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Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.
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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.
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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.
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“Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world.
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The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
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And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s Kingdom. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
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“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.
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“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for choice pearls.
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When he discovered a pearl of great value, he sold everything he owned and bought it!
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“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a fishing net that was thrown into the water and caught fish of every kind.
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When 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.
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That is the way it will be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked people from the righteous,
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throwing the wicked into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
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Do you understand all these things?” “Yes,” they said, “we do.”
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Then he added, “Every teacher of religious law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a homeowner who brings from his storeroom new gems of truth as well as old.”
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When Jesus had finished telling these stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country.
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He 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?”
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Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
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All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?”
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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.”