Matthew 13

1 That same day Jesus had left the house and was sitting on the shore of the Lake,

2 when a vast multitude of people crowded round Him. He therefore went on board a boat and sat there, while all the people stood on the shore.

3 He then spoke many things to them in figurative language. "The sower goes out," He said, "to sow.

4 As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up.

5 Some falls on rocky ground, where it has but scanty soil. It quickly shows itself above ground, because it has no depth of earth;

6 but when the sun is risen, it is scorched by the heat, and through having no root it withers up.

7 Some falls among the thorns; but the thorns spring up and stifle it.

8 But a portion falls upon good ground, and gives a return, some a hundred for one, some sixty, some thirty.

9 Listen, every one who has ears!"

10 (And His disciples came and asked Him, "Why do you speak to them in figurative language?"

11 "Because," He replied, "while to you it is granted to know the secrets of the Kingdom of the Heavens, to them it is not.

12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but whoever has not, from him even what he has shall be taken away.

13 I speak to them in figurative language for this reason, that while looking they do not see, and while hearing they neither hear nor understand.

14 And in regard to them the prophecy of Isaiah is receiving signal fulfilment: "`You will hear and hear and by no means understand, and you will look and look and by no means see.

15 For this people's mind is stupefied, their hearing has become dull, and their eyes they have closed; to prevent their ever seeing with their eyes, or hearing with their ears, or understanding with their minds, and turning back, so that I might heal them.'

16 "But as for you, blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.

17 For I solemnly tell you that many Prophets and holy men have longed to see the sights you see, and have not seen them, and to hear the words you hear, and have not heard them.

18 "To you then I will explain the parable of the Sower.

19 When a man hears the Message concerning the Kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil one comes and catches away what has been sown in his heart. This is he who has received the seed by the road-side.

20 He who has received the seed on the rocky ground is the man who hears the Message and immediately receives it with joy.

21 It has struck no root, however, within him. He continues for a time, but when suffering comes, or persecution, because of the Message, he at once stumbles and falls.

22 He who has received the seed among the thorns is the man who hears the Message, but the cares of the present age and the delusions of riches quite stifle the Message, and it becomes unfruitful.

23 But he who has received the seed on good ground is he who hears and understands. Such hearers give a return, and yield one a hundred for one, another sixty, another thirty.")

24 Another parable He put before them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "may be compared to a man who has sown good seed in his field,

25 but during the night his enemy comes, and over the first seed he sows darnel among the wheat, and goes away.

26 But when the blade shoots up and the grain is formed, then appears the darnel also.

27 "So the farmer's men come and ask him, "`Sir, was it not good seed that you sowed on your land? Where then does the darnel come from?'

28 "`Some enemy has done this,' he said. "`Shall we go, and collect it?' the men inquire.

29 "`No,' he replied, `for fear that while collecting the darnel you should at the same time root up the wheat with it.

30 Leave both to grow together until the harvest, and at harvest-time I will direct the reapers, Collect the darnel first, and make it up into bundles to burn it, but bring all the wheat into my barn.'"

31 Another parable He put before them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like a mustard-seed, which a man takes and sows in his ground.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, and yet when full-grown it is larger than any herb and forms a tree, so that the birds come and build in its branches."

33 Another parable He spoke to them. "The Kingdom of the Heavens," He said, "is like yeast which a woman takes and buries in a bushel of flour, for it to work there till the whole mass has risen."

34 All this Jesus spoke to the people in figurative language, and except in figurative language He spoke nothing to them,

35 in fulfilment of the saying of the Prophet, "I will open my mouth in figurative language, I will utter things kept hidden since the creation of all things."

36 When He had dismissed the people and had returned to the house, His disciples came to Him with the request, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel sown in the field."

37 "The sower of the good seed," He replied, "is the Son of Man;

38 the field is the world; the good seed--these are the sons of the Kingdom; the darnel, the sons of the Evil one.

