Matthew 13-14

Common English Bible

Setting for the parables

13 That day Jesus went out of the house and sat down beside the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he climbed into a boat and sat down. The whole crowd was standing on the shore.

Parable of the soils

³ He said many things to them in parables: “A farmer went out to scatter seed. ⁴ As he was scattering seed, some fell on the path, and birds came and ate it. ⁵ Other seed fell on rocky ground where the soil was shallow. They sprouted immediately because the soil wasn’t deep. ⁶ But when the sun came up, it scorched the plants, and they dried up because they had no roots. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorny plants. The thorny plants grew and choked them. ⁸ Other seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one. ⁹ Everyone who has ears should pay attention.”

Why Jesus speaks in parables

¹⁰ Jesus’ disciples came and said to him, “Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?”

¹¹ Jesus replied, “Because they haven’t received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have. ¹² For those who have will receive more and they will have more than enough. But as for those who don’t have, even the little they have will be taken away from them. ¹³ This is why I speak to the crowds in parables: although they see, they don’t really see; and although they hear, they don’t really hear or understand. ¹⁴ What Isaiah prophesied has become completely true for them:

¹⁶ “Happy are your eyes because they see. Happy are your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ I assure you that many prophets and righteous people wanted to see what you see and hear what you hear, but they didn’t.

Explanation of the parable of the farmer

¹⁸ “Consider then the parable of the farmer. ¹⁹ Whenever people hear the word about the kingdom and don’t understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what was planted in their hearts. This is the seed that was sown on the path. ²⁰ As for the seed that was spread on rocky ground, this refers to people who hear the word and immediately receive it joyfully. ²¹ Because they have no roots, they last for only a little while. When they experience distress or abuse because of the word, they immediately fall away. ²² As for the seed that was spread among thorny plants, this refers to those who hear the word, but the worries of this life and the false appeal of wealth choke the word, and it bears no fruit. ²³ As for what was planted on good soil, this refers to those who hear and understand, and bear fruit and produce—in one case a yield of one hundred to one, in another case a yield of sixty to one, and in another case a yield of thirty to one.”

Parable of the weeds

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like someone who planted good seed in his field. ²⁵ While people were sleeping, an enemy came and planted weeds among the wheat and went away. ²⁶ When the stalks sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The servants of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then how is it that it has weeds?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy has done this,’ he answered.

“The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’

²⁹ “But the landowner said, ‘No, because if you gather the weeds, you’ll pull up the wheat along with them. ³⁰ Let both grow side by side until the harvest. And at harvesttime I’ll say to the harvesters, “First gather the weeds and tie them together in bundles to be burned. But bring the wheat into my barn.”’”

Parable of the mustard seed

³¹ He told another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in his field. ³² It’s the smallest of all seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s the largest of all vegetable plants. It becomes a tree so that the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.”

Parable of the yeast

³³ He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and hid in a bushel of wheat flour until the yeast had worked its way through all the dough.”

Purpose of parables to the crowds

³⁴ Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables, and he spoke to them only in parables. ³⁵ This was to fulfill what the prophet spoke:

Explanation of the parable of the weeds

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

³⁷ Jesus replied, “The one who plants the good seed is the Human One.^{[c] 38} The field is the world. And the good seeds are the followers of the kingdom. But the weeds are the followers of the evil one. ³⁹ The enemy who planted them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the present age. The harvesters are the angels. ⁴⁰ Just as people gather weeds and burn them in the fire, so it will be at the end of the present age. ⁴¹ The Human One^[d] will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all things that cause people to fall away and all people who sin. ⁴² He will throw them into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Those who have ears should hear.”

Parable of the treasure

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that somebody hid in a field, which someone else found and covered up. Full of joy, the finder sold everything and bought that field.

Parable of the merchant

⁴⁵ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. ⁴⁶ When he found one very precious pearl, he went and sold all that he owned and bought it.

