Matthew 13
13
Jesus Teaches in Parables
1On that day Jesus had gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
3And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and they sprang up immediately, because they had no depth of soil. 6But after the sun rose, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7Others fell #13:7 Lit uponamong the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8But others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much. 9The one who has ears, #13:9 Or hear! Or listen!let him hear.”
An Explanation for Parables
10And the disciples came up and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11And #13:11 Lit HeJesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14And #13:14 Lit for themin their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,
‘ # 13:14 Lit With a hearing you shall hear; a Heb idiom You shall keep on listening, # 13:14 Lit and but shall not understand;
And # 13:14 Lit Seeing you shall see you shall keep on looking, # 13:14 Lit and but shall not perceive;
15 For the heart of this people has become dull,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
Understand with their heart, and return,
And I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
The Sower Explained
18 “Listen then to the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the #13:19 I.e., messageword of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one sown with seed beside the road. 20The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution occurs because of the #13:21 I.e., messageword, immediately he #13:21 I.e., from the faithfalls away. 22And the one sown with seed among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the anxiety of the #13:22 Or ageworld and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it #13:22 Or proves to be unfruitfulbecomes unfruitful. 23But the one sown with seed on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces, some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times as much.”
Weeds among Wheat
24Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven #13:24 Lit has been compared tois like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed #13:25 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheatweeds among the wheat, and left. 26And when the #13:26 Lit grasswheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. 27And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? #13:27 Lit From whereHow then does it have weeds?’ 28And he said to them, ‘#13:28 Lit A hostile personAn enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ”
The Mustard Seed
31He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a person took and sowed in his field; 32and this is smaller than all the other seeds, but when it is fully grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and nest in its branches.”
The Leaven
33He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like #13:33 I.e., fermented doughleaven, which a woman took and hid in three #13:33 A Gr term for a Heb measure, totaling about 48 lb. or 22 kg of floursata of flour until it was all leavened.”
34All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak anything to them without a parable. 35This was so that what was spoken through the prophet would be #13:35 Lit fulfilled, sayingfulfilled:
“I will open My mouth in parables;
I will proclaim things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
The Weeds Explained
36Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the #13:36 Prob. darnel, a weed resembling wheatweeds of the field.” 37And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, 38and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; 39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the #13:39 Or consummationend of the age; and the reapers are angels. 40So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the #13:40 Or consummationend of the age. 41The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom #13:41 Or everything that is offensiveall stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness, 42and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears, #13:43 Or hear! Or listen!let him hear.
Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from # 13:44 Or his joy, he goes joy over it he goes and sells everything that he has, and buys that field.
A Costly Pearl
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, 46and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold everything that he had and bought it.
A Dragnet
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; 48and when it was filled, they pulled it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. 49So it will be at the #13:49 Or consummationend of the age: the angels will come forth and remove the wicked from among the righteous, 50and they will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51 “Have you understood all these things?” They *said to Him, “Yes.” 52And #13:52 Lit HeJesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”
Jesus Revisits Nazareth
53When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. 54And He came to #13:54 Or His own part of the countryHis hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, with the result that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man acquire this wisdom and these #13:54 Or miraclesmiraculous powers? 55Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man acquire all these things?” 57And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his #13:57 Or own part of the countryhometown and in his own household.” 58And He did not do many #13:58 Or works of powermiracles there because of their unbelief.
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Matthew 13: NASB2020
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Matthew 13
13
A story about a farmer
(Mark 4.1-9; Luke 8.4-8)
1That same day Jesus left the house and went out beside Lake Galilee, where he sat down to teach.#13.1 sat down to teach: Teachers in the ancient world, including Jewish teachers, usually sat down when they taught. 2Such large crowds gathered around him that he had to sit in a boat, while the people stood on the shore.#Lk 5.1-3. 3Then he taught them many things by using stories. He said:
A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. 4While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. 5Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn't very deep. 6But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. 7Some other seeds fell where thorn bushes grew up and choked the plants. 8But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as was scattered. 9If you have ears, pay attention!
Why Jesus used stories
(Mark 4.10-12; Luke 8.9,10)
10Jesus' disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you use nothing but stories when you speak to the people?”
11Jesus answered:
I have explained the secrets about the kingdom of heaven to you, but not to others. 12Everyone who has something will be given more. But people who don't have anything will lose even what little they have.#Mt 25.29; Mk 4.25; Lk 8.18; 19.26. 13I use stories when I speak to them because when they look, they cannot see, and when they listen, they cannot hear or understand. 14So God's promise came true, just as the prophet Isaiah had said,#Is 6.9,10 (LXX).
