And he set forth to them another parable, and said, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; but when men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went away. And when the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, there were noticed the tares also. And the servants of the master of the house came, and said unto him, Our lord, didst thou not sow good [Arabic, p. 66] seed in thy field? whence are there tares in it? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. His servants said unto him, Wilt thou that we go and separate it? He said unto them, Perhaps, when ye separate the tares, ye would root up with them wheat also. Leave them to grow both together until the harvest: and in the time of the harvest I will say unto the reapers, Separate the tares first, and bind them in bundles to be burned with fire; and gather the wheat into my barns.
[8, 9] And he set forth to them another parable, and said, To what is the kingdom of God like? and to what shall I liken it? and in what parable shall I set it forth? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and planted in his field: and of the number of the things that are sown in the earth it is smaller than all of the things which are sown, which are upon the earth; but when it is grown, it is greater than all the herbs, and produceth large branches, so that the birds of heaven make their nests in its branches.
[13, 14] And he set forth to them another parable: To what shall I liken the kingdom of God? It is like the leaven which a woman took, and kneaded into three measures of flour, until the whole of it was leavened.
And Jesus spake all that to the multitudes by way of parables, according as they were able to hear. And without parables spake he not unto them; that the saying of the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled:
I will open my mouth in parables;
And I will utter secrets which were before the foundations of the world.
But he explained to his disciples privately everything.
Then Jesus left the multitudes, and came to the house. And his disciples came unto him, and said unto him, Explain unto us that parable about the tares [Arabic, p. 67] and the field. He answered and said unto them, He that sowed good seed is the Son of man; and the field is the world; and the good seed are the children of the kingdom; and the tares are the children of the evil one; and the enemy that sowed them is Satan; and the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. And as the tares are separated and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send his angels, and separate from his kingdom all things that injure, and all the doers of iniquity, and they shall cast them into the furnace of fire: and there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous shall shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whosoever hath ears that hear, let him hear.
And again the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hid in a field: that which a man found and hid; and, for his pleasure in it, went and sold all that he had, and bought that field.
And again the kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a merchant seeking excellent pearls; and when he found one pearl of great price, he went and sold everything that he had, and bought it.
And again the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: and when it was filled, they drew it up on to the shore of the sea, and sat down to select; and the good of them they threw into the vessels, and the bad they threw outside. Thus shall it be in the end of the world: the angels shall go forth, and separate the wicked from among the good, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Jesus said unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They said unto [Arabic, p. 68] him, Yea, our Lord. He said unto them, Therefore every scribe that becometh a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a householder, who bringeth out of his treasures the new and the old.
[36, 37] And when Jesus had finished all these parables, he removed thence, and came to his city; and he taught them in their synagogues, so that they were perplexed. And when the sabbath came, Jesus began to teach in the synagogue; and many of those that heard marvelled, and said, Whence came these things to this man? And many envied him and gave no heed to him, but said, What is this wisdom that is given to this man, that there should happen at his hands such as these mighty works? Is not this a carpenter, son of a carpenter? and is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, all of them, lo, are they not all with us? Whence hath this man all these things? And they were in doubt concerning him. And Jesus knew their opinion, and said unto them, Will ye haply say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal first thyself: and all that we have heard that thou didst in Capernaum, do here also in thine own city? And he said, Verily I say unto you, A prophet is not received in his own city, nor among his brethren: for a prophet is not despised, save in his own city, and among his own kin, and in his own house. Verily I say unto you, In the days of Elijah the prophet, there were many widows among the children of Israel, when the heaven held back three years and six months, and there was a great famine in all the land; and Elijah [Arabic, p. 69] was not sent to one of them, save to Zarephath of Sidon, to a woman that was a widow. And many lepers were among the children of Israel in the days of Elisha the prophet; but not one of them was cleansed, save Naaman the Nabathæan. And he was not able to do there many mighty works, because of their unbelief; except that he laid his hand upon a few of the sick, and healed them. And he marvelled at their lack of faith. And when those who were in the synagogue heard, they were all filled with wrath; and they rose up, and brought him forth outside the city, and brought him to the brow of the hill upon which their city was built, that they might cast him from its summit: but he passed through among them and went away.
And he went about in the villages which were around Nazareth, and taught in their synagogues.
