The Gospels in Four Part Harmony Part 9

43 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. 44 Then he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' And when he comes he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation."

MK 3:20-31

20 Then he went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind." 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub, and by the prince of demons he casts out the demons." 23 So he called them to himself and said to them in parables: "How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself, and is divided, he cannot stand, but is coming to an end. 27 No one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man. And then he will plunder his house. 28 Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"-30 because they said, "He has an unclean spirit."

LK 11:14-32

14 Now he was casting out a demon that was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute man spoke; and the mult.i.tudes marveled. 15 But some of them said, "He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the prince of demons." 16 Others, testing him, sought from him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said to them: "Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and a house divided against itself falls. 18 If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you say that I cast out demons by Beelzebub. 19 And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. 20 But if I cast out demons by the finger of G.o.d, then the kingdom of G.o.d has come upon you. 21 When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace. 22 But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. 23 He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters.

24 "When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' 25 And when he comes, he finds it swept and put in order. 26 Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first."

27 As he said these things, a woman in the crowd raised her voice and said to him, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the b.r.e.a.s.t.s that nursed you!" 28 But he said, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of G.o.d and keep it!"

29 When the crowds were increasing, he began to say, "This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah. 30 For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. 31 The queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and behold, something greater than Solomon is here. 32 The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and behold, one greater than Jonah is here.

40.20 The Brethren of Christ

MT 12:46-50

46 While he was still talking to the people, behold, his mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 But he replied to the man who told him, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

MK 3:31-35

31 Then his brothers and his mother came. And standing outside they sent to him, and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, asking for you." 33 And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" 34 And he looked at those who sat in a circle around him, and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of G.o.d is my brother, and sister, and mother."

LK 8:19-21

19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And it was told him, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you." 21 But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of G.o.d and do it."

41.10 Woe to the Pharisees

LK 11:37-54

37 While he was speaking, a Pharisee asked him to dine with him; so he went in and sat at table. 38 The Pharisee was surprised to see that he did not first wash before dinner. 39 But the Lord said to him, "Now you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 40 You foolish ones! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? 41 But give for alms those things which are within; and behold, everything is clean for you. 42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you t.i.the mint and rue and all manner of herbs, and neglect justice and the love of G.o.d. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you! For you are like graves which are not seen, and men walk over them without knowing it."

45 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, by saying these things you reproach us also." 46 And he said, "Woe to you also, lawyers! For you load men with burdens hard to bear, and you yourselves do not touch the burdens with one of your fingers. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 So you witness that you approve of the deeds of your fathers; for they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore the wisdom of G.o.d also said, 'I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,' 50 that the blood of all the prophets which was shed from the foundation of the world may be required of this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it shall be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter in yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering." 53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard, and to provoke him to speak of many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch at something he might say.

42.10 The Parable of the Rich Man

LK 12:1-59

1 In the meantime, when so many thousands of the mult.i.tude had gathered together that they trampled one another, he began to say to his disciples first of all, "Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 2 There is nothing covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. 3 Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.

4 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has power to cast into h.e.l.l; yes, I tell you, fear him! 6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before G.o.d. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

8 "I tell you, whoever acknowledges me before men, the Son of Man will also acknowledge him before the angels of G.o.d. 9 But he who denies me before men will be denied before the angels of G.o.d. 10 And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. 11 Now when they bring you before the synagogues and rulers and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer, or what you are to say; 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say."

13 Someone in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me." 14 But he said to him, "Man, who made me a judge or an arbitrator over you?" 15 And he said to them, "Take heed, and beware of all covetousness; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." 16 And he told them a parable, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. 17 And he thought to himself, 'What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?' 18 And he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build larger ones; and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."' 20 But G.o.d said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have prepared?' 21 So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward G.o.d."

