¹⁸ And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, ¹⁹ but ^(A)the cares of ^(B)the world and ^(C)the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²⁰ But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and ^(D)bear fruit, ^(E)thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”

^13 (A)And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for ^(B)it was not the season for figs.

¹⁴ And he said to it, “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard it.

The Lesson from the Withered Fig Tree

^20 (A)As they passed by in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered away to its roots.

The Great Commandment

^28 (A)And one of the scribes came up and heard them disputing with one another, and seeing that he answered them well, asked him, “Which commandment is the most important of all?” ²⁹ Jesus answered, “The most important is, ^(B)‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, ^(C)the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ^31 (D)The second is this: ^(E)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment ^(F)greater than these.” ³² And the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher. You have truly said that ^(G)he is one, and ^(H)there is no other besides him. ³³ And to love him with all the heart and with all ^(I)the understanding and with all the strength, and to love one's neighbor as oneself, ^(J)is much more than all ^(K)whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” ^(L)And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.