Study Desk

Then they brought him a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute, and Jesus healed him, so that he could both talk and see.^(w)

All the people were astonished and said, "Could this be the Son of David?"^(x)

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, "It is only by Beelzebul,^(y) the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons."^(z)

Jesus knew their thoughts^(aa) and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

If Satan^(ab) drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul,^(ac) by whom do your people^(ad) drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God^(ae) has come upon you.

"Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

"Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.^(af)

And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.^(ag)

Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age^(ah) or in the age to come.^(ai)

"Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit.^(aj)

You brood of vipers,^(ak) how can you who are evil say anything good? For the mouth speaks^(al) what the heart is full of.

A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."^(am)

Then some of the Pharisees and teachers of the law said to him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign^(ap) from you."^(aq)

He answered, "A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.^(ar)

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish,^(as) so the Son of Man^(at) will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.^(au)

The men of Nineveh^(av) will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah,^(aw) and now something greater than Jonah is here.

The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came^(ax) from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon's wisdom, and now something greater than Solomon is here.

"When an impure spirit comes out of a person, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order.

Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that person is worse than the first.^(ay) That is how it will be with this wicked generation."

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother^(ba) and brothers^(bb) stood outside, wanting to speak to him.

Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

He replied to him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?"

Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers.

For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven^(bc) is my brother and sister and mother."

The Parable of the Sower^(a)(b)(c)

That same day Jesus went out of the house^(d) and sat by the lake.

Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat^(e) and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.

But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred,^(f) sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Whoever has ears, let them hear."^(g)

The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"

He replied, "Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven^(h) has been given to you,⁽ⁱ⁾ but not to them.

Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.^(j)

This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.^(k)

In them is fulfilled^(l) the prophecy of Isaiah: "‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'^[a](m)

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.⁽ⁿ⁾

For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see^(o) but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

"Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

When anyone hears the message about the kingdom^(p) and does not understand it, the evil one^(q) comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.^(r)

The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth^(s) choke the word, making it unfruitful.

But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."^(t)

Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like^(u) a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

"The owner's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?'

"‘An enemy did this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?'

"‘No,' he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.'"^(v)

He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like^(y) a mustard seed,^(z) which a man took and planted in his field.

Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."^(aa)

He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like^(ab) yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds^[b] of flour^(ac) until it worked all through the dough."^(ad)

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.^(ae)

So was fulfilled^(af) what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world."^[c](ag)

Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the parable^(ah) of the weeds in the field."

He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.^(ai)

The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,^(aj)

and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest^(ak) is the end of the age,^(al) and the harvesters are angels.^(am)

"As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man^(an) will send out his angels,^(ao) and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(ap)

Then the righteous will shine like the sun^(aq) in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.^(ar)

"The kingdom of heaven is like^(as) treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.^(at)

"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like^(au) a merchant looking for fine pearls.

When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

"Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like^(av) a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds^(aw) of fish.

When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous^(ax)

and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^(ay)

"Have you understood all these things?" Jesus asked. "Yes," they replied.

He said to them, "Therefore every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old."

When Jesus had finished these parables,^(ba) he moved on from there.

Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue,^(bb) and they were amazed.^(bc) "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked.

"Isn't this the carpenter's son?^(bd) Isn't his mother's^(be) name Mary, and aren't his brothers^(bf) James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?

Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"

And they took offense^(bg) at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home."^(bh)

And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

John the Baptist Beheaded^(a)

At that time Herod^(b) the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus,^(c)

and he said to his attendants, "This is John the Baptist;^(d) he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him."

Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison^(e) because of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,^(f)

for John had been saying to him: "It is not lawful for you to have her."^(g)

Herod wanted to kill John, but he was afraid of the people, because they considered John a prophet.^(h)

On Herod's birthday the daughter of Herodias danced for the guests and pleased Herod so much

that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.

Prompted by her mother, she said, "Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist."

The king was distressed, but because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he ordered that her request be granted

and had John beheaded⁽ⁱ⁾ in the prison.

His head was brought in on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

John's disciples came and took his body and buried it.^(j) Then they went and told Jesus.