Matthew 13:10–23

The Purpose of the Parables

¹⁰Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

¹¹Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ^12*For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has. ¹³The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. ^14*So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:

‘This people will listen and listen, but not understand;

they will look and look, but not see,

^15*because their minds are dull,

and they have stopped up their ears

and have closed their eyes.

Otherwise, their eyes would see,

their ears would hear,

their minds would understand,

and they would turn to me, says God,

and I would heal them.’

^16*“As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. ^17*I assure you that many prophets and many of God’s people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Sower

¹⁸“Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means. ¹⁹Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them. ²⁰The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. ²¹But it does not sink deep into them, and they don’t last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. ²²The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don’t bear fruit. ²³And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as a hundred, others sixty, and others thirty.”