Matthew 13

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1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.

2Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.

3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.

4As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.

6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

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

8Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop–a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

9He who has ears, let him hear.”

10The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.

13This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

14In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

15For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’

16But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:

19When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

20The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

21But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

22The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

23But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

24Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

25But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.

26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then 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 then did the weeds come from?’

28“ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

29“ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them.

30Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”

31He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.

32Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.”

33He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour until it worked all through the dough.”

34Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable.

35So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.”

36Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.

38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

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

40“As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age.

41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.

42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field.

45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.

46When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

47“Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish.

48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away.

49This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous

50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

51“Have you understood all these things?” Jesus asked. “Yes,” they replied.

52He said to them, “Therefore every teacher of the law who has been instructed about the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

53When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.

54Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.

55“Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?

56Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

57And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”

58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Commentary

13:1-23 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, Heb 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.

"\nAnd great multitudes were gathered unto him,.... Some on one account, and some on another; some to see his person, others his miracles; some healing for their bodies, and others for their souls; some for the loaves, and others to hear him preach; and of these there were several sorts, as the following parable shows.\n\nSo that he went into a ship: both for his own advantage, that he might not be crowded, and pressed by the people, and have more room, and a freer air to speak in, and for theirs, that they might both see and hear him better.\n\nAnd sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore; as was the then custom of the Jewish doctors and hearers, the one to sit, and the other to stand. [See comments on Mt 5:1]. Christ sat upon the deck of the ship; or perhaps this ship was no other than an open boat, which was put to sea, some little distance from the shore; upon which the people stood in great numbers, with much convenience and attention.\n\n\n "

"\nAnd he spake many things unto them in parables,.... For the parables of the sower, and the different sorts of ground the seed fell in, of the wheat and tares, of the grain of mustard seed, of the leaven in three measures of meal, of the treasure hid in a field, of the pearl of great price, of the net cast into the sea, and of the householder, were all delivered at this time. This way of speaking by parables was much in use among the eastern nations, and particularly the Jews. R. Meir was very famous among them for this way of teaching: they say {a},\n\n"that when R. Meir died, \u05d1\u05d8\u05dc\u05d5 \u05de\u05d5\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9 \u05de\u05e9\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd, "they that were skilled in, and used parables, ceased".''\n\nThe commentators {b} on this passage say,\n\n"that he preached a third part tradition, and a third part mystical discourse, \u05d5\u05ea\u05d9\u05dc\u05ea\u05d0 \u05de\u05ea\u05dc\u05d9, "and a third part parables":''\n\nwhich method of discoursing was judged both pleasant and profitable, and what served to raise the attention of the hearer, and to fix what was delivered the more firmly in their minds: what was our Lord's reason for using them, may be seen in Mt 13:13. He begins with the parable of the sower. The design of which is to set forth the nature of the word of God, the work and business of the ministers of it, the different success of the preaching of it, and the fruitfulness of it; and to show when it is truly received, and the various degrees of fruit it produces; that the efficacy of it depends on the grace of God, which makes the heart good, and fit to receive it; and how few they be which hear the word to any spiritual advantage and benefit; and how far persons may go in hearing, and yet fall short of the grace of God; and therefore no dependence is to be had on the external hearing of the word.\n\nBehold, a sower went forth to sow; Luke adds, "his seed"; as does also Munster's Hebrew Gospel here; and Mark introduces the parable thus, "hearken, behold!" it being a matter of great importance and concern, which is expressed by this parable, it deserves the most diligent attention.

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Translations8 · 5

AMHEVG በዚያን ቀን ኢየሱስ ከቤት ወጥቶ በባሕር አጠገብ ተቀመጠ፤ አማርኛ BCV በታ መዓልቲ እቲኣ ኢየሱስ ካብ ቤት ወፂኡ፥ ኣብ ገምገም ባሕሪ ተቐመጠ። ትግርኛ GAZBIB Guyyaadhuma sanas Yesus manaa ba'ee ciisa bishaanii bira taa'e. Afaan Oromoo BCV GIZ ወበይእቲ ዕለት ወፂኦ እግዚእ ኢየሱስ እምቤት ነበረ መንገለ ሐይቀ ባሕር። giz GAZGAZ Guyyaadhuma sanas Yesus manaa ba'ee ciisa bishaanii bira taa'e. Afaan Oromoo BCV aksum በታ መዓልቲ እቲኣ ኢየሱስ ካብ ቤት ወፂኡ፥ ኣብ ገምገም ባሕሪ ተቐመጠ። ትግርኛ AMHNIV በዚያኑ ቀን ኢየሱስ ከቤት ወጥቶ በባሕሩ ዳር አጠገብ ተቀመጠ። አማርኛ SWAHSUV Siku ile Yesu akatoka nyumbani, akaketi kando ya bahari. Kiswahili