Matthew 13

1 That same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat down by the lake;

2 but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the crowd stood on the shore.

3 He told them many things in parables: "A farmer went out to sow his seed.

4 As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up.

5 Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow;

6 but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up.

7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

8 But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown.

9 Those who have ears, let them hear!"

10 Then the talmidim came and asked Yeshua, "Why are you speaking to them in parables?"

11 He answered, "Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them.

12 For anyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have plenty; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away.

13 Here is why I speak to them in parables: they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding.

14 That is, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Yesha`yahu which says, `You will keep on hearing but never understand, and keep on seeing but never perceive,

15 because the heart of this people has become dull -- with their ears they barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, so as not to see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and do t'shuvah, so that I could heal them.'

16 But you, how blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear!

17 Yes indeed! I tell you that many a prophet and many a tzaddik longed to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them.

18 "So listen to what the parable of the sower means.

19 Whoever hears the message about the Kingdom, but doesn't understand it, is like the seed sown along the path -- the Evil One comes and seizes what was sown in his heart.

20 The seed sown on rocky ground is like a person who hears the message and accepts it with joy at once,

21 but has no root in himself. So he stays on for a while; but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, he immediately falls away.

22 Now the seed sown among thorns stands for someone who hears the message, but it is choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamor of wealth, so that it produces nothing.

23 However, what was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the message and understands it; such a person will surely bear fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown."

24 Yeshua put before them another parable. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25 but while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, then went away.

26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain, the weeds also appeared.

27 The owner's servants came to him and said, `Sir didn't you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?'

28 He answered, `An enemy has done this.' The servants asked him, `Then do you want us to go and pull them up?'

29 But he said, `No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time.

30 Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvesttime I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.'"

31 Yeshua put before them another parable. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field.

32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches."

33 And he told them yet another parable. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose."

34 All these things Yeshua said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without using a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet, "I will open my mouth in parables, I will say what has been hidden since the creation of the universe."h

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His talmidim approached him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

37 He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

38 the field is the world. As for the good seed, these are the people who belong to the Kingdom; and the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One.

39 The enemy who sows them is the Adversary, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

40 Just as the weeds are collected and burned up in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

41 The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all the things that cause people to sin and all the people who are far from Torah;

42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where people will wail and grind their teeth.

43 Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let him hear!

44 "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field.

45 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls.

46 On finding one very valuable pearl he went away, sold everything he owned and bought it.

47 "Once more, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the lake, that caught all kinds of fish.

48 When it was full, the fishermen brought the net up onto the shore, sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away.

49 So it will be at the close of the age -- the angels will go forth and separate the evil people from among the righteous

50 and throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will wail and grind their teeth.

51 "Have you understood all these things?" "Yes," they answered.

52 He said to them, "So then, every Torah-teacher who has been made into a talmid for the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a home who brings out of his storage room both new things and old."

53 When Yeshua had finished these parables, he left

54 and went to his home town. There he taught them in their synagogue in a way that astounded them, so that they asked, "Where do this man's wisdom and miracles come from?

55 Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother called Miryam? and his brothers Ya`akov, Yosef, Shim`on and Y'hudah?

56 And his sisters, aren't they all with us? So where does he get all this?"

57 And they took offense at him. But Yeshua said to them, "The only place people don't respect a prophet is in his home town and in his own house."

58 And he did few miracles there because of their lack of trust.

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.