One morning before church…
Jesus’ group was picking some grain for breakfast, and a political-religious leader again accused them of “working on the sabbath.”
Jesus tossed his accusation away using scripture (dismantling this guy’s foundation), “Haven’t you read what David did? …when he was hungry, and those who were with him? …How he entered into God’s house, and ate the show bread (which was illegal for him to eat) …neither could those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or, haven’t you read in the law that on the Sabbath day the priests (in the temple) break the Sabbath – and are guiltless? But, I tell you that one greater than the temple is here.
However, if you had known what, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice’ means, you would not have condemned the guiltless… because the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”
a man with a withered hand was standing there. Being objectified in his pain by authorities trying to settle the score of who gets to be the boss, Jesus asked, “Who of you with one sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath day, won’t grab it and pull it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore; it is legal to do good on the Sabbath day.” Jesus told the man, “Stretch out your hand.” As he unfurled his ashamed arm, his previously withered appendage exposed that it had become fully healthy – just like the other hand. The crowd split like most crowds Jesus spoke to; The authorities gasps conspired to do him harm, some glorified God.
Jesus left the church.
Everyone was told to not spread the word, referencing Isaiah the prophet, “Look, my servant whom I have chosen. My beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit on him. He will announce justice to the nations. He will not strive or shout; Neither will anyone hear his voice in the streets. He won’t break a bruised reed. He won’t put out a smoking wick… until he leads justice to victory! In his name, the nations will hope.”
He healed so many that the leaders spread the lie that he was filled with evil… that he was casting out evil by using evil.
His friends thought he was insane (and even tried to stop him).
Jesus regrouped with his followers.
He said, “How can The Enemy cast out The Enemy? Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to an end, and every city or house divided against itself …that kingdom cannot and will not stand. If The Enemy kicks out The Enemy… he is divided against himself?!? If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. How then will his kingdom stand? If The Enemy has risen up against himself, and is divided? …he can’t stand …but is at an end. If I (by The-ruler-of-evil-forces) cast out evil-forces, by whom do your children cast them out?”
This is where it got personal. Few methods instigate a fight quicker than publicly accusing someone’s children of wrong. Then; confounding their forming retribution with, “Therefore; they will be your judges.” The silence echoed with truth. Then he said, “However, if I cast out evil-forces by the Spirit of God, then God’s Kingdom has come upon you. But, no one can enter into the house of the strong man, and steal his goods – unless the strong one is tied up first (then he can take whatever in the house).
Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt – because the tree is known by its fruit. You offspring of vipers, how can you (being evil) speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings out evil things. I tell you that people will give account for every thoughtless word they speak (in the day of judgment), because through your words you will be justified, and through your words you will be condemned.”
Then some called out for a sign from Jesus.
He answered directly, “An evil and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet. Like Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
- Because, they admitted and turned from knowingly doing wrong at the announcement of Jonah.
- And look, someone greater than Jonah is here.
- The queen of the south will stand up in the judgment with this generation… and will condemn it!
- Because, she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon.
- And look, someone greater than Solomon is here.
When an unclean spirit has left a person, it passes through places without water – looking for rest (and doesn’t find it). Then says, ‘I will return into my house, from which I came out.’ And then; when he has come back… finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes, and brings seven other spirits (more evil than he is), and they enter in and live there. The last state of that person becomes worse than the first. It will also be like this to this evil generation.”
His family also tried to stop him,
but the crowd was too thick. Someone announced that Jesus’ mother, brothers, and sisters were standing outside, and wanted to have a word with him. Jesus looked at those who sat around him. Then he said, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” He stretched out his hand towards his followers, and said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! Because, whoever does what God my Father (who is in heaven) wants, that person is my brother, and sister, and mother. My mother and my brothers are these who hear the word of God, and act on it.”
His 12 followers and certain women (some who supported him with their possessions) surrounded him. He got into a boat and spoke with those standing on the beach. He said,
“Listen. A farmer went out to plant his seed.
