Immerse: Messiah - Flipbook - Page 34
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IMMERSE
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MESSIAH
7:44–8:12
“That’s right,” Jesus said. Then he turned to the woman and said to
Simon, “Look at this woman kneeling here. When I entered your home,
you didn’t offer me water to wash the dust from my feet, but she has
washed them with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You didn’t greet
me with a kiss, but from the time I first came in, she has not stopped kissing my feet. You neglected the courtesy of olive oil to anoint my head, but
she has anointed my feet with rare perfume.
“I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has
shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little
love.” Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he
goes around forgiving sins?”
And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages,
preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God.
He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some women who had
been cured of evil spirits and diseases. Among them were Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons; Joanna, the wife of
Chuza, Herod’s business manager; Susanna; and many others who were
contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.
One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that
had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant
his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath,
where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks.
It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture.
Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced
a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he
had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and
understand.”
His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He replied, “You are
permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables to teach the others so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:
‘When they look, they won’t really see.
When they hear, they won’t understand.’
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds
that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have
