Matthew 13
The Voice
13 That same day, Jesus left the house and went to sit by the sea. 2 Large crowds gathered around Him, and He got into a boat on the sea and sat there. The crowd stood on the shore waiting for His teaching.
This next sermon series, the third of Jesus’ five Mosaic-like sermons, is filled with parables or stories with a deeper meaning about the kingdom of heaven.
3 And so Jesus began to teach. On this day, He spoke in parables. Here is His first parable:
Jesus: Once there was a sower who scattered seeds. 4 One day he walked in a field scattering seeds as he went. Some seeds fell beside a road, and a flock of birds came and ate all those seeds. 5 So the sower scattered seeds in a field, one with shallow soil and strewn with rocks. But the seeds grew quickly amid all the rocks, 6 without rooting themselves in the shallow soil. Their roots got tangled up in all the stones. The sun scorched these seeds, and they died. 7 And so the sower scattered seeds near a path, this one covered with thorny vines. The seeds fared no better there—the thorns choked them, and they died. 8 And so finally the sower scattered his seeds in a patch of good earth. At home in the good earth, the seeds grew and grew. Eventually the seeds bore fruit, and the fruit grew ripe and was harvested. The harvest was immense—30, 60, 100 times what was sown.
9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
Disciples: 10 Why do You speak to the people in parables?
Jesus: 11 The knowledge of the secrets of heaven has been given to you, but it has not been given to them. 12 Those who have something will be given more—and they will have abundance. Those who have nothing will lose what they have—they will be destitute. 13 I teach in parables so the people may look but not see, listen but not hear or understand.[a] 14 They are fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy:
You will listen, but you will not understand;
you will look, but you will not see.
15 The people’s hearts have turned to flab;
their ears are clogged;
their eyes are shut.
They will try to see, but they will not see;
they will try to hear, but they will not hear;
they will try to understand, but they will not comprehend.
If they, with their blindness and deafness, so choose, then I will heal them.[b]
16-17 Many holy prophets and righteous men and women and people of prayer and doers of good have wanted to see but did not see, and have wanted to hear but did not hear. Your eyes and ears are blessed.
18 This is what the parable of the sower means. 19 It is about the kingdom of heaven. When someone hears the story of the Kingdom and cannot understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away whatever goodness and holiness had been sown in the heart. This is like the seeds sown beside the road. 20-21 You know people who hear the word of God and receive it joyfully—but then, somehow, the word fails to take root in their hearts. It is temporary. As soon as there is trouble for those people, they trip: those people are the seeds strewn on the rocky soil. 22 And you know people who hear the word, but it is choked inside them because they constantly worry and prefer the wealth and pleasures of the world: they prefer drunken dinner parties to prayer, power to piety, and riches to righteousness. Those people are like the seeds sown among thorns. 23 The people who hear the word and receive it and grow in it—those are like the seeds sown on good soil. They produce a bumper crop, 30 or 60 or 100 times what was sown.
Our Father in heaven plants many seeds in order to ensure that some seeds bear fruit. The final harvest, however, is worth any amount of hard work.
24 Jesus told them another parable.
Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like this: Once there was a farmer who sowed good seeds in his field. 25 While the farmer’s workers were sleeping, his enemy crept into the field and sowed weeds among all the wheat seeds. Then he snuck away again. 26 Eventually the crops grew—wheat, but also weeds. 27 So the farmer’s workers said to him, “Sir, why didn’t you sow good seeds in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”
28 “My enemy must have done this,” replied the farmer.
“Should we go pull up all the weeds?” asked his workers.
29 “No,” said the farmer. “It’s too risky. As you pull up the weeds, you would probably pull up some wheat as well. 30 We’ll let them both grow until harvesttime. I will tell the harvesters to collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, and only then to harvest the wheat and bring it to my barn.”
31 Jesus told them another parable.
Jesus: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a sower took and planted in his field. 32 Mustard seeds are minute, tiny—but the seeds grow into trees. Flocks of birds can come and build their nests in the branches.
33 And Jesus told a fourth parable.
Jesus: Imagine a woman preparing a loaf of bread. The kingdom of heaven is like the leaven she folds into her dough. She kneads and kneads until the leaven is worked into all the dough.
Without the leaven, the dough remains flat. But the secret is the almost invisible leaven making her loaves fluff and rise.
34 Jesus gave all these teachings to the crowd in parables. Indeed, He spoke only in parables 35 in fulfillment of the prophetic words of the psalms:
I will open My mouth in parables;
I will tell them things that have been hidden and obscure since the very beginning of the world.[c]
36 Then Jesus left the crowds and returned to His house. His disciples followed Him.
Disciples: Explain to us the story You told about the weeds.
Jesus: 37 The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world; the good seed represents the children of the Kingdom. The weeds—who do you think the weeds are? They are the children of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who threw the weeds among the wheat is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the workers are God’s heavenly messengers. 40 In the parable, I told you the weeds would be pulled up and burned—well, that is how it will be at the end of this age. 41 The Son of Man will send His messengers out into the world, and they will root out from His kingdom everything that is poisonous, ugly, and malicious, and everyone who does evil. 42 They will throw all that wickedness into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth. 43 And the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that is hidden in a field. A crafty man found the treasure buried there and buried it again so no one would know where it was. Thrilled, he went off and sold everything he had, and then he came back and bought the field with the hidden treasure part of the bargain.
45 Or the kingdom of heaven is like a jeweler on the lookout for the finest pearls. 46 When he found a pearl more beautiful and valuable than any jewel he had ever seen, the jeweler sold all he had and bought that pearl, his pearl of great price.
