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Matthew 13:16
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
Mark 7:32-37
32 A deaf man with a speech impediment was brought to him, and the people begged Jesus to lay his hands on the man to heal him.
33 Jesus led him to a private place away from the crowd. He put his fingers into the man's ears. Then, spitting onto his own fingers, he touched the man's tongue with the spittle.
34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed and commanded, "Be opened!"
35
Instantly the man could hear perfectly and speak plainly!
36 Jesus told the crowd not to tell anyone, but the more he told them not to, the more they spread the news,
37 for they were completely amazed.
Again and again they said
,"Everything he does is wonderful
.
He even heals those who are deaf and mute
."
Rev 5:9-14
9 They were singing him (Jesus) a new song with these words: "You are worthy to take the scroll and break its seals and open it; for you were slain, and your blood has bought people from every nation as gifts for God.
10 And you have gathered them into a kingdom and made them priests of our God; they shall reign upon the earth."
11 Then in my vision I heard the singing of millions of angels surrounding the throne and the Living Beings and the Elders:
12 "The Lamb is worthy" (loudly they sang it!) "-the Lamb who was slain. He is worthy to receive the power, and the riches, and the wisdom, and the strength, and the honor, and the glory, and the blessing."
13 And then I heard everyone in heaven and earth, and from the dead beneath the earth and in the sea, exclaiming, "The blessing and the honor and the glory and the power belong to the one sitting on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever."
14 And the four Living Beings kept saying, "Amen!" And the twenty-four Elders fell down and worshiped him.
Matthew 25: 31-32
31 "When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
John 10: 15-18
15
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father -
and I lay down my life for the sheep.
16
I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.
17
The reason my Father loves me is that
I lay down my life
-
only to take it up again.
18
No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.
Approximately 750 years before the birth of Christ, Micah announces the Messiah's birth place, and that He is a King from eternity and not just an earthly ruler.
Micah 5:2
2 "O Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are but a small Judean village, yet you will be the birthplace of my King who is alive from everlasting ages past!"
Mark 9:14-27
14 At the foot of the mountain they found a great crowd surrounding the other disciples, as some teachers of religious law were arguing with them.
15 The crowd watched Jesus in awe as he came toward them, and then they ran to greet him.
16 "What is all this arguing about?" he asked.
17 One of the men in the crowd spoke up and said, "Teacher, I brought my son for you to heal him. He can't speak because he is possessed by an evil spirit that won't let him talk.
18 And whenever this evil spirit seizes him, it throws him violently to the ground and makes him foam at the mouth and grind his teeth and become rigid. So I asked your disciples to cast out the evil spirit, but they couldn't do it."
19 Jesus said to them, "You faithless people! How long must I be with you until you believe? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy to me."
20 So they brought the boy. But when the evil spirit saw Jesus, it threw the child into a violent convulsion, and he fell to the ground, writhing and foaming at the mouth.
21 "How long has this been happening?" Jesus asked the boy's father. He replied, "Since he was very small.
22 The evil spirit often makes him fall into the fire or into water, trying to kill him. Have mercy on us and help us. Do something if you can."
23 "What do you mean, 'If I can'?" Jesus asked. "Anything is possible if a person believes."
24 The father instantly replied, "I do believe, but help me not to doubt!"
25 When Jesus saw that the crowd of onlookers was growing, he rebuked the evil spirit. "Spirit of deafness and muteness," he said, "I command you to come out of this child and never enter him again!"
26 Then the spirit screamed and threw the boy into another violent convulsion and left him. The boy lay there motionless, and he appeared to be dead. A murmur ran through the crowd, "He's dead."
27 But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up.
Mark 1:23-26
23 A man possessed by a demon was present and began shouting,
24 "Why are you bothering us, Jesus of Nazareth - have you come to destroy us demons? I know who you are - the holy Son of God!"
25 Jesus curtly commanded the demon to say no more and to come out of the man.
26 At that the evil spirit screamed and convulsed the man violently and left him.
Luke 8:29-33
29 For Jesus had commanded the evil spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30 Jesus asked him, "What is your name?" "Legion," he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
31 And they begged him repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
Mark 3:10-12
10 For there had been many healings that day and as a result great numbers of sick people were crowding around him, trying to touch him.
