Matthew 13:1-29
New Catholic Bible
Chapter 13
Jesus Teaches in Parables[a]
The Day of Parables. 1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the side of the lake. 2 However, such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables.[b]
The Parable of the Sower.[c] He said: “A sower went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. They sprouted quickly, since the soil had very little depth, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched, and since they lacked roots, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 But some seeds fell on rich soil and produced a crop—some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear!”
10 The Reason for Parables.[d] Then his disciples approached and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He replied, “To you has been granted knowledge of the mysteries[e] of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12 To the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance. As for the one who does not have, even what little he has will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that they see but do not perceive and they listen but do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed hear but not understand,
you will indeed look but never see.
15 For this people’s heart has become hardened;
they have stopped up their ears
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they might not see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and then turn to me,
and I would heal them.’
16 The Privilege of Discipleship.[f]“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 Amen, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 The Explanation of the Parable of the Sower.[g]“Therefore listen to the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; that is the seed sown on the path. 20 As for the seed sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But such a person has no deep root, and he endures for only a short time. When some trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, he immediately falls away.
22 “The seed sown among thorns is the one who hears the word, but worldly cares and the lure of riches choke the word and it bears no fruit. 23 However, the seed sown in rich soil is the one who hears the word and understands it; he indeed bears fruit and yields a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
24 The Parable of the Weeds.[h] He then proposed another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 While everyone was asleep, his enemy came, sowed weeds[i] among the wheat, and then went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and ripened, the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and asked, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where then did these weeds come from?’ 28 He answered, ‘One of my enemies has done this.’ The servants then asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
29 “He replied, ‘No, because in gathering the weeds you might uproot the wheat along with them.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Matthew 13:1 This is the beginning of the Third Discourse in Matthew’s Gospel, which includes seven parables of Jesus about the kingdom of heaven, a plan hidden in God and only incompletely manifested to us (13:10-17, 34f; see Eph 3:4ff). Each parable presents a different aspect of the kingdom and helps us to perceive the multifaceted reality that is growing among us throughout history. However, there is no point in looking for a meaning in every detail of a parable; it is more profitable to look for the essential message.
- Matthew 13:3 Parables: stories that are illustrative comparisons between religious truths and events of everyday life. Those told by Jesus are so living, direct, and natural as to be unforgettable. They bear witness to a true poetic and pedagogical genius. The Synoptic Gospels contain some 30 parables. John’s Gospel contains no parables but makes good use of other figures of speech.
- Matthew 13:3 At this period, seed was scattered everywhere on as yet uncultivated ground, before any plowing was done and without the sower having a clear idea of whether it would take root. Some seed was wasted, but the sower was not discouraged, knowing that the harvest would come and this was all that counted. In the Old Testament, the harvest was a symbol of the Messianic age (see Ps 126:5-6; Am 9:13).
- Matthew 13:10 The parables make use of a language that is clear and rich for those whose heart is open but obscure and deceptive for those whose heart is closed. Already Jesus sees the new community, where his message is richness of life, separating itself from official Judaism, which will lose even that which it has, i.e., its role as custodian of God’s Covenant. The Word of Christ always works in a twofold way; it fills those who accept it but leads to the hardening up of those who refuse it.
- Matthew 13:11 Mysteries: also translated as “secrets.” The word is used in Dan 2:18, 19, 27 and in the Dead Sea Scrolls to designate a divine plan or decree affecting the course of history that can be known only when revealed. In this case, the secret or mystery is that the kingdom is already present in the ministry of Jesus.
- Matthew 13:16 The disciples, unlike the unbelieving crowds, have seen and heard what many prophets and righteous people of the Old Testament longed to see . . . and to hear without having their longing filled.
- Matthew 13:18 It is not enough for us to hear the word; we must accept it with all its demands so that it may transform our existence. The four types of persons described in the parable are: (1) those who never accept the word of the kingdom (v. 19); (2) those who believe for a while but fall away because of persecution (vv. 20-21); (3) those who believe, but in whom the word is choked by worldly cares and the lure of riches (v. 22); and (4) those who hear the word and produce an abundant crop (v. 23).
- Matthew 13:24 The parable of the weeds is proper to Matthew. Through it Jesus teaches that the Last Judgment (of which the “harvest” is a common metaphor), i.e., the separation of the good from the wicked, is to be awaited with patience. The explanation is given in Mt 13:37-43.
- Matthew 13:25 Weeds: probably darnel, which looks very much like wheat while it is young, but can later be distinguished.