22 Then he said to his disciples, "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; nor about your body, what you will put on. 23 For life is more than food, and the body more than clothing. 24 Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet G.o.d feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! 25 And which of you by worrying can add a single cubit to his span of life? 26 If you then are not able to do this very little thing, why are you anxious about the rest? 27 Consider the lilies, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 28 But if G.o.d so clothes the gra.s.s, which today is in the field and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! 29 And do not seek what you will eat or what you will drink, nor have an anxious mind. 30 For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. 31 But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. 32 Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions, and give alms; provide yourselves purses that do not grow old, a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

35 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning, 36 and be like men who are waiting for their master to return from the wedding feast, so that they may open to him immediately when he comes and knocks. 37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds watching when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and will come and serve them. 38 If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants. 39 But know this, that if the owner of the house had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have allowed his house to be broken into. 40 Therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect."

41 Peter said, "Lord, are you telling this parable to us, or to all?" 42 And the Lord said, "Who then is the faithful and wise steward, whom his master will set over his household, to give them their portion of food at the proper time? 43 Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. 44 Truly, I say to you, he will set him over all his possessions. 45 But if that servant says to himself, 'My master is delayed in coming,' and begins to beat the menservants and the maidservants, and to eat and drink and get drunk, 46 the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him, and at an hour he is not aware of, and he will cut him to pieces and a.s.sign him a place with the unbelievers. 47 And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not ready himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. 48 But he who did not know, and committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask the more.

49 "I came to cast fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! 50 But I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how distressed I am until it is accomplished! 51 Do you think that I came to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. 52 For from now on there will be five in one house divided: three against two, and two against three.

53 They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

54 He also said to the mult.i.tudes, "When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, "A shower is coming'; and so it happens. 55 And when you see the south wind blowing, you say, 'There will be hot weather'; and there is. 56 You hypocrites! You know how to interpret the

appearance of the earth and the sky; but how is it you do not know how to interpret this present time?

57 "And why do you not judge for yourselves what is right? 58 As you go with your adversary to the magistrate, make an effort to settle with him on the way, lest he drag you to the judge, and the judge hand you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. 59 I tell you, you will not get out till you have paid the very last copper."

43.10 The Parable of the Fig Tree

LK 13:1-9

1 There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And Jesus answered them, "Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered this way? 3 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all the others who dwelt in Jerusalem? 5 I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

6 He told this parable: "A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 So he said to the keeper of his vineyard, 'Look, for three years I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree and find none. Cut it down; why should it use up the ground?' 8 And he answered him, 'Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it. 9 And if it bears fruit next year, fine; but if not, you can cut it down.'"

44.10 Jesus Heals a Woman on the Sabbath

LK 13:10-17

10 Now he was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.

11 And there was a woman who had had a spirit of infirmity for eighteen years; she was bent over and could not straighten up at all. 12 When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, "Woman, you are freed from your infirmity." 13 And he laid his hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and praised G.o.d. 14 But the ruler of the synagogue, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the people, "There are six days on which work ought to be done; come on those days and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day." 15 Then the Lord answered him, "You hypocrites! Does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it? 16 Then ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound for eighteen years, be loosed on the Sabbath day from this bond?"

17 When he said this, all his adversaries were put to shame; and all the people rejoiced at all the glorious things that were done by him.

Part 6 - PARABLE OF THE SOWER AND OTHER PARABLES

45.10 The Parable of the Sower

MT 13:1-9

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered around him, so that he got into a boat and sat there; and the whole crowd stood on the sh.o.r.e. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow his seed. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 But other seed fell on good soil and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear."

MK 4:1-9

1 Again he began to teach by the sea. and a very large crowd gathered around him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. 2 Then he taught them many things by parables, and said to them in his teaching: 3 "Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun came up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. 8 But other seed fell on good soil and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced thirtyfold, sixty, and a hundred." 9 And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

LK 8:4-8

4 And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good soil, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When he had said this he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

45.11 The Secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven

MT 13:10-17

10 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 whoever has, to him will more be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 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 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand; and seeing you will see and not perceive.

15 For this people's heart has grown dull.

And their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and they understand with their hearts, and turn so that I should 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 men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

MK 4:10-12

10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of G.o.d, but to those outside everything is in parables; 12 so that 'seeing they may see but not perceive, and hearing may hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven.'"