The Gospels

by Sarah Ruden

  38 Then some of the scholars and Farisaioi responded to him by saying, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from you.” 39 But he answered by saying to them, “A useless, unfaithful*121 generation is looking for a sign! But a sign won’t be given to it, unless it’s the sign of Iōnas the prophet. 40 Iōnas of course was in the belly of the sea monster for three days and three nights: in the same way, the son of mankind will be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights.*122 41 The Nineuitai men will stand up at the judgment along with this generation and give their judgment against it, because they changed their thinking to obey Iōnas’ proclamation, and look, something greater than Iōnas is here!*123 42 The queen of where the south wind comes from will stand at the judgment along with this generation and give her judgment against it, because she came from the boundaries of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomōn, and look, something greater than Solomōn is here.*124

  43 “When an unclean spirit comes out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking a place to rest, but doesn’t find any. 44 Then it says, ‘I’ll return to my house again, where I came from.’ But when it arrives, it finds the building unoccupied, swept out, and put in order. 45 Then it goes on its way and brings back with it seven other spirits more terrible than itself, and they go in and take up residence there. And the final plight of that person is worse than the original one. That’s what it will be like for this terrible generation.”*125

  46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, look, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, looking to speak to him. [47 And someone said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, looking to speak to you.”] 48 But in answer he said to the one who had told him this: “Who’s my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Then he stretched out his hand toward his students and said, “Look: my mother and my brothers! 50 Whoever in fact does what my father in the skies wants is my brother and sister and mother.”*126

  Chapter 13

  1 On that day, Iēsous went out of the house and sat down beside the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered where he was, so that he boarded a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore.

  3 And he told them many things through analogies. He said, “Look, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, it happened that some of the seed fell along the road, and the birds came and made short work of it. 5 And other seed fell on stony places, where it didn’t have much earth, and right away it sprouted and rose up, because it didn’t have any depth of earth. 6 But when the sun rose up, the seedings were seared, and due to their lack of roots, they withered. 7 And other seed fell among the thorny weeds, and these came up and strangled the seedings. 8 But other seeds fell onto good ground and produced a harvest, with one kernel yielding a hundred, another sixty, another thirty more. 9 Whoever has ears had better hear.”

  10 Then the students approached and said to him, “What’s the reason you speak to them through analogies?” 11 As an answer, he told them, “The secrets*127 of the skies’ kingdom have been granted to you to know, but haven’t been granted to those others. 12 If in fact someone has something, more will be given to him, and he’ll have more than enough. But if someone doesn’t have something, even what he does have will be taken away from him. 13 This is the reason I speak to them through analogies: when they look, they don’t really look, and when they hear they don’t really hear, and they don’t understand; 14 and in them the prophecy of Ēsaïas is fulfilled: he said,

  “ ‘You’ll certainly hear, but you’ll never understand;

  You’ll definitely look, but you’ll never see,

  15 Because this people’s heart has turned stony,

  And its ears are slow to hear.

  They have closed their eyes,

  So that they never see with their eyes

  Or hear with their ears

  Or understand with their heart

  Or turn around and let me heal them.’*128

  16 “But your eyes are fortunate because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 Amēn I tell you that in fact many prophets and upright men longed to see what you’ve looked at, but they didn’t see it; and to hear what you’ve heard, but they didn’t hear it.

  18 “So you yourselves, listen to the analogy of the sower. 19 Whenever someone hears the true account of the kingdom but doesn’t understand it, the malicious one comes and snatches what has been sown in his heart: this is the person who’s sown along the road. 20 The person sown in rocky places is the one who hears the account and right away takes it in with joy. 21 Yet he doesn’t take root, but instead is merely of the moment, and when grinding hardship and hounding come because of the account, he falls away. 22 And the one sown among the thorny weeds: he hears the account, but the anxieties of this present life and the false appeal of wealth strangle what he heard, and it can’t bear grain. 23 But the one sown onto good ground, he’s the one who hears the account and understands it: he does produce a harvest, and every kernel yields a hundred, or sixty, or thirty more.”

  24 He offered them another analogy, saying, “The kingdom of the skies can be compared to a person sowing good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, the enemy came and in addition sowed darnel-weed all through his wheat crop, and went away. 26 And when the shoots sprouted and bore grain, then the darnel-weed appeared as well. 27 Then the slaves belonging to the head of the household approached and told him, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where does the darnel-weed come from?’ 28 But he said to them, ‘Somebody who’s an enemy to me did this.’*129 The slaves then said to him, ‘So do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?’ 29 And he said to them, ‘No, no, it’s too great a risk that in gathering up the darnel, you’d uproot the wheat along with it. 30 Let both of them grow up together until the harvest, and at the proper time for the harvest, I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the darnel and bind it in bundles, so that you can burn it up, but bring the crop all together to my barn.” ’ ”

  31 He offered them another analogy, saying, “The kingdom of the skies is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field, 32 and though it’s the smallest of all seeds, once it’s grown, it’s bigger than all other garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and find shelter among its branches.”

