ESV Study Bible | English Standard Version
Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house o and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, p so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And q he told them many things in parables, saying: r “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but s when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, t they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among u thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some v a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 w He who has ears, [1] let him hear.”
The Purpose of the Parables
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, x “To you it has been given to know y the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 z For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, a even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because b seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, c nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
d “‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.
15 For this people's heart has grown dull,
and with their ears e they can barely hear,
and f their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and g understand with their heart
and h turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But i blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 i For truly, I say to you, j 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 Parable of the Sower Explained
18 k “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of l the kingdom and m does not understand it, n the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately o receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but p endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately q he falls away. [2] 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but r the cares of s the world and t the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and m understands it. He indeed u bears fruit and yields, in one case v a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds
24 He put another parable before them, saying, w “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds [3] among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants [4] of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, x ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, y Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.’”
The Mustard Seed and the Leaven
31 He put another parable before them, saying, z “The kingdom of heaven is like a a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”
33 He told them another parable. b “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in c three measures of flour, till it was d all leavened.”
Prophecy and Parables
34 e All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: [5]
f “I will open my mouth in parables;
g I will utter what has been hidden h since the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36 Then he left the crowds and went into i the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, j “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is k the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are l the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. m The harvest is n the close of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds o are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at n the close of the age. 41 p The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all q causes of sin and r all law-breakers, 42 s and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place t there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then u the righteous will shine like the sun v in the kingdom of their Father. w He who has ears, let him hear.
The Parable of the Hidden Treasure
44 “The kingdom of heaven x is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy y he goes and sells all that he has and z buys that field.
The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value
45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding a one pearl of great value, y went and sold all that he had and z bought it.
The Parable of the Net
47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is b like a net that was thrown into the sea and c gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, d men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at e the close of the age. The angels will come out and f separate the evil from the righteous 50 g and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place g there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
New and Old Treasures
51 h “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every i scribe j who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who k brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 l and coming to m his hometown n he taught them in their synagogue, so that o they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 p Is not this q the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not r his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And s they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, t “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, u because of their unbelief.
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Matt. 13:1–53 Mysteries of the Messianic Kingdom Revealed in Parables. This is the third of Jesus' five major discourses (see Introduction: Key Themes; Literary Features), called the Parabolic Discourse because of its collection of parables.
Matt. 13:1–23 The Opening of the Parabolic Discourse. Jesus gives the parable of the sower and soils (vv. 3b–9), explains his purpose in speaking in parables (vv. 10–17), then interprets the parable (vv. 18–23).
Matt. 13:1–2 sat beside the sea. The Sea of Galilee. Sitting was the typical posture for teachers. Local tradition locates this discourse at the “Cove of the Parables,” a natural horseshoe-shaped amphitheater whose environmental acoustics could have carried Jesus' voice over 300 feet (91 meters) from the boat to a crowd of hundreds on the shore.
Matt. 13:3 Parables are Jesus' means of communicating truth through a narrative analogy in order to teach a moral or spiritual lesson. His parables produce very different results in different people: they hide truth from the “crowd” (v. 2; see note on 5:2), while they communicate truth to the disciples.
Matt. 13:4–7 seeds fell along the path. As seed was scattered in all directions while the farmer walked up and down the field, some would fall accidentally on the hard paths that surrounded the field. rocky ground. The terrain in Palestine was uneven and rocky, covered by a thin layer of soil. among thorns. Competing for nutrients from the soil, weeds choke out the good plants, which are then unable to reach maturity and bear fruit.
Matt. 13:8 hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Typical agricultural yields ranged from about fivefold to fifteenfold, with a tenfold return considered a good crop, though some historical reports tell of extraordinary yields up to a hundredfold (one is in Gen. 26:12).
Matt. 13:10–11 secrets (plural of Gk. mystērion, “mystery, secret”). The mysteries of how the kingdom of heaven would operate are revealed to the disciples but withheld from the spiritually unresponsive crowd. In particular, these secrets of the kingdom of heaven explained its partial and preliminary manifestations in Jesus' day as it was breaking into the world in advance of its full and final appearing at the end of the age.
Matt. 13:12–13 seeing they do not see. God sovereignly uses the parables to either harden a person's heart so that he or she will be unable to respond (v. 15), or to elicit the positive response of coming to Jesus, asking for an explanation, and accepting his message (cf. v. 10).
Matt. 13:18 Hear then the parable of the sower. Jesus explains the parable in response to the disciples' receptive hearts that lead them to ask him for clarification (cf. v. 10). (For additional notes on the parable of the sower, see Luke 8:11–15.)
Matt. 13:19 The seed in the parable (vv. 3–9) represents the word of the kingdom (i.e., “the gospel of the kingdom,” cf. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14). All of Jesus' “seeds” are good, so the emphasis is on the various types of soil (13:19–23). The evil one is Satan, the devil (see note on 4:1). sown along the path. Hearts that are hardened, like the scribes and Pharisees.
Matt. 13:20–23 Sown on rocky ground depicts a heart that is immediately receptive, but hardened, so that the gospel never takes root and thus fails to bear fruit. The seed sown among thorns likewise is unfruitful, choked out by a heart weighed down with the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. The good soil depicts the heart that has been prepared to receive the gospel, yielding an abundant harvest according to individual potential.
Matt. 13:24–35 Further Parables Told to the Crowds. Jesus presents the parables of the wheat and the weeds (vv. 24–30), the mustard seed (vv. 31–32), and the leaven (v. 33).
