Parables hide the kingdom while bread reveals the King.

Matthew 11

From prison John asks whether Jesus is the Coming One, Jesus rebukes cities that saw His works and did not repent, and He calls the weary to take His yoke.

¹When Jesus had finished directing his twelve disciples, he departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.

²Now when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples ³and said to him, “Are you he who comes, or should we look for another?”

⁴Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: ⁵the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. ⁶Blessed is he who finds no occasion for stumbling in me.”

⁷As these went their way, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? ⁸But what did you go out to see? A man in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. ⁹But why did you go out? To see a prophet? Yes, I tell you, and much more than a prophet. ¹⁰For this is he, of whom it is written, ‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’ ¹¹Most certainly I tell you, among those who are born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptizer; yet he who is least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than he. ¹²From the days of John the Baptizer until now, the Kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. ¹⁴If you are willing to receive it, this is Elijah, who is to come. ¹⁵He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

¹⁶“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces, who call to their companions ¹⁷and say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you didn’t dance. We mourned for you, and you didn’t lament.’ ¹⁸For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ ¹⁹The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children.”

²⁰Then he began to denounce the cities in which most of his mighty works had been done, because they didn’t repent. ²¹“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works had been done in Tyre and Sidon which were done in you, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. ²²But I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you. ²³You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today. ²⁴But I tell you that it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom on the day of judgment, than for you.”

²⁵At that time, Jesus answered, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you hid these things from the wise and understanding, and revealed them to infants. ²⁶Yes, Father, for so it was well-pleasing in your sight. ²⁷All things have been delivered to me by my Father. No one knows the Son, except the Father; neither does anyone know the Father, except the Son and he to whom the Son desires to reveal him.

²⁸“Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Matthew 12

Sabbath disputes expose hearts that will not show mercy, Isaiah's servant heals without shouting, and Jesus warns that a divided house and an empty heart cannot stand.

¹At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day through the grain fields. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. ²But the Pharisees, when they saw it, said to him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

³But he said to them, “Haven’t you read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: ⁴how he entered into God’s house and ate the show bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? ⁵Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? ⁶But I tell you that one greater than the temple is here. ⁷But if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you wouldn’t have condemned the guiltless. ⁸For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

⁹He departed from there and went into their synagogue. ¹⁰And behold, there was a man with a withered hand. They asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath day?” so that they might accuse him.

¹¹He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if this one falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t he grab on to it and lift it out? ¹²Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath day.” ¹³Then he told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” He stretched it out; and it was restored whole, just like the other. ¹⁴But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how they might destroy him.

¹⁵Jesus, perceiving that, withdrew from there. Great multitudes followed him; and he healed them all, ¹⁶and commanded them that they should not make him known, ¹⁷that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,

²²Then one possessed by a demon, blind and mute, was brought to him; and he healed him, so that the blind and mute man both spoke and saw. ²³All the multitudes were amazed, and said, “Can this be the son of David?” ²⁴But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, “This man does not cast out demons except by Beelzebul, the prince of the demons.”

²⁵Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand. ²⁶If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? ²⁷If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. ²⁸But if I by the Spirit of God cast out demons, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. ²⁹Or how can one enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods, unless he first bind the strong man? Then he will plunder his house.

³⁰“He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters. ³¹Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men. ³²Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age, or in that which is to come.

³³“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit. ³⁴You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. ³⁵The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. ³⁶I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. ³⁷For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

³⁸Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.”

³⁹But he answered them, “An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. ⁴⁰For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the huge fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. ⁴¹The men of Nineveh will stand up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, someone greater than Jonah is here. ⁴²The Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and will condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, someone greater than Solomon is here.

⁴³“When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. ⁴⁴Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came;’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. ⁴⁵Then he goes and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”

⁴⁶While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. ⁴⁷One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”

⁴⁸But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” ⁴⁹He stretched out his hand toward his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! ⁵⁰For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.”

Matthew 13

By the sea He tells parables of soils, weeds, mustard, leaven, treasure, pearl, and a net, explaining the secrets of the kingdom to disciples and not to the crowds.

¹On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside. ²Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. ³He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow. ⁴As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. ⁶When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

¹⁰The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

¹¹He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. ¹²For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. ¹³Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. ¹⁴In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,

¹⁶“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.

¹⁸“Hear, then, the parable of the farmer. ¹⁹When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. ²⁰What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it; ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²²What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

²⁴He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also. ²⁷The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’

²⁸“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’

“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

²⁹“But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

³¹He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took, and sowed in his field, ³²which indeed is smaller than all 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 lodge in its branches.”

³³He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them, ³⁵that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,

³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”

³⁷He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. ³⁹The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity, ⁴²and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

⁴⁴“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind, ⁴⁸which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹So it will be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” ⁵¹Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”

They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”

⁵²He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”

⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. ⁵⁴Coming into 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? ⁵⁵Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? ⁵⁶Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” ⁵⁷They were offended by him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.” ⁵⁸He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Matthew 14

Herod beheads John, Jesus feeds five thousand from five loaves, and Peter walks on the water until fear sinks him and the Lord takes his hand.