11 And whenever those possessed by demons caught sight of him they would fall down before him shrieking, "You are the Son of God!"
12 But he (Jesus) strictly warned them not to make him known.
Matt 14:14-21
14 So when Jesus came out of the wilderness, a vast crowd was waiting for him, and
he pitied them and healed their sick.
15 That evening the disciples came to him and said, "It is already past time for supper, and there is nothing to eat here in the desert; send the crowds away so they can go to the villages and buy some food."
16 But Jesus replied, "That isn't necessary - you feed them!"
17 "What!" they exclaimed. "We have exactly five small loaves of bread and two fish!"
18 "Bring them here," he said.
19 Then he told the people to sit down on the grass; and he took the five loaves and two fish, looked up into the sky, and asked God's blessing on the meal, then broke the loaves apart and gave them to the disciples to place before the people.
20 And everyone ate until full! And when the scraps were picked up afterwards, there were twelve basketfuls left over!
21(About five thousand men were in the crowd that day, besides all the women and children.)
Matthew 13:3-9
3 He (Jesus) told many stories such as this one:
A farmer went out to plant some seed.
4 As he scattered it across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them.
5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The plants sprang up quickly,
6 but they soon wilted beneath the hot sun and died because the roots had no nourishment in the shallow soil.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns that shot up and choked out the tender blades.
8 But some seeds fell on fertile soil and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted.
9 Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!"
Matthew 13:35
35 This fulfilled the Prophecy that said,
"I will speak to you in parables.
I will explain mysteries hidden since the creation of the world."
Psalms 78:1-5
1 O my people, hear my teaching; listen to the words of my mouth.
2 I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter hidden things, things from of old -
3 what we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us.
4 We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 And He raiseth up a testimony in Jacob, And a law hath placed in Israel, That He commanded our fathers, To make them known to their sons.
Matthew 13:11-13
11 Then he explained to them,
"You have been permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others have not."
12 To those who are open to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.
But to those who are not listening, even what they have will be taken away from them.
13 That is why I tell these stories, because
people see what I do, but they don't really see. They hear what I say, but they don't really hear, and they don't understand.
Matthew 11:2-6
2 John the Baptist, who was now in prison, heard about all the things the Messiah was doing. So he sent his disciples to ask Jesus,
3 "Are you really the Messiah we've been waiting for, or should we keep looking for someone else?"
4 Jesus told them,
"Go back to John and tell him about what you have heard and seen -
5
the blind see,
the lame walk,
the lepers are cured,
the deaf hear,
the dead are raised to life,
and the Good News is being preached to the poor.
6 And tell him:
'God blesses those who are not offended by me.'"
Matthew 4:14-17
14 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying,
15 "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, By the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles -
16
"The people who were sitting in darkness saw a great light, And to those who were sitting in the land and shadow of death, Upon them a light dawned."
17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand."
(Turn from your sins and turn to God, because the Kingdom of Heaven is near.")
Matthew 8:14-17
14 When Jesus arrived at Peter's house, Peter's mother-in-law was in bed with a high fever.
15 But when Jesus touched her hand, the fever left her. Then she got up and prepared a meal for him.
16 That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. All the spirits fled when he commanded them to leave; and he healed all the sick.
17 This fulfilled the word of the Lord through Isaiah, who said,
"He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases."
Mark 6:53-56
53 When they arrived at Gennesaret on the other side of the lake, they anchored the boat
54 and climbed out. The people standing there recognized him at once,
55 and they ran throughout the whole area and began carrying sick people to him on mats.
56
Wherever he went - in villages and cities and out on the farms - they laid the sick in the market plazas and streets. The sick begged him to let them at least touch the fringe of his robe, and all who touched it were healed.
Matthew 9:9-30
9 As Jesus was going down the road, he saw Matthew sitting at his tax-collection booth. "Come, be my disciple," Jesus said to him. So Matthew got up and followed him.
