Matthew 13

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Matthew 13:3

And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

(a) Parables. A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a story or word picture. The parables of Jesus have been defined as earthly stories with heavenly meanings. The Lord’s parables are notable for being brief (most are four verses long or less), engaging (“Who among you?”), and memorable. Depending on how you define them, there are between three- and five dozen parables in the Synoptic gospels and possibly another couple in the Gospel of John. There are also parables in the Old Testament (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:1–4), and at least one parable is found in the New Testament epistles (Rom. 11:16–24).

The parables of Jesus were intended to awaken insight and spur us to act. They make us think so that we might act. “He who has hears, let him hear” (Matt. 13:9). All parables have hidden meanings, otherwise they wouldn’t be parables. To properly interpret a parable, we need to consider the audience (to whom was Jesus speaking?) and Christ’s intentions (usually to reveal the kingdom; Mark 4:30).

(b) Behold. See. Jesus doesn’t want us to be one of those people who see without seeing or hear without hearing (Matt. 13:14). In Mark’s account of this parable, Jesus begins by saying “Listen, see!” (Mark 4:3). Jesus wants us to hear and understand the story of the sower (Matt. 13:23).

Further reading: “The Grace Bible: The Parables of Jesus” – coming soon!

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Matthew 13:11

Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.

(a) To you it has been granted because you believe and because you ask with faith. “By faith we understand” (Heb. 11:3). Because we believe, we see. Faith in God empowers us to understand God’s will.

The disciples did not ask Jesus questions in order to trap him. They really wanted to know the meaning of the parable (Luke 8:9). So Jesus explained it to them. When we humbly bring our questions to the Lord, he gives us insight and understanding. He does this because he loves us and because he wants us to grow in grace.

(b) The mysteries of the kingdom are insights into God’s kingdom that are revealed to us by his Spirit. They are the answers to questions such as, What is God like? Does he care about us? What is his will? When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like…” he was revealing the mysteries of the kingdom.

The mysteries of the kingdom are not secret teachings hidden in scripture. They are kingdom realities that God wants to share with all of us. Mysteries that have been revealed are no longer mysteries. They are revelations.

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Matthew 13:12

“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

(a) More shall be given. Jesus quotes this proverb five times in the Gospels. On three of those occasions, the more that is given is revelation knowledge (Matt. 13:12, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18). When we are faithful in heeding the revelation that God gives us, he gives us more revelation. But if we reject God’s revelation, we will walk in deception.

The same principle is applied more broadly in the parables of the talents and minas (Matt. 25:29, Luke 19:26). When we are faithful with the grace of God, whether it is revelation knowledge, spiritual gifts, or some other blessing, God gives us more so that others might experience his favor.

(b) Abundance. The original word (perisseuo) means super-abound. It is one of many adjectives that Paul uses when describing the super-abounding grace of Jesus Christ (see entry for Rom. 5:15).

(c) Taken away. Those who reject the good things of God, will lose what they have. The Jews had the law and the prophets to point them to the Messiah, but they rejected Jesus when they came. For this reason the “sons of the kingdom” lost their privileged position and found themselves outside of all that God was doing (Matt. 8:12). In the same way, those who reject the light of God’s truth will walk in darkness. Those who reject the Author of Life will find themselves without lasting life (John 5:39–40).

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Matthew 13:17

“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

(a) Righteous men. Before the cross, no one could be made righteous. The gift of righteousness had not been given and the “one act of righteousness” had not be done (Rom. 5:18). Yet Old Testament saints such as Abraham were credited with righteousness on account of their faith in God (see entry for Rom. 4:3). In the old days, righteousness was credited to those who believed or longed for the Messiah.

(b) Desired to see what you see. The prophets and saints of old longed to see Jesus.

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Matthew 13:19

“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

(a) The word of the kingdom is synonymous with the the Word of Christ (Rom. 10:17) or the gospel of King Jesus or the gospel of grace because Jesus is the embodiment of the Father’s grace (John 1:14).

(b) What has been sown is the seed. The original word (speiro) is the same as the word used for sower in the previous verse. Jesus is both the sower and the seed that is sown (Matt. 13:37).

(c) Seed. The seed is the word of God or the good news of Jesus; see entry for Luke 8:11.

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Matthew 13:20

“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

The rocky places describe the mindset of someone who is trusting in the tablets of stone or the law. Since they are relying on the law, the word of grace is unable to take root in their life.

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Matthew 13:21

yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.

(a) He has no firm root. Jesus is the Root of Jesse, the Root of David, and the Righteous Root that sustains us (Rom. 11:18, 15:12, Rev. 5:5). Those who look to the law to establish their own righteousness have no firm root because their trust is in themselves.

(b) When affliction or persecution arises because of the word. Some hear the gospel of grace and rejoice only to wilt under the frowns of those preaching of law and dead works.

(c) He falls away. The one who relies on his own moral or law-keeping performance is unable to stand because he is not rooted in the Righteous root.

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Matthew 13:24

Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.

(a) The man who sowed the good seed in this and all the sowing parables is Jesus himself (Matt. 13:37).

(b) Good seed. The good seed is the word of God or the good news of Jesus; see entry for Luke 8:11.

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Matthew 13:31

He presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field;

(a) Presented. The original verb (paratithēmi) means “to set before.” It is sometimes used in connection with presenting food (e.g., Mark 6:41, 8:6, Luke 10:8, Acts 16:34). Jesus presented parables as food for the hungry (Matt. 13:24).

