Pharisees Demand a Sign

Luke 11:24–26, 29–32

38 dThen some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and e adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. 40 fFor as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 gThe men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and hcondemn it, ibecause they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. 42 jThe queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here.

43 k“When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, lhe 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; mand the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”

Jesus and the True Brethren

Mark 3:31–35

46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, nbehold, His mother and obrothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, pYour mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My qbrothers! 50 For rwhoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Parable of the Soils

Mark 4:1–20; Luke 8:4–15

13 On the same day Jesus went out of the house aand sat by the sea. 2 bAnd great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that cHe got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: d“Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ea hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 fHe who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 He answered and said to them, “Because git has been given to you to know the 1mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 hFor whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:

i‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,

And seeing you will see and not jperceive;

15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.

Their ears kare hard of hearing,

And their eyes they have lclosed,

Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,

Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,

So that I 2should mheal them.’

16 But nblessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you othat many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

18 p“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word qof the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately rreceives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when stribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately the stumbles. 22 Now uhe who received seed vamong the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears wfruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Parable of the Wheat and Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but xgather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”

Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30–32; Luke 13:18, 19

31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: y“The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a ztree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”