Matthew chapter 13
Jesus tells a series of parables. He does this to conceal his message from those who would twist his words and attack him. He is rejected in his home town.
THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
VERSE 1. On that day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.
VERSE 2. Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on the beach.
VERSE 3. He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.
Behold, a farmer went out to sow. God the Father sows the good seed of Jesus Christ into the lives of people. How can you sow the good seed of Jesus into the people in your life?
VERSE 4. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
VERSE 5. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
VERSE 6. When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
VERSE 7. Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.
VERSE 8. Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
VERSE 9. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
This verse seems like a command! Would you consider acting on it? More commands of Jesus Christ from the Gospel According to Matthew and from the entire Bible.
THE PURPOSE OF THE PARABLES
VERSE 10. The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
VERSE 11. He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
VERSE 12. For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.
The Message translation. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears.
Our paraphrase:
To anyone who has (knowledge of the kingdom), more (knowledge of the kingdom) will be given.
VERSE 13. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
VERSE 14. In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive:
VERSE 15. for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again; and I would heal them.’
JESUS EXPLAINS THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
VERSE 16. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
blessed are your eyes. You are blessed. You are very blessed to be where you are at in your spiritual life. You have at least some awareness of Jesus Christ.
Many prophets and righteous people longed to see and hear what you have, but they were not able.
VERSE 17. For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.
VERSE 18. “Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
VERSE 19. When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
VERSE 20. What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;
VERSE 21. yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
VERSE 22. What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
VERSE 23. What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”
bears fruit, and produces. When good seed is sown in us, we are to act on it. We are to do things with it. It is not meant to be hidden under a bushel basket.
Based on the good seed that’s been sown in you, how can you bear fruit and produce a crop in your own life? How can you help other people to bear fruit and produce a crop in their own lives?
The LORD God calls us to be spiritually fruitful. We are to bear fruit for the kingdom of God. But in our day, the fruitfulness of many Christians has been hijacked. Read more »
THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS AND THE WHEAT
VERSE 24. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
VERSE 25. but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.
VERSE 26. But when the blade sprang up and produced fruit, then the darnel weeds appeared also.
VERSE 27. The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
VERSE 28. “He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
VERSE 29. “But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.
VERSE 30. Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED
VERSE 31. He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;
The Message translation. Another story. “God’s kingdom is like a pine nut that a farmer plants.
VERSE 32. which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”
Psalm 104:12. The birds of the sky nest by them. They sing among the branches.
when it is grown. We’ve read that within 30 days, a mustard seed will grow into a mature plant. And within 35 to 40 days of germination, it will begin to bud.
That is a very rapid path to full maturity.
However, we observe that for Christian believers, their path to full Christian maturity is not rapid. Most of us require years. Or decades.
A dfferent translation sheds light on this important issue:
The Message translation:
It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge pine tree, and eagles build nests in it.
It says “pine nut.” A pine tree takes years or decades to grow into maturity.
And so do we.
People talk about having “mustard-seed faith.” What they mean is that just a scant tiny amount of faith is all you need.
We’ve always found that interpretation very disappointing. Who wants to be content with scant tiny faith?
But if we talk about having “pine nut faith” we mean that we aim to grow every day for decades. A lifetime!
THE PARABLE OF THE YEAST
VERSE 33. He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
One joyful person can leaven an entire world of unleavened people.
JESUS KEPT SPEAKING IN PARABLES
VERSE 34. Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,
VERSE 35. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”
JESUS EXPLAINS THE PARABLE OF THE WEEDS
VERSE 36. Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”
VERSE 37. He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
What was the mission of the Lord Jesus Christ? How did he himself define it? Here are the verses we find in the four gospels »
VERSE 38. the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
VERSE 39. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
VERSE 40. As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
VERSE 41. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,
VERSE 42. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth.
VERSE 43. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
the righteous will shine like the sun. Can you imagine yourself, shining like the sun, radiating warmth and light to the world?
THE PARABLE OF THE TREASURE
VERSE 44. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL
VERSE 45. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,
VERSE 46. who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
one pearl of great price. This is the treasure of all treasures. It is the pearl of great price.
Many Christians see it as a metaphor for the church. Or Christian faith.
sold all that he had. Upon finding this greatest treasure, the man gives up everything to gain it.
But who is the man? Maybe he represents us individuals. We find the Lord Jesus Christ, and we give up everything to gain him.
Or maybe the man represents the Lord Jesus Christ. He gave up his life to gain us, the people who would believe.
THE PARABLE OF THE NET
VERSE 47. “Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some fish of every kind,
dragnet. That is, a “net.”
VERSE 48. which, when it was filled, they drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.
VERSE 49. So will it be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous,
The LORD God will gather all people. He will judge them, separating sheep from goats. The righteous people will be on his right; the wicked on his left. Read more »
VERSE 50. and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth.”
the furnace of fire. The Lord Jesus Christ talks about Hades, Gehēnna, fire, and darkness. Christians often call those things Hell. Is Hell a location where people are sent? Or a state of being? Read more »
TREASURES OLD AND NEW
VERSE 51. Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”
Have you understood all these things. The message of the Lord Jesus Christ is something we strive to understand.
However, in our day, many people see the message of the Lord Jesus Christ as something to believe in.
They say they have faith, but they do not endeavor to understand. That might be sincere. But it is not biblical.
Faith seeking understanding.
That saying was made famous by Augustine of Hippo, one of the most important teachers and preachers in the 2,000-year history of the Christian faith.
We’ve adapted it as the motto of our website.
VERSE 52. He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
every scribe. We interpret this to mean “religious leader.”
a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven. In our day we say “Christian.”
the Kingdom of Heaven. In this chapter we count seven references to the Kingdom of Heaven:
Matthew 13:1-9. The parable of the sower. The good news of the gospel will be rejected by most people.
Matthew 13:24-30. The parable of the weeds and the wheat. People with genuine faith and people with false faith will exist together between the two Advents of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Matthew 13:31-32. The parable of the mustard seed. The Christian movement, including believers and unbelievers, will grow rapidly from a small beginning.
Matthew 13:33. The parable of the yeast. People who profess Christian belief will grow in numbers without being stopped.
Matthew 13:44. The parable of the treasure. The Lord Jesus Christ came to redeem Israel, the treasured possession of the LORD God.
Matthew 13:45-46. The parable of the pearl. The Lord Jesus Christ gave his life to redeem people.
Matthew 13:47-50. The parable of the net. Angels will separate the wicked from the righteous when the Lord Jesus Christ returns.
out of his treasure. That is, out of his storeroom (NAB translation).
new and old things. This might mean the New Testament AND the Old Testament.
Both the Old Testament and their new fulfillment in the Lord Jesus Christ are valued.
JESUS IS REJECTED IN HIS HOMETOWN
VERSE 53. When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there.
VERSE 54. Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works?
VERSE 55. Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
VERSE 56. Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?”
VERSE 57. They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.”
VERSE 58. He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Let’s not be like the people in the hometown of Jesus, lacking faith for miracles.
MATTHEW
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28
RESOURCES: Summary, Outline, Memorize, Commands, Spirituality
Unless otherwise noted, all Bible quotations on this page are from the World English Bible and the World Messianic Edition. These translations have no copyright restrictions. They are in the Public Domain.