Matthew 13
13
Simple Stories, Profound Truths
1On that day after Yeshua left the house, He was sitting by the sea.
2And large crowds gathered around Him; so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd stood on the shore.
3And He told them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to spread some seed.
4As he was scattering the seed, some seeds fell by the road; and the birds came and ate them up.
5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil. They sprang up immediately, because the soil wasn’t deep.
6But when the sun came up, they were scorched; and because they had no roots, they withered away.
7Other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them out.
8But others fell on good soil and were producing fruit. They yielded a crop—some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9He who has ears, let him hear.”
10Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11And He replied to them, “To you has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
12For whoever has, to him more will be given and he will have plenty. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
13For this reason 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 Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing but will never understand; you will keep looking, but will never see.
15For the heart of this people has become dull, their ears can barely hear, and they have shut their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts. Then they would turn back, and I would heal them.’
16“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
17Amen, I tell you, many a prophet and tzaddik longed to see what you are seeing and did not see, and to hear what you are hearing and did not hear.”
Parable of the Sower Explained
18“You then, hear the parable of the sower.
19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one having been sown along the road.
20“The one sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.
21Yet he has no root himself but lasts only a short while; and when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.
22“But the one sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word; and the worries of the world and the seduction of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
23“Now the one sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands. He indeed bears fruit, yielding a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
Yeshua Tells More Parables
24He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
25But while the men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
26Now when the stalk sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also appeared.
27So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
28But he replied, ‘An enemy did this.’ Now the slaves say to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go out and gather them up?’
29But he says, ‘No, for while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them.
30Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time, I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds and tie them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
31He presented to them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.
32It’s the smallest of all seeds; yet when it’s full grown, it’s greater than the other herbs. It becomes like a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”
33He told them another parable, “The kingdom of heaven is like hametz, which a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.”
34All these things Yeshua spoke to the crowds in parables. And apart from a parable, He wasn’t speaking to them,
35in order to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”
36Then He sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to Him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
37He answered, “The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,
38and the field is the world. And the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one.
39The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
40Therefore just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.
41The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who practice lawlessness.
42They will throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
43Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear!
44“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. And because of his joy, he goes out and sells all that he has and buys that field.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.
46Upon finding a pearl of great value, he went out and sold all that he had and bought it.
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea, gathering things of every kind.
48When it was filled, they pulled it ashore; and they sat down and gathered up the good into containers, but threw the bad away.
49So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come forth and separate the wicked from among the righteous
50and throw them into the fiery furnace; in that place will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
51“Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.”
52Then He said to them, “Therefore every Torah scholar discipled for the kingdom of heaven is like the master of a household who brings out of his treasure both new things and old.”
Unbelief in the Hometown Synagogue
53Now when Yeshua had finished these parables, He left that place.
54Coming into His hometown, He began to teach them in their synagogue so that they were amazed. “Where did this fellow get this wisdom and these mighty works?” they said.
55“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Miriam, and His brothers Jacob and Joseph and Simon and Judah?
56And His sisters, aren’t they all with us? So where does He get all these things?”
57And they took offense at Him. But Yeshua said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.”
58And He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
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Matthew 13: TLV
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Copyright © 2014 - Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
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.
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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.