HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 1243
M ATTHEW 13
page 873
33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is
good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its
fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How
could evil men like you speak what is good and
right? For whatever is in your heart determines
what you say. 35 A good person produces good
things from the treasury of a good heart, and an
evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you
must give an account on judgment day for every
idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will
either acquit you or condemn you.”
The Sign of Jonah
38 One day some teachers of religious law and
Pharisees came to Jesus and said, “Teacher, we
want you to show us a miraculous sign to prove
your authority.”
39 But Jesus replied, “Only an evil, adulterous
generation would demand a miraculous sign;
but the only sign I will give them is the sign of
the prophet Jonah. 40 For as Jonah was in the
belly of the great fish for three days and three
nights, so will the Son of Man be in the heart of
the earth for three days and three nights.
41 “The people of Nin eveh will stand up
against this generation on judgment day and
condemn it, for they repented of their sins at
the preaching of Jonah. Now someone greater
than Jonah is here—but you refuse to repent.
42 The queen of Sheba* will also stand up
against this generation on judgment day and
condemn it, for she came from a distant land
to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone
greater than Solomon is here—but you refuse
to listen.
43 “When an evil* spirit leaves a person, it
goes into the desert, seeking rest but finding
none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to the person I came from.’ So it returns and finds its former home empty, swept, and in order. 45 Then
the spirit finds seven other spirits more evil
than itself, and they all enter the person and
live there. And so that person is worse off than
before. That will be the experience of this evil
generation.”
The True Family of Jesus
46 As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his
mother and brothers stood outside, asking
to speak to him. 47 Someone told Jesus, “Your
mother and your brothers are standing outside,
and they want to speak to you.”*
48 Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are
my brothers?” 49 Then he 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!”
12:42 Greek The queen of the south. 12:43 Greek unclean.
12:47 Some manuscripts do not include verse 47. Compare
Mark 3:32 and Luke 8:20. 13:11 Greek the mysteries.
Parable of the Farmer Scattering Seed
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,
13
For they look, but they don’t really see.
They hear, but they don’t really listen or
understand.
14 This
15
fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say,
you will not understand.
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—
• Conflict
M ATTHE W 12:25
If you let Satan continue to win strategic
battles in your heart, he will ultimately
defeat you. He will take over as much of
you as you allow. God and Satan cannot
be in control of your life at the same time.
Every time Satan wins, you lose ground
with God. What can you do to take back
more of your heart for God?