1When Herod Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, heard about Jesus,2he said to his advisers, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead! That is why he can do such miracles.”3For Herod had arrested and imprisoned John as a favor to his wife Herodias (the former wife of Herod’s brother Philip).4John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you …
53When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country. 54He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph,f Simon, and …
47“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.48When the net was full, they dragged it up onto the shore, sat down, and sorted the good fish into crates, but threw the bad ones away.49That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and 
44“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure that a man discovered hidden in a field. In his excitement, he hid it again and sold everything he owned to get enough money to buy the field.
34Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact, he never spoke to them without using such parables.35This fulfilled what God had spoken through the prophet:
24Here is another story Jesus told: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field.25But that night as the workers slept, his enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat, then slipped away.26When the crop began to grow and produce grain, the weeds also grew.27“The farmer’s workers went to him and said, ‘Sir, the field where you …
18“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:19The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.20The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
1Later that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake.2A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore.3He told many stories in the form of eparables, such as this one:
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds.4As he scattered them …
46As Jesus was speaking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.47Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, and they want to speak to you.”