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M ATTHEW 14
page 875
who planted the weeds among the wheat is the
devil. The harvest is the end of the world,* and
the harvesters are the angels.
40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and
burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of
the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom
everything that causes sin and all who do
evil. 42 And the angels 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 their Father’s Kingdom.
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and
understand!
Parables of the Hidden Treasure and
the Pearl
44 “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure
that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his
excitement, he hid it again and sold everything
he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
45 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a
merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he
sold everything he owned and bought it!
Parable of the Fishing Net
47 “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing
net that was thrown into the water and caught
fish of every kind. 48 When the net was full, they
dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and
sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the
bad ones away. 49 That is the way it will be at
the end of the world. The angels will come and
separate the wicked people from the righteous,
50 throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace,
where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. 51 Do you understand all these things?”
“Yes,” they said, “we do.”
52 Then he added, “Every teacher of religious
law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of
Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from
his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories
and illustrations, he left that part of the country. 54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown.
When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get
this wisdom and the power to do miracles?”
55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s
son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his
brothers—James, Joseph,* Simon, and Judas.
56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where
did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were
deeply offended and refused to believe in him.
Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored
everywhere except in his own hometown and
13:39 Or the age; also in 13:40, 49. 13:55 Other manuscripts
read Joses; still others read John. 14:1 Greek Herod the
tetrarch. Herod Antipas was a son of King Herod and was ruler
over Galilee.
among his own family.” 58 And so he did only
a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
The Death of John the Baptist
When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee,* heard about Jesus, 2 he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from
the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”
3 For Herod had arrested and imprisoned
John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former
wife of Herod’s brother Philip). 4 John had been
telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you
to marry her.” 5 Herod wanted to kill John, but
he was afraid of a riot, because all the people
believed John was a prophet.
6 But at a birthday party for Herod, Herodias’s
daughter performed a dance that greatly pleased
him, 7 so he promised with a vow to give her anything she wanted. 8 At her mother’s urging, the
girl said, “I want the head of John the Baptist on a
tray!” 9 Then the king regretted what he had said;
but because of the vow he had made in front of
his guests, he issued the necessary orders. 10 So
John was beheaded in the prison, 11 and his head
was brought on a tray and given to the girl, who
took it to her mother. 12 Later, John’s disciples
came for his body and buried it. Then they went
and told Jesus what had happened.
14
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
13 As soon as Jesus heard the news, he left in
a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the
crowds heard where he was headed and followed on foot from many towns. 14 Jesus saw the
huge crowd as he stepped from the boat, and he
had compassion on them and healed their sick.
15 That evening the disciples came to him and
said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already
getting late. Send the crowds away so they can
go to the villages and buy food for themselves.”
16 But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you
feed them.”
17 “But we have only five loaves of bread and
two fish!” they answered.
18 “Bring them here,” he said. 19 Then he told
the people to sit down on the grass. Jesus took
the five loaves and two fish, looked up toward
heaven, and blessed them. Then, breaking the
loaves into pieces, he gave the bread to the disciples, who distributed it to the people. 20 They
all ate as much as they wanted, and afterward,
the disciples picked up twelve baskets of leftovers. 21 About 5,000 men were fed that day, in
addition to all the women and children!
Jesus Walks on Water
22 Immediately after this, Jesus insisted that his
disciples get back into the boat and cross to the
other side of the lake, while he sent the people
home. 23 After sending them home, he went up
into the hills by himself to pray. Night fell while
he was there alone.