Matthew 13:1–35

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