The Gospel of Barnabas · Chapter 132
Parables by the Sea
Jesus walking along the sea of Galilee was surrounded by a great multitude of folk, wherefore he sent into a little boat which lay a little off from the shore by itself, and anchored so near the land that the voice of Jesus might be heard. Whereupon they all drew nigh to the sea, and sitting down awaited his word. He then opened his mouth and said: 'Behold, the sower went out to sow, whereupon as he sowed some of the seed fell upon the road, and this was trodden under foot of men and eaten up of birds; some fell upon the stones, whereupon when it sprang up, because it had no moisture, it was burnt up by the sun; some fell in the hedges, whereupon when it grew up the thorns chocked the seed; and some fell on good ground, whereupon it bare fruit, even to thirty, sixty, and an hundredfold.'
Again Jesus said: 'Behold, the father of a family sowed good seed in his field: whereupon, as the servants of the good man slept, the enemy of the man their master came and sowed tares over the good seed. Whereupon, when the corn sprang up, there was seen sprung up among the corn a great quantity of tares. The servants came to their master and said: "O sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Wherefore then is there sprung up therein a great quantity of tares?" The master answered: "Good seed did I sow, but while men slept the enemy of man came and sowed tares over the corn."'
'Said the servants: "Wilt thou that we go and pull up the tares from among the corn?"'
'The master answered: "Do not so, for ye would pull up the corn therewith; but wait till the time of harvest cometh. For then shall ye go and pull up the tares from among the corn and cast them into the fire to be burned, but the corn ye shall put into my granary."'
Again Jesus said: 'There went forth many men to sell figs. But when they arrived at the market-place, behold, men sought not good figs but fair leaves. Therefore the men were not able to sell their figs. And seeing this, an evil citizen said: "Surely I may become rich." Whereupon he called together his two sons and [said]: "Go ye and gather a great quantity of leaves with bad figs." And these they sold for their weight in gold, for the men were mightily pleased with leaves. Whereupon the men, eating the figs, became sick with a grievous sickness.'
Again Jesus said: 'Behold a citizen hath a fountain, from which all the neighbouring citizens take water to wash off their uncleanness; but the citizen suffereth his own clothes to putrefy.'
Again Jesus said: 'There went forth two men to sell apples. The one chose to sell the peel of the apple for its weight in gold, caring nought for the substance of the apples. The other desired to give the apples away, receiving only a little bread for his journey. But men bought the peel of the apples for its weight in gold, caring nought for him who was fain to give them, nay even despising him.'
And thus on that day Jesus spake to the crowd in parables. Then having dismissed them, he went with his disciples to Nain, where he had raised to life the widow's son; who, with his mother, received him into his house and ministered unto him.
As Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, a great crowd surrounded him. Therefore he entered a small boat lying a little way from the shore and anchored it close enough to land for his voice to be heard. Everyone gathered near the sea, sat down, and waited for him to speak. He opened his mouth and said: 'A sower went out to sow. As he sowed, some seed fell on the road, where it was trampled underfoot and eaten by birds. Some fell on stony ground and, when it sprang up, was scorched by the sun because it had no moisture. Some fell among hedges, and when it grew, the thorns choked it. But some fell on good ground and bore fruit—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.'
Again Jesus said: 'A head of a household sowed good seed in his field. While the servants slept, the enemy of their master came and sowed tares among the good seed. When the wheat sprang up, a great quantity of tares appeared among it. The servants came to their master and said: "O sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Why, then, have so many tares appeared?" The master answered: "I sowed good seed, but while people slept, the enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat."'
'The servants said: "Do you want us to go and pull up the tares from among the wheat?"'
'The master answered: "Do not do so, for you would pull up the wheat with them. Wait until the harvest. Then you will pull up the tares from among the wheat and cast them into the fire to be burned, but you will put the wheat into my granary."'
Again Jesus said: 'Many men went out to sell figs. But when they reached the marketplace, the people did not seek good figs; they sought attractive leaves. Therefore the men could not sell their figs. Seeing this, an evil citizen said, "Surely I can become rich." He called his two sons and said, "Go and gather a great quantity of leaves together with bad figs." They sold them for their weight in gold, because the people were greatly pleased with the leaves. But after eating the figs, the people became seriously ill.'
Again Jesus said: 'A citizen has a fountain from which all the neighboring citizens draw water to wash away their uncleanness, yet he allows his own clothes to rot.'
Again Jesus said: 'Two men went out to sell apples. One chose to sell the apple peel for its weight in gold, caring nothing for the substance of the apples. The other wished to give the apples away, asking only a little bread for his journey. Yet people bought the apple peel for its weight in gold, caring nothing for the man who wished to give them the fruit and even despising him.'
In this way Jesus spoke to the crowd in parables that day. After dismissing them, he went with his disciples to Nain, where he had raised the widow's son to life. The son and his mother received him into their house and served him.
Jesus walking along the sea of Galilee was surrounded by a great multitude of folk, wherefore he sent into a little boat which lay a little off from the shore by itself, and anchored so near the land that the voice of Jesus might be heard. Whereupon they all drew nigh to the sea, and sitting down awaited his word. He then opened his mouth and said: 'Behold, the sower went out to sow, whereupon as he sowed some of the seed fell upon the road, and this was trodden under foot of men and eaten up of birds; some fell upon the stones, whereupon when it sprang up, because it had no moisture, it was burnt up by the sun; some fell in the hedges, whereupon when it grew up the thorns chocked the seed; and some fell on good ground, whereupon it bare fruit, even to thirty, sixty, and an hundredfold.'
Again Jesus said: 'Behold, the father of a family sowed good seed in his field: whereupon, as the servants of the good man slept, the enemy of the man their master came and sowed tares over the good seed. Whereupon, when the corn sprang up, there was seen sprung up among the corn a great quantity of tares. The servants came to their master and said: "O sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? Wherefore then is there sprung up therein a great quantity of tares?" The master answered: "Good seed did I sow, but while men slept the enemy of man came and sowed tares over the corn."'
'Said the servants: "Wilt thou that we go and pull up the tares from among the corn?"'
'The master answered: "Do not so, for ye would pull up the corn therewith; but wait till the time of harvest cometh. For then shall ye go and pull up the tares from among the corn and cast them into the fire to be burned, but the corn ye shall put into my granary."'
Again Jesus said: 'There went forth many men to sell figs. But when they arrived at the market-place, behold, men sought not good figs but fair leaves. Therefore the men were not able to sell their figs. And seeing this, an evil citizen said: "Surely I may become rich." Whereupon he called together his two sons and [said]: "Go ye and gather a great quantity of leaves with bad figs." And these they sold for their weight in gold, for the men were mightily pleased with leaves. Whereupon the men, eating the figs, became sick with a grievous sickness.'
Again Jesus said: 'Behold a citizen hath a fountain, from which all the neighbouring citizens take water to wash off their uncleanness; but the citizen suffereth his own clothes to putrefy.'
Again Jesus said: 'There went forth two men to sell apples. The one chose to sell the peel of the apple for its weight in gold, caring nought for the substance of the apples. The other desired to give the apples away, receiving only a little bread for his journey. But men bought the peel of the apples for its weight in gold, caring nought for him who was fain to give them, nay even despising him.'
And thus on that day Jesus spake to the crowd in parables. Then having dismissed them, he went with his disciples to Nain, where he had raised to life the widow's son; who, with his mother, received him into his house and ministered unto him.