  33 He spoke to them with another analogy. “The kingdom of the skies is like yeast that a woman took and hid in three sata*130 of flour, and waited until the whole lump of dough was risen with the yeast.” 34 Iēsous said all these things through analogies to the crowds, and without an analogy he said nothing to them, 35 so that there could be a fulfillment of what was spoken through the prophet when he said,

  “I’ll open my mouth to speak in analogies,

  I’ll utter what’s been hidden since the foundation [of the universe].”*131

  36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his students came to him and said, “Enlighten us about the analogy to the darnel in the field.” 37 And he answered them by saying, “The son of mankind is the one who sows the good seed, 38 and the field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom, while the darnel is the sons of the malicious one,*132 39 and the enemy sowing the darnel is the slanderer, and the harvest is the era come to fruition, and the harvesters are messengers. 40 Hence the way the darnel is gathered and burned [up] in the fire is the way it will be when the era comes to fruition. 41 The son of mankind will send out his messengers, and they’ll gather from his kingdom everyone who’s an obstacle, and everyone who commits crimes, 42 and they’ll throw them into the fiery oven; and there’ll be crying and grinding of teeth in pain in that place. 43 Then the upright people will shine out like the sun in their father’s kingdom. Whoever has ears had better hear.

  44 “The kingdom of the skies is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, then hid it, and now in his joy he g
oes and puts up for sale everything he has and buys that field.

  45 “Then there’s this: the kingdom of the skies is like a man in mercantile trade who was looking for beautiful pearls. 46 Having found one very valuable pearl, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.*133

  47 “Once again: the kingdom of the skies is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered every kind of thing. 48 Once it was full, they drew it up onto the shore, sat down, and collected the good things and put them into buckets, and threw out the bad things.*134 49 That’s the way it will be when the era comes to fruition: the messengers will come out and separate the useless people from among the upright 50 and throw them into the fiery oven. In that place there’ll be crying and teeth-grinding from pain.

  51 “Have you understood all these things?” They told him, “Yes.” 52 Then he said to them, “This is the reason every scholar who’s been trained for the kingdom of the skies is like a man who’s head of a household, and who brings new things and old things out of his storeroom.”*135

  53 Then it happened that, when he’d completed these analogies, he departed from that place. 54 And he came to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue, so that they were dumbfounded and said, “Where did he get this insight and these acts of power? 55 Isn’t this the builder’s son? Don’t they say that his mother’s Mariam, and that his brothers are Iakōbos and Iōsēf and Simōn and Ioudas? 56 And aren’t all his sisters here with us? So where did he get all of this?” 57 So they were tripped up by him. But Iēsous said to them, “A prophet isn’t treated dishonorably except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58 And in that place he didn’t perform many powerful acts, because of their lack of trust.*136

  Chapter 14

  1 At that juncture, Hērōdēs the client king heard what was to be heard about Iēsous. 2 And he said to his slaves, “This is Iōannēs the baptizer: he’s awakened from among the dead, and for this reason powers are at work in him.”

  3 Now Hērōdēs had seized Iōannēs and chained [him] up and put him in prison because of Hērōdias, the wife of his brother Filippos, 4 as Iōannēs had said to him, “It’s not lawful for you to have her.”*137 5 And he wanted to kill him, but he feared the mass of the people, because they held him to be a prophet.

  6 But when it was Hērōdēs’ birthday, Hērōdias’ daughter danced in front of everyone, and Hērōdēs was delighted with her. 7 Hence he promised on oath to give her whatever she asked for. 8 And at her mother’s prompting, she said, “Give me, right here on a platter, the head of Iōannēs the baptizer.” 9 And the king was anguished, but because of the oaths he’d sworn and the guests reclining at the table with him, he commanded it to be given to her. 10 So he sent and had Iōannēs beheaded in the prison. 11 Then his head was brought on a platter and given to the little girl, and she brought it to her mother. 12 And his students came and took the corpse and interred it, then went and brought the news to Iēsous.*138

  13 And when Iēsous heard it, he withdrew in a boat from where he was to an uninhabited place to be by himself. But the crowds heard and followed him on foot from the towns. 14 And when he got out of the boat he saw a large crowd and was wrenched with pity for them and healed those who were ill.

  15 When evening came, the students approached him and said, “This is a place no one lives in, and by now quite some time has passed. Send the crowds away, so that they can go into the villages and buy themselves food.” 16 But [Iēsous] said to them: “They have no need to go. You give them something to eat.” 17 But they told him, “We don’t have anything here except five loaves and two fish.” 18 Then he said, “Bring them here to me.” 19 And he ordered the crowd to recline on the grass,*139 and taking the five loaves and two fish, he looked up to the sky, blessed the loaves, broke them into pieces, and gave the pieces to the students, and the students gave them to the crowds. 20 And all the people ate until they were full, and they picked up twelve baskets full of leftover broken pieces. 21 And about five thousand grown men had eaten, besides women and children.