47 Or think of it this way: the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea, a net that caught a world of flickering fish. 48 When the net was full, the fishermen hauled it to shore. They separated the good fish from the bad, placing the good fish in a bucket and throwing out the inedible fish. 49 That is what the end of time will be like. The heavenly messengers will separate the good from the bad, the righteous from the wicked, the repentant from the prideful, the faithful from the hard-hearted. 50 The bad, the wicked, the prideful, and the hard-hearted will be thrown into the fiery furnace where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
51 Do you understand?
Disciples: Yes, we understand.
Jesus: 52 Every scribe and teacher of the law who has become a student of the ways of the Kingdom is like the head of the household who brings some new things and some old things, both out of the storeroom.
53 With that Jesus finished teaching His parables, and He moved on. 54-56 He came to Nazareth, the town where He had grown up. He taught at the local synagogue, and the people were astonished.
People: Is this our little Jesus? Is this Mary’s son? Is this the carpenter’s son? Is this Jesus, brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Didn’t we just see His sisters yesterday at the market? Where did He learn all this? Whence His power?
57 They were offended by Him—by His teachings, by who He was.
Jesus: Prophets are respected—except in their hometowns and in their own households. There the prophet is dishonored.
58 Jesus didn’t bother to work wondrous miracles there in Nazareth because the people did not believe.
Footnotes
Matthew 13
New American Standard Bible
Jesus Teaches in Parables
13 On that day Jesus had gone out of (A)the house and was sitting (B)by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so (C)He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3 And He told them many things in (D)parables, 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 they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell [a]among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a (E)hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. 9 (F)The one who has ears, [b]let him hear.”
An Explanation for Parables
10 And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 And [c]Jesus answered them, “(G)To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 (H)For 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 (I)seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And [d]in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘[e](J)You shall keep on listening, [f]but shall not understand;
And [g]you shall keep on looking, [h]but shall not perceive;
15 (K)For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their heart, and return,
And I would heal them.’
16 (L)But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17 For truly I say to you that (M)many prophets and righteous people longed 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 “(N)Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears (O)the [i]word of the kingdom and does not understand it, (P)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. 20 The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one 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 occurs because of the [j]word, immediately he [k](Q)falls away. 22 And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of (R)the [l]world and the (S)deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it [m]becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some (T)a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”
Weeds among Wheat
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “(U)The kingdom of heaven [n]is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed [o]weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 And when the [p]wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. 27 And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? [q]How then does it have weeds?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘[r]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; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but (V)gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
The Mustard Seed
31 He presented another parable to them, saying, “(W)The kingdom of heaven is like (X)a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; 32 and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that (Y)the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
The Leaven
33 He spoke another parable to them: “(Z)The kingdom of heaven is like [s]leaven, which a woman took and hid in (AA)three [t]sata of flour until it was all leavened.”
34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them (AB)without a parable. 35 This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be [u]fulfilled:
“(AC)I will open My mouth in parables;
I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The Weeds Explained
36 Then He left the crowds and went into (AD)the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “(AE)Explain to us the parable of the [v]weeds of the field.” 37 And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is (AF)the Son of Man, 38 and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are (AG)the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are (AH)the sons of (AI)the evil one; 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is (AJ)the [w]end of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40 So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at (AK)the [x]end of the age. 41 (AL)The Son of Man (AM)will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom [y]all (AN)stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42 and they (AO)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (AP)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 (AQ)Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. (AR)The one who has ears, [z]let him hear.
Hidden Treasure
44 “(AS)The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from [aa]joy over it he goes and (AT)sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, (AU)the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46 and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, (AV)the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48 and when it was filled, they pulled 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 (AW)the [ab]end of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, 50 and they (AX)will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place (AY)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52 And [ac]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 new things and old.”
Jesus Revisits Nazareth
53 (AZ)When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54 And (BA)He came to [ad]His hometown and (BB)began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that (BC)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these [ae]miraculous powers? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is (BD)His mother not called Mary, and His (BE)brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56 And (BF)His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man acquire all these things?” 57 And they took (BG)offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “(BH)A prophet is not dishonored except in his [af]hometown and in his own household.” 58 And He did not do many [ag]miracles there because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:7 Lit upon
- Matthew 13:9 Or hear! Or listen!
- Matthew 13:11 Lit He
- Matthew 13:14 Lit for them
- Matthew 13:14 Lit With a hearing you shall hear; a Heb idiom
- Matthew 13:14 Lit and
- Matthew 13:14 Lit Seeing you shall see
- Matthew 13:14 Lit and
- Matthew 13:19 I.e., message
- Matthew 13:21 I.e., message
- Matthew 13:21 I.e., from the faith
- Matthew 13:22 Or age
- Matthew 13:22 Or proves to be unfruitful
- Matthew 13:24 Lit has been compared to
- Matthew 13:25 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheat
- Matthew 13:26 Lit grass
- Matthew 13:27 Lit From where
- Matthew 13:28 Lit A hostile person
- Matthew 13:33 I.e., fermented dough
- Matthew 13:33 A Gr term for a Heb measure, totaling about 48 lb. or 22 kg of flour
- Matthew 13:35 Lit fulfilled, saying
- Matthew 13:36 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheat
- Matthew 13:39 Or consummation
- Matthew 13:40 Or consummation
- Matthew 13:41 Or everything that is offensive
- Matthew 13:43 Or hear! Or listen!
- Matthew 13:44 Or his joy, he goes
- Matthew 13:49 Or consummation
- Matthew 13:52 Lit He
- Matthew 13:54 Or His own part of the country
- Matthew 13:54 Or miracles
- Matthew 13:57 Or own part of the country
- Matthew 13:58 Or works of power
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
