Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
On that day Jesus went
out of the house, and sat by the seaside. Great multitudes gathered to him,
so that he entered into a boat, and sat, and all the multitude stood on
the beach. He spoke to
them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, a
farmer went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell by
the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. Others fell on rocky ground,
where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because
they had no depth of earth. When the sun had risen, they were
scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among thorns. The
thorns grew up and choked them: and others fell on good soil, and
yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some
thirty. He who has ears
to hear, let him hear."
The disciples came,
and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
He answered them,
"To you it is given to know the mysteries of the
Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them. For whoever has, to him will be
given, and he will have abundance, but whoever doesn't have, from him will
be taken away even that which he has. Therefore I speak to them in
parables, because seeing they don't see, and hearing, they don't hear,
neither do they understand. In them the prophecy of Isaiah
is fulfilled, which says,
'By hearing you will hear,
and will in no way understand;
Seeing you will see,
and will in no way perceive:
for this people's
heart has grown callous,
their ears are dull of hearing,
they have closed their eyes;
or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their heart,
and should turn again;
and I would heal them.'
"But blessed are your eyes,
for they see; and your ears, for they hear. For most certainly I tell you
that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you
see, and didn't see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and
didn't hear them.
"Hear, then, the parable of
the farmer. When anyone
hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn't understand it, the evil one
comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is
what was sown by the roadside. What was sown on the rocky
places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives
it; yet he has no root
in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises
because of the word, immediately he stumbles. What was sown among the thorns,
this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the
deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. What was sown on the good
ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most
certainly bears fruit, and brings forth, some one hundred times as much,
some sixty, and some thirty."
The Parable of the Weeds
He set another
parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven
is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while people slept, his
enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat,
and went away. But when
the blade sprang up and brought forth fruit, then the darnel weeds
appeared also. The
servants of the householder came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow
good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?'
"He said to them, 'An enemy
has done this.'
"The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to
go and gather them up?'
"But he said, 'No, lest
perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with
them. Let both grow
together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the
reapers, "First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles
to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn."'"
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
He set another
parable before them, saying, "The Kingdom of Heaven
is like a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field;
which indeed is smaller
than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs, and
becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its
branches."
He spoke another
parable to them. "The Kingdom of Heaven is like
yeast, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of
meal, until it was all leavened."
Jesus spoke all these
things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn't
speak to them, that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying,
"I will open my mouth in parables;
I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the
world."
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
Then Jesus sent the
multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him,
saying, "Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the
field."
He answered them,
"He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, the field is the world; and the
good seed, these are the children of the Kingdom; and the darnel weeds are
the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the
devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
As therefore the darnel
weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of
this age. The Son of Man
will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all
things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity, and will cast them into the
furnace of fire. There will be weeping and the gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine
forth like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to
hear, let him hear.
The Parables of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl
"Again, the Kingdom of
Heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found, and hid.
In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.
"Again, the Kingdom of
Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of
great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
"Again, the Kingdom of
Heaven is like a dragnet, that was cast into the sea, and gathered some
fish of every kind, which, when it was filled, they
drew up on the beach. They sat down, and gathered the good into
containers, but the bad they threw away. So will it be in the end of the
world. The angels will come forth, and separate the wicked from among the
righteous, and will cast
them into the furnace of fire. There will be the weeping and the gnashing
of teeth." Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"
They answered him, "Yes, Lord."
He said to them,
"Therefore, every scribe who has been made a disciple
in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings
out of his treasure new and old things."
A Prophet Without Honor
It happened that when
Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there. Coming into his own country, he
taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said,
"Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works? Isn't this the carpenter's son?
Isn't his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and
Judas? Aren't all of his sisters with
us? Where then did this man get all of these things?" They were offended by him.
But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without
honor, except in his own country, and in his own house."
He didn't do many mighty
works there because of their unbelief.
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