10 That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious sinners.
11 The Pharisees were indignant. "Why does your teacher eat with such scum?" they asked his disciples.
12 When he heard this, Jesus replied, "Healthy people don't need a doctor - sick people do."
13 Then he added, "Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: 'I want you to be merciful; I don't want your sacrifices.' For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough."
14 One day the disciples of John the Baptist came to Jesus and asked him, "Why do we and the Pharisees fast, but your disciples don't fast?"
15 Jesus responded, "Should the wedding guests mourn while celebrating with the groom? Someday he will be taken from them, and then they will fast.
16 And who would patch an old garment with unshrunk cloth? For the patch shrinks and pulls away from the old cloth, leaving an even bigger hole than before.
17 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. The old skins would burst from the pressure, spilling the wine and ruining the skins. New wine must be stored in new wineskins. That way both the wine and the wineskins are preserved."
18 As Jesus was saying this, the leader of a synagogue came and knelt down before him. "My daughter has just died," he said, "but you can bring her back to life again if you just come and lay your hand upon her."
19 As Jesus and the disciples were going to the official's home,
20 a woman who had a hemorrhage for twelve years came up behind him. She touched the fringe of his robe,
21 for she thought, "If I can just touch his robe, I will be healed."
22 Jesus turned around and said to her, "Daughter, be encouraged! Your faith has made you well." And the woman was healed at that moment.
23 When Jesus arrived at the official's home, he noticed the noisy crowds and heard the funeral music.
24 He said, "Go away, for the girl isn't dead; she's only asleep." But the crowd laughed at him.
25 When the crowd was finally outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she stood up!
26 The report of this miracle swept through the entire countryside.
27 After Jesus left the girl's home, two blind men followed along behind him, shouting, "Son of David, have mercy on us!"
28 They went right into the house where he was staying, and Jesus asked them, "Do you believe I can make you see?" "Yes, Lord," they told him, "we do."
29 Then he touched their eyes and said," Because of your faith, it will happen."
30 And suddenly they could see! Jesus sternly warned them, "Don't tell anyone about this."
Matthew 9:31-33
31 But instead, they spread his fame all over the region.
32 When they left, some people brought to him a man who couldn't speak because he was possessed by a demon.
33 So Jesus cast out the demon, and instantly the man could talk. The crowds marveled.
"Nothing like this has ever happened in Israel!" they exclaimed.
Matthew 9:35-36
35 Jesus traveled through all the cities and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And wherever he went, he healed people of every sort of disease and illness.
36 He felt great pity for the crowds that came, because their problems were so great and they didn't know where to go for help. They were like sheep without a shepherd.
Matthew 10:29-31
29 Not even a sparrow, worth only half a penny, can fall to the ground without your Father knowing it.
30 And the very hairs on your head are all numbered.
31 So don't be afraid; you are more valuable to him than a whole flock of sparrows.
Matthew 15:29-38
29 Jesus left there and went along the Sea of Galilee. Then he went up on a mountainside and sat down.
30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.
31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing. And they praised the God of Israel.
32 Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people; they have already been with me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may collapse on the way."
33 His disciples answered, "Where could we get enough bread in this remote place to feed such a crowd?"
34 "How many loaves do you have?" Jesus asked. "Seven," they replied, "and a few small fish."
35 He told the crowd to sit down on the ground.
36 Then he took the seven loaves and the fish, and when he had given thanks, he broke them and gave them to the disciples, and they in turn to the people.
37 They all ate and were satisfied. Afterward the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.
38 The number of those who ate was four thousand, besides women and children.
John 21:25
25
And I suppose that if all the other events in Jesus' life were written, the whole world could hardly contain the books!
Matthew 26
26:1 When Jesus had finished this talk with his disciples, he told them,
2 "As you know, the Passover celebration begins in two days, and I shall be betrayed and crucified."
3 At that very moment the chief priests and other Jewish officials were meeting at the residence of Caiaphas the High Priest,
4 to discuss ways of capturing Jesus quietly and killing him.
5 "But not during the Passover celebration," they agreed, "for there would be a riot."
Acts 28:25-27
"The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers,
26 saying, 'Go to this people and say: 'Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
27 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them ."'
Matt 26:24
24 For I, the Son of Man, must die, as the Scriptures declared long ago.
But how terrible it will be for my betrayer. Far better for him if he had never been born!"
