Daily Bible CEV March 11 Scroll

Weeds among the Wheat

Matthew 13 ²⁴Jesus then told them this story:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. ²⁵But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weed seeds in the field and then left.

²⁶When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer's servants could see the weeds. ²⁷The servants came and asked, "Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?"

²⁸"An enemy did this," he replied.

His servants then asked, "Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?"

²⁹"No!" he answered. "You might also pull up the wheat. ³⁰Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll have them store the wheat in my barn."

Stories about a Mustard Seed and Yeast
(Mark 4.30-32; Luke 13.18-21)

³¹Jesus told them another story:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. ³²Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.

³³Jesus also said:

The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.

The Reason for Teaching with Stories
(Mark 4.33, 34)

³⁴Jesus used stories when he spoke to the people. In fact, he did not tell them anything without using stories. ³⁵So God's promise came true, just as the prophet had said,

"I will use stories to speak my message

and to explain things that have been hidden

since the creation of the world."

Jesus Explains the Story about the Weeds

³⁶After Jesus left the crowd and went inside, his disciples came to him and said, "Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field."

³⁷Jesus answered:

The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸The field is the world, and the good seeds are the people who belong to the kingdom. The weed seeds are those who belong to the evil one, ³⁹and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.

⁴⁰Weeds are gathered and burned. That's how it will be at the end of time. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. ⁴²Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. ⁴³But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!

A Hidden Treasure

⁴⁴The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when someone finds treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field.

A Valuable Pearl

⁴⁵The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. ⁴⁶After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.

A Fish Net

⁴⁷The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a net is thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸When the net is full, it is dragged to the shore, and the fishermen sit down to separate the fish. They keep the good ones, but throw the bad ones away. ⁴⁹That's how it will be at the end of time. Angels will come and separate the evil people from the ones who have done right. ⁵⁰Then those evil people will be thrown into a flaming furnace, where they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.

New and Old Treasures

⁵¹Jesus asked his disciples if they understood all these things. They said, "Yes, we do."

⁵²So he told them, "Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom."

The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus
(Mark 6.1-6; Luke 4.16-30)

⁵³When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left ⁵⁴and went to his hometown. He taught in their meeting place, and the people were so amazed that they asked, "Where does he get all this wisdom and the power to work these miracles? ⁵⁵Isn't he the son of the carpenter? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? ⁵⁶Don't his sisters still live here in our town? How can he do all this?" ⁵⁷So the people were very unhappy because of what he was doing.

But Jesus said, "Prophets are honored by everyone, except the people of their hometown and their own family." ⁵⁸And because the people did not have any faith, Jesus did not work many miracles there.

Moral and Religious Laws

Leviticus 19 The LORD told Moses ²to say to the community of Israel:

I am the LORD your God. I am holy, and you must be holy too! ^3-4Respect your father and your mother, honor the Sabbath, and don't make idols or images. I am the LORD your God.

⁵When you offer a sacrifice to ask my blessing, be sure to follow my instructions. ⁶You may eat the meat either on the day of the sacrifice or on the next day, but you must burn anything left until the third day. ⁷If you eat any of it on the third day, the sacrifice will be disgusting to me, and I will reject it. ⁸In fact, you will be punished for not respecting what I say is holy, and you will no longer belong to the community of Israel.

⁹When you harvest your grain, always leave some of it standing along the edges of your fields and don't pick up what falls on the ground. ¹⁰Don't strip your grapevines clean or gather the grapes that fall off the vines. Leave them for the poor and for those foreigners who live among you. I am the LORD your God.

¹¹Do not steal or tell lies or cheat others.

¹²Do not misuse my name by making promises you don't intend to keep. I am the LORD your God.

¹³Do not steal anything or cheat anyone, and don't fail to pay your workers at the end of each day.

¹⁴I am the LORD your God, and I command you not to make fun of the deaf or to cause a blind person to stumble.

¹⁵Be fair, no matter who is on trial--don't favor either the poor or the rich.

¹⁶Don't be a gossip, but never hesitate to speak up in court, especially if your testimony can save someone's life.

