Matthew 13:24–46

THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS

²⁴He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.^{ab 25}But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. ²⁶When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷The landowner’s servants^ac came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’

²⁸“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he told them.

“ ‘So, do you want us to go and pull them up?’ the servants asked him.

²⁹“ ‘No,’ he said. ‘When you pull up the weeds, you might also uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I’ll tell the reapers: Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles to burn them, but collect the wheat in my barn.’ ”

THE PARABLES OF THE MUSTARD SEED AND OF THE LEAVEN

³¹He^a presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven^b is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. ³²It’s the smallest of all the seeds, but when grown, it’s taller than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”^c

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven^B that a woman took and mixed into fifty pounds^C of flour until all of it was leavened.”^d

USING PARABLES FULFILLS PROPHECY

³⁴Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and he did not tell them anything without a parable,^{e 35}so that what was spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled:

I will open my mouth in parables;

I will declare things kept secret

from the foundation of the world.^DEf

JESUS INTERPRETS THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE WEEDS

³⁶Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”^g

³⁷He replied, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; ³⁸the field is the world; and the good seed—these are the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one,^{h 39}and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.^{i 40}Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.^{j 41}The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom all who cause sin^A and those guilty of lawlessness.^{Bk 42}They will throw them into the blazing furnace^l where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.^{m 43}Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Let anyone who has ears^C listen.ⁿ

THE PARABLES OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE AND OF THE PRICELESS PEARL

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure, buried in a field, that a man found and reburied. Then in his joy he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.^o

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶When he found one priceless^D pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.^p