39 The enemy who sows the darnel is *the Devil*; the harvest is the Close of the Age; the reapers are the angels.

40 As then the darnel is collected together and burnt up with fire, so will it be at the Close of the Age.

41 The Son of Man will commission His angels, and they will gather out of His Kingdom all causes of sin and all who violate His laws;

42 and these they will throw into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth.

43 Then will the righteous shine out like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, every one who has ears!

44 "The Kingdom of the Heavens is like treasure buried in the open country, which a man finds, but buries again, and, in his joy about it, goes and sells all he has and buys that piece of ground.

45 "Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a jewel merchant who is in quest of choice pearls.

46 He finds one most costly pearl; he goes away; and though it costs all he has, he buys it.

47 "Again the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a draw-net let down into the sea, which encloses fish of all sorts.

48 When full, they haul it up on the beach, and sit down and collect the good fish in baskets, while the worthless they throw away.

49 So will it be at the Close of the Age. The angels will go forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous,

50 and will throw them into the fiery furnace. There will be the weeping aloud and the gnashing of teeth."

51 "Have you understood all this?" He asked. "Yes," they said.

52 "Therefore," He said, "remember that every Scribe well trained for the Kingdom of the Heavens is like a householder who brings out of his storehouse new things and old."

53 Jesus concluded this series of parables and then departed.

54 And He came into His own country and proceeded to teach in their synagogue, so that they were filled with astonishment and exclaimed, "Where did he obtain such wisdom, and these wondrous powers?

55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judah?

56 And his sisters--are they not all living here among us? Where then did he get all this?"

57 So they turned angrily away from Him. But Jesus said to them, "There is no prophet left without honour except in his own country and among his own family."

58 And He performed but few mighty deeds there because of their want of faith.

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Matthew 13 Commentary

Chapter 13

The parable of the sower. (1-23) The parable of the tares. (24-30; 36-43) The parables of the mustard-seed and the leaven. (31-35) The parables of the hidden treasure, the pearl of great price, the net cast into the sea, and the householder. (44-52) Jesus is again rejected at Nazareth. (53-58)

Verses 1-23 Jesus entered into a boat that he might be the less pressed, and be the better heard by the people. By this he teaches us in the outward circumstances of worship not to covet that which is stately, but to make the best of the conveniences God in his providence allots to us. Christ taught in parables. Thereby the things of God were made more plain and easy to those willing to be taught, and at the same time more difficult and obscure to those who were willingly ignorant. The parable of the sower is plain. The seed sown is the word of God. The sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, by himself, or by his ministers. Preaching to a multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it will light. Some sort of ground, though we take ever so much pains with it, brings forth no fruit to purpose, while the good soil brings forth plentifully. So it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are here described by four sorts of ground. Careless, trifling hearers, are an easy prey to Satan; who, as he is the great murderer of souls, so he is the great thief of sermons, and will be sure to rob us of the word, if we take not care to keep it. Hypocrites, like the stony ground, often get the start of true Christians in the shows of profession. Many are glad to hear a good sermon, who do not profit by it. They are told of free salvation, of the believer's privileges, and the happiness of heaven; and, without any change of heart, without any abiding conviction of their own depravity, their need of a Saviour, or the excellence of holiness, they soon profess an unwarranted assurance. But when some heavy trial threatens them, or some sinful advantage may be had, they give up or disguise their profession, or turn to some easier system. Worldly cares are fitly compared to thorns, for they came in with sin, and are a fruit of the curse; they are good in their place to stop a gap, but a man must be well armed that has much to do with them; they are entangling, vexing, scratching, and their end is to be burned, ( Hebrews 6:8 ) . Worldly cares are great hinderances to our profiting by the word of God. The deceitfulness of riches does the mischief; they cannot be said to deceive us unless we put our trust in them, then they choke the good seed. What distinguished the good ground was fruitfulness. By this true Christians are distinguished from hypocrites. Christ does not say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns; but none that could hinder its fruitfulness. All are not alike; we should aim at the highest, to bring forth most fruit. The sense of hearing cannot be better employed than in hearing God's word; and let us look to ourselves that we may know what sort of hearers we are.

