Matthew · chapter 13 of 28
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Matthew 13 gathers the parables of the kingdom of heaven: the sower, the weeds, the mustard seed, the leaven, the hidden treasure, the pearl of great value and the net. Jesus explains why he teaches in parables, interprets two of them for his disciples and in the end is rejected by the people of his own hometown, who do not believe because they know his family.
After the conflict with the Pharisees in chapter 12, Jesus changes the way he teaches the crowds. Matthew 13 is the third great discourse of the Gospel and is made up of parables, simple stories that reveal the kingdom to those who have ears to hear and conceal it from those who have hardened themselves.
That day Jesus sits by the sea and teaches a great crowd from a boat. He tells the parable of the sower: some seed falls along the path and the birds eat it, some on rocky ground and it withers, some among thorns that choke it, and some on good soil and bears fruit, thirty, sixty and a hundredfold. The disciples ask why he speaks in parables, and he answers that to them it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom, while many see without seeing and hear without understanding, as Isaiah said. Then he explains the sower: the seed is the word of the kingdom and the soils are the ways of receiving it, with persecution, with worries and the deceit of riches, or with a heart that understands and bears fruit.
Jesus tells other parables. In the wheat and the weeds, an enemy sows weeds in the field, and the owner orders both to grow together until harvest. The mustard seed, the smallest, becomes a tree where birds nest, and the leaven a woman mixes into three measures of flour works through the whole dough. At home he explains the weeds: the sower is the Son of Man, the field is the world, the good seed are the sons of the kingdom and the weeds the sons of the evil one; at the end the angels will gather those who do evil, and the righteous will shine like the sun.
Then come the treasure hidden in a field and the pearl of great value, for which someone joyfully sells everything, and the net that gathers fish good and bad and is sorted at the end of the age. Jesus compares the scribe trained for the kingdom to a householder who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old. Then he goes to his hometown, teaches in the synagogue and the people are astonished, but they take offense because he is the carpenter's son and they know his mother and brothers. Jesus says a prophet is without honor in his hometown, and he does few mighty works there because of unbelief.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Some of the seed falls on good soil and bears fruit thirty, sixty and a hundredfold. The parable promises that the word produces abundant fruit in those who truly receive it.
The good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, and bears fruit. Jesus teaches that what matters is not merely hearing but understanding and responding, and that this fruit is the sign of a living faith.
The kingdom is like a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, which grows into a tree where birds nest. The kingdom begins humbly and spreads beyond what seems possible.
The kingdom is like a treasure hidden in a field that a man finds and for which he joyfully sells all he has. Following Jesus costs, but whoever sees its value gives everything gladly.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: The birds came and ate it. — Matthew 13:4
Answer: The word of the kingdom. — Matthew 13:18-19
Answer: To let them grow together until the harvest. — Matthew 13:28-30
Answer: To leaven that works through the whole dough. — Matthew 13:33
Answer: He hides it again and, in his joy, sells all he has and buys the field. — Matthew 13:44
Answer: Because he was the carpenter's son and they knew his mother and brothers. — Matthew 13:55-57
The parable of the sower invites us to examine the soil of our heart. In a small group you can ask what thorns choke the word in our life today, such as worries or the pursuit of riches, and what habits help that word take root.
The parables of the treasure and the pearl ask what we truly value. Ask whether you follow Jesus as someone who found the most valuable thing or as someone going through the motions, and what you need to let go of in order to live with more joy in his kingdom.
Matthew 13 shows that the kingdom of God comes in a hidden and gradual way, and that many hear it without receiving it. In chapter 14 hostility grows harsher with the death of John the Baptist, while Jesus continues to show his power by feeding the crowd and walking on the sea.
Jesus explains that his disciples are given to know the secrets of the kingdom, while for those who harden their hearts the parables remain veiled. Parables also reveal truth through everyday images to those who want to understand, and they call for careful listening.
Matthew mentions James, Joseph, Simon and Judas, as well as sisters. Christians have understood their relationship in different ways: as children of Joseph and Mary born after Jesus, as children of Joseph from an earlier marriage, or as close relatives. The text does not settle the debate.
Jesus interprets them as the sons of the evil one sown among the sons of the kingdom. They are not pulled up now so as not to harm the wheat, and the separation will be made at the end of the age by the angels. The parable teaches patience with a mixed church and trust in God's just judgment.