Matthew 20:17-19
17
As Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside privately and told them what was going to happen to him.
18
"When we get to Jerusalem,"
he (Jesus) said,"
the Son of Man will be betrayed to the leading priests and the teachers of religious law.
They will sentence him to die.
19
Then they will hand him over to the Romans to be mocked,
whipped,
and crucified.
But on the third day
he will be raised from the dead."
Matthew 20:28
28
For even I
, the Son of Man
, came here not to be served but to serve others
, and to
give my life as a ransom for many
."
John 12:12-19
12 The next day, the news that Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem swept through the city, and a huge crowd of Passover visitors
13 took palm branches and went down the road to meet him, shouting, "The Savior! God bless the King of Israel! Hail to God's Ambassador!"
14 Jesus rode along on a young donkey, fulfilling the Prophecy that said:
15 "Don't be afraid of your King, people of Israel, for he will come to you meekly, sitting on a donkey's colt!"
16 (His disciples didn't realize at the time that this was a fulfillment of Prophecy; but after Jesus returned to his glory in heaven, then they noticed how many prophecies of Scripture had come true before their eyes.)
17 And those in the crowd who had seen Jesus call Lazarus back to life were telling all about it.
18 That was the main reason why so many went out to meet him-because they had heard about this mighty miracle.
19 Then the Pharisees said to each other, "We've lost. Look-the whole world has gone after him!"
What a claim to have made! The whole world is going after Jesus. Some of the Pharisees would as well as they should or they would have to deny their senses and lie to themselves outright. In light of these testimonies. Wouldn't you agree that not following Jesus' claim, that He is the Messiah, the Son of God spoken of for thousands of years in the text of Holy Scripture!
One man decided in our recent history to see if the validity of scripture would hold to the scrutiny of a courtroom investigation. His name is Lee
Stroble, and he is an award winning investigative reporter with a degree from Yale Law School. Stroble was not friendly toward Christianity in anyway during the start of his investigation. His wife had become a Christian and he was not happy about it. He found the evidence so overwhelming that he concluded Christianity is the most evidentially supported belief we have today. No other individual from antiquity to our modern time has references made to him as Jesus Christ has. Neither has their been recorded documents of any person in history dated so closely to an individual's life as we have with Jesus. There are tens of thousands of documents on the New Testament in several languages.
Can their be any wonder why the world would not follow Jesus? One thing I might add. I did not want to follow Jesus simply because I had some idea of Christianity and knew it did not favor my life style, which I did not want to let go of. But once I came forward and accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior, I experience a love like I have never known. I know that I know Jesus is the Messiah of Israel and of the whole world.
Also, if one does not follow Jesus and all these things happen to be true, one faces total destruction in what the Bible calls hell. It is not God's will. God's will was to die in man's place so man can enter into Heaven. Christ faced the torment of the
Cross so you can live in eternity in Heaven. It is your choice and is not dependant on anyone else.
The Sower Explained
Matthew 13:18-23
18 "Now here is the explanation of the story I told about the farmer sowing grain:
19 The seed that fell on the hard path represents those who hear the Good News about the Kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the seed away from their hearts.
20 The rocky soil represents those who hear the message and receive it with joy.
21 But like young plants in such soil, their roots don't go very deep. At first they get along fine, but they wilt as soon as they have problems or are persecuted because they believe the word.
22 The thorny ground represents those who hear and accept the Good News, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares of this life and the lure of wealth, so no crop is produced.
23 The good soil represents the hearts of those who truly accept God's message
and produce a huge harvest - thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted."
The Wheat and Weeds Explained
Matthew 13:36-43
36 Then, leaving the crowds outside, Jesus went into the house. His disciples said, "Please explain the story of the weeds in the field."
37 "All right," he said. "I, the Son of Man, am the farmer who plants the good seed.
38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
39 The enemy who planted the weeds among the wheat is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the world, and the harvesters are the angels.
40 "Just as the weeds are separated out and burned, so it will be at the end of the world.
41 I, the Son of Man, will send my angels, and they will remove from my Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil,
42 and they will throw them into the furnace and burn them. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then the godly will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Anyone who is willing to hear should listen and understand!
