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Matthew 13
1On Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside.
2Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.
3He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.
4As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
6When the sun had , they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
7Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.
8Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
9He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
11He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of of Heaven, but it is not given to them.
12For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.
13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.
14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive;
15for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’
16“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.
17For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and men to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.
18“Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.
19When anyone hears of and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.
20What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears and immediately with joy receives it;
21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of , immediately he stumbles.
22What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears , but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
23What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”
24He set another parable before them, saying, “ of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
25but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.
26But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also.
27The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
28“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’
29“But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.
30Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
31He set another parable before them, saying, “ of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took, and sowed in his field,
32which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its .”
33He spoke another parable to them. “ of Heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”
34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,
35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”
36Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”
37He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the ,
38the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of , and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.
39The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.
41The will send out his angels, and they will gather out of all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity,
42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43Then the will shine like the sun in of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
44“Again, of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,
46who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind,
48which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.
49So it will be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the ,
50and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
51Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”
52He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”
53When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there.
54Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
55Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?”
57They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.”
58He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Slow reading
Read Matthew 13 three times
Guided passes through short verse groups: read it whole, watch the words, then pray it back. Phrases to stop on along the way, with deeper explanation held back until you have read the verses yourself.
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What this chapter is saying
What is Matthew 13 about?
Read the first parable before any explanation, and let Jesus give his own interpretation in verses 18 to 23 rather than supplying one.
3He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.
4As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.
6When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.
7Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.
8Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
9He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Written by
- Matthew, recording a day of teaching beside the sea
- Written to
- great crowds on the shore, with the disciples asking questions privately
- Why
- a turn to parables after rising opposition in chapters 11 and 12
The chapter holds a series of parables about of heaven: the sower, the weeds among the wheat, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl and the net. They are given in one setting, and Jesus explains two of them himself.
In verses 10 to 17 the disciples ask why he speaks in parables. His answer quotes Isaiah 6:9-10 about hearing without understanding, which means the parable form both reveals and conceals, depending on the hearer.
His own explanation of the sower is in verses 18 to 23, and every soil is a way of hearing the word. The path is not understanding it, the rocky ground receives it with joy but has no root and falls away under trouble, the thorns are the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches, and the good ground hears and understands and bears fruit.
The weeds among the wheat, verses 24 to 30 with the explanation in verses 36 to 43, says the two grow together until the harvest. That answers why a mixed church and a mixed world are not sorted out yet.
The mustard seed and the leaven, verses 31 to 33, both describe something small that spreads, and the treasure and the pearl, verses 44 to 46, both describe someone selling everything gladly for one thing. The chapter closes with Jesus rejected in his own town, verses 53 to 58.
What the chapter does not tell us
The parables do not tell us how much of the sowing lands well, and the chapter never says a person's soil is fixed. Jesus explains two parables and leaves the others without commentary, which is a caution against forcing a meaning onto every detail.
Questions this passage answers
How should I pray?
When the disciples asked this, Jesus answered with a pattern rather than a technique. Pray to your Father, in private, without performance and without needing many words, because he already knows what you need. The prayer he gave begins with God's name, kingdom and will, then asks for bread, forgiveness and protection. Scripture adds that we may bring everything, that the Spirit helps our weakness, and that we can ask with confidence when we ask according to God's will.
What does the Bible say about money?
Scripture treats money as a real good that God provides and as a rival master that can own a person. It never calls money evil; it calls the love of money a root of all kinds of evil, warns that no one can serve both God and wealth, and directs the rich to generosity and everyone to contentment. Its main question about money is not how much you have but who you are serving with it.
Does God provide for my needs?
Scripture says yes, and it is careful about the word need. God promises to supply what his people need, often daily rather than in advance, and he does not promise surplus, comfort or the removal of hard seasons. Paul, who wrote that God will supply every need, also wrote that he had learned to be hungry.
What does the Bible say about fear?
Scripture never tells a frightened person that fear is imaginary. It says do not be afraid hundreds of times, and almost always attaches a reason rather than a technique: I am with you, I have redeemed you, you are of more value than sparrows. It also distinguishes the fear that must go from the fear of the Lord, which is commanded and which shrinks every smaller fear.