One Year Pray for America Bible - Flipbook - Page 83
73
January 19
pointed to his disciples and said,
“Look, these are my mother and brothers. 50 Anyone who does the will of my
Father in heaven is my brother and
sister and mother!”
13:1 Later that same day
Jesus left the
house and sat beside the lake. 2 A large
crowd soon gathered around him, so
he got into a boat. Then he sat there
and taught as the people stood on the
shore. 3 He told many stories in the
form of parables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant
some seeds. 4 As he scattered them
across his field, some seeds fell on a
footpath, and the birds came and ate
them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow
soil with underlying rock. The seeds
sprouted quickly because the soil was
shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted
under the hot sun, and since they
didn’t have deep roots, they died.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns that
grew up and choked out the tender
plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile
soil, and they produced a crop that
was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred
times as much as had been planted!
9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
10 His disciples came and asked
him, “Why do you use parables when
you talk to the people?”
11 He replied, “You are permitted to
understand the secrets* of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
12 To those who listen to my teaching,
more understanding will be given,
and they will have an abundance of
knowledge. But for those who are
not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away
from them. 13 That is why I use these
parables,
For they look, but they don’t really
see.
They hear, but they don’t really
listen or understand.
14 This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah
that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
15
When you see what I do,
you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are
hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they have closed their eyes—
so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot
understand,
and they cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’*
16 “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because
they hear. 17 I tell you the truth, many
prophets and righteous people longed
to see what you see, but they didn’t see
it. And they longed to hear what you
hear, but they didn’t hear it.
18 “Now listen to the explanation of
the parable about the farmer planting seeds: 19 The seed that fell on the
footpath represents those who hear
the message about the Kingdom and
don’t understand it. Then the evil one
comes and snatches away the seed
that was planted in their hearts. 20 The
seed on the rocky soil represents those
who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. 21 But since
they don’t have deep roots, they don’t
last long. They fall away as soon as
they have problems or are persecuted
for believing God’s word. 22 The seed
that fell among the thorns represents
those who hear God’s word, but all too
quickly the message is crowded out by
the worries of this life and the lure of
wealth, so no fruit is produced. 23 The
seed that fell on good soil represents
those who truly hear and understand
God’s word and produce a harvest of
thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times
as much as had been planted!”
12:47 Some manuscripts do not include verse 47.
Compare Mark 3:32 and Luke 8:20. 13:11 Greek the
mysteries.
13:1415 Isa 6:910 (Greek version).
PSALM 17:115
A prayer of David.
1
O Lord, hear my plea for justice.
Listen to my cry for help.
Pay attention to my prayer,
for it comes from honest lips.