Matthew 13:14-15
14 This fulfills the Prophecy of Isaiah, which says: 'You will hear my words, but you will not understand; you will see what I do, but you will not perceive its meaning.
15
For the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear, and
they have closed their eyes - so their eyes cannot see,
and their ears cannot hear, and their hearts cannot understand, and
they cannot turn to me and let me heal them.'
Matthew 20:29-34
Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29 As Jesus and the disciples left the city of Jericho, a huge crowd followed behind.
30 Two blind men were sitting beside the road. When they heard that Jesus was coming that way, they began shouting, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
31 The crowd told them to be quiet, but they only shouted louder, "Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!"
32 Jesus stopped in the road and called, "What do you want me to do for you?"
33 "Lord," they said, "we want to see!"
34 Jesus felt sorry for them and touched their eyes. Instantly they could see!
Then they followed him.
Matt 25:31-26:5
31 "But when I, the Messiah, shall come in my glory, and all the angels with me, then I shall sit upon my throne of glory.
32 And all the nations shall be gathered before me. And I will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats,
33 and place the sheep at my right hand, and the goats at my left.
34 "Then I, the King, shall say to those at my right, 'Come, blessed of my Father, into the Kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you fed me; I was thirsty and you gave me water; I was a stranger and you invited me into your homes;
36 naked and you clothed me; sick and in prison, and you visited me.'
37 "Then these righteous ones will reply, 'Sir, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you anything to drink?
38 Or a stranger, and help you? Or naked, and clothe you?
39 When did we ever see you sick or in prison, and visit you?'
40 "And I, the King, will tell them, 'When you did it to these my brothers you were doing it to me!'
41 Then I will turn to those on my left and say, 'Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.
42 For I was hungry and you wouldn't feed me; thirsty, and you wouldn't give me anything to drink;
43 a stranger, and you refused me hospitality; naked, and you wouldn't clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you didn't visit me.'
44 "Then they will reply, 'Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?'
45 "And I will answer, 'When you refused to help the least of these my brothers, you were refusing help to me.'
46 "And they shall go away into eternal punishment; but the righteous into everlasting life."
Acts 3:1-11
1 Peter and John went to the Temple one afternoon to take part in the three o'clock daily prayer meeting.
2 As they approached the Temple, they saw a man lame from birth carried along the street and laid beside the Temple gate-the one called The Beautiful Gate-as was his custom every day.
3 As Peter and John were passing by, he asked them for some money.
4 They looked at him intently, and then Peter said, "Look here!"
5 The lame man looked at them eagerly, expecting a gift.
6 But Peter said, "We don't have any money for you! But I'll give you something else! I command you in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk!"
7 Then Peter took the lame man by the hand and pulled him to his feet. And as he did, the man's feet and ankle-bones were healed and strengthened so that he came up with a leap, stood there a moment and began walking! Then, walking, leaping, and praising God, he went into the Temple with them.
8 He jumped to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and jumping, and praising God.
9 When the people inside saw him walking and heard him praising God,
10 and realized he was the lame beggar they had seen so often at The Beautiful Gate, they were inexpressibly surprised!
11 They all rushed out to Solomon's Hall, where he was holding tightly to Peter and John! Everyone stood there awed by the wonderful thing that had happened.
Matthew 13:44-58
Illustration of the Hidden Treasure
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 - and to get the treasure, too!
Illustration of the Pearl Merchant
45 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a pearl merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
46 When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
Illustration of the Fishing Net
47 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that is thrown into the water and gathers fish of every kind.
48 When the net is full, they drag it up onto the shore, sit down, sort the good fish into crates, and throw the bad ones away.
49 That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the godly,
50 throwing the wicked into the fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 Do you understand?" "Yes," they said, "we do."
52 Then he added, "Every teacher of religious law who has become a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a person who brings out of the storehouse the new teachings as well as the old." Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left that part of the country.
54 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was astonished and said, "Where does he get his wisdom and his miracles?
55 He's just a carpenter's son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers - James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
56 All his sisters live right here among us. What makes him so great?"
57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, "A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family."
58 And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.
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