¹At that time, Herod the tetrarch heard the report concerning Jesus, ²and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptizer. He is risen from the dead. That is why these powers work in him.” ³For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife. ⁴For John said to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵When he would have put him to death, he feared the multitude, because they counted him as a prophet. ⁶But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced among them and pleased Herod. ⁷Therefore he promised with an oath to give her whatever she should ask. ⁸She, being prompted by her mother, said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptizer.”

⁹The king was grieved, but for the sake of his oaths and of those who sat at the table with him, he commanded it to be given, ¹⁰and he sent and beheaded John in the prison. ¹¹His head was brought on a platter and given to the young lady; and she brought it to her mother. ¹²His disciples came, took the body, and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus. ¹³Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place apart. When the multitudes heard it, they followed him on foot from the cities.

¹⁴Jesus went out, and he saw a great multitude. He had compassion on them and healed their sick. ¹⁵When evening had come, his disciples came to him, saying, “This place is deserted, and the hour is already late. Send the multitudes away, that they may go into the villages, and buy themselves food.”

¹⁶But Jesus said to them, “They don’t need to go away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷They told him, “We only have here five loaves and two fish.”

¹⁸He said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹He 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, broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the disciples gave to the multitudes. ²⁰They all ate and were filled. They took up twelve baskets full of that which remained left over from the broken pieces. ²¹Those who ate were about five thousand men, in addition to women and children.

²²Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he sent the multitudes away. ²³After he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into the mountain by himself to pray. When evening had come, he was there alone. ²⁴But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, distressed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. ²⁵In the fourth watch of the night, Jesus came to them, walking on the sea. ²⁶When the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It’s a ghost!” and they cried out for fear. ²⁷But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Cheer up! It is I! Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸Peter answered him and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the waters.”

²⁹He said, “Come!”

Peter stepped down from the boat and walked on the waters to come to Jesus. ³⁰But when he saw that the wind was strong, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!”

³¹Immediately Jesus stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You of little faith, why did you doubt?” ³²When they got up into the boat, the wind ceased. ³³Those who were in the boat came and worshiped him, saying, “You are truly the Son of God!”

³⁴When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret. ³⁵When the people of that place recognized him, they sent into all that surrounding region and brought to him all who were sick; ³⁶and they begged him that they might just touch the fringe of his garment. As many as touched it were made whole.

Matthew 15

Jesus says defilement comes from the heart rather than unwashed hands, He answers a Canaanite mother's faith, and He feeds four thousand where the crowds remain with Him.

¹Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem, saying, ²“Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don’t wash their hands when they eat bread.”

³He answered them, “Why do you also disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition? ⁴For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death.’ ⁵But you say, ‘Whoever may tell his father or his mother, “Whatever help you might otherwise have gotten from me is a gift devoted to God,” ⁶he shall not honor his father or mother.’ You have made the commandment of God void because of your tradition. ⁷You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,

¹⁰He summoned the multitude, and said to them, “Hear, and understand. ¹¹That which enters into the mouth doesn’t defile the man; but that which proceeds out of the mouth, this defiles the man.”

¹²Then the disciples came and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

¹³But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. ¹⁴Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

¹⁵Peter answered him, “Explain the parable to us.”

¹⁶So Jesus said, “Do you also still not understand? ¹⁷Don’t you understand that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the belly and then out of the body? ¹⁸But the things which proceed out of the mouth come out of the heart, and they defile the man. ¹⁹For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual sins, thefts, false testimony, and blasphemies. ²⁰These are the things which defile the man; but to eat with unwashed hands doesn’t defile the man.”

²¹Jesus went out from there and withdrew into the region of Tyre and Sidon. ²²Behold, a Canaanite woman came out from those borders and cried, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, you son of David! My daughter is severely possessed by a demon!”

²³But he answered her not a word.

His disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away; for she cries after us.”

²⁴But he answered, “I wasn’t sent to anyone but the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

²⁵But she came and worshiped him, saying, “Lord, help me.”

²⁶But he answered, “It is not appropriate to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.”

²⁷But she said, “Yes, Lord, but even the dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.”

²⁸Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Be it done to you even as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.

²⁹Jesus departed from there and came near to the sea of Galilee; and he went up on the mountain and sat there. ³⁰Great multitudes came to him, having with them the lame, blind, mute, maimed, and many others, and they put them down at his feet. He healed them, ³¹so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.

³²Jesus summoned his disciples and said, “I have compassion on the multitude, because they have continued with me now three days and have nothing to eat. I don’t want to send them away fasting, or they might faint on the way.”

³³The disciples said to him, “Where could we get so many loaves in a deserted place as to satisfy so great a multitude?”

³⁴Jesus said to them, “How many loaves do you have?”

They said, “Seven, and a few small fish.”

³⁵He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground; ³⁶and he took the seven loaves and the fish. He gave thanks and broke them, and gave to the disciples, and the disciples to the multitudes. ³⁷They all ate and were filled. They took up seven baskets full of the broken pieces that were left over. ³⁸Those who ate were four thousand men, in addition to women and children. ³⁹Then he sent away the multitudes, got into the boat, and came into the borders of Magdala.