Mattityahu (Mat) 13
13
1That same day, Yeshua went out of the house and sat down by the lake; 2but such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there while the crowd stood on the shore. 3He told them many things in parables:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4As he sowed, some seed fell alongside the path; and the birds came and ate it up. 5Other seed fell on rocky patches where there was not much soil. It sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow; 6but when the sun had risen, the young plants were scorched; and since their roots were not deep, they dried up. 7Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8But others fell into rich soil and produced grain, a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as had been sown. 9Those who have ears, let them hear!”
10Then the talmidim came and asked Yeshua, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?” 11He answered, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them. 12For anyone who has something will be given more, so that he will have plenty; but from anyone who has nothing, even what he does have will be taken away. 13Here is why I speak to them in parables: they look without seeing and listen without hearing or understanding. 14That is, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Yesha‘yahu which says,
‘You will keep on hearing but never understand,
and keep on seeing but never perceive,
15because the heart of this people has become dull —
with their ears they barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
so as not to see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and do t’shuvah,
so that I could heal them.’
16But you, how blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, because they hear! 17Yes indeed! I tell you that many a prophet and many a tzaddik longed to see the things you are seeing but did not see them, and to hear the things you are hearing but did not hear them.
18“So listen to what the parable of the sower means. 19Whoever hears the message about the Kingdom, but doesn’t understand it, is like the seed sown along the path — the Evil One comes and seizes what was sown in his heart. 20The seed sown on rocky ground is like a person who hears the message and accepts it with joy at once, 21but has no root in himself. So he stays on for a while; but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, he immediately falls away. 22Now the seed sown among thorns stands for someone who hears the message, but it is choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamor of wealth, so that it produces nothing. 23However, what was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the message and understands it; such a person will surely bear fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
24Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25but while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, then went away. 26When the wheat sprouted and formed heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. 27The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where have the weeds come from?’ 28He answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Then do you want us to go and pull them up?’ 29But he said, ‘No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might uproot some of the wheat at the same time. 30Let them both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest-time I will tell the reapers to collect the weeds first and tie them in bundles to be burned, but to gather the wheat into my barn.’”
31Yeshua put before them another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed which a man takes and sows in his field. 32It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up it is larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the birds flying about come and nest in its branches.”
33And he told them yet another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with a bushel of flour, then waited until the whole batch of dough rose.”
34All these things Yeshua said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without using a parable. 35This was to fulfill what had been spoken through the prophet,
“I will open my mouth in parables,
I will say what has been hidden since the creation of the universe.”
36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. His talmidim approached him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” 37He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; 38the field is the world. As for the good seed, these are the people who belong to the Kingdom; and the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One. 39The enemy who sows them is the Adversary, the harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. 40Just as the weeds are collected and burned up in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will collect out of his Kingdom all the things that cause people to sin and all the people who are far from Torah; 42and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where people will wail and grind their teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let him hear!
44“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. A man found it, hid it again, then in great joy went and sold everything he owned, and bought that field.
45“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant on the lookout for fine pearls. 46On finding one very valuable pearl he went away, sold everything he owned and bought it.
47“Once more, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a net thrown into the lake, that caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen brought the net up onto the shore, sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad fish away. 49So it will be at the close of the age — the angels will go forth and separate the evil people from among the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will wail and grind their teeth.
51“Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered. 52He said to them, “So then, every Torah-teacher who has been made into a talmid for the Kingdom of Heaven is like the owner of a home who brings out of his storage room both new things and old.”
53When Yeshua had finished these parables, he left 54and went to his home town. There he taught them in their synagogue in a way that astounded them, so that they asked, “Where do this man’s wisdom and miracles come from? 55Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Miryam? and his brothers Ya‘akov, Yosef, Shim‘on and Y’hudah? 56And his sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does he get all this?” 57And they took offense at him. But Yeshua said to them, “The only place people don’t respect a prophet is in his home town and in his own house.” 58And he did few miracles there because of their lack of trust.
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Mattityahu (Mat) 13: CJB
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Learn More About Complete Jewish BibleMatthew 13
13
A Harvest Story
1-3a 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.
3b-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?
10The disciples came up and asked, “Why do you tell stories?”
11-15He 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.”
* * *
24-26He 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.’”
31-32Another 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.”
33Another 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.”
34-35All 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
36Jesus 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.”
37-39So 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.”
51Jesus asked, “Are you starting to get a handle on all this?”
They answered, “Yes.”
52He 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.”
53-57When 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.
58But 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.
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.