Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
1On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. 2And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore.
The crowds were growing so large that they began pressing in upon Jesus and His disciples. Everyone wanted to touch Him. Jesus had to sail out into the lake so that He could effectively teach.
3He told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4And 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. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. 6But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered. 7Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. 8But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. 9The one who has ears had better listen!”
Jesus began to speak in parables. Parables are stories that carry and teach a parallel doctrinal message.
A sower scatters seeds in his field, causing four different results. First, the birds eat some of the seed, so they never grow. Second, some fall on rocky ground, never taking sufficient root, so the sun scorches and kills the seed. Third, some fall on thorny ground, so the weeds choke them out. Fourth, some fall on good soil and produce crops that are 30, 60, and 100 times more bountiful.
10Then the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
This is a new teaching style of Jesus.
11He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.
God chooses who will understand and not understand divine revelation.
12For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
Bible study is addicting. Whoever studies more Bible doctrine will crave even more divine information. Those who do not seek Bible doctrine will not be interested in the deep things of God. They will be given less divine information and will even lose what knowledge they possessed.
13For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.
After the Jewish leadership rejected the Messianic Kingdom and called Jesus demon possessed, Jesus changed his style of teaching to parables. The Messianic Kingdom was postponed so He would now give a different message. His new message was salvation for individuals which was the way of the cross. Only the elect will understand the parables of Jesus.
14And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: ‘You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend.
Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:9-10. The enemies of Christ would listen carefully to the parables of the Messiah, but they would not be able to understand them.
15For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
The heart is the personality. When the Messiah arrives, the personality of Israel would be dull, meaning a lack of interest in the words of the Messiah. They will shut their ears and eyes to the words and miracles of the Messiah. However; there will be a small remnant who will turn their ears, eyes, and heart to the Messiah, and they will be healed.
16“But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.
The disciples’ eyes and ears were blessed by God, meaning that they could hear, see, and understand the words of the Messiah.
17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Many of the Jewish prophets and Jewish messianic believers desired to see the Messiah in person, but they all died before His arrival.
18“So listen to the parable of the sower:
There is no reason to guess the meaning of this parable. Jesus explained the meaning to His disciples.
19When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.
The first seed does not grow, because it is an unbeliever who never actually believed in Christ. Satan blinds the unbeliever so that he cannot see the truth.
20The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.
The second seed is the person who hears the gospel and believes it. However, he never studies the Word of God, so he lives his life as a carnal Christian, never producing crops for God. He is tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. He dies as a believer, but he loses his rewards in heaven.
22The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.
The third seed is a believer who lives for carnal pleasures. He may be sound in Bible doctrine, but he loves the world more than he loves God. Therefore, he never produces a crop. He dies as a believer and loses his rewards in heaven.
23But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown.”
The fourth seed is the seed which grows on good soil. The good soil is the Word of God. The believer studies the Word of God at the deepest level, causing his roots to sink deep into Bible doctrine. He produces enormous crops at 30, 60, and 100 times greater than what was sown. Since Jesus was on His way to the cross, He would now work on developing mature believers who could produce bountiful crops.
The Parable of the Weeds
24He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.
The mature believer studies Bible doctrine, applies it, and produces good crops.
25But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
The crop grows, but Satan plants unbelievers in the church who look and act like believers.
26When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
One cannot tell from outward appearance the identity of the believers and unbelievers.
27So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?’
The owner is the Lord Jesus Christ. The slaves are the good angels in heaven who serve God their Master out of love. The angels asked God why there were unbelievers inside Christendom. Christendom is wheat and tares (believers and unbelievers) growing together in the field.
28He said, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them?’
Satan placed the unbelievers inside the church to cause confusion.
29But he said, ‘No, since in gathering 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 collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”
God will allow the believers and unbelievers to grow together in the church. He will separate the two at His Second Coming.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
31He gave them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.
A mustard tree was planted in the field by the Lord Jesus Christ. The mustard tree is Christendom. The field is the world.
32It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches.”
The mustard tree was the smallest of seeds in ancient Israel. However, this small seed produced one of the largest garden plants. The wild birds are dirty, unclean birds. They are the cults, isms, and false doctrines which Satan plants into the local churches.
