Matthew Chapter 13
The Sermon in Stories
1 Jesus left the house that day and sat down by the lake. 2 So many people were gathering that he got in a boat and sat down while the crowd stood on the shore. 3 He told them lots of things with stories.
“A sower went out to sow his seed. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and birds came along and ate it.
5 “Some fell on rocky ground. It sprouted up right away because there wasn’t much soil. 6 But when the sun climbed high, the seed dried up because it didn’t have roots.
7 “Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it out.
8 “But others fell on good ground and yielded 30, 60, or 100 times as much as he planted.
9 “Whoever has ears, listen!”
Mt 13:1-9
10 The disciples came and asked, “Why are you telling them stories?”
11 “Because you’re allowed to know unrevealed things about the kingdom of heaven, but they’re not. 12 Whoever has, will receive; whoever doesn’t have, will lose even what he has. 13 That’s why I’m telling them stories: though they see, they don’t see; though they hear, they don’t hear or understand. 14 They illustrate the way Isaiah describes them:
‘You can certainly see, but don’t understand;
you can certainly hear, but don’t perceive,
15 because you’ve become insensitive;
you’re hard of hearing and
you’ve closed your eyes
so you don’t see or hear,
understand or change
so I can heal you’ [Is 6:9-10].
Mt 13:10-15
16 “But your eyes are fortunate because they see; and your ears are fortunate, because they hear. 17 Many prophets and good people have wanted to see what you’re seeing and didn’t see it, and to hear what you’re hearing and didn’t hear it.
18 “You listen, then, to the story about the sower.
19 “People that hear the message about the kingdom and don’t understand it are the ones the devil comes to and snatches what was planted in their heart: they’re the seed sown along the path.
20 “Seed sown on rocky soil represents people that hear the message and are glad to accept it right away, 21 but they don’t have root in themselves and don’t last. When difficulties or persecution come because of the message, they give up their faith right away.
22 “Seed sown among thorns represents people that hear the message, and the cares of the world and the deception of wealth choke it out, and it doesn’t produce anything.
23 “Seed sown on good ground represents people that hear the word and understand it, who produce 30, 60, 100 times as much as sown.”
Mt 13:16-23
24 He presented another story.
“The kingdom of heaven is like a man that sowed clean seed in his field. 25 While people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnels in the wheat. 26 When the plants grew and began to mature, the darnels appeared too. 27 The servants came to the owner, ‘Master, didn’t you plant clean seed in your field? Where’d darnels come from?’
28 “The owner said, ‘An enemy has done this.’
“‘Do you want us to go pull them up?’
29 “‘No, that would uproot the wheat too. 30 Let them both grow till harvest. I’ll tell the reapers, “Gather up the darnels first and bundle them to burn, but gather the wheat into my granary.”’
31 “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed a fellow planted in his garden. 32 What’s the smallest of seeds, when grown, is bigger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so birds come and build nests in its branches.
33 “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast a woman put in a bushel of meal till the whole bushel had risen.”
34 Jesus only taught the crowd these things with stories 35 like the prophet said,
“I’ll speak to them with stories
and tell them things not revealed since the founding of the world”
Ps 78:2
Further Private Instruction in Stories
36 When he left the crowd and went into the house, his disciples came, “Explain the story about the darnels in the field.”
37 Jesus answered,
“The One who sowed the clean seed is the Son of Man, 38 the field is the world, the clean seed is the people of the kingdom, the darnels are the ones belonging to the evil one, 39 the enemy that sowed them is the devil, 40 the harvest is the end of the age, the reapers are angels. 41 The darnels are gathered and burned just like it’ll be at the end of the age: the Son of Man will send his angels to rid his realm of evil people and everything that makes people stumble, 42 and throw them in the furnace. There’ll be crying and gritting teeth there. 43 Good people will shine like the sun in their Father’s kingdom. Whoever has ears, listen!
44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure a man found hidden in a field. He hid it again and in his excitement wentp and soldp everything he had and boughtp that field.
45 “The kingdom is like a businessman that was looking for valuable pearls. 46 When he found a really valuable one, he sold everything he had and bought it.
47 “The kingdom’s like a net cast into the sea that gathers all kinds of fish. 48 When it’s full, the fishermen pull it up on shore and sit down. They put the good ones in containers and throw the bad ones away. 49 That’s how it’ll be at the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the bad from the good, 50 and throw them in the furnace. There will be crying and gritting of teeth there.
51 “Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
52 “So, every scribe that’s become a disciple in the kingdom is like a homeowner that brings out of his holdings things old and new.”
53 When Jesus had finished those stories, he left.
Mt 13:36-53
Last Visit to Nazareth
54 When he came to his hometown; he began to teach them in their synagogue. They were astonished, “Where’d he get that wisdom and those miracles? 55 Isn’t Mary his mother? Aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Aren’t his sisters all with us? Where’d he get all that?” 57 They were put off by him.
He told them, “A prophet is respected everywhere but at home.” 58 He didn’t do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Mt 13:54-58