Section XVIII
At that time Herod the tetrarch heard of the fame of Jesus, and all the things which came to pass at his hand; and he marvelled, for he had obtained excellent information concerning him. And some men said that John the Baptist was risen from among the dead; and others said that Elijah had appeared; and others, Jeremiah; and others, that a prophet of the old prophets was risen; and others said that he was a prophet like one of the prophets. Herod said to his servants, This is John the Baptist, he whom I beheaded; he is risen from among the dead: therefore mighty [Arabic, p. 70] works result from him. For Herod himself had sent and taken John, and cast him into prison, for the sake of Herodias his brother Philip’s wife, whom he had taken. And John said to Herod, Thou hast no authority to take the wife of thy brother. And Herodias avoided him and wished to kill him; and she could not. But Herod feared John, for he knew that he was a righteous man and a holy; and he guarded him, and heard him much, and did, and obeyed him with gladness. And he wished to kill him; but he feared the people, for they adhered to him as the prophet. And there was a celebrated day, and Herod had made a feast for his great men on the day of his anniversary, and for the officers and for the chief men of Galilee. And the daughter of Herodias came in and danced in the midst of the company, and pleased Herod and those that sat with him. And the king said to the damsel, Ask of me what thou wilt, and I will give it thee. And he sware unto her, Whatsoever thou shalt ask, I will give it thee, to the half of my kingdom. And she went out, and said unto her mother, What shall I ask him? She said unto her, The head of John the Baptist. And immediately she came in hastily to the king, and said unto him, I desire in this hour that thou give me on a dish the head of John the Baptist. And the king was exceeding sorry; but because of the oath and the guests he did not wish to refuse her. But immediately the king sent an executioner, and commanded that he should bring the head of John: and he went and cut off the head of John in the prison, and brought it on a dish, and delivered it to the damsel; and the damsel gave it to her mother. And his disciples heard, and came [Arabic, p. 71] and took his body, and buried it. And they came and told Jesus what had happened. And for this cause Herod said, I beheaded John: who is this, of whom I hear these things. And he desired to see him. And Jesus, when he heard, removed thence in a boat to a waste place alone, to the other side of the sea of the Galilee of Tiberias.
And many saw them going, and knew them, and hastened by land from all the cities, and came thither beforehand; for they saw the signs which he was doing on the [23, 24] sick. And Jesus went up into the mountain, and sat there with his disciples. And the feast of the passover of the Jews was near. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and saw great multitudes coming to him. And he was moved with compassion for them, for they were like sheep that were without a shepherd. And he received them, and spake to them concerning the kingdom of God, and healed those who had need of healing.
And when the evening approached, his disciples came to him, and said unto him, The place is desert, and the time is past; send away the multitudes of the people, that they may go to the towns and villages which are around us, and buy for themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat. But he said unto them, They have no need to go away; give ye them what may be eaten. They said unto him, We have not here enough. He said unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread that these may eat? [31, 32] And he said that proving him; and he knew what he was resolved to do. Philip said [Arabic, p. 72] unto him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread would not suffice them after every one of them hath taken a small amount. One of his disciples said unto him (namely, Andrew the brother of Simon Cephas), Here is a lad having five loaves of barley and two fishes: but this amount, what is it for all these? But wilt thou that we go and buy for all the people what may be eaten? for we have no more than these five loaves and the two fishes. And the grass was plentiful in that place. Jesus said unto them, Arrange all the people that they may sit down on the grass, fifty people in a company. And the disciples did so. And all the people sat down by companies, by hundreds and fifties. Then Jesus said unto them, Bring hither those five loaves and the two fishes. And when they brought him that, Jesus took the bread and the fish, and looked to heaven, and blessed, and divided, and gave to his disciples to set before them; and the disciples set for the multitudes the bread and the fish; and they ate, all of them, and were satisfied. And when they were satisfied, he said unto his disciples, Gather the fragments that remain over, that nothing be lost. And they gathered, and filled twelve baskets with fragments, being those that remained over from those which ate of the five barley loaves and the two fishes. And those people who ate were five thousand, besides the women and children. [Arabic, p. 73] And straightway he pressed his disciples to go up into the ship, and that they should go before him unto the other side to Bethsaida, while he himself should send away the multitudes. And those people who saw the sign which Jesus did, said, Of a truth this is a prophet who hath come into the world. And Jesus knew their purpose to come and take him, and make him a king; and he left them, and went up into the mountain alone for prayer.
[47, 48] And when the nightfall was near, his disciples went down unto the sea, and sat in a boat, and came to the side of Capernaum. And the darkness came on, and Jesus had not come to them. And the sea was stirred up against them by reason of a violent wind that blew. And the boat was distant from the land many furlongs, and they were much damaged by the waves, and the wind was against them.
