Matthew 13

Jesus Teaches in Parables

1 That day Jesus went out of 1the house and was sitting 2by the sea.
2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so 3He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He spoke many things to them in 4parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow;
4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
5 "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6 "But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7 "Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.
8 "And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a 5hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
9 "6He who has ears, let him hear."

An Explanation

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why * do You speak to them in parables?"
11 Jesus answered them, "7To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
12 "8For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
13 "Therefore * I speak to them in parables; because while 9seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14 "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, '10YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;
15 11FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'
16 "12But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
17 "For truly I say to you that 13many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Sower Explained

18 "14Hear then the parable of the sower.
19 "When anyone hears 15the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, 16the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.
20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he 17falls away.
22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of 18the world and the 19deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some 20a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

Tares among Wheat

24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, "21The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25 "But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among * the wheat, and went away.
26 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
27 "The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?'
28 "And he said to them, 'An enemy * has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?'
29 "But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30 'Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but 22gather the wheat into my barn."' "

The Mustard Seed

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, "23The kingdom of heaven is like 24a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;
32 and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that 25THE BIRDS OF THE AIR come and NEST IN ITS BRANCHES."

The Leaven

33 He spoke another parable to them, "26The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in 27three pecks of flour until it was all leavened."
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them 28without a parable.
35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "29I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

The Tares Explained

36 Then He left the crowds and went into 30the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, "31Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."
37 And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is 32the Son of Man,
38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are 33the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are 34the sons of 35the evil one;
39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is 36the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
40 "So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at 37the end of the age.
41 "38The Son of Man 39will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all 40stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,
42 and 41will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place 42there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43 "43Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. 44He who has ears, let him hear.

Hidden Treasure

44 "45The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and 46sells all that he has and buys that field.

A Costly Pearl

45 "Again, 47the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

A Dragnet

47 "Again, 48the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;
48 and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49 "So it will be at 49the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,
50 and 50will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place 51there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 "Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes."
52 And Jesus said to them, "Therefore * every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

Jesus Revisits Nazareth

53 52When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.
54 53He came to His hometown and 54began teaching them in their synagogue, so that 55they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?
55 "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not 56His mother called Mary, and His 57brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 "And 58His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"
57 And they took 59offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "60A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."
58 And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Cross References 60

  • 1. Matthew 9:28; Matthew 13:36
  • 2. Matthew 13:1-15: {Mark 4:1-12; Luke 8:4-10;} Mark 2:13
  • 3. Luke 5:3
  • 4. Matthew 13:10f; Mark 4:2f
  • 5. Genesis 26:12; Matthew 13:23
  • 6. Matthew 11:15; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; Revelation 3:6, 13, 22
  • 7. Matthew 19:11; Matthew 20:23; John 6:65; 1 Corinthians 2:10; Colossians 1:27; 1 John 2:20, 27
  • 8. Matthew 25:29; Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18; Luke 19:26
  • 9. Deuteronomy 29:4; Isaiah 42:19, 20; Jeremiah 5:21; Ezekiel 12:2
  • 10. Isaiah 6:9; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26, 27; Romans 10:16; Romans 11:8
  • 11. Isaiah 6:10; Psalms 119:70; Zechariah 7:11; Luke 19:42; John 8:43, 44; 2 Timothy 4:4; Hebrews 5:11
  • 12. Matthew 13:16, 17: {Luke 10:23, 24;} Matthew 16:17; John 20:29
  • 13. John 8:56; Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 1:10-12
  • 14. Matthew 13:18-23: {Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15}
  • 15. Matthew 4:23
  • 16. Matthew 5:37
  • 17. Matthew 11:6
  • 18. Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:39; Mark 4:19; Romans 12:2; 1 Corinthians 1:20; 1 Corinthians 2:6, 8; 1 Corinthians 3:18; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Galatians 1:4; Ephesians 2:2
  • 19. Matthew 19:23; 1 Tim 6:9, 10, 17
  • 20. Matthew 13:8
  • 21. Matt 13:31, 33, 45, 47; Matthew 18:23; Matthew 20:1; Matthew 22:2; Matthew 25:1; Mark 4:26-30; Luke 13:18, 20
  • 22. Matthew 3:12
  • 23. Matthew 13:31, 32: {Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18, 19;} Matthew 13:24
  • 24. Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6
  • 25. Ezekiel 17:23; Psalms 104:12; Ezekiel 31:6; Daniel 4:12
  • 26. Matthew 13:33: {Luke 13:21;} Matthew 13:24
  • 27. Genesis 18:6; Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 1:24
  • 28. Mark 4:34; John 10:6; John 16:25
  • 29. Psalms 78:2
  • 30. Matthew 13:1
  • 31. Matthew 15:15
  • 32. Matthew 8:20
  • 33. Matthew 8:12
  • 34. John 8:44; Acts 13:10; 1 John 3:10
  • 35. Matthew 5:37
  • 36. Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:22, 40, 49; Matthew 24:3; Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26
  • 37. Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:22, 39, 49; Matthew 24:3; Matthew 28:20; 1 Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26
  • 38. Matthew 8:20
  • 39. Matthew 24:31
  • 40. Zephaniah 1:3
  • 41. Matthew 13:50
  • 42. Matthew 8:12
  • 43. Daniel 12:3
  • 44. Matthew 11:15
  • 45. Matthew 13:24
  • 46. Matthew 13:46
  • 47. Matthew 13:24
  • 48. Matthew 13:44
  • 49. Matthew 13:39, 40
  • 50. Matthew 13:42
  • 51. Matthew 8:12
  • 52. Matthew 7:28
  • 53. Matthew 13:54-58: {Mark 6:1-6}
  • 54. Matthew 4:23
  • 55. Matthew 7:28
  • 56. Matthew 12:46
  • 57. Matthew 12:46
  • 58. Mark 6:3
  • 59. Matthew 11:6
  • 60. Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44

Footnotes 31

Matthew 13 Commentaries

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