Matthew 13
13
The Story of the Farmer Scattering Seed
1That same day Jesus left the house and sat by the Sea of Galilee. 2The crowds that gathered around him were so large that he got into a boat and sat down to teach, while all the people stood on the shore to listen. 3Then he taught them many things by telling them stories. He said, “A farmer went out to plant his seed. 4As he scattered it, some fell on a path and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some seed fell in rocky places where there wasn’t much soil. Those plants came up quickly because the soil wasn’t very deep. 6But when the sun got hot, it burned the plants and they dried up, because they had no roots. 7Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and crowded out the plants. 8But still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop that was 100, 60, or 30 times more than what was planted. 9Whoever understands should take this to heart.”
10The disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you tell stories when you speak to the people?”
11He answered, “Because they aren’t being given the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven the way you are. 12Whoever has this kind of knowledge will be given more, until they have a great deal of it. But if anyone lacks this kind of knowledge, even what little they have will be taken away from them. 13I tell stories when I speak to the people so that:
“They’ll look, but they won’t see.
They’ll listen, but they won’t hear or understand.
14These people are making the words of the prophet Isaiah come true.
“ ‘You’ll hear but never understand,
you’ll see but never know what you’re seeing.
15The hearts of these people have become stubborn.
They can barely hear with their ears
and they’ve closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
and understand with their hearts.
Then they might turn to the Lord, and he would heal them.’
16But blessed are your eyes, because they see, and blessed are your ears, because they hear. 17Truly I tell you, many prophets and godly people wanted to see what you’re seeing, but they didn’t see it, and they wanted to hear what you’re hearing, but they didn’t hear it.
18“Listen! Here’s what the story about the farmer means. 19When people hear the message about the kingdom, but they don’t understand it, the evil one comes and steals what was planted in their hearts. Those people are like the seed that landed on the path. 20The seed that fell on rocky places stands for other people who hear the message and receive it right away with joy. 21But because they have no roots, they last only a short time. When trouble or suffering comes because of the message, they quickly fall away from the faith. 22The seed that fell among the thorns stands for those who hear the message but then have it crowded out by the worries of this life and the false promises of wealth, which keep it from producing fruit. 23But the seed that fell on good soil stands for those who hear the message and understand what it means. They produce a crop that’s 100, 60, or 30 times more than what was planted.”
The Story of the Weeds
24Jesus told the crowd another story. He said, “Here’s what the kingdom of heaven is like. A man planted good seed in his field. 25But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came, planted weeds among the wheat, and then slipped away. 26The wheat began to grow and form grain, but at the same time, weeds appeared.
27“The owner’s slaves came to him and said, ‘Master, didn’t you plant good seed in your field? Then where did these weeds come from?’
28“ ‘An enemy must have done it,’ he replied.
“The slaves asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’
29“ ‘No,’ the owner answered, ‘because while you’re pulling up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat too. Let them both grow together until the harvest. 30Then I’ll tell the workers, “First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned. Then gather the wheat and put it in my barn.” ’ ”
The Stories of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
31Jesus told the crowd another story. He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and planted in a field. 32It’s the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows, it becomes the largest of all garden plants. It turns into a tree, and birds come and rest in its branches.”
33Jesus told them one more story. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast,” he said. “A woman mixed it into 60 pounds of flour, and the yeast worked its way through all of that dough.”
34Jesus taught the crowd all these things by telling stories. He didn’t say anything to them without using a story. 35So the words spoken by the prophet came true:
“I will open my mouth and tell stories.
I’ll speak about things that have been hidden since the world was created.”
Jesus Explains the Story of the Weeds
36Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and asked, “Please explain the story of the weeds in the field to us.”
37He replied, “The one who planted the good seed is the Son of Man. 38The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people who belong to the kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one, 39and the enemy who plants them is the devil. The harvest is the judgment day and the workers are angels.
40“The weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire. That’s how it will be on judgment day. 41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and everyone who does wrong. 42They’ll throw them into the blazing furnace, where people will weep and grind their teeth. 43Then God’s people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Whoever understands should take this to heart.
The Stories of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
44“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure that was hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then he went and gladly sold everything he had to buy that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a trader who was looking for fine pearls. 46When he found one that was very valuable, he went away and sold everything he had so he could buy that pearl.
The Story of the Net
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake. It caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up onto the shore. Then they sat down and gathered the good fish into baskets, but they threw the bad fish away. 49That’s how it will be on judgment day. The angels will come and separate the people who did wrong from those who did right. 50They will throw the bad people into the blazing furnace, where they will weep and grind their teeth.
51“Do you understand all these things?” Jesus asked.
“Yes,” they replied.
52He said to them, “Every teacher of the law who has become a disciple in the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings new treasures out of his storeroom along with the old ones.”
