# Matthew 13 📖: Parables of the Kingdom [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Matthew Overview]] | [[Matthew 12]] | [[Matthew 14]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### The Parable of the Sower **Principle**: God’s Word is given for all, but not all receive it the same. [[Mark 04|Mark 4:1-20]] | [[Luke 08|Luke 8:4-15]] [[#Verse 01]] On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake.  [[#Verse 02]] And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore.  [[#Verse 03]] He told them many things in parables,saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow.  [[#Verse 04]] And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  [[#Verse 05]] Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep.  [[#Verse 06]] But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.  [[#Verse 07]] Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them. [[#Verse 08]] But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.  [[#Verse 09]] The one who has ears had better listen!” ## Why Jesus Used Parables **Principle**: God’s Word is thinly veiled so we seek Him. [[#Verse 10]] Then the disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”  [[#Verse 11]] He replied, “You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.  [[#Verse 12]] For 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.  [[#Verse 13]] For 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.  [[#Verse 14]] And 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_**. [[#Verse 15]] **_For 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_**.’ [[#Verse 16]] “But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.  [[#Verse 17]] For 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. [[#Verse 18]] “So listen to the parable of the sower:  ## The Parable of the Sower Explained **Principle**: Seed is available for all. It interacts with people differently depending on the soil. [[#Verse 19]] When 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.  [[#Verse 20]] The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.  [[#Verse 21]] But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.  [[#Verse 22]] The 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.  [[#Verse 23]] But 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 Parable of the Weeds **Principle**: Eventually the Truth Reveals Itself [[#Verse 24]] He presented them with another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.  [[#Verse 25]] But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat and went away.  [[#Verse 26]] When the plants sprouted and produced grain, then the darnel also appeared.  [[#Verse 28]] So the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the darnel come from?’  [[#Verse 28]] He said, ‘An enemy has done this!’ So the slaves replied, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it?’  [[#Verse 29]] But he said, ‘No, since in gathering the darnel you may uproot the wheat along with it.  [[#Verse 30]] Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First collect the darnel and tie it in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn.”’” ### The Parable of the Mustard Seed **Principle**: God can do a lot with a little. [[#Verse 31]] He gave them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.  [[#Verse 32]] It 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 Parable of the Yeast **Principle**: From Jesus Comes All Truth [[#Verse 33]] He 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 Purpose of Parables **Principle**: Jesus fulfills expectations [[#Verse 34]] Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.  [[#Verse 35]] This 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_**.” ### Explanation for the Disciples **Principle**: God Knows Our Hearts [[#Verse 36]] Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel in the field.”  [[#Verse 37]] He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. [[#Verse 38]] The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The poisonous weeds are the people of the evil one,  [[#Verse 39]] and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.  [[#Verse 40]] As the poisonous weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age.  [[#Verse 41]] The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers.  [[#Verse 42]] They will **_throw_** **_them into the fiery furnace_**, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.  [[#Verse 43]] Then _the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father_. The one who has ears had better listen! ### Parables on the Kingdom of Heaven **Principle**: Kingdom - consumes us with beauty. [[#Verse 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. [[#Verse 45]] “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.  [[#Verse 46]] When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it. [[#Verse 47]] “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.  [[#Verse 48]] When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away.  [[#Verse 49]] It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous  [[#Verse 50]] and _throw_ _them into the fiery furnace_, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. [[#Verse 51]] “Have you understood all these things?” They replied, “Yes.”  [[#Verse 52]] Then 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.” ### Rejection at Nazareth **Principle**: Jesus partners with our faith. [[#Verse 53]] Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there.  [[#Verse 54]] Then 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?  [[#Verse 55]] Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?  [[#Verse 56]] And aren’t all his sisters here with us? So where did he get all this?”  [[#Verse 57]] And 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.”  [[#Verse 58]] And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief. # ==📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary== ##### Verse 01 ##### Verse 02 ##### Verse 03 ##### Verse 04 ##### Verse 05 ##### Verse 06 ##### Verse 07 ##### Verse 08 ##### Verse 09 ##### Verse 10 ##### Verse 11 ##### Verse 12 ##### Verse 13 ##### Verse 14 ##### Verse 15 ##### Verse 16 ##### Verse 17 ##### Verse 18 ##### Verse 19 ##### Verse 20 ##### Verse 21 ##### Verse 22 ##### Verse 23 ##### Verse 24 ##### Verse 25 ##### Verse 26 ##### Verse 27 ##### Verse 28 ##### Verse 29 ##### Verse 30 ##### Verse 31 ##### Verse 32 ##### Verse 33 ##### Verse 34 ##### Verse 35 ##### Verse 36 ##### Verse 37 ##### Verse 38 ##### Verse 39 ##### Verse 40 ##### Verse 41 ##### Verse 42 ##### Verse 43 ##### Verse 44 ##### Verse 45 ##### Verse 46 ##### Verse 47 ##### Verse 48 ##### Verse 49 ##### Verse 50 ##### Verse 51 ##### Verse 52 ##### Verse 53 ##### Verse 54 ##### Verse 55 ##### Verse 56 ##### Verse 57 ##### Verse 58 ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Chapter 13 is the third of Matthew's five major teaching sections and contains seven parables about the kingdom. 2. The Greek word *parabole* means placing one thing beside another for comparison. 3. Jesus taught from a boat (13:2). Coves along the shore near Capernaum form natural amphitheaters where a voice carries well. 4. Farmers often scattered seed by hand, so some fell on paths, rocky ground, and thorns before the field was worked. 5. A harvest of a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown (13:8) would have been astonishing. 6. The weeds in 13:25 are likely darnel, a poisonous grass that looks like wheat until it ripens. 7. Mustard plants around the Sea of Galilee can grow to about ten feet tall, large enough for birds to perch in (13:32). 8. The three measures of flour in 13:33 come to roughly 40 to 60 pounds, enough bread for a large crowd. 9. Burying valuables in the ground was a common way to protect them in a land often invaded by armies (13:44). 10. Jesus is called "the carpenter's son" (13:55). The Greek word *tekton* can describe a builder who works with wood or stone. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Sower of the good seed (13:37) and the treasure worth everything we have (13:44). He spoke in parables to fulfill Scripture (13:35), revealing the kingdom to those with ears to hear (Colossians 2:3). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. In the parable of the sower, the same seed falls on four kinds of soil (13:3-9, 18-23). Which soil best describes your heart right now? 2. The wheat and the weeds grow together until the harvest (13:24-30). How should this parable shape our patience and our hope? 3. The man with the treasure and the merchant with the pearl give up everything with joy (13:44-46). What makes the kingdom worth that kind of joy? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 16: The disciples' eyes and ears are blessed because they see and hear. - 📖 verse 23: The seed on good soil hears, understands, and bears fruit. - 📖 verse 44: The kingdom is like hidden treasure that a man joyfully buys with all he has. - 📖 verses 45-46: A merchant sells everything to buy one pearl of great value. - 📖 verse 57: A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[Mark 04#Verse 01.|Mark 4:1-20]] and [[Luke 08#Verse 04.|Luke 8:4-15]] - The parable of the sower. - 🔗 [[Isaiah 06#Verse 09.|Isaiah 6:9-10]] - Hearing but never understanding. - 🔗 [[1 Peter 01#Verse 10.|1 Peter 1:10-12]] - The prophets searched and longed to see this salvation. - 🔗 [[Daniel 04#Verse 12.|Daniel 4:12]] and [[Ezekiel 17#Verse 23.|Ezekiel 17:23]] - Birds nesting in the branches of a great tree. - 🔗 [[Psalm 78#Verse 02.|Psalm 78:2]] - I will open my mouth in parables. - 🔗 [[Daniel 12#Verse 03.|Daniel 12:3]] - The wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens. - 🔗 [[Philippians 03#Verse 07.|Philippians 3:7-8]] - Counting everything as loss for the surpassing worth of Christ. - 🔗 [[John 01#Verse 11.|John 1:11]] and [[Mark 06#Verse 01.|Mark 6:1-6]] - He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Matthew 13 - SOAP|When We Discover the Kingdom]] ## 📂 Internal Notes