  22 And right away, he made his students board the boat and go ahead of him to the opposite shore, while he sent the crowds away. 23 Once he’d sent the crowds away, he climbed up a high mountain to pray on his own. And when evening came, he was alone there. 24 Now, the boat was already many stades*140 away from land, and was being pounded by waves, as the wind was against them. 25 And during the fourth watch of the night*141 he came toward them, walking on the sea. 26 And when the students saw him walking on the sea, they were frantic, saying, “It’s a ghost!”; and they cried out in fear. 27 But right away, [Iēsous] spoke to them, saying, “Be brave—it’s me; don’t be afraid.” 28 But Petros answered him by saying, “Master, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.” 29 So he said, “Come!” Then Petros got out of the boat, walked on the water, and went toward Iēsous. 30 But seeing [how powerful] the wind [was], he was frightened, and as he started to sink, he shouted the words, “Master, save me!” 31 And right away Iēsous stretched out his hand, took hold of him, and said to him, “You with hardly any trust! Why did you waver?” 32 And once they’d climbed up onto the boat, the wind stopped. 33 And those on the boat prostrated themselves before him, saying, “Truly, you are god’s son.”

  34 Then they crossed over and came to land at Gennēsaret.*142 35 And the men of that place recognized him and sent word to the whole of that surrounding region, and they brought him everyone who was unwell. 36 And they begged him just to let them touch the hem of his cloak: and everyone who touched it was completely cured.

  Chapter 15

  1 Then Farisaioi and scholars came to Iēsous from Hierosoluma and said, 2 “Why do your students overstep the laws the ancestors handed down? They’re in fact not washing [their] hands when they eat bread.” 3 But he answered by telling them, “Why do you overstep god’s command through what you hand down? 4 God in fact said, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and ‘Whoever insults his father or mother is to end his life and die.’ 5 You, on the other hand, say, ‘Whoever tells his father or mother “Whatever help might have come from me is an offering” 6 is not allowed to honor his father at all.’ So you’ve canceled what god spoke by this handing down of yours. 7 You play-actors, Ēsaïas was right when he prophesied about you, saying,

  8 “ ‘This people honors me with their lips alone,

  While their heart is far away from me.

  9 Uselessly they “worship” me,

  Teaching human injunctions as the teachings.’ ”*143

  10 And he called the crowd to him and told them, “Listen and understand. 11 What comes into a person’s mouth, however indiscriminately, doesn’t make him dirty; no, it’s what makes its way out of the mouth that makes a person dirty.”*144

  12 Then the students approached and said to him, “Do you know that the Farisaioi were tripped up and upset when they heard what you said?” 13 And he answered by saying, “Every plant that my father in the sky didn’t plant will be rooted out. 14 Forget about them. They’re blind guides [of blind people]. If one blind man guides another, both of them will fall into a pit.”

  15 In response Petros said to him, “Explain to us what [this] analogy means!” 16 And he said, “Even now, don’t you all have any understanding either? 17 You don’t realize that everything making its way into the mouth goes into the belly and then gets dropped down the latrine? 18 But the things making their way out of the mouth come out of the heart, and these dirty a person. 19 Out of the heart come nasty calculations, murders, violations of marriage, whoring, thefts, lying testimonies, backstabbing lies. 20 These are what make a person dirty; eating with unwashed hands doesn’t make a person dirty.”*145

  21 Then Iēsous set off from that place and withdrew to the region of Turos and Sidōn. 22 And look, a Chananaia woman from that district came out and began to scream the words “Have pity on me, lord, son of David! My daughter is posse
ssed by a very troublesome demon.” 23 But he didn’t have anything to say in reply to her. Then his students approached and pressured him, saying, “Get rid of her, because she keeps screaming after us.” 24 But he answered by saying, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israēl.” 25 Then she came and prostrated herself before him, saying, “Sir, come to my rescue!” 26 But he said in answer, “It’s not right to take the offspring’s loaf and toss it to the little doggies.” 27 But she said, “Yes, master, but the little doggies do eat some of the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” 28 Then Iēsous said in answer to her, “Woman, your trust is great. It must be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed from that hour.*146

  29 Then Iēsous passed on from that place and went to the sea of Galilaia, and he climbed up a mountain and sat down there. 30 And large crowds came to him, bringing with them the crippled, the blind, the deformed, the mute, and many others, and they put these people at his feet, and he healed them. 31 As a result, the crowd was amazed at seeing the mute speak, the deformed whole, the crippled walk, and the blind see. And they glorified the god of Israēl.

  32 Then Iēsous, calling his students to him, said, “I’m wrenched with pity for the crowd, because they’ve been staying with me here for three days already, and they have nothing to eat. But I don’t want to send them off hungry, in case they collapse on the road.” 33 And the students told him, “Where in this place no one lives in are we to get enough loaves to fill up such a large crowd?” 34 But Iēsous said to them, “How many loaves do you have?” They said, “Seven, and a few tiny fish.” 35 And he ordered the crowd to recline on the ground, 36 and took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he’d given thanks, he broke them into pieces and gave them to the students, and the students gave them to the crowds. 37 And they all ate until they were full. And they took up seven hampers full of leftover broken pieces. 38 And those who ate were four thousand grown men, aside from the women and children.