Description
Chapters 13 - 16 of Matthew's Gospel
I, personally, do not fare well with fragmented verses, and I happen to feel that verses taken out of their larger context are liable to misuse. And so, I decided to set up (mainly for myself), Matthews Gospel in whatever chunks seemed appropriate to me. I hope you find it helpful.
Matthew
13
1
On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.
2
And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore.
3
He told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
4
And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
5
Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.
6
But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.
7
Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them.
8
But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
9
The one who has ears had better listen!"
10
Then the disciples came to him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
11
He replied, "You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.
12
For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
13
For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.
14
And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: 'You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend.
15
For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'
16
"But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.
17
For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18
"So listen to the parable of the sower:
19
When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.
20
The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.
21
But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.
22
The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.
23
But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown."
24
He presented them with another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.
25
But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
26
When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
27
So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'
28
He said, 'An enemy has done this.' So the slaves replied, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?'
29
But he said, 'No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.
30
Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn."'"
31
He gave them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
32
It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches."
33
He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen."
34
Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.
35
This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."
36
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
37
He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
38
The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,
39
and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40
As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
41
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.
42
They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!
44
"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
45
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.
46
When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
47
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.
48
When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away.
49
It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous
50
and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51
"Have you understood all these things?" They replied, "Yes."
52
Then he said to them, "Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old."
53
Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.
54
Then he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?
55
Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
56
And aren't all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?"
57
And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house."
58
And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
14
1
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard reports about Jesus,
2
and he said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist. He has been raised from the dead! And because of this, miraculous powers are at work in him."
3
For Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,
4
because John had repeatedly told him, "It is not lawful for you to have her."
5
Although Herod wanted to kill John, he feared the crowd because they accepted John as a prophet.
6
But on Herod's birthday, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod,
7
so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked.
8
Instructed by her mother, she said, "Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a platter."
9
Although it grieved the king, because of his oath and the dinner guests he commanded it to be given.
10
So he sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
11
His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother.
12
Then John's disciples came and took the body and buried it and went and told Jesus.
13
Now when Jesus heard this he went away from there privately in a boat to an isolated place. But when the crowd heard about it, they followed him on foot from the towns.
14
As he got out he saw the large crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15
When evening arrived, his disciples came to him saying, "This is an isolated place and the hour is already late. Send the crowds away so that they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves."
16
But he replied, "They don't need to go. You give them something to eat."
17
They said to him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish."
18
"Bring them here to me," he replied.
19
Then he instructed the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves and two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves. He gave them to the disciples, who in turn gave them to the crowds.
20
They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, twelve baskets full.
21
Not counting women and children, there were about five thousand men who ate.
22
Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of him to the other side, while he dispersed the crowds.
23
And after he sent the crowds away, he went up the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone.
24
Meanwhile the boat, already far from land, was taking a beating from the waves because the wind was against it.
25
As the night was ending, Jesus came to them walking on the sea.
26
When the disciples saw him walking on the water they were terrified and said, "It's a ghost!" and cried out with fear.
27
But immediately Jesus spoke to them: "Have courage! It is I. Do not be afraid."
28
Peter said to him, "Lord, if it is you, order me to come to you on the water."
29
So he said, "Come." Peter got out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.
30
But when he saw the strong wind he became afraid. And starting to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31
Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him, saying to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
32
When they went up into the boat, the wind ceased.
33
Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."
34
After they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret.
35
When the people there recognized him, they sent word into all the surrounding area, and they brought all their sick to him.
36
They begged him if they could only touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.
15
1
Then Pharisees and experts in the law came from Jerusalem to Jesus and said,
2
"Why do your disciples disobey the tradition of the elders? For they don't wash their hands when they eat."
3
He answered them, "And why do you disobey the commandment of God because of your tradition?
4
For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Whoever insults his father or mother must be put to death.'
5
But you say, 'If someone tells his father or mother, "Whatever help you would have received from me is given to God,"
6
he does not need to honor his father.' You have nullified the word of God on account of your tradition.
7
Hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you when he said,
8
'This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
9
and they worship me in vain, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.'"
10
Then he called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand.
11
What defiles a person is not what goes into the mouth; it is what comes out of the mouth that defiles a person."
12
Then the disciples came to him and said, "Do you know that when the Pharisees heard this saying they were offended?"
13
And he replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted.
14
Leave them! They are blind guides. If someone who is blind leads another who is blind, both will fall into a pit."
15
But Peter said to him, "Explain this parable to us."
16
Jesus said, "Even after all this, are you still so foolish?
17
Don't you understand that whatever goes into the mouth enters the stomach and then passes out into the sewer?
18
But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a person.
19
For out of the heart come evil ideas, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
20
These are the things that defile a person; it is not eating with unwashed hands that defiles a person."
21
After going out from there, Jesus went to the region of Tyre and Sidon.
22
A Canaanite woman from that area came and cried out, "Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David! My daughter is horribly demon-possessed!"
23
But he did not answer her a word. Then his disciples came and begged him, "Send her away, because she keeps on crying out after us."
24
So he answered, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
25
But she came and bowed down before him and said, "Lord, help me!"
26
"It is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs," he said.
27
"Yes, Lord," she replied, "but even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters' table."
28
Then Jesus answered her, "Woman, your faith is great! Let what you want be done for you." And her daughter was healed from that hour.
29
When he left there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up a mountain, where he sat down.
30
Then large crowds came to him bringing with them the lame, blind, crippled, mute, and many others. They laid them at his feet, and he healed them.
31
As a result, the crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled healthy, the lame walking, and the blind seeing, and they praised the God of Israel.
32
Then Jesus called the disciples and said, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have already been here with me three days and they have nothing to eat. I don't want to send them away hungry since they may faint on the way."
33
The disciples said to him, "Where can we get enough bread in this desolate place to satisfy so great a crowd?"
34
Jesus said to them, "How many loaves do you have?" They replied, "Seven - and a few small fish."
35
After instructing the crowd to sit down on the ground,
36
he took the seven loaves and the fish, and after giving thanks, he broke them and began giving them to the disciples, who then gave them to the crowds.
37
They all ate and were satisfied, and they picked up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full.
38
Not counting children and women, there were four thousand men who ate.
39
After sending away the crowd, he got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.
16
1
Now when the Pharisees and Sadducees came to test Jesus, they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.
2
He said, "When evening comes you say, 'It will be fair weather, because the sky is red,'
3
and in the morning, 'It will be stormy today, because the sky is red and darkening.' You know how to judge correctly the appearance of the sky, but you cannot evaluate the signs of the times.
4
A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah." Then he left them and went away.
5
When the disciples went to the other side, they forgot to take bread.
6
"Watch out," Jesus said to them, "beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees."
7
So they began to discuss this among themselves, saying, "It is because we brought no bread."
8
When Jesus learned of this, he said, "You who have such little faith! Why are you arguing among yourselves about having no bread?
9
Do you still not understand? Don't you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many baskets you took up?
10
Or the seven loaves for the four thousand and how many baskets you took up?
11
How could you not understand that I was not speaking to you about bread? But beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees!"
12
Then they understood that he had not told them to be on guard against the yeast in bread, but against the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
13
When Jesus came to the area of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?"
14
They answered, "Some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets."
15
He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?"
16
Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."
17
And Jesus answered him, "You are blessed, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father in heaven!
18
And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven, and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven."
20
Then he instructed his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Christ.
21
From that time on Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and experts in the law, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.
22
So Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him: "God forbid, Lord! This must not happen to you!"
23
But he turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but on man's."
24
Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone wants to become my follower, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
25
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
26
For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?
27
For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.
28
I tell you the truth, there are some standing here who will not experience death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."
Text used with permission – http://bible.org/
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Verse set info
Put together by TheCavlery.
Created on Mar 7, 2017.
Created on Mar 7, 2017.
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