The Parable of the Yeast
33He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen.”
The woman is usually a type of false religious system. Yeast is a symbol of evil. Satan is mixing evil into the church by the use of false religious systems. The woman is mixing three measures of flour. The three major false religious systems of Christendom are Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, and Protestantism. All three of these religions contain false doctrine mixed with truth.
The Purpose of Parables
34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable. 35This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
Matthew quoted from Psalm 78:2. This was an obscure Psalm, so Matthew knew his Scripture very well.
Since the Messianic Program was rejected and postponed, Jesus now only spoke in parables. The church was not a mystery in the Old Testament, but the church consisting of Jews and Gentiles was a mystery. A mystery is that which was not revealed in the Old Testament. The church had been planned before the foundations of the world were created, but Jesus revealed this mystery only in parables after He was rejected.
Explanation for the Disciples
36Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
Once inside of the house and away from the crowds, the disciples asked for explanations to the parables. Notice that Jesus did not give the meaning to the crowds. He left them with parables that they could not understand.
37He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
Jesus sowed the good seed.
38The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,
The field is the satanic world system. The good seeds are the elect who were chosen by God before the foundations of the world. The weeds are the unbelievers whom Satan has placed into the world to confuse the elect so that they cannot grow and produce more crops.
39and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
The enemy who sowed the field with unbelievers is the devil. The harvest is the second coming of Christ. The reapers are the good angels who serve God.
40As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.
Just as weeds are burned with fire, so will unbelievers be burned with fire.
41The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.
At the end of the seven year Great Tribulation, Jesus will send His angels to gather all of the unbelievers who survive the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments.
42They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The angels will throw all of the unbelievers into the fires of hell.
43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!
The believers in Christ will enter into the literal 1000 year Millennial Kingdom. Just as the face of Moses shined when he met God at the top of Mount Sinai, so will the believers shine. Like Moses, they will reflect the light of the Shekinah Glory.
Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven
44“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
According to Exodus 19:5 and Psalm 135:4, the treasure represents Israel. The “field” is the world. The person is Jesus the Messiah. Jesus will find Israel hidden in the world. There will be a remnant of Jews who will be saved during the period of the Mystery Kingdom.
45“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. 46When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
The merchant is Jesus. Pearls are found in the sea. Pearls are produced by suffering. The sea symbolically represents Gentiles. The pearls are the Gentiles whom Jesus will save out of the world. The Gentiles will be called to suffer for Christ.
47“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. 48When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. 49It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous 50and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
According to Daniel 7 and Revelation 7 and 13, the sea is a symbol for the Gentiles. At the end of the Great Tribulation, a net will be cast into the Gentile world and it will capture many Gentiles. Angels will separate the good fish from the bad fish. The good fish will enter into the Millennial Kingdom. The bad fish will be thrown into the fires of hell.
51“Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.” 52Then he said to them, “Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old.”
The owner of the house is Jesus. He opens up His treasure and gives the articles to His church, which consists of Jews and Gentiles from the previous parables. Some of these treasures were blessings from the Old Testament. Some of these blessings are new revelations from the New Testament. Those who believe in Jesus will receive the blessings of God from both testaments.
Rejection at Nazareth
53Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54Then he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers? 55Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? 56And aren’t all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?” 57And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house.” 58And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
Jesus preached in His hometown of Nazareth. The people of Nazareth had known Jesus since He was a child who came out of Egypt. They were astounded at His teachings and at His miracles. They could not understand how Jesus had acquired so much knowledge and power to perform such tremendous miracles.
Notice that Jesus had four brothers and some sisters as well. This means that Mary was not an eternal and immaculate virgin as the Catholics falsely claim.
Jesus taught the truth to His hometown of Nazareth, but they did not want to hear it. They were offended that someone they knew as a child had grown up and was teaching them about God.
Often times, churches will look for leaders. If the church is mature, they will develop leaders from inside their church. If the church is immature, then they will look for leaders outside their church. Also, immature churches may have the leaders inside their church, but they are not honored by the church community. Therefore, the local church hires someone whom they do not know from a far away state.