An enemy has done this. The servants said to him, Do you want us then to go and gather them up?29 But he said, No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them.30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

Parable of the Mustard Seed

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.

Parable of the Leaven

33 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 it was all leavened.34 All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them,35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying: I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Parable of the Tares Explained

36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.37 He answered and said to them: He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.40 Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age.41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness,42 and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.43 Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

Parable of the Pearl of Great Price

45 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls,46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

Parable of the Dragnet

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, 50 and cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Parable of the Householder

51 Jesus said to them, Have you understood all these things? They said to Him, Yes, Lord.52 Then He said to them, Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.53 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.

Rejection at Nazareth

54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?55 Is this not the carpenters son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?57 So they were offended at Him.58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Matthew 14

Present Response to Jesus

1 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the report about Jesus2 and said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.

Recount of the Murder of John the Baptist

3 For Herod had laid hold of John and bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philips wife.4 Because John had said to him, It is not lawful for you to have her.5 And although he wanted to put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet.6 But when Herods birthday was celebrated, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod.7 Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.8 So she, having been prompted by her mother, said, Give me John the Baptists head here on a platter.9 And the king was sorry; nevertheless, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had John beheaded in prison.11 And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.12 Then his disciples came and took away the body and buried it, and went and told Jesus.

Jesus Feeds 5,000

13 When Jesus heard it, He departed from there by boat to a deserted place by Himself. But when the multitudes heard it, they followed Him on foot from the cities.14 And when Jesus went out He saw a great multitude; and He was moved with compassion for them, and healed their sick.15 When it was evening, His disciples came to Him, saying, This is a deserted place, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages and buy themselves food.16 But Jesus said to them, They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.17 And they said to Him, We have here only five loaves and two fish.18 He said, Bring them here to Me.19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes.20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments that remained.21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Jesus Walks on Water

22 Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away.23 And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there.24 But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary.25 Now in the fourth watch of the night Jesus went to them, walking on the sea.26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost! And they cried out for fear.27 But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer! It is I; do not be afraid.28 And Peter answered Him and said, Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.29 So He said, Come. And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus.30 But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink he cried out, saying, Lord, save me!31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, O you of little faith, why did you doubt?32 And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.33 Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, Truly You are the Son of God.

Jesus Heals Many

34 When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret.35 And when the men of that place recognized Him, they sent out into all that surrounding region, brought to Him all who were sick,36 and begged Him that they might only touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched it were made perfectly well.

Matthew 15

Debate Over Tradition

1 Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying,2 Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.3 He answered and said to them, Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, saying, Honor your father and your mother; and, He who curses father or mother, let him be put to death. 5 But you say, Whoever says to his father or mother, Whatever profit you might have received from me is a gift to God6 then he need not honor his father or mother. Thus you have made the commandment of God of no effect by your tradition. 7 Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying:8  These people draw near to Me with their mouth,And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me.9  And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. 10 When He had called the multitude to Himself , He said to them, Hear and understand: 11 Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?13 But He answered and said, Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted. 14 Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.15 Then Peter answered and said to Him, Explain this parable to us.16 So Jesus said, Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is eliminated? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. 20 These are the things which defile a man, but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man.

Jesus Heals the Gentile Womans Daughter

21 Then Jesus went out from there and departed to the region of Tyre and Sidon.22 And behold, a woman of Canaan came from that region and cried out to Him, saying, Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David! My daughter is severely demon-possessed.23 But He answered her not a word. And His disciples came and urged Him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us.24 But He answered and said, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.25 Then she came and worshiped Him, saying, Lord, help me!26 But He answered and said, It is not good to take the childrens bread and throw it to the little dogs.27 And she said, Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters table.28 Then Jesus answered and said to her, O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire. And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Jesus Heals Many

29 Jesus departed from there, skirted the Sea of Galilee, and went up on the mountain and sat down there.30 Then great multitudes came to Him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others; and they laid them down at Jesus feet, and He healed them.31 So the multitude marveled when they saw the mute speaking, the maimed made whole, the lame walking, and the blind seeing; and they glorified the God of Israel.

Jesus Feeds 4,000

32 Now Jesus called His disciples to Himself and said, I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with Me three days and have nothing to eat. And I do not want to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way.33 Then His disciples said to Him, Where could we get enough bread in the wilderness to fill such a great multitude?34 Jesus said to them, How many loaves do you have? And they said, Seven, and a few little fish.35 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground.36 And He took the seven loaves and the fish and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitude.37 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets full of the fragments that were left.38 Now those who ate were four thousand men, besides women and children.39 And He sent away the multitude, got into the boat, and came to the region of Magdala.