Matt. 13:24 The kingdom of heaven may be compared to. Jesus draws on various common experiences to describe the arrival and activity of the kingdom. Cf. “the kingdom of heaven is like” (vv. 31, 33, 44, 45, 47; 20:1; see also 18:23; 22:1; 25:1).
Matt. 13:25–30 Weeds (plural of Gk. zizanion, only here in the NT) are probably darnel, a weedy rye grass with poisonous black seeds which resembles wheat in its early growth but is easily distinguished from it at maturity. Any attempt to gather the weeds would only endanger the wheat, because the roots of the weeds would be intertwined with those of the wheat. Let both grow together (v. 30). God allows both believers and unbelievers to live in the world until the day of judgment; see note on v. 38.
Matt. 13:31–32 The remarkable contrast between the small beginnings of the mustard seed and its final, large mustard plant had earned it proverbial status in Judaism (cf. 17:20). It was the smallest of all agricultural seeds in Palestine. becomes a tree. The mustard “tree” grows to a height of 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.7 m). Israel was not prepared for an insignificant beginning to the kingdom of God, so this image would have shocked the listeners. (See also note on Luke 13:19.)
Matt. 13:33 Jesus uses the metaphor of leaven, which usually has a negative connotation in Scripture (cf. 16:6; 1 Cor. 5:6–7), to symbolize the positive, hidden permeation of the kingdom of heaven in this world. The kingdom is indeed active though not fully visible to the world, because it begins with an inner transformation of the heart. Three measures was probably about 50 pounds (39 liters) and would have produced enough bread to feed a hundred people.
Matt. 13:36–53 Explanations and Parables Told to the Disciples. Jesus explains the parable of the wheat and weeds (vv. 36–43) and then gives the disciples the parables of the hidden treasure (v. 44), the costly pearl (vv. 45–46), the dragnet (vv. 47–48), and the householder's treasure (vv. 51–52).
Matt. 13:38 The parable describes the activity of God's kingdom in the world rather than within the church. The enemies of the kingdom (weeds) will always coexist with the sons of the kingdom (good seed) in this age.
Matt. 13:39–40 harvest. The judgment that will follow the Son of Man's return at the close of the age (see note on 24:3) to establish his kingdom in its fully realized form.
Matt. 13:41–42 fiery furnace . . . weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus' typical description of eternal judgment in Matthew's Gospel (cf. 8:12; 13:50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30).
Matt. 13:43 The righteous will shine like the sun, thus reflecting in some lesser way the brightness of the glory of God (cf. Ex. 34:35; Dan. 12:3; Matt. 17:2; 1 Cor. 15:49).
Matt. 13:44 Treasure was often hidden in fields, since formal banks did not exist (the “bankers” of 25:27 were money-changers who exchanged currency and also seem to have loaned money at interest). Buys that field does not suggest earning one's salvation; instead, the parable emphasizes the supreme value of the hidden treasure (the kingdom of heaven), which is worth far more than any sacrifice one could make to acquire it (sells all that he has).
Matt. 13:45–46 Unlike the man who stumbled upon the hidden treasure (v. 44), this merchant searched diligently for the fine pearls. But when he found the one pearl of great value (the kingdom of heaven), his reaction was the same: he sacrificed all that he had and bought it (see note on v. 44).
Matt. 13:47–50 The net, shaped like a long wall, was dragged toward shore by both ends, trapping fish of every kind. sorted. Fish without scales and fins, e.g., were considered bad and unclean (cf. Lev. 11:9–12). Evil will not be totally removed from the world until the close of the age.
Matt. 13:51–52 Have you understood . . . Yes. True disciples grow in understanding through Jesus' teaching (cf. 28:20). They are like the man who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old, in that they understand both the “new” revelation from Jesus and how it fulfills the “old” promises in the OT.
Matt. 13:54–16:20 The Identity of the Messiah Revealed. This section marks a major new emphasis in Matthew's narrative as Jesus' messianic identity is increasingly clarified.
Matt. 13:54–14:12 Prophet(s) without Honor. Jesus is rejected at Nazareth (13:54–58); John the Baptist is beheaded by Herod Antipas (14:1–12).
Matt. 13:54 Although Capernaum had become Jesus' “own city” during his Galilean ministry (4:13; 9:1), his hometown is Nazareth, the village of his family and where he spent his childhood (see note on 2:23). Perhaps he is responding to a request from his mother and brothers to return home (see note on 12:46).
Matt. 13:55–56 Since they know Jesus' human roots, the people of Nazareth assume he cannot be anything special. He is a hometown son making fantastic claims for himself. His brothers and his sisters refers to other children born to Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus. Some interpreters, seeking to defend a doctrine of the “perpetual virginity of Mary,” have suggested that these were cousins, or children of Joseph from another marriage, but no evidence in the Greek words adelphoi (“brothers”) and adelphai (“sisters”), or in any other historical information, gives support to that view. For Mary to have sexual relations with her husband, Joseph, and to bear children, would contribute to her holiness, not detract from it (cf. Gen. 1:28; 1 Cor. 7:3–5; 1 Tim. 5:14). On Jesus' family, see note on Mark 6:3.
Matt. 13:57 took offense. See note on 11:6. prophet. Jesus aligns himself with the OT prophets who had revealed God's will for the people of Israel but had consistently been rejected by them.
Matt. 13:58 not . . . many mighty works . . . because of their unbelief. Hard-heartedness and rejection of Jesus prevent the Spirit's healing ministry, just as they prevent forgiveness of sin (see note on 12:31–32). The Holy Spirit does not force his miracles on a hostile, skeptical audience.
