Matthew 13
English Standard Version
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house (A)and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, (B)so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And (C)he told them many things in parables, saying: (D)“A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but (E)when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, (F)they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among (G)thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some (H)a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 (I)He who has ears,[a] let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, (J)“To you it has been given to know (K)the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 (L)For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, (M)even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because (N)seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, (O)nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
(P)“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears (Q)they can barely hear,
and (R)their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and (S)understand with their heart
and (T)turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But (U)blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 (V)For truly, I say to you, (W)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 Parable of the Sower Explained
18 (X)“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of (Y)the kingdom and (Z)does not understand it, (AA)the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately (AB)receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but (AC)endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately (AD)he falls away.[b] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but (AE)the cares of (AF)the world and (AG)the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and (AH)understands it. He indeed (AI)bears fruit and yields, in one case (AJ)a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He put another parable before them, saying, (AK)“The 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 weeds[c] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants[d] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, (AL)‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, (AM)“Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, (AN)“The kingdom of heaven is like (AO)a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. (AP)“The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in (AQ)three measures of flour, till it was (AR)all leavened.”
Prophecy and Parables
34 (AS)All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:[e]
(AT)“I will open my mouth in parables;
(AU)I will utter what has been hidden (AV)since the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowds and went into (AW)the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, (AX)“Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is (AY)the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are (AZ)the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. (BA)The harvest is (BB)the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds (BC)are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at (BD)the end of the age. 41 (BE)The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all (BF)causes of sin and (BG)all law-breakers, 42 (BH)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place (BI)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then (BJ)the righteous will shine like the sun (BK)in the kingdom of their Father. (BL)He who has ears, let him hear.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven (BM)is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy (BN)he goes and sells all that he has and (BO)buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding (BP)one pearl of great value, (BQ)went and sold all that he had and (BR)bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is (BS)like a net that was thrown into the sea and (BT)gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, (BU)men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at (BV)the end of the age. The angels will come out and (BW)separate the evil from the righteous 50 (BX)and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place (BY)there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 (BZ)“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every (CA)scribe (CB)who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who (CC)brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 (CD)and coming to (CE)his hometown (CF)he taught them in their synagogue, so that (CG)they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 (CH)Is not this (CI)the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not (CJ)his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And (CK)they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, (CL)“A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, (CM)because of their unbelief.
Footnotes
- Matthew 13:9 Some manuscripts add here and in verse 43 to hear
- Matthew 13:21 Or stumbles
- Matthew 13:25 Probably darnel, a wheat-like weed
- Matthew 13:27 Or bondservants; also verse 28
- Matthew 13:35 Some manuscripts Isaiah the prophet
Matthew 13
The Message
A Harvest Story
13 1-3 At about that same time Jesus left the house and sat on the beach. In no time at all a crowd gathered along the shoreline, forcing him to get into a boat. Using the boat as a pulpit, he addressed his congregation, telling stories.
3-8 “What do you make of this? A farmer planted seed. As he scattered the seed, some of it fell on the road, and birds ate it. Some fell in the gravel; it sprouted quickly but didn’t put down roots, so when the sun came up it withered just as quickly. Some fell in the weeds; as it came up, it was strangled by the weeds. Some fell on good earth, and produced a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.
9 “Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
Why Tell Stories?
10 The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”
11-15 He replied, “You’ve been given insight into God’s kingdom. You know how it works. Not everybody has this gift, this insight; it hasn’t been given to them. Whenever someone has a ready heart for this, the insights and understandings flow freely. But if there is no readiness, any trace of receptivity soon disappears. That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward a welcome awakening. In their present state they can stare till doomsday and not see it, listen till they’re blue in the face and not get it. I don’t want Isaiah’s forecast repeated all over again:
Your ears are open but you don’t hear a thing.
Your eyes are awake but you don’t see a thing.
The people are stupid!
They stick their fingers in their ears
so they won’t have to listen;
They screw their eyes shut
so they won’t have to look,
so they won’t have to deal with me face-to-face
and let me heal them.