Parable of the net

⁴⁷ “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that people threw into the lake and gathered all kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, they pulled it to the shore, where they sat down and put the good fish together into containers. But the bad fish they threw away. ⁴⁹ That’s the way it will be at the end of the present age. The angels will go out and separate the evil people from the righteous people, ⁵⁰ and will throw the evil ones into a burning furnace. People there will be weeping and grinding their teeth.

Treasures new and old

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?”Jesus asked.

They said to him, “Yes.”

⁵² Then he said to them, “Therefore, every legal expert who has been trained as a disciple for the kingdom of heaven is like the head of a household who brings old and new things out of their treasure chest.”

Jesus in his hometown

⁵³ When Jesus finished these parables, he departed. ⁵⁴ When he came to his hometown, he taught the people in their synagogue. They were surprised and said, “Where did he get this wisdom? Where did he get the power to work miracles? ⁵⁵ Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? Aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? ⁵⁶ And his sisters, aren’t they here with us? Where did this man get all this?” ⁵⁷ They were repulsed by him and fell into sin.

But Jesus said to them, “Prophets are honored everywhere except in their own hometowns and in their own households.” ⁵⁸ He was unable to do many miracles there because of their disbelief.

Death of John the Baptist

14 At that time Herod the ruler^[e] heard the news about Jesus. ² He said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist. He’s been raised from the dead. This is why these miraculous powers are at work through him.” ³ Herod had arrested John, bound him, and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of Herod’s brother Philip.

⁴ That’s because John told Herod, “It’s against the law for you to marry her.”

⁵ Although Herod wanted to kill him, he feared the crowd because they thought John was a prophet. ⁶ But at Herod’s birthday party Herodias’ daughter danced in front of the guests and thrilled Herod. ⁷ Then he swore to give her anything she asked.

⁸ At her mother’s urging, the girl said, “Give me the head of John the Baptist here on a plate.” ⁹ Although the king was upset, because of his solemn pledge and his guests he commanded that they give it to her. ¹⁰ Then he had John beheaded in prison. ¹¹ They brought his head on a plate and gave it to the young woman, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² But John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus what had happened.

Feeding the five thousand

¹³ When Jesus heard about John, he withdrew in a boat to a deserted place by himself. When the crowds learned this, they followed him on foot from the cities. ¹⁴ When Jesus arrived and saw a large crowd, he had compassion for them and healed those who were sick. ¹⁵ That evening his disciples came and said to him, “This is an isolated place and it’s getting late. Send the crowds away so they can go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”

¹⁶ But Jesus said to them, “There’s no need to send them away. You give them something to eat.”

¹⁷ They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”

¹⁸ He said, “Bring them here to me.” ¹⁹ He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds. ²⁰ Everyone ate until they were full, and they filled twelve baskets with the leftovers. ²¹ About five thousand men plus women and children had eaten.

Walking on the water

²² Right then, Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead to the other side of the lake while he dismissed the crowds. ²³ When he sent them away, he went up onto a mountain by himself to pray. Evening came and he was alone. ²⁴ Meanwhile, the boat, fighting a strong headwind, was being battered by the waves and was already far away from land. ²⁵ Very early in the morning he came to his disciples, walking on the lake. ²⁶ When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified and said, “It’s a ghost!” They were so frightened they screamed.

²⁷ Just then Jesus spoke to them, “Be encouraged! It’s me. Don’t be afraid.”

²⁸ Peter replied, “Lord, if it’s you, order me to come to you on the water.”

²⁹ And Jesus said, “Come.”

Then Peter got out of the boat and was walking on the water toward Jesus. ³⁰ But when Peter saw the strong wind, he became frightened. As he began to sink, he shouted, “Lord, rescue me!”

³¹ Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him, saying, “You man of weak faith! Why did you begin to have doubts?” ³² When they got into the boat, the wind settled down.

³³ Then those in the boat worshipped Jesus and said, “You must be God’s Son!”

Healing the sick

³⁴ When they had crossed the lake, they landed at Gennesaret. ³⁵ When the people who lived in that place recognized him, they sent word throughout that whole region, and they brought to him everyone who was sick. ³⁶ Then they begged him that they might just touch the edge of his clothes. Everyone who touched him was cured.