The Gospel Part 2

Fear them not. There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and nothing hidden that shall not be known. What I tell you in darkness, speak it in light. And what ye hear in the ear, preach it from the housetops. Fear not those who kill the body but are not able to kill the soul. Instead, fear the one who is able to destroy both soul and body in h.e.l.l.

Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father knowing. The very hairs on your head are all numbered by Him. Fear not because ye are of more value than many sparrows. Whoever confesses me before all, I will confess him before my Father in heaven. Whoever denies me before all, I will deny him before my Father in heaven.

Do not think that I came to earth to bring peace. I came not to bring peace, but a sword. My coming will set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. One's foes shall be those of his own household.

Anyone who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.

Anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

And anyone who does not take up his cross and follow me, is not worthy of me.

He who finds his life will lose it. He who loses his life for my sake will find it. Whoever accepts you accepts me, and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet's reward. He who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man will receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever gives a cup of cold water to one of the little ones in the name of a disciple, will never lose his reward.

11. When Jesus finished instructing His twelve disciples, He departed to teach and preach in their cities. When John, who was in prison, heard of the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples.

They asked Jesus, Art thou the one who is to come or do we look for another? Jesus answered, Go and show John what you hear and see. The blind receive their sight. The lame walk. The lepers are cleansed. The deaf hear. The dead are raised up. And the poor have the gospel preached to them. Blessed is he who is not be offended by me.

As they departed, Jesus spoke to the crowds about John. He said, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?

What went ye out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. What went ye out to see?

A prophet? Yes, and he is more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written: Behold, I send my messenger who shall prepare the way before thee.

Truly, I tell you, of all those born of woman, there is none greater than John the Baptist, who would make himself least in the kingdom of heaven. From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffered violence and the violent took it by force. All the prophets and the law prophesied of John. If ye will receive it, this is Elias, who was to come. He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

But how shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in the markets and calling unto their fellows saying, We have piped to you and ye have not danced. We have mourned you and ye have not lamented.

John came neither eating nor drinking and they said he had a devil. The Son of man came eating and drinking and they say he is a glutton, a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom will be justified by her children.

Then He began to upbraid the cities where most of His mighty works were done because they did not repent. Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! If the mighty works that were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say to you, It will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you.

And Capernaum, praised to heaven, will be brought down to h.e.l.l. If the mighty works that were done in Capernaum had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. But I say unto you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.

Then Jesus prayed aloud: I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. It is so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight.

All things are delivered to me by my Father. No man knows the Son but the Father. Neither knows any man the Father except the Son. He is revealed to whomever the Son will reveal Him.

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.

Take up my yoke and learn from me. I am meek and lowly in heart. You will find rest for your souls because my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

12. It was a sabbath day when Jesus and His disciples pa.s.sed through a cornfield. His disciples were hungry and began to pluck ears of corn to eat. When the Pharisees saw it, they said to Jesus, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do on the sabbath day. But Jesus answered them, Have ye not read what David did when he was hungry? He and those who were with him entered into the house of G.o.d and ate the s...o...b..ead. This was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him because the bread was only for the priests.

And, have ye not read in the law how, on the sabbath days, the priests in the temple profane the sabbath and are blameless? But, here is one greater than the temple. If you knew what this meant, you would not condemn the guiltless because the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath.

When Jesus went into the synagogue He was met by a man who had a withered hand. So that they might accuse Jesus, the Pharisees asked Him, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? Jesus replied, What man is there among you who has one sheep and, if it falls into a pit on the sabbath day, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? How much more is a man worth than a sheep? Therefore, it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day. Jesus turned to the man and said, Stretch out your hand.

The man stretched his hand and it was restored, whole and like his other hand.

Then the Pharisees left and held a council about how they might destroy Jesus. But when Jesus knew this, He departed from there. Great mult.i.tudes followed Him and He healed them all. He charged them that they should not make Him known. This was done to fulfill what was spoken by Isaiah the prophet: Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon Him and He shall show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench till He send forth judgment unto victory. And in His name the Gentiles shall trust.

Then a blind and mute man, who was possessed with a devil, was brought to Him. Jesus healed him, and, to such an extent, that he both spoke and saw. All the people were amazed and said, Is not this the son of David? But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This one casts out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.

Jesus knew their thoughts and said, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation. Every city or house divided against itself shall not stand. If Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself. How, then, shall his kingdom stand?

If I, by Beelzebub, cast out devils, by whom do your children cast them out? Therefore, they shall be your judges. But, if I cast out devils by the Spirit of G.o.d, then the kingdom of G.o.d is come unto you. And, if not, then how can someone enter into a strong man's house and spoil his goods unless he first bind the strong man? Only then is he able to spoil his house.

