SECT. VII. CH. 13. 23 fruitful. But that which fell into good soil, and 24. bore fruit, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty fold, denoteth him who not only heareth and mindeth, but obeyeth the word. Another parable he proposed to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a field in which the proprietor had sown good grain : 25 but while people were asleep, his enemy came, and sowed darnel among the wheat, and went off. 26 When the blade was up, and putting forth the ear, 27 then appeared also the darnel. And the servants came and said to their master, Sir, thou sowedst whence, then, hath it 28 darnel?' He answered, 'An enemy hath done this.' They said, 'Wilt thou, then, that we weed 29 them out?' He replied, 'No; lest in weeding out 30 the darnel, ye tear up also the wheat, Let both grow together until the harvest; and in the time ' of harvest, I will say to the reapers, First gather Lu. 13; 19. Another similitude he proposed to them, saying, Mar. 4; 31The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard32 seed, which a man set in his field; for though it is the smallest of all seeds, it is, when grown, larger than any herb, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air take shelter in its branches. 33 Another similitude he gave them: The kingdom Lu. 13; 21 of heaven is like leaven which a woman mingled in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened. Ps. 78; 2. Dan. 12; 3. CH. 13. 34 SECT. VII. All these similitudes Jesus spoke to the people; for he taught them only by similitudes; herein 35 verifying the words of the Prophet: "I will dis"course in parables; I will utter things whereof "all antiquity hath been silent." 36 Then Jesus, leaving the multitude, retired to the house, where his disciples accosted him, saying, Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field. 37 Jesus answering, said unto them, He who sowed 38 the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world: the good seed are the sons of the kingdom; and the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil: the harvest is the conclusion of this state; and the reapers 40 are the angels. As, therefore, the darnel is ga thered and burnt, so shall it be at the conclusion 41 of this state. The Son of Man will send his angels, who shall gather out of his kingdom all se42 ducers and iniquitous persons, and throw them into the burning furnace: weeping and gnashing of 43 teeth shall be there. Then shall the righteous shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever hath ears to hear, let him hear. 44 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hid in a field, which, when a man hath discovered, he concealeth the discovery, and for joy thereof, selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a pearl extremely precious, which a merchant, who was in quest of fine pearls, having met with, sold all that he had and purchased it. SECT. VIII. 47 CH. 13. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a sweepnet cast into the sea, which incloseth fishes of 48 every kind. When it is full, they draw it ashore, and gather the good into vessels, but throw the 49 useless away. So shall it be at the conclusion of this state. The angels will come and sever the wicked from among the righteous, and throw them 50 into the burning furnace. Weeping and gnashing of teeth shall be there. 51 Jesus said, Do ye understand all these things? 52 They answered, Yes, Master. He added, Every scribe, therefore, instructed for the reign of heaven, is like a householder who bringeth out of his 53 storehouse new things and old. And after he had finished these similitudes, he departed thence. SECTION VIII. THE PEOPLE TWICE FED IN THE DESERT. Lu. 4; 16. Jo. 6; 42. 54 JESUS being come into his own country, taught Mar. 6; 1. the inhabitants in their synagogue: and they said with astonishment, Whence hath this man this wis55 dom and this power of working miracles? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And do not his brothers, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas, and all his sisters, live 56 amongst us? Whence then hath HE all these 57 things? Thus they were scandalized at him. But 15 VOL. III. Jo. 4; 44. Mar. 6; 14. Mar. 6; 17. Lu. 3; 19. Lev. 18; 16. & 20; 21. ch. 21; 26. CH. 14. SECT. VIII. Jesus said to them, A prophet is nowhere disregarded, except in his own country, and in his own 58 family. And he did not many miracles there because of their unbelief. XIV. AT that time Herod the tetrarch" hearing 2 of the fame of Jesus, said to his servants, This is John the Baptist; he is raised from the dead; and therefore miracles are performed by him. 3 For Herod had caused John to be apprehended, imprisoned, and bound, on account of Herodias his 4 brother Philip's wife; for John had said to him, 5 It is not lawful for thee to have her. And Herod would have put him to death, but was afraid of 6 the populace, who accounted him a prophet. But when Herod's birth-day was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before the company, and pleased 7 Herod so highly, that he swore he would grant her 8 whatever she should ask. She being instigated by her mother, said, Give me here in a basin the 9 head of John the Baptist. And the king was sorry; nevertheless, from a regard to his oath and his guests, he commanded that it should be given 10 her. Accordingly John was beheaded in the pri11 son by his order. And his head was brought in a basin and presented to the damsel; and she carried 12 it to her mother. After which his disciples went and fetched the body, and having buried it, came and told Jesus. 17 That is, governour of a fourth part. SECT. VIII. 13 CH. 14. When Jesus heard this, he embarked privately, Mar. 6; 32. and retired into a desert place; whereof the peo- Lu, 9; 10. ple being informed, followed him by land out of the 14 cities. Observing, as he landed, a great multitude, he had compassion upon them, and healed their sick. 15 Towards the evening his disciples accosted him, Mar. 6; 35. saying, This is a desert place, and the time is now Lu. 9; 12. past; dismiss the multitude, that they may go to 16 the villages, and buy themselves victuals. Jesus answered, They need not go. Supply them your- Jo. 6; 5. 17 selves. They said to him, We have here but five 18 loaves and two fishes. He replied, Bring them 19 hither to me. Then having commanded the people to lie down upon the grass, he took the five loaves and the two fishes, and looking towards heaven, blessed them; then breaking the loaves, he gave them to the disciples, and they distributed them 20 among the people. When all had partaken, and were satisfied, they carried off twelve baskets full 21 of the fragments that remained. Now they that had eaten were about five thousand men, beside women and children. 22 Jo. 6; 16. Immediately Jesus obliged his disciples to embark Mar. 6; 45 and pass over before him, while he dismissed the 23 multitude. Having dismissed the multitude, he re tired by himself to a mountain to pray, and re24 mained there alone till it was late. By that time the bark was half way over, tossed by the waves, 25 for the wind was contrary. In the fourth watch |