Matthew 13
13
1The same day went Iesus out of the house, and sate by the sea side. 2And great multitudes resorted vnto him, so that he went into a ship, and sate downe: and the whole multitude stoode on the shore. 3Then he spake many things to them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sowe. 4And as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the foules came and deuoured them vp. 5And some fell vpon stony grounde, where they had not much earth, and anon they sprong vp, because they had no depth of earth. 6And when the sunne was vp, they were parched, and for lacke of rooting, withered away. 7And some fell among thornes, and the thornes sprong vp, and choked them. 8Some againe fel in good ground, and brought forth fruite, one corne an hundreth folde, some sixtie folde, and another thirtie folde. 9He that hath eares to heare, let him heare. 10Then the disciples came, and said to him, Why speakest thou to them in parables? 11And he answered, and said vnto them, Because it is giuen vnto you, to know the secretes of the kingdome of heauen, but to the it is not giue. 12For whosoeuer hath, to him shalbe giuen, and he shall haue abundance: but whosoeuer hath not, from him shalbe taken away, euen that he hath. 13Therefore speake I to them in parables, because they seeing, doe not see: and hearing, they heare not, neither vnderstand. 14So in them is fulfilled the prophecie of Esaias, which prophecie saieth, By hearing, ye shall heare, and shall not vnderstand, and seeing, ye shall see, and shall not perceiue. 15For this peoples heart is waxed fat, and their eares are dull of hearing, and with their eyes they haue winked, lest they should see with their eyes, and heare with their eares, and should vnderstand with their hearts, and should returne, that I might heale them. 16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your eares, for they heare. 17For verely I say vnto you, that many Prophets, and righteous men haue desired to see those things which ye see, and haue not seene them, and to heare those things which ye heare, and haue not heard them. 18Heare ye therefore ye parable of ye sower. 19Whensoeuer any man heareth the woorde of that kingdome, and vnderstandeth it not, that euil one commeth, and catcheth away that which was sowen in his heart: and this is he which hath receiued the seede by the way side. 20And hee that receiued seede in the stonie grounde, is he which heareth the woorde, and incontinently with ioy receiueth it, 21Yet hath he no roote in himselfe, and dureth but a season: for assoone as tribulation or persecution commeth because of the woorde, by and by he is offended. 22And hee that receiued the seede among thornes, is hee that heareth the woorde: but the care of this worlde, and the deceitfulnesse of riches choke the word, and he is made vnfruitfull. 23But he that receiued the seede in the good ground, is he that heareth the worde, and vnderstandeth it, which also beareth fruite, and bringeth foorth, some an hundreth folde, some sixtie folde, and some thirtie folde. 24Another parable put hee foorth vnto them, saying, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto a man which sowed good seede in his fielde. 25But while men slept, there came his enemie, and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his waie. 26And when the blade was sprong vp, and brought forth fruite, then appeared the tares also. 27Then came the seruaunts of the housholder, and sayd vnto him, Master, sowedst not thou good seede in thy fielde? from whence then hath it tares? 28And hee said to them, Some enuious man hath done this. Then the seruants saide vnto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them vp? 29But he saide, Nay, lest while yee goe about to gather the tares, yee plucke vp also with them the wheat. 30Let both growe together vntill the haruest, and in time of haruest I will say to the reapers, Gather yee first the tares, and binde them in sheaues to burne them: but gather the wheate into my barne. 31Another parable he put foorth vnto them, saying, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto a graine of mustard seede, which a man taketh and soweth in his fielde: 32Which in deede is the least of all seedes: but when it is growen, it is the greatest among herbes, and it is a tree, so that the birdes of heauen come and builde in the branches thereof. 33Another parable spake hee to them, The kingdome of heauen is like vnto leauen, which a woman taketh and hideth in three pecks of meale, till all be leauened. 34All these thinges spake Iesus vnto the multitude in parables, and without parables spake he not to them, 35That it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the Prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables, and will vtter the thinges which haue beene kept secrete from the foundation of the worlde. 36Then sent Iesus the multitude away, and went into the house. And his disciples came vnto him, saying, Declare vnto vs the parable of the tares of that fielde. 37Then answered he, and saide to them, He that soweth the good seede, is the Sonne of man. 38And the field is the worlde, and the good seede are the children of the kingdome, and the tares are the children of that wicked one. 39And the enemie that soweth them, is the deuill, and the haruest is the end of the worlde, and the reapers be the Angels. 40As then the tares are gathered and burned in ye fire, so shall it be in the end of this world. 41The Sonne of man shall send forth his Angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which doe iniquitie, 42And shall cast them into a fornace of fire. There shalbe wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43Then shall the iust men shine as ye sunne in the kingdome of their Father. Hee that hath eares to heare, let him heare. 44Againe, the kingdom of heauen is like vnto a treasure hid in ye field, which when a man hath found, he hideth it, and for ioy thereof departeth and selleth all that he hath, and buieth that field. 45Againe, the kingdome of heauen is like to a marchant man, that seeketh good pearles, 46Who hauing found a pearle of great price, went and solde all that he had, and bought it. 47Againe, the kingdom of heauen is like vnto a drawe net cast into the sea, that gathereth of all kindes of things. 48Which, when it is full, men draw to lande, and sit and gather the good into vessels, and cast the bad away. 49So shall it be at the end of the world. The Angels shall goe foorth, and seuer the bad from among the iust, 50And shall cast them into a fornace of fire: there shalbe wailing, and gnashing of teeth. 51Iesus saide vnto them, Vnderstand yee all these things? They saide vnto him, Yea, Lord. 52Then sayd hee vnto them, Therefore euery Scribe which is taught vnto the kingdome of heauen, is like vnto an householder, which bringeth foorth out of his treasure things both newe and olde. 53And it came to passe, that when Iesus had ended these parables, he departed thence, 54And came into his owne countrey, and taught them in their Synagogue, so that they were astonied, and saide, Whence commeth this wisdome and great woorkes vnto this man? 55Is not this the carpenters sonne? Is not his mother called Marie, and his brethren Iames and Ioses, and Simon and Iudas? 56And are not his sisters all with vs? Whence then hath he all these things? 57And they were offended with him. Then Iesus said to them, A Prophet is not without honour, saue in his owne countrey, and in his owne house. 58And he did not many great woorkes there, for their vnbeliefes sake.
Currently Selected:
Matthew 13: GNV
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
PUBLIC DOMAIN
Matthew 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.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
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.