the Week of Proper 19 / Ordinary 24
Click here to join the effort!
Bible Reading Plan
Daily Bible Reading
October 12 - Straight Thru the Bible
csb
Matthew 12:22-14:12
Chapter 12
22 Then a demon-possessed man(s) who was blind and unable to speak was brought to Him. He healed him, so that the man[h] could both speak and see.(t) 23 And all the crowds were astounded and said, "Perhaps this is the Son of David!"(u)
24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, "The man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons."(v)
25 Knowing their thoughts,(w) He told them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan(x) drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand? 27 And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, who is it your sons drive them out by? For this reason they will be your judges.(y) 28 If I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.(z) 29 How can someone enter a strong man's house and steal his possessions unless he first ties up(aa) the strong man? Then he can rob his house. 30 Anyone who is not with Me is against Me,(ab) and anyone who does not gather with Me scatters. 31 Because of this,(ac) I tell you, people will be forgiven every sin and blasphemy,(ad) but the blasphemy against[i] the Spirit will not be forgiven.[j] 32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man,(ae) it will be forgiven him. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the one to come. (af)
A Tree and Its Fruit
33 "Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad[k] and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.(ag) 34 Brood of vipers! How can you speak good things when you are evil? For the mouth speaks from the overflow(ah) of the heart. 35 A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good,[l] and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil.(ai) 36 I tell you that on the day of judgment(aj) people will have to account(ak) for every careless word they speak.[m] 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned."
The Sign of Jonah
38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, "Teacher, we want to see a sign from You."(al)
39 But He answered them,(am) "An evil and adulterous generation demands a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.(an) 40 For as Jonah was in the belly of the huge fish three days and three nights,(ao) so the Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth three days and three nights. 41 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it,(ap) because they repented at Jonah's proclamation; and look—something greater than Jonah is here! (aq) 42 The queen of the south(ar) will rise up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and look—something greater than Solomon is here!
An Unclean Spirit's Return
43 "When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it roams through waterless places looking for rest but doesn't find any.(as) 44 Then it says, ‘I'll go back to my house that I came from.' And returning, it finds the house vacant, swept, and put in order. 45 Then off it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and settle down there. As a result, that man's last condition is worse than the first.(at) That's how it will also be with this evil generation."
True Relationships
46 He(au) was still speaking to the crowds when suddenly His mother and brothers were standing outside wanting to speak to Him.(av) 47 Someone told Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You."[n]
48 But He replied to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples,(aw) He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven, that person is My brother and sister and mother." (ax)
Chapter 13
The Parable of the Sower
1 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.(a) 2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.(b)
3 Then He told them many things in parables,(c) saying: "Consider the sower who went out to sow. 4 As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn't much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn't deep. 6 But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. 7 Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. 8 Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. (d) 9 Anyone who has ears[a] should listen!" (e)
Why Jesus Used Parables
10 Then the disciples(f) came up and asked Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?"(g)
11 He answered them, "Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know,(h) but it has not been given to them. 12 For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.(i) 13 For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see,(j) and hearing they do not listen or understand.(k) 14 Isaiah's prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:
You will listen and listen,
yet never understand;
and you will look and look,
yet never perceive.
(l)
15
For this people's heart has grown callous;
their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes;
otherwise they might see with their eyes
and hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn back—
and I would cure them.
(m)[b]
16 "But your eyes are blessed(n) because they do see, and your ears because they do hear!(o) 17 For I assure you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see yet didn't see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn't hear them. (p)
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 "You, then, listen to the parable of the sower:(q) 19 When anyone hears the word[c] about the kingdom and doesn't understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.(r) 20 And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.(s) 21 Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution(t) comes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age(u) and the seduction[d] of wealth(v) choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown."
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds
24 He presented another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.(w) 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds[e] among the wheat, and left. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. 27 The landowner's slaves(x) came to him and said, ‘Master, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'
28 "‘An enemy did this!' he told them.
"‘So, do you want us to go and gather them up?' the slaves asked him.
29 "‘No,' he said. ‘When you gather up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I'll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but store the wheat in my barn.'"
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast
31 He(y) presented another parable to them: "The kingdom of heaven(z) is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It's the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it's taller than the vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches." (aa)
33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds[f] of flour until it spread through all of it." [g](ab)
Using Parables Fulfills Prophecy
34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable,(ac) 35 so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:
I will open My mouth in parables;
I will declare things kept secret
from the foundation of the world.
(ad)[h]
Jesus Interprets the Wheat and the Weeds
36 Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, "Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us."(ae)
37 He replied: "The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38 the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, (af) 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.(ag) 40 Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.(ah) 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin[i] and those guilty of lawlessness. [j](ai) 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace(aj) where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.(ak) 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Anyone who has ears[k] should listen! (al)
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and of the Priceless Pearl
44 "The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field. (am)
45 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. 46 When he found one priceless[l] pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it. (an)
The Parable of the Net
47 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish,(ao) 48 and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous,(ap) 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (aq)
The Storehouse of Truth
51 "Have you understood all these things?" [m]
"Yes," they told Him.
52 "Therefore," He said to them, "every student of Scripture[n] instructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old." (ar) 53 When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there.
Rejection at Nazareth
54 He went to His hometown(as) and began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him?(at) 55 Isn't this the carpenter's son?(au) Isn't His mother called Mary, and His brothers James,(av) Joseph,[o] Simon, and Judas?(aw) 56 And His sisters, aren't they all with us? So where does He get all these things?" 57 And they were offended by Him.
But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household." (ax) 58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Chapter 14
John the Baptist Beheaded
1 At that time(a) Herod the tetrarch(b) heard the report about Jesus. 2 "This is John the Baptist!" he told his servants. "He has been raised from the dead, and that's why supernatural powers are at work in him."(c)
3 For Herod had arrested John, chained[a] him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife,(d) 4 since John had been telling him, "It's not lawful(e) for you to have her!" 5 Though he wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd, since they regarded him as a prophet.(f)
6 But when Herod's birthday celebration came, Herodias's daughter danced before them[b] and pleased Herod. 7 So he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask. 8 And prompted by her mother, she answered, "Give me John the Baptist's head here on a platter!" 9 Although the king regretted it, he commanded that it be granted because of his oaths and his guests. 10 So he sent orders and had John beheaded in the prison. 11 His head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, who carried it to her mother. 12 Then his disciples came, removed the corpse,[c] buried it, and went and reported to Jesus.
Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.