- As he planted; some seed fell by the roadside, and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky came and devoured them.
- Other seed fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and they sprang up quickly. Because they had no depth of soil they were scorched once the sun rose up, because they had no root. They withered away, because it had no moisture.
- Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up with it and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
- Others fell on good ground, and yielded fruit growing up and increasing. Some one-hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty times as much fruit.”
As he said these things, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!”
When he was alone,
those who were around him with the twelve disciples, came and they said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”, and “What does this parable mean?” He answered them, “The mysteries of God’s Kingdom of Heaven is given to you to know, but it is not given to them. To the rest (who are outside), all things are done in parables; that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand; or else maybe they should turn again, and their sins should be forgiven them.’ Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables?
For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance. But, whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has. Therefore; I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says,
‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing… you will see, and will in no way perceive, because this people’s heart has grown callous. Their ears are dull of hearing; They have closed their eyes. Otherwise, perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again; and I would heal them.’
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.
Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
The farmer sows the word; the seed is the word of God.
- The seed by the road are the ones: when anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it – immediately the evil one (The Enemy; the false-accuser) comes and snatches away the word which has been planted in his heart… takes away the word from their heart… that they may not believe and be saved. This is what was planted by the roadside.
- These in the same way are those who are planted on the rocky places: who, when they hear the word immediately receive it with joy… yet they have no root in themselves and are short-lived (endure/believe only for a while). When oppression or persecution arises because of the word; immediately they stumble and fall away in time of temptation.
- Others are those who are planted (which fell among the thorns). These are those who have heard the word, and as they go on their way they are choked with the cares of this time, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things, and pleasures of life (entering in) choke the word …and it becomes unfruitful.
- Those which were planted on the good ground are those who hear the word in an honest and good heart. Having heard the word; understand and accept it …and hold it tightly …and produce fruit with patience; some thirty times, some sixty times, and some one hundred times.”
He set another figurative story before them, saying…
who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed weeds also among the wheat, and went away.
But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the weeds appeared as well. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?’ “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’ “But he said, ‘No, otherwise it’s possible that while you’re gathering up the weeds, you root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at that time I will tell the harvesters, “First, gather up the weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
He said, “God’s Kingdom is as if a man should throw seed on the earth, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow. He doesn’t know how, because the earth bears fruit; First the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the fruit is ripe, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”
He set another parable before them, saying… “How will we compare God’s Kingdom? Or what parable will we use to illustrate it? 
The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and planted in his field. Though it is less (indeed is smaller than all seeds on the land); yet, when it grows up …becomes greater than all the herbs …becomes a tree, and puts out great branches so that the birds of the air come and can live under the shadow of its branches.”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
He said to them, “Is the lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? No one, when they have lit a lamp, covers it with a container, or puts it under a bed. Rather, it is placed on a stand so that those who enter in may see the light? For there is nothing hidden, except that it should be made known; neither was anything made secret, but that it should come to light. If any man has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Jesus spoke the word as they were able to hear it.
Everything he taught was with figurative stories, but privately (to his own disciples) he explained everything …that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house.
His disciples approached, asking, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered them,
- “The one who plants the good seed is the Son of Man;
- the field is the world; and
- the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and
- the weeds are the children of the evil one.
- The enemy who sowed them is the False-Accuser.
- The harvest is the end of the age, and
- the reapers are angels.
As weeds are gathered up, and burned with fire… which is what will happen at the end of this age.
- The Son of Man will send out his angels, and
- they will gather out of his Kingdom everything that causes stumbling, and those who do wrong, and will throw them into the furnace of fire. There, will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
- Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind, which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.
So the end of the world will be. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous, and will throw them into the furnace of fire. There, will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”
He said to them, “Therefore everyone with knowledge (who has been made a follower in the Kingdom of Heaven) is like a manager of a general store who brings out of his surplus – new and old things as needed.”
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Jesus Words 16
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