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| Chapter 13 |
| Bible Text | Notes and Thoughts |
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1 ¶ The same day, Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him, so that He went into a boat and sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And He spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, "Behold, a sower went forth to sow. 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside; and the fowls came and devoured them up. 5 Some fell upon stony places where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth. 6 And when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell into good ground and brought forth fruit: some a hundredfold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." 10 And the disciples came and said unto Him, "Why speakest thou unto them in parables?" 11 He answered and said unto them, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance. But whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he hath. 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables, because seeing, they see not, and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, which saith, ‘By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive. 15 For this people’s heart has waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them. 18 "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower: 19 When any one heareth the Word of the Kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he that received seed by the wayside. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the Word and at once with joy receiveth it; 21 yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while. For when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the Word, by and by he loses faith. 22 He also that received the seed among the thorns is he that heareth the Word; and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the Word and understandeth it; who also beareth fruit and bringeth forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." 24 ¶ Another parable put He forth before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blades had sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, ‘Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath come the tares?’ 28 He said unto them, ‘An enemy hath done this.’ The servants said unto him, ‘Wilt thou then have us go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."’ 31 Another parable put He forth before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown it is the greatest among herbs and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof." 33 Another parable spoke He unto them: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till the whole was leavened." 34 All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spoke He not unto them, 35 that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world." 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house, and His disciples came unto Him, saying, "Explain unto us the parable of the tares of the field." 37 He answered and said unto them, "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, the good seed are the children of the Kingdom, but the tares are the children of the wicked one. 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the world, and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be at the end of this world. 41 The Son of Man shall send forth His angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom all things that offend and them that do iniquity, 42 and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 44 ¶ "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field, which when a man hath found, he hideth; and for the joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls, 46 who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 47 "Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind, 48 which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. 49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from among the just, 50 and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth." 51 Jesus said unto them, "Have ye understood all these things?" They said unto Him, "Yea, Lord." 52 Then said He unto them, "Therefore every scribe who is instructed unto the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man that is a householder, who bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old." 53 ¶ And it came to pass that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed thence. 54 And when He had come into His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished and said, "From whence hath this man this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary and his brethren James and Joseph, and Simon and Judas? 56 And his sisters, are they not all with us? From whence then hath this man all these things?" 57 And they were offended at Him. But Jesus said unto them, "A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country and in his own house." 58 And He did not many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. |
13:1-52 The parables on the kingdom. The previous chapters have shown the problems of faith and unbelief of the religious leaders and many of the people. Matthew now records seven parables told by Jesus about the coming kingdom. Mark records four parables, including one not given in Matthew. Luke records only three, not all together. Jesus supplied an interpretation (meaning) to two of the parables, "The Sower" and "The Tares," and a third, "The Net," partly explained. v1-3 The "same day" links these events to the previous which showed that there was a very large crowd with Him. Jesus leaves the house and using the boat as a platform to speak to the crowd (sound travels well over water). Jesus sat down in the boat. It was normal for a teacher to sit. Parables:- a story which has a spiritual meaning and truth. v3 The Parable of the Sower. Jesus tells the story of a Sower going out to sow a field of seed, a common sight to the Jews. Each handful of seed is carefully scattered (spread) out across the ground, as a result of this, even if the Sower is careful in his throwing, some seed will fall on parts of the ground which were not suitable to growth. v4 Some seed fell on the path round the field, the ground was packed down and hard, the seed lay on the top and was open to the birds to eat. v5,6 Some seed falls on ground which is probably just a thin layer of soil on top of a rocky underneath. The seeds would grow to start with but as the sun dries out the thin soil the plants soon die due to lack of water and food. v7 An area of the field which had not been prepared properly and was still full of weeds. The weeds and thorn bushes grew rapidly and taking all the food and water from the ground. v8 The ground in Galilee was fertile and was able to produce good harvests. v9 This verse indicates that the simple story has a deeper meaning. v10-17 The meaning. v10 The disciples later questioned Jesus why He spoke in parables. Jesus had used parables before so why was this different? v11 "Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven," this shows that the parables are able to reveal something previously hidden. The interpretation shows that they still apply to the present day. The rejection of the Messiah and the time delay before His return was not understood. The parables show the state of the Kingdom between these two events, the Kingdom exists - but the King is absent. Colossians 1:10-14; Matt 25:31-34. The giving of these parables shows that there exist two groups, ‘one given,’ and ‘one not given.’ v12 The disciple, having turned to Jesus in faith, were already getting much of the truth of the Messiah and His plans, by careful examination of the parables they would get more of the truth. "Whosoever hath not," the second group who also heard but rejected the simplest of teaching by Jesus, they had rejected the previous teaching of Jesus and so God did not open their eye’s to the truth for them to trample again. v13-15 Jesus quotes from Isaiah 6:9,10 showing that it is a partial fulfillment with the continued unbelief of the people. v16,17 As the disciples responded to the message they receive, "see and heard" the promises given to the prophets, who had wanted to "see and hear" these promises by God. v18-23 Interpretation of the parable. v18 The Sower, not identified but obviously is Jesus or His servants. v19 "The Word of the Kingdom," the seed is the Word of God, Luke 8:11, the message given by Jesus about Himself and the future kingdom. The seed is always the same, just where it lands changes. The seed falling upon the path is totally unresponsive and "the wicked one," Satan, comes and takes away any spiritual contact. v20,21 The rocky soil represents those who initially hear the Word, emotionally accept the teaching with great enthusiasm, but turn away when they hit problems, tribulation or persecution, just like the Sun. v22 The seed which grows amongst the thorns (the weeds, thorns not being visible when the seed is sown) are those who accept the teaching, but the cares and attractions of the world and its interests divide and prevents the maturing of the message. v23 Whenever the message falls upon good ground fruit is produced, Gal 5:22,23. v24-30 The Tares. v24-28 "The Kingdom of Heaven," is like a man who has the following situation. He sowed his good seeds in the field, but while his servants sleep evil men spread, deliberately sowing Tares, this is identified as the plant, darnel, which looks like wheat until the seed ear develops. The growth was not due to wind blown seed but deliberately sown by others. v29,30 Harvest time. At harvest the difference between the wheat and tares will be obvious and can be separated, the tares are collected by the reapers and burnt. The time of the harvest will be at the time set by God, not by man. Compare 1 Cor 4:5. v31-32 The Mustard Seed. The conditions are similar to the first two parables, with Jesus spreading the Word of God. The mustard seed is very small, but in this story it continues to grow until it becomes a tree, Mark 4:32. An unusual growth but does happen in Palestine. If the birds in the other parables are representing Satan and his servants then the birds in the mustard tree must be describing evil people living in the church and family of God. History shows that from a small beginning the church grew the spread of the message of Christ. This unusual growth allowed the enemies to seek shade and food in the church of Christ. A warning that size does not mean it is safe. See Matt 10:16. v33-35 The Leaven. Leaven is always used to indicate evil so in this parable it does not represent the spread of the message of Christ. Leaven is used by Jesus as the evil doctrine of the Pharisees, Sadducees and Herod, Matt 16:6-12; Mark 8:15; 1 Cor 5:6,7; Gal 5:9. v33 "Leaven"- a lump of old dough under fermentation. The ‘woman’ in contrast to the ‘man’ in the other parables is therefore opposing the ‘man’ and is spreading false teaching, Rev 17:1ff. Believers must beware of false doctrine slowly spreading into the kingdom of Christ. v34,35 Jesus used parables to the crowd without any interpretation except to the disciples later. Matthew reminds the reader that the action of Jesus was fulfilling Psalm 78:2. v36-43 The meaning of the "Tares" is now explained to the disciples, there are some parts of the story which are given for completeness but do not symbolize anything. v38,39 The ‘field’ represents the world, not the church. The ‘seeds’ are sown by the Son of Man, Jesus, and have produced ‘plants,’ the believer, "the children of the Kingdom" but counterfeit plants, the Tares, have also been sown by the devil and are growing in the world. Children of Satan often pretend to be believers, 2 Cor 11:13-15. The harvest must take place at the right time or it could cause damage to the believers, so the angels of God will separate the believers from the followers of the devil at the end time, the second coming of Christ, when He takes His followers out of the world. We must note that The Church and the Kingdom are not completely the same. Members of the Church and the Kingdom may not be the same. Jesus talks about the ‘Tares’ being harvested "first," indicating that this harvest will be at the end of the Tribulation period. Also, after the Rapture of the Church many souls who were left behind will turn to the Lord during the Tribulation times and so exist in the Kingdom until the end. v44 The Hidden Treasure. The "treasure" may at first seem to represent the Gospel, salvation or the Church, or the giving of Christ for the world, but this cannot be so, for a man does not accidentally find the kingdom without searching for it. And why hide the treasure? The ‘man’ must still be Christ and the treasure is the nation of Israel. They rejected Him, so as part of the divine plan, Israel was hidden away to coming of the Messianic Kingdom. However, Christ gave all that He had, His life, to buy the whole field and so become the owner of the treasure. When He returns the treasure will be revealed. v45,46 The Pearl. Some explain this in the same way as the hidden treasure parable, but there are differences. The "merchant man," is still Christ, the merchant comes wanting to buy good quality "pearls," 1 Cor 6:20, i.e., men and women who respond to the message. To make the purchase he sold all he has, the death of Jesus on the cross. The one pearl represents the people of the Church, made up of men and women believers. 1 Cor 10:17; 1 Cor 12:12,13. v47-50 The Net. There are similarities to the Tares but slight changes in what is referred too. The net represents the Gospel message, it is put out into the ‘sea,’ the nations of the world for sometime. When the net is pulled in it contains different kinds of fish, some usable, some are bad and unusable. At the end time the angels will collect the people, but some will appear to be believers but have not really responded, the bad fish. These are put into the fires. v51-53 Did you understand? The disciples are asked by Jesus if the were able to understand having been given the information on how to interpret the parables, Mark 4:33,34. Jesus now compares the position and status of the disciples to the scribes who taught and explained the scriptures and God’s Truth. He said that they are like an head of a house, the master, who has a rich store of old and new goods and distributes these. They have access to the Old Testament teachings and now the new teachings and truths revealed in the parables. Matt 13:53-17:27 The rejection of Jesus. v53-58 Jesus returns to Nazareth where He meets the spreading opposition. v55 "The carpenter’s son," Mark 6:3 shows that as a person Jesus had learnt His earthly fathers job and had step brothers and sisters. Though Jesus and Mary had moved to Capernaum, Matt 4:13 it appears that his sisters had married and remained in Nazareth, "with us." We must remember that during the early life of Jesus He did no miracles and so the people just could not understand or accept that He was different. v58 As a result of this unbelief He was only able to heal a few. Mark 6:5 The power of Christ does not depend upon the faith of the person, but unbelief can prevent miracles as few people would have come to Him. |
Easy English Translation
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