The one who is not with me is against me. He who does not gather around me, scatters abroad. So, I say to you, all kinds of sin and blasphemy against men will be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, will be forgiven. But whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, will not be forgiven; not in this world and not in the world to come. Either make the tree good and its fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.

O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. A good man, out of the good treasure of the heart, brings forth good things. An evil man, out of the evil of the heart, brings forth evil things.

For every idle word that you speak, you will account for it in the day of judgment. By your words you shall be justified; and by your words you shall be condemned.

Then, some of the scribes and Pharisees said, Master, we want to see a sign from thee. But Jesus answered, An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign. There shall be no sign given except the sign of the prophet Jonah. Just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment of this generation and shall condemn it. This is so because they repented at the preaching of Jonah.

Behold, one greater than Jonah is right here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment of this generation and shall condemn it.

She came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and, behold, one greater than Solomon is right here.

When an unclean spirit has left a man, he wanders through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then the unclean spirit says, I will return to the house from which I came. When he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and garnished. Then he returns with seven other spirits more wicked than himself. They go back into the man and dwell there.

Then the last state of that man is worse than the first. This is how it shall be with this wicked generation.

While Jesus continued to talk to the people, His mother and His brothers stood outside and requested to speak with Him. Someone reported this to Him saying, Behold, thy mother and brethren are outside and desire to speak with thee. But Jesus addressed the one who told Him by saying, Who is my mother and who are my brothers? Then He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.

13. That same day Jesus sat by the sea. Great mult.i.tudes gathered. He had to get into a boat and sit while the whole mult.i.tude stood on the sh.o.r.e. Then He taught them in parables.

Jesus said, Behold, a sower went forth to sow seed. When he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell upon stony places where there was not much earth. They sprang up but they had no deep roots. So, when the sun was up, they were scorched and withered away. Also, some of the seeds fell among thorns. The thorns sprang up and choked them. Yet other seeds fell on good ground.

These brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.

The disciples asked Jesus, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whoever has understanding, more shall be given him and he shall have abundance. But whoever does not have understanding, what little he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables because, not seeing and not hearing, they do not understand.

Also, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand. And by seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive. For the people's hearts are hardened. Their ears are dull of hearing. They have closed their eyes. They do not see or hear for fear they will be converted and have to change their hearts.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things you see and they have not seen them. They have desired to hear the things you hear, and have not heard them. So, again, listen to the parable of the sower.

When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one s.n.a.t.c.hes away all that was sown in his heart. This is the one who received seed by the wayside. Now he who received the seed in the stony places, received the word with joy. But he has no deep root and endures only for a while. When tribulation or persecution arises he is uprooted. Now the one who received seed among the thorns hears the word but is too much ensnared by things of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The understanding of the word is choked out and he becomes unfruitful. Finally, the one who received seed in the good ground is he who hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit.

He brings forth a hundredfold or sixty or thirty.

He spoke another parable saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But, during the night, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat then slipped away. When the blades sprang up and brought forth fruit, weeds appeared also. The householder's servants came to him and asked, Sir, did you not sow good seed in the field? Where did the tares come from? The householder answered, An enemy has done this. The servants then asked, Shall we go and pull them up? But he said, No; if you gather up the tares, you will uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.

Then, at harvest time, I will tell the reapers to gather the weeds, bind them in bundles, and burn them first. Then the wheat goes into the shelter.

Jesus told another parable, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. A man sowed it in his field. Now this, indeed, is the least of all seeds. However, when it is grown, it is the largest among all the herbs. It grows like a tree so the birds of the air can come and lodge in its branches.

Another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven. A woman took a little, hid it in three measures of meal and, at last, all was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the mult.i.tude.

Thus it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

Then Jesus sent the mult.i.tude away and went inside. His disciples came in and asked Him to explain the parable of the tares in the field.

Jesus said, He who sows the good seed is the Son of man. The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the wicked one. The enemy that sowed them is the devil.

The harvest is the end of the world. The reapers are the angels. As the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so it will be at the end of this world. The Son of man will send forth His angels. They will clear His kingdom of all that offends and does iniquity. They will cast it into a furnace. There shall be wailing and gnas.h.i.+ng of teeth. Then the righteous will s.h.i.+ne as bright as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man discovers it, he buries it again. Then, joyfully, he goes and sells all he has in order to buy that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of good pearls. When he finds even one pearl of great price, he gladly sells all he has to buy it.

And the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea to gather every kind of fish. When it was full, they drew the net to sh.o.r.e. The good they gathered into vessels. But they cast the bad away.

So it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and sever the wicked from the just and cast them into the furnace.