“These people will listen
and listen,
but never understand.
They will look and look,
but never see.
15All of them have
stubborn minds!
Their ears are stopped up,
and their eyes are covered.
They cannot see or hear
or understand.
If they could,
they would turn to me,
and I would heal them.”
16But God has blessed you, because your eyes can see and your ears can hear!#Lk 10.23,24. 17Many prophets and good people were eager to see what you see and to hear what you hear. But I tell you that they did not see or hear.
Jesus explains the story about the farmer
(Mark 4.13-20; Luke 8.11-15)
18Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer:
19The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. 20The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it straight away. 21But they don't have deep roots, and they don't last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up.
22The seeds that fell among the thorn bushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. 23The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.
Weeds among the wheat
24Jesus then told them this story:
The kingdom of heaven is like what happened when a farmer scattered good seed in a field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and scattered weeds in the field and then left.
26When the plants came up and began to ripen, the farmer's servants could see the weeds. 27The servants came and asked, “Sir, didn't you scatter good seed in your field? Where did these weeds come from?”
28“An enemy did this,” he replied.
His servants then asked, “Do you want us to go out and pull up the weeds?”
29“No!” he answered. “You might also pull up the wheat. 30Leave the weeds alone until harvest time. Then I'll tell my workers to gather the weeds and tie them up and burn them. But I'll order them to store the wheat in my barn.”
Stories about a mustard seed and yeast
(Mark 4.30-32; Luke 13.18-21)
31Jesus told them another story:
The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a farmer plants a mustard seed in a field. 32Although it is the smallest of all seeds, it grows larger than any garden plant and becomes a tree. Birds even come and nest on its branches.
33Jesus also said:
The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a woman mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Finally, all the dough rises.
The reason for teaching with stories
(Mark 4.33,34)
34Jesus used stories when he spoke to the people. In fact, he did not tell them anything without using stories. 35So God's promise came true, just as the prophet#13.35 the prophet: Some manuscripts have “the prophet Isaiah”. had said,#Ps 78.2.
“I will use stories
to speak my message
and to explain things
that have been hidden
since the creation
of the world.”
Jesus explains the story about the weeds
36After Jesus left the crowd and went inside,#13.36 went inside: Or “went home”. his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the story about the weeds in the wheat field.”
37Jesus answered:
The one who scattered the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seeds are the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are those who belong to the evil one, 39and the one who scattered them is the devil. The harvest is the end of time, and angels are the ones who bring in the harvest.
40Weeds are gathered and burnt. That's how it will be at the end of time. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everyone who does wrong or causes others to sin. 42Then he will throw them into a flaming furnace, where people will cry and grit their teeth in pain. 43But everyone who has done right will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. If you have ears, pay attention!
A hidden treasure
Jesus continued:
44The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when someone finds treasure hidden in a field and buries it again. A person like that is happy and goes and sells everything in order to buy that field.
A valuable pearl
Jesus continued:
45The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a shop owner is looking for fine pearls. 46After finding a very valuable one, the owner goes and sells everything in order to buy that pearl.
A fish net
Jesus continued:
47The kingdom of heaven is like what happens when a net is thrown into a lake and catches all kinds of fish. 48When the net is full, it is dragged to the shore, and the fishermen sit down to separate the fish. They keep the good ones, but throw the bad ones away. 49That's how it will be at the end of time. Angels will come and separate the evil people from the ones who have done right. 50Then those evil people will be thrown into a flaming furnace, where they will cry and grit their teeth in pain.
New and old treasures
51Jesus asked his disciples if they understood all these things. They said, “Yes, we do.”
52So he told them, “Every student of the Scriptures who becomes a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like someone who brings out new and old treasures from the storeroom.”
The people of Nazareth turn against Jesus
(Mark 6.1-6; Luke 4.16-30)
53When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left 54and went to his home town. He taught in their meeting place, and the people were so amazed that they asked, “Where does he get all this wisdom and the power to perform these miracles? 55Isn't he the son of the carpenter? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56Don't his sisters still live here in our town? How can he do all this?” 57So the people were very unhappy because of what he was doing.
But Jesus said, “Prophets are honoured by everyone, except the people of their home town and their own family.” 58And because the people did not have any faith, Jesus did not perform many miracles there.
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