¹⁷Don't hold grudges. On the other hand, it's wrong not to correct someone who needs correcting. ¹⁸Stop being angry and don't try to take revenge. I am the LORD, and I command you to love others as much as you love yourself.

¹⁹Breed your livestock animals only with animals of the same kind, and don't plant two kinds of seed in the same field or wear clothes made of different kinds of material.

²⁰If a man has sex with a slave woman who is promised in marriage to someone else, he must pay a fine, but they are not to be put to death. After all, she was still a slave at the time. ^21-22The man must bring a ram to the entrance of the sacred tent and give it to a priest, who will then offer it as a sacrifice to me, so the man's sins will be forgiven.

²³After you enter the land, you will plant fruit trees, but you are not to eat any of their fruit for the first three years. ²⁴In the fourth year the fruit must be set apart, as an expression of thanks ²⁵to me, the LORD God. Do this, and in the fifth year, those trees will produce an abundant harvest of fruit for you to eat.

²⁶Don't eat the blood of any animal.

Don't practice any kind of witchcraft.

^27-28I forbid you to shave any part of your head or beard or to cut and tattoo yourself as a way of worshiping the dead.

²⁹Don't let your daughters serve as temple prostitutes--this would bring disgrace both to them and the land.

³⁰I command you to respect the Sabbath and the place where I am worshiped.

³¹Don't make yourselves disgusting to me by going to people who claim they can talk to the dead.

³²I command you to show respect for older people and to obey me with fear and trembling.

³³Don't mistreat any foreigners who live in your land. ³⁴Instead, treat them as well as you treat citizens and love them as much as you love yourself. Remember, you were once foreigners in the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.

^35-36Use honest scales and don't cheat when you weigh or measure anything.

I am the LORD your God. I rescued you from Egypt, ³⁷and I command you to obey my laws.

Use Good Sense

Proverbs 29 If you keep being stubborn after many warnings,

you will suddenly discover you have gone too far.

²When justice rules a nation, everyone is glad;

when injustice rules, everyone groans.

³If you love wisdom your parents will be glad,

but chasing after bad women will cost you everything.

⁴An honest ruler makes the nation strong;

a ruler who takes bribes will bring it to ruin.

⁵Flattery is nothing less than setting a trap.

⁶Your sins will catch you,

but everyone who lives right will sing and celebrate.

⁷The wicked don't care about the rights of the poor,

but good people do.

⁸Sneering at others is a spark that sets a city on fire;

using good sense can put out the flames of anger.

⁹Be wise and don't sue a fool. You won't get satisfaction,

because all the fool will do is sneer and shout.

¹⁰A murderer hates everyone who is honest and lives right.

¹¹Don't be a fool and quickly lose your temper--

be sensible and patient.

¹²A ruler who listens to lies will have corrupt officials.

¹³The poor and all who abuse them

must each depend on God for light.

¹⁴Kings who are fair to the poor will rule forever.

¹⁵Correct your children, and they will be wise;

children out of control disgrace their mothers.

¹⁶Crime increases when crooks are in power,

but law-abiding citizens will see them fall.

¹⁷If you correct your children,

they will bring you peace and happiness.

¹⁸Without guidance from God law and order disappear,

but God blesses everyone who obeys his Law.

¹⁹Even when servants are smart,

it takes more than words to make them obey.

²⁰There is more hope for a fool

than for someone who speaks without thinking.

²¹Slaves that you treat kindly from their childhood

will cause you sorrow.

²²A person with a quick temper stirs up arguments

and commits a lot of sins.

²³Too much pride brings disgrace; humility leads to honor.

²⁴If you take part in a crime you are your worst enemy,

because even under oath you can't tell the truth.

²⁵Don't fall into the trap of being a coward--

trust the LORD, and you will be safe.

²⁶Many try to make friends with a ruler,

but justice comes from the LORD.

²⁷Good people and criminals can't stand each other.

These daily Bible readings from the Contemporary English Version (CEV) are published by BibleNetUSA. The web site and BibleCard® designs are by iCreative. BibleCard® images copyright iCreative. All rights reserved.