Jesus Teaches in Parables

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting beside the sea [of Galilee].^{(A) 2} But such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat there [positioning Himself as a teacher], while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

³ He told them many things in ^[a]parables, saying, “Listen carefully: a sower went out to sow [seed in his field]; ⁴ and as he sowed, some seed fell beside the road [between the fields], and the birds came and ate it. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil; and at once they sprang up because they had no depth of soil. ⁶ But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, and thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸ Other seed fell on good soil and yielded grain, some a hundred times as much [as was sown], some sixty [times as much], and some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears [to hear], let him hear and heed My words.”

An Explanation

¹⁰ Then the disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do You speak to the crowds in parables?” ¹¹ Jesus replied to them, “To you it has been granted to know the ^[b]mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.^{(B) 12} For whoever has [spiritual wisdom because he is receptive to God’s word], to him more will be given, and he will be richly and abundantly supplied; but whoever does not have [spiritual wisdom because he has devalued God’s word], even what he has will be taken away from him.^{(C) 13} This is the reason I speak to the crowds in parables: because while [having the power of] seeing they do not see, and while [having the power of] hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand and grasp [spiritual things]. ¹⁴ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

Parable of the Sower

⁴ When a large crowd was gathering together, and people from city after city were coming to Him, He spoke [to them] using a parable:^{(A) 5} “The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road and it was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the sky ate it up. ⁶ And some seed fell on [shallow soil covering] the rocks, and as soon as it sprouted, it withered away, because it had no moisture. ⁷ Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. ⁸ And some fell into good soil, and grew up and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear and heed My words.”

⁹ Now His disciples began asking Him what this parable meant. ¹⁰ And He said, “To you [who have been chosen] it has been granted to know and recognize the ^[a]mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.^(B)

¹¹ “Now [the meaning of] the parable is this: The seed is the word of God [concerning eternal salvation]. ¹² Those beside the road are the people who have heard; then the devil comes and takes the message [of God] away from their hearts, so that they will not believe [in Me as the Messiah] and be saved. ¹³ Those on the rocky soil are the people who, when they hear, receive and welcome the word with joy; but these have no firmly grounded root. They believe for a while, and in time of trial and temptation they fall away [from Me and abandon their faith]. ¹⁴ The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, but as they go on their way they are suffocated with the anxieties and riches and pleasures of this life, and they bring no fruit to maturity. ¹⁵ But as for that seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word with a good and noble heart, and hold on to it tightly, and bear fruit with patience.