24-30, 36-43 This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church; Christ's care of it, the devil's enmity against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world. So prone is fallen man to sin, that if the enemy sow the tares, he may go his way, they will spring up, and do hurt; whereas, when good seed is sown, it must be tended, watered, and fenced. The servants complained to their master; Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? No doubt he did; whatever is amiss in the church, we are sure it is not from Christ. Though gross transgressors, and such as openly oppose the gospel, ought to be separated from the society of the faithful, yet no human skill can make an exact separation. Those who oppose must not be cut off, but instructed, and that with meekness. And though good and bad are together in this world, yet at the great day they shall be parted; then the righteous and the wicked shall be plainly known; here sometimes it is hard to distinguish between them. Let us, knowing the terrors of the Lord, not do iniquity. At death, believers shall shine forth to themselves; at the great day they shall shine forth before all the world. They shall shine by reflection, with light borrowed from the Fountain of light. Their sanctification will be made perfect, and their justification published. May we be found of that happy number.

Verses 31-35 The scope of the parable of the seed sown, is to show that the beginnings of the gospel would be small, but its latter end would greatly increase; in this way the work of grace in the heart, the kingdom of God within us, would be carried on. In the soul where grace truly is, it will grow really; though perhaps at first not to be discerned, it will at last come to great strength and usefulness. The preaching of the gospel works like leaven in the hearts of those who receive it. The leaven works certainly, so does the word, yet gradually. It works silently, and without being seen, ( Mark 4:26-29 ) , yet strongly; without noise, for so is the way of the Spirit, but without fail. Thus it was in the world. The apostles, by preaching the gospel, hid a handful of leaven in the great mass of mankind. It was made powerful by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, who works, and none can hinder. Thus it is in the heart. When the gospel comes into the soul, it works a thorough change; it spreads itself into all the powers and faculties of the soul, and alters the property even of the members of the body, ( Romans 6:13 ) . From these parables we are taught to expect a gradual progress; therefore let us inquire, Are we growing in grace? and in holy principles and habits?

Verses 44-52 Here are four parables. 1. That of the treasure hid in the field. Many slight the gospel, because they look only upon the surface of the field. But all who search the Scriptures, so as in them to find Christ and eternal life, ( John 5:39 ) , will discover such treasure in this field as makes it unspeakably valuable; they make it their own upon any terms. Though nothing can be given as a price for this salvation, yet much must be given up for the sake of it. 2. All the children of men are busy; one would be rich, another would be honourable, another would be learned; but most are deceived, and take up with counterfeits for pearls. Jesus Christ is a Pearl of great price; in having him, we have enough to make us happy here and for ever. A man may buy gold too dear, but not this Pearl of great price. When the convinced sinner sees Christ as the gracious Saviour, all things else become worthless to his thoughts. 3. The world is a vast sea, and men, in their natural state, are like the fishes. Preaching the gospel is casting a net into this sea, to catch something out of it, for His glory who has the sovereignty of this sea. Hypocrites and true Christians shall be parted: miserable is the condition of those that shall then be cast away. 4. A skilful, faithful minister of the gospel, is a scribe, well versed in the things of the gospel, and able to teach them. Christ compares him to a good householder, who brings forth fruits of last year's growth and this year's gathering, abundance and variety, to entertain his friends. Old experiences and new observations, all have their use. Our place is at Christ's feet, and we must daily learn old lessons over again, and new ones also.

Verses 53-58 Christ repeats his offer to those who have repulsed them. They upbraid him, Is not this the carpenter's son? Yes, it is true he was reputed to be so; and no disgrace to be the son of an honest tradesman; they should have respected him the more because he was one of themselves, but therefore they despised him. He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Unbelief is the great hinderance to Christ's favours. Let us keep faithful to him as the Saviour who has made our peace with God.

Taken from Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)