The Parable of the Father and His Two Sons, Georg Pencz 1535 Matthew 21:23-32 23After this Jesus went into the temple courts and taught the people. The leading priests and Jewish elders approached him and interrupted him and asked, “By what power do you do these things, and who granted you the authority to teach here?” 24-25Jesus answered them, “I too have a question to ask you. If you can answer this question, then I will tell you by what power I do these things. Where did J

The Red Vinyard, Vincent Van Gogh, 1888 Matthew 20:1-16 The Message 1-2 “God’s kingdom is like an estate manager who went out early in the morning to hire workers for his vineyard. They agreed on a wage of a dollar a day, and went to work. 3-5 “Later, about nine o’clock, the manager saw some other men hanging around the town square unemployed. He told them to go to work in his vineyard and he would pay them a fair wage. They went. 5-6 “He did the same thing at noon, and again

Mary L. Proctor (American, 1960–), Story of Grandma’s Old Blue Willow Plates, 1997 Matthew 18:21-35 NIV Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gol

George Floyd Street Art on Plywood. ©2020 Matthew 18:15-20 NIV 15-17 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you woul

Matthew 16:21-28 The Message From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do

Christ Gives the Keys of the Kingdom to Peter. Bertel Thorvaldsen, 1818. Matthew 16:13-20 NRSV 13 Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" 14 And they said, "Some say John the Baptist but others Elijah and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." 15 He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." 17-20 And Je

Dirty White Trash (with gulls). Tim Noble & Sue Webster, 1998. Matthew 15:10-28 NLT 10-11 Then Jesus called to the crowd to come and hear. “Listen,” he said, “and try to understand. It’s not what goes into your mouth that defiles you; you are defiled by the words that come out of your mouth.” 12 Then the disciples came to him and asked, “Do you realize you offended the Pharisees by what you just said?” 13-14 Jesus replied, “Every plant not planted by my heavenly Father will

Peace, be still. James He Qi Matthew 14:22-33 NIV Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it. Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When t

Matthew 14:13-21 NRSV 13 Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a deserted place by himself. But when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore, he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion for them and cured their sick. 15 When it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, "This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themse

Matthew 13:31-33; 44-52 The Message 31-32 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like an acorn that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge oak tree, and eagles build nests in it.” 33 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises.” 44 “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a

But while they slept, an enemy came and sowed tares. Ellen Gould Harmon White, c. 1900. Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The Message Jesus told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while the farmer’s servants slept, an enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the weeds showed up, too. “The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘S

A Parable - the Sower. Cara B. Hochhalter. Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 NRSV 1-2 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3-8 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not