Section XIX
And in the fourth watch of the night Jesus came unto them, walking upon the water, after they had rowed with difficulty about twenty-five or thirty furlongs. And when he drew near unto their boat, his disciples saw him walking on the water; and they were troubled, and supposed that it was a false appearance; and they cried out from their fear. But Jesus straightway spoke unto them, and said, Take courage, for it is I; fear not. Then Cephas answered and said unto him, My Lord, if it be thou, bid me to come unto thee on the water. And Jesus said unto him, Come. And Cephas went down out of the boat, and walked on the water to come unto Jesus. But [Arabic, p. 74] when he saw the wind strong, he feared, and was on the point of sinking; and he lifted up his voice, and said, My Lord, save me. And immediately our Lord stretched out his hand and took hold of him, and said unto him, Thou of little faith, why didst thou doubt? And when Jesus came near, he went up unto them into the boat, he and Simon, and immediately the wind ceased. And those that were in the ship came and worshipped him, and said, Truly thou art the Son of God. And straightway that ship arrived at the land which they made for. And when they came out of the ship to the land, they marvelled greatly and were perplexed in themselves: and they had not understood by means of that bread, because their heart was gross.
And when the people of that region knew of the arrival of Jesus, they made haste in all that land, and began to bring those that were diseased, borne in their beds to the place where they heard that he was. And wheresoever the place might be which he entered, of the villages or the cities, they laid the sick in the markets, and sought of him that they might touch were it only the edge of his garment: and all that touched him were healed and lived.
And on the day after that, the multitude which was standing on the shore of the sea saw that there was there no other ship save that into which the disciples had gone up, and that Jesus went not up into the ship with his disciples (but there were other ships from Tiberias near the place where they ate the bread when Jesus blessed it): and when that multitude saw that Jesus was not there, nor yet his disciples, they [Arabic, p. 75] went up into those ships, and came to Capernaum, and sought Jesus. And when they found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Our Master, when camest thou hither? Jesus answered and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye have not sought me because of your seeing the signs, but because of your eating the bread and being satisfied. Serve not the food which perisheth, but the food which abideth in eternal life, which the Son of man will give unto you: him hath God the Father sealed. They said unto him, What shall we do that we may work the work of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe in him whom he hath sent. They said unto him, What sign hast thou done, that we may see, and believe in thee? what hast thou wrought? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it was written, Bread from heaven gave he them to eat. Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not bread from heaven; but my Father gave you the bread of truth from heaven. The bread of God is that which came down from heaven and gave the [28, 29] world life. They said unto him, Our Lord, give us at all times this bread. Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: whosoever cometh unto me shall not hunger, and whosoever believeth in me shall not thirst for ever. But I said unto you, Ye have seen me, and have not believed. And all that my Father hath given to me cometh unto me; and whosoever cometh unto me I shall not cast him forth without. I came down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him that sent me; and this is the will of him that sent me, that I should lose nothing of [Arabic, p. 76] that which he gave me, but raise it up in the last day. This is the will of my Father, that every one that seeth the Son, and believeth in him, should have eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day.
The Jews therefore murmured against him because of his saying, I am the bread which came down from heaven. And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? then how saith this man, I came down from [37, 38] heaven? Jesus answered and said unto them, Murmur not one with another. No man is able to come unto me, except the Father which sent me draw him; and I will raise him up in the last day. It is written in the prophet, They shall all be the taught of God. Every one who heareth from the Father now, and learneth of him, cometh unto me. No man now seeth the Father; but he that is from God, he it is that seeth the Father. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever believeth in me hath eternal [42, 43] life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which came down from heaven, that a man may eat of it, and not die. I am the bread of life which came down from heaven: and if a man eat of this bread he shall live for ever: and the bread which I shall give is my body, which I give for the life of the world.
The Jews therefore quarrelled one with another, and said, How can he give us [Arabic, p. 77] his body that we may eat it? Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, If ye do not eat the body of the Son of man and drink his blood, ye shall not have life in yourselves. Whosoever eateth of my body and drinketh of my blood hath eternal life; and I will raise him up in the last day. My body truly is meat, and my blood truly is drink. Whosoever eateth my body and drinketh my blood abideth in me, and I in him—as the living Father sent me, and I am alive because of the Father; and whosoever eateth me, he also shall live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven: and not according as your fathers ate the manna, and died: whosoever eateth of this bread shall live for ever. This he said in the synagogue, when he was teaching in Capernaum. And many of his disciples, when they heard, said, This word is hard; who is he that can hear it?