Matthew 13:10–58

The Reason for the Parables

¹⁰And the disciples came up and^* said to him, “Why^d do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹And he answered and^* said to them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to those people it has not been granted. ¹²For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. ¹³For this reason I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand, ¹⁴and with reference to them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,

“You will listen carefully^e and will never understand,

and you will look closely^f and will never perceive.

¹⁵For the heart of this people has become dull,

and with their ears they hear with difficulty,

and they have shut their eyes,

so that they would not see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.”^g

¹⁶But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it,^* and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it!^*

The Parable of the Sower Interpreted

¹⁸“You, therefore, listen to the parable of the sower: ¹⁹When^* anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it,^* the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is what was sown on the side of the path. ²⁰And what was sown on the rocky ground—this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. ²¹But he does not have a root in himself, but lasts only a little while,^h and when^* affliction or persecution happens because of the word, immediately he falls away. ²²And what was sown into the thorn plants—this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of this worldⁱ and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word and it becomes unproductive. ²³But what was sown on the good soil—this is the one who hears the word and understands it,^* who indeed bears fruit and produces, this one a hundred times as much, and this one sixty, and this one thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds Among the Wheat

²⁴He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while his^j people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel^k in the midst of the wheat and went away. ²⁶So when the wheat^l sprouted and yielded grain, then the darnel appeared also. ²⁷So the slaves of the master of the house came and^* said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have darnel?’ ²⁸And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and^* gather them?’ ²⁹But he said, “No, lest when you^* gather the darnel you uproot the wheat together with it. ³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the season of the harvest I will tell the reapers, “First gather the darnel and tie it into bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my storehouse.” ’ ”

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

³¹He put before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and^* sowed in his field. ³²It^m is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it is grown it is larger than the garden herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”

The Parable of the Yeast

³³He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and^* put into three measures of wheat flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

Parables Fulfill Prophecy

³⁴Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables, and he was saying nothing to them without a parable, ³⁵in order that what was spoken through the prophet would be fulfilled, who said,

“I will open my mouth in parables;

I will proclaim what has been hidden since the creation.”^no

The Parable of the Weeds Interpreted

³⁶Then he left the crowds and^* came into the house, and his disciples came to him saying, “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us.” ³⁷So he answered and^* said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸and the field is the world. And the good seed—these are the sons of the kingdom, but the darnel are the sons of the evil one. ³⁹And the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰Thus just as the darnel is gathered and burned^p with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom all the causes of sin and those who do lawless deeds, ⁴²and throw them into the fiery furnace.^q In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth! ⁴³Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.^r The one who has ears, let him hear!

The Parable of the Treasure Hidden in a Field

⁴⁴“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, that a man found and^* concealed, and in his joy he goes and sells everything that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Valuable Pearl

⁴⁵“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. ⁴⁶And when he^* found one very valuable pearl, he went and^* sold everything that he possessed and purchased it.

The Parable of the Dragnet

⁴⁷“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish^* of every kind, ⁴⁸which when it was filled they pulled to shore and sat down and^* collected the good fish^* into containers, but the bad they threw out. ⁴⁹Thus it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out and separate the evil from among the righteous ⁵⁰and throw them into the fiery furnace.^s In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

⁵¹“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” ⁵²And he said to them, “For this reason every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of the house who brings out of his storeroom new things and old things.”

Rejected at Nazareth

⁵³And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables he went away from there. ⁵⁴And he came to his hometown and^* began to teach^t them in their synagogue, so that they were amazed and said, “From where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles? ⁵⁵Is not this one the son of the carpenter? Is not his mother called Mary and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And are not all his sisters with us? From where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷And they were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸And he did not perform many miracles in that place because of their unbelief.