Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. ³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
    and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull,
    and with their ears they can barely hear,
    and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
    and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
    and turn, and I would heal them.’

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

²⁴ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, ²⁵ but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. ²⁷ And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ ²⁸ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ ²⁹ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

³¹ He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³² It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

³³ He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

³⁴ All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;
    I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

³⁶ Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” ³⁷ He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰ Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, ⁴² and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, ⁴⁶ who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. ⁴⁸ When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous ⁵⁰ and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵² And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

⁵³ And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, ⁵⁴ and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Source: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for using parables to inform those to whom You have given understanding hearts. You told these short story-lessons to the crowds, but later explained them to Your disciples. As I read the Bible, may my ears really hear so that I truly understand what You said. May I truly see and perceive the truth. May my mind and heart be sharp (not dull). Don’t let me stick my fingers in my ears or scrunch my eyes closed. Instead, let my ears, eyes, mind, and heart be clear and open. For then, I will repent (return to the Lord) and You will heal all that is wrong in my life. Then I will experience what the prophets and righteous people of the past longed to experience. Help me, please, to understand and apply the parables in this chapter to my life and/or explain them to others. I want the soil of my life to bear a good crop, touching thirty, sixty, or a hundred lives for Your kingdom. Help me to distinguish between the wheat (good) and the weeds (bad), whether that is people, activities, or ideologies, then look to You to deal with them properly. Use me to help Your kingdom to grow from a tiny beginning to a helpful maturity. Please work Your kingdom principles into every area of my life. Even now, may I shine like the child of the kingdom that I am. Thank You that all of Your other children and I are very valuable to You like the hidden treasure and the precious pearl. Father God, You gave Your most beloved Son to redeem us. Because of Your mercy and grace expressed at the cross, I won’t be discarded to a place where there is a fiery furnace and weeping and gnashing of teeth. May I be a good servant of Your kingdom, bringing out treasure, new and old each at the proper time. Lord, keep me faithful, even when, like Jesus, my family and community don’t understand. AMEN

Reflection: Dear Reader, please take time to reflect and interact with God about this scripture and prayer. I suggest that you write these responses in a journal leaving space to record how things worked out. Date and record the results as they occur. Then review monthly to celebrate what God is doing in your life.

Taking Action:  Ask the LORD how He wants you to put the principles in this chapter into action in the next four days (c. 100 hrs.). Choose one of these or write your own.

• I will retell and explain at least one of these parables to _______ (a specific person or group) in the next 4 days.
• I will pray that _______’s (a specific person or group) ears, eyes, mind, and heart will be open to the good news of Jesus Christ and His kingdom rule in their lives.
• I will ask the Lord if and how I am sticking my fingers in my ears or scrunching my eyes closed to something He is trying to teach me or expose in my life. Then, I will make a plan to change with His help.
• I will list at least 10 things that the Lord has done that show He values me. Then, I will turn it around and list 10 things I’ve done that show I value Him.

Sharing with others: I will share the principles I learned in this lesson with _____ (Initials only). [If you don’t know the person’s name, put something that will help you remember, for instance, CIS = clerk in store, NDN = next door neighbor, or PAW = person at work.]