16-17 “But you have God-blessed eyes—eyes that see! And God-blessed ears—ears that hear! A lot of people, prophets and humble believers among them, would have given anything to see what you are seeing, to hear what you are hearing, but never had the chance.
The Meaning of the Harvest Story
18-19 “Study this story of the farmer planting seed. When anyone hears news of the kingdom and doesn’t take it in, it just remains on the surface, and so the Evil One comes along and plucks it right out of that person’s heart. This is the seed the farmer scatters on the road.
20-21 “The seed cast in the gravel—this is the person who hears and instantly responds with enthusiasm. But there is no soil of character, and so when the emotions wear off and some difficulty arrives, there is nothing to show for it.
22 “The seed cast in the weeds is the person who hears the kingdom news, but weeds of worry and illusions about getting more and wanting everything under the sun strangle what was heard, and nothing comes of it.
23 “The seed cast on good earth is the person who hears and takes in the News, and then produces a harvest beyond his wildest dreams.”
* * *
24-26 He told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped away before dawn. When the first green shoots appeared and the grain began to form, the thistles showed up, too.
27 “The farmhands came to the farmer and said, ‘Master, that was clean seed you planted, wasn’t it? Where did these thistles come from?’
28 “He answered, ‘Some enemy did this.’
“The farmhands asked, ‘Should we weed out the thistles?’
29-30 “He said, ‘No, if you weed the thistles, you’ll pull up the wheat, too. Let them grow together until harvest time. Then I’ll instruct the harvesters to pull up the thistles and tie them in bundles for the fire, then gather the wheat and put it in the barn.’”
31-32 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like an acorn that a farmer plants. It is quite small as seeds go, but in the course of years it grows into a huge oak tree, and eagles build nests in it.”
33 Another story. “God’s kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread—and waits while the dough rises.”
34-35 All Jesus did that day was tell stories—a long storytelling afternoon. His storytelling fulfilled the prophecy:
I will open my mouth and tell stories;
I will bring out into the open
things hidden since the world’s first day.
The Curtain of History
36 Jesus dismissed the congregation and went into the house. His disciples came in and said, “Explain to us that story of the thistles in the field.”
37-39 So he explained. “The farmer who sows the pure seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the pure seeds are subjects of the kingdom, the thistles are subjects of the Devil, and the enemy who sows them is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, the curtain of history. The harvest hands are angels.
40-43 “The picture of thistles pulled up and burned is a scene from the final act. The Son of Man will send his angels, weed out the thistles from his kingdom, pitch them in the trash, and be done with them. They are going to complain to high heaven, but nobody is going to listen. At the same time, ripe, holy lives will mature and adorn the kingdom of their Father.
“Are you listening to this? Really listening?
44 “God’s kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field for years and then accidentally found by a trespasser. The finder is ecstatic—what a find!—and proceeds to sell everything he owns to raise money and buy that field.
45-46 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a jewel merchant on the hunt for exquisite pearls. Finding one that is flawless, he immediately sells everything and buys it.
47-50 “Or, God’s kingdom is like a fishnet cast into the sea, catching all kinds of fish. When it is full, it is hauled onto the beach. The good fish are picked out and put in a tub; those unfit to eat are thrown away. That’s how it will be when the curtain comes down on history. The angels will come and cull the bad fish and throw them in the garbage. There will be a lot of desperate complaining, but it won’t do any good.”
51 Jesus asked, “Are you starting to get a handle on all this?”
They answered, “Yes.”
52 He said, “Then you see how every student well-trained in God’s kingdom is like the owner of a general store who can put his hands on anything you need, old or new, exactly when you need it.”
53-57 When Jesus finished telling these stories, he left there, returned to his hometown, and gave a lecture in the meetinghouse. He stole the show, impressing everyone. “We had no idea he was this good!” they said. “How did he get so wise, get such ability?” But in the next breath they were cutting him down: “We’ve known him since he was a kid; he’s the carpenter’s son. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers James and Joseph, Simon and Judas. All his sisters live here. Who does he think he is?” They got all bent out of shape.
58 But Jesus said, “A prophet is taken for granted in his hometown and his family.” He didn’t do many miracles there because of their hostile indifference.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson