Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower

13On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. ^j2Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore. ^k

³Then He told them many things in parables, ^lsaying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow. ⁴As he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Others fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil, and they sprang up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶But when the sun came up they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered. ⁷Others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them. ⁸Still others fell on good ground and produced a crop: some 100, some 60, and some 30 times what was sown. ^m9Anyone who has ears ⁿshould listen!” ^o

Why Jesus Used Parables

¹⁰Then the disciples ^pcame up and asked Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ^q

¹¹He answered them, “Because the ^•secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, ^rbut it has not been given to them. ¹²For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ^s13For this reason I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, ^tand hearing they do not listen or understand. ^u14Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says:

You will listen and listen,

yet never understand;

and you will look and look,

yet never perceive. ^v

¹⁵For this people’s heart has grown callous;

their ears are hard of hearing,

and they have shut their eyes;

otherwise they might see with their eyes

and hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts

and turn back—

and I would cure them. ^wx

¹⁶“But your eyes are blessed ^ybecause they do see, and your ears because they do hear! ^z17For ^•I assure you: Many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see yet didn’t see them; to hear the things you hear yet didn’t hear them. ^a

The Parable of the Sower Explained

¹⁸“You, then, listen to the parable of the sower: ^b19When anyone hears the word ^cabout the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. ^d20And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. ^e21Yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived. When pressure or persecution ^fcomes because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²²Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age ^gand the seduction ^hof wealth ⁱchoke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does bear fruit and yields: some 100, some 60, some 30 times what was sown.”

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. ^j25But while people were sleeping, his enemy came, sowed weeds ^kamong the wheat, and left. ²⁶When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared. ²⁷The landowner’s ^•slaves ^lcame 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 gather them up?’ the slaves asked him.

²⁹“ ‘No,’ he said. ‘When you gather 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 store the wheat in my barn.’ ”

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and of the Yeast

³¹He ^mpresented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven ⁿis 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 vegetables and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.” ^o

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into 50 pounds ^pof flour until it spread through all of it.” ^qr

Using Parables Fulfills Prophecy

³⁴Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables, and He would not speak anything to them without a parable, ^s35so 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. ^tu

Jesus Interprets the Wheat and the Weeds

³⁶Then He dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples approached Him and said, “Explain the parable of the weeds in the field to us.” ^v

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 sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, ^w39and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. ^x40Therefore, just as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ^y41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather from His kingdom everything that causes sin ^zand those ^•guilty of lawlessness. ^ab42They will throw them into the blazing furnace ^cwhere there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^d43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Anyone who has ears ^eshould listen! ^f

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. ^g

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

The Parable of the Net

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea. It collected every kind of fish, ^j48and when it was full, they dragged it ashore, sat down, and gathered the good fish into containers, but threw out the worthless ones. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, separate the evil people from the righteous, ^k50and throw them into the blazing furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ^l

The Storehouse of Truth

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” ^m

“Yes,” they told Him.

⁵²“Therefore,” He said to them, “every student of Scripture ⁿinstructed in the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who brings out of his storeroom what is new and what is old.” ^o53When Jesus had finished these parables, He left there.

Rejection at Nazareth

⁵⁴He went to His hometown ^pand began to teach them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “How did this wisdom and these miracles come to Him? ^q55Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? ^rIsn’t His mother called Mary, and His brothers James, ^sJoseph, ^tSimon, and Judas? ^u56And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?” ⁵⁷And they were offended by Him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his household.” ^v58And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.