A Prophet Without Honor
53When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he moved on from there. 54He came to his hometown of Nazareth and began teaching the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and they asked, “Where did this man get so much wisdom? Where did he get the power to do miracles? 55Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56Aren’t all his sisters with us too? Then where did this man get all these things?” 57And they couldn’t believe in Jesus because they were stuck on these questions.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own town and in his own home.”
58He didn’t do many miracles in Nazareth because the people there had so little faith.
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Matthew 13: RAD
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Mattithyahu (Matthew) 13
13
1And on that day יהושע went out of the house and sat by the sea.
2And large crowds were gathered together to Him, so that He went into a boat and sat down. And all the crowd stood on the beach.
3And He spoke to them much in parables, saying, “See, the sower went out to sow.
4“And as he sowed, some indeed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.
5“And others fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.
6“But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered.
7“And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.
8“And others fell on good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9“He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
10And the taught ones came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11And He answering, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens,#Mattithyahu uses the word “heaven(s)” as an euphemism for the Name or designation of the Father, while Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10 use the Father’s Name/designation. but to them it has not been given.#See also Mark 4:33, 34
12“For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly; but whoever does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away from him.#See Luke 8:18.
13“Because of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
14“And in them the prophecy of Yeshayahu is completely filled, which says, ‘Hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive,
15for the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them.’# Isa. 6:9, 10
16“And blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
17for truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous ones longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18“You, then, hear the parable of the sower:
19“When anyone hears the word of the reign, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is that sown by the wayside.
20“And that sown on rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived, and when pressure or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
22“And that sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.# Luke 21:34; 2Tim. 3:4
23“And that sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields – some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
24Another parable He put before them, saying, “The reign of the heavens has become like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
25but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel#Darnel looks like wheat but is poisonous to man and beast. among the wheat and went away.
26“And when the blade sprouted and bore fruit, then the darnel also appeared.
27“And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then does it have the darnel?’
28“And he said to them, ‘A man, an enemy did this.’ And the servants said to him, ‘Do you wish then, that we go and gather them up?’
29“But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the darnel you also uproot the wheat with them.
30Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I shall say to the reapers, “First gather the darnel and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my granary.” ’ ”
31Another parable He put before them, saying, “The reign of the heavens is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,
32which indeed is less than all the seeds, but when it is grown it is greater than the plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and dwell in its branches.”# Psa. 104:12; Ezek. 17:23; Ezek. 31:6; Dan. 4:12
33Another parable He spoke to them, “The reign of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal until all was leavened.”
34יהושע said all this to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable,
35so that what was spoken by the prophet might be filled, saying, “I shall open My mouth in parables, I shall pour forth what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”# Psa. 78:2
36Then, having sent the crowds away, יהושע went into the house. And His taught ones came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel of the field.”
37And He answering, said to them, “He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Aḏam,
38and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the reign, but the darnel are the sons of the wicked one,
39and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. And the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the messengers.
40“As the darnel, then, is gathered and burned in the fire, so it shall be at the end of this age.
41“The Son of Aḏam shall send out His messengers, and they shall gather out of His reign all the stumbling-blocks,#Or all the causes of sinning/offence. and those doing lawlessness,# Zeph. 1:3#The darnel of Mat. 13:25.
42and shall throw them into the furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43“Then the righteous#See Psa. 37:29; Psa. 72:7; Psa. 75:10; Psa. 118:19, 20; Psa. 146:8; Mal. 3:18; Rev. 22:11 shall shine forth as the sun# Dan. 12:3 in the reign of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!
44“Again, the reign of the heavens is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man having found it, hid, and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the reign of the heavens is like a man, a merchant, seeking fine 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 reign of the heavens is like a dragnet that was thrown into the sea and gathered some of every kind,
48which, when it was filled, they drew to shore. And they sat down and gathered the good into containers, but threw the rotten away.
49“Thus shall it be at the end of the age: the messengers shall come forth, and separate the wicked out of the midst of the righteous,
50and shall throw them into the furnace of fire – there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
51יהושע said to them, “Have you understood all this?” They said to Him, “Yes, Master.”
52And He said to them, “Therefore every scholar taught in the reign of the heavens is like a householder who brings out of his treasure matters, renewed and old.”
53And it came to be, when יהושע had ended these parables, that He left there.
54And when He had come to His own country, He taught them in their congregation, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this One get this wisdom and miracles?
55“Is this not the son of the carpenter? Is not His mother called Miryam? And His brothers Ya‛aqoḇ and Yosĕph and Shim‛on and Yehuḏah?
56“And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this One get all this?”
57And they stumbled at Him. But יהושע said to them, “A prophet is not unappreciated except in his own country and in his own house.”
58And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
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