Ministering Women

8 Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, ² and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, ³ and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.

Parable of the Sower

⁴ When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: ⁵ “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the ^[a]air ate it up. ⁶ Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, ^[b]let him hear.”

⁹ His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹ “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. ¹² Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; ^[c]they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. ¹⁴ The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with ^[d]perseverance.

Parable of the Lamp

¹⁶ “Now no one after lighting a lamp covers it over with a container, or puts it under a bed; but he puts it on a lampstand, so that those who come in may see the light. ¹⁷ For nothing is hidden that will not become evident, nor anything secret that will not be known and come to light. ¹⁸ So take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he ^[e]thinks he has shall be taken away from him.”

¹⁹ And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. ²⁰ And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” ²¹ But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”

Jesus Stills the Sea

²² Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake.” So they launched out. ²³ But as they were sailing along He fell asleep; and a fierce gale of wind descended on the lake, and they began to be swamped and to be in danger. ²⁴ They came to Jesus and woke Him up, saying, “Master, Master, we are perishing!” And He got up and rebuked the wind and the surging waves, and they stopped, and ^[f]it became calm. ²⁵ And He said to them, “Where is your faith?” They were fearful and amazed, saying to one another, “Who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey Him?”

The Sins of Israel

22 Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “And you, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Then cause her to know all her abominations. ³ You shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord ^[a]God, “A city shedding blood in her midst, so that her time will come, and that makes idols, contrary to her interest, for defilement! ⁴ You have become guilty by ^[b]the blood which you have shed, and defiled by your idols which you have made. Thus you have brought your ^[c]day near and have come to your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations and a mocking to all the lands. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far from you will mock you, you of ill repute, full of turmoil.

⁶ “Behold, the rulers of Israel, each according to his ^[d]power, have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood. ⁷ They have treated father and mother lightly within you. The alien they have oppressed in your midst; the fatherless and the widow they have wronged in you. ⁸ You have despised My holy things and profaned My sabbaths. ⁹ Slanderous men have been in you for the purpose of shedding blood, and in you they have eaten at the mountain shrines. In your midst they have committed acts of lewdness. ¹⁰ In you ^[e]they have uncovered their fathers’ nakedness; in you they have humbled her who was unclean in her menstrual impurity. ¹¹ One has committed abomination with his neighbor’s wife and another has lewdly defiled his daughter-in-law. And another in you has humbled his sister, his father’s daughter. ¹² In you they have taken bribes to shed blood; you have taken interest and profits, and you have injured your neighbors for gain by oppression, and you have forgotten Me,” declares the Lord God.

¹³ “Behold, then, I smite My hand at your dishonest gain which you have acquired and at ^[f]the bloodshed which is among you. ¹⁴ Can your heart endure, or can your hands be strong in the days that I will deal with you? I, the Lord, have spoken and will act. ¹⁵ I will scatter you among the nations and I will disperse you through the lands, and I will consume your uncleanness from you. ¹⁶ You will profane yourself in the sight of the nations, and you will know that I am the Lord.”’”

¹⁷ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ¹⁸ “Son of man, the house of Israel has become dross to Me; all of them are bronze and tin and iron and lead in the furnace; they are the dross of silver. ¹⁹ Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because all of you have become dross, therefore, behold, I am going to gather you into the midst of Jerusalem. ²⁰ As they gather silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin into the furnace to blow fire on it in order to melt it, so I will gather you in My anger and in My wrath and I will lay you there and melt you. ²¹ I will gather you and blow on you with the fire of My wrath, and you will be melted in the midst of it. ²² As silver is melted in the furnace, so you will be melted in the midst of it; and you will know that I, the Lord, have poured out My wrath on you.’”

²³ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²⁴ “Son of man, say to her, ‘You are a land that is not cleansed or rained on in the day of indignation.’ ²⁵ There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst like a roaring lion tearing the prey. They have devoured lives; they have taken treasure and precious things; they have made many widows in the midst of her. ²⁶ Her priests have done violence to My law and have profaned My holy things; they have made no distinction between the holy and the profane, and they have not taught the difference between the unclean and the clean; and they hide their eyes from My sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. ²⁷ Her princes within her are like wolves tearing the prey, by shedding blood and destroying lives in order to get dishonest gain. ²⁸ Her prophets have smeared whitewash for them, seeing false visions and divining lies for them, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord God,’ when the Lord has not spoken. ²⁹ The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice. ³⁰ I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found ^[g]no one. ³¹ Thus I have poured out My indignation on them; I have consumed them with the fire of My wrath; their way I have brought upon their heads,” declares the Lord God.