(b) Parable; see entry for Matt. 13:3.

(c) The kingdom of heaven. In his account of this parable, Luke has the kingdom of God. The kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of God are synonymous; see entry for Matt. 3:2.

(d) Mustard seed. The parable of the Mustard Seed answers the question, “If this is the kingdom of heaven, why is it so small?” Which was a question the disciples were thinking, even if they never said it aloud.

John the Baptist asked this question. John was the greatest of the old prophets and crowds flocked to hear him (Luke 3:7). Yet he said the coming Messiah would have an even greater ministry (Luke 3:16). When Jesus arrived, expectations were high. “The kingdom has come,” said Jesus and the crowds loved it (Mark 12:37). Finally, everything would be fixed.

But Jesus made no attempt to overthrow the Romans or do half the things the Messiah was supposed to do. Eventually the crowds drifted away (John 6:66), and in the end, his own disciples abandoned him (Matt. 26:56). As a Messiah, he was a disappointment. “Are you the one who is to come,” said John. “Or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3).

John and the others had a flawed picture of the coming kingdom. To correct their misunderstanding, Jesus told a story about an everyday miracle of nature – a small seed that becomes a tree. The story reminds us that great things often have humble beginnings (1 Cor. 1:27–28). God chose a shepherd boy to free a nation. With only 300 soldiers, God helped Gideon to rout the Midianites. With a few illiterate fishermen from Galilee, Jesus established his kingdom on earth. It truly is a miracle.

(e) A man. Since this parable is a similitude (Luke 13:18), we do not need to search for a hidden meaning in every detail. But if the man represents anyone, he is surely the Son of Man who sowed the good seed (Matt. 13:37). Jesus has the lead role in many of his parables. He’s the Sower, the Samaritan, and the Shepherd.

(f) Sowed. The seed is hidden in the ground in the same way the leaven is hidden in the dough (Matt. 13:33). It can’t be seen, but that doesn’t mean it’s not working. The Jews wanted to know when the kingdom would come (Luke 17:20). Jesus replied, “The kingdom of heaven is at hand. It’s already here, in seed form.”

(g) Field. If Jesus is the sower, then the field represents the world, as it does in the parable of the Wheat and Weeds (Matt. 13:38). Or it could just be a field. Mark and Luke have the man sowing the seed in the soil and his garden respectively (Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19).

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Matthew 13:32

and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

(a) Smaller. A mustard seed is tiny, about a millimetre in diameter, and it weighs about a milligram. It’s a speck of a seed.

(b) Tree. A full-grown mustard plant is not much of a tree – a big one might reach ten feet – but it is hundreds of millions times bigger than the seed from which it came. It is certainly large enough to illustrate the point Jesus is making, which is that great things can come from small beginnings.

On the Day of Pentecost, there were only 120 believers in the upper room. The whole church fitted inside one room. Yet within a short time thousands of new believers were carrying the good news of the kingdom to faraway places. The little church started by Jesus is still growing, and his reign is spreading all over the world.

The tree of the kingdom cannot be compared to any earthly empire, but it is analogous to Christ the Living Vine. Jesus is the Root who supports us and we are the branches (Rom. 11:18).

(c) The birds of the air. If birds can nest in it, it is a good-sized tree. The birds don’t have to represent anything, but if they do they are those who make their home in the kingdom.

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Matthew 13:34

All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.

(a) He did not speak to them without a parable. Jesus taught using sermons but in the later part of his ministry parables became his favored form of communicating to crowds. He spoke in parables to fulfill what the prophets had said (see next verse) and to disarm the scepticism of his listeners. The unbelieving crowds were not ready to receive kingdom revelation, so like a sower sowing good seed, Jesus hid the “mysteries of the kingdom” inside memorable stories. “That’s why I tell stories: to create readiness, to nudge the people toward receptive insight” (Message Bible).

(b) Parables; see entry for Matt. 13:3.

Further reading: “The Grace Bible: The Parables of Jesus” – coming soon!

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Matthew 13:35

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

(a) Fulfill. Speaking in parables, as Jesus often did, was one of the ways he revealed himself as the Messiah. The Jews believed that the parables uttered by the prophets were divinely inspired (Hos. 12:10). But Jesus was more than a prophet. He was the teller of parables and the revealer of kingdom mysteries (Matt. 13:11).

(b) The prophet Asaph. The quote comes from Ps.78:2.

(c) Parables; see entry for Matt. 13:3.

(d) The foundation of the world. From the beginning of time. Jesus came to reveal things that were hidden.

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Matthew 13:37

And he said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

The Son of Man is one of several references to Daniel’s prophecies in this parable.

The Jews got much of their understanding about Judgment Day from the prophet Daniel. For this reason Jesus used images and phrases taken from Daniel – for example, Son of Man (Dan. 7:13–14), the kingdom (Dan. 7:27), a furnace of fire (Dan. 3:6), shining saints (Dan. 12:3) – when discussing the end of the age.

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Matthew 13:38

and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the tares are the sons of the evil one;

(a) Good seed. Normally the good seed is the Living Word of God or Jesus himself (see entry for Luke 8:11). But on this occasion the seed represents the offspring of the kingdom – the sons and daughters of God. There is no inconsistency. Sometimes the good seed is Christ; other times it’s Christians. The life of Christ is the common element.

(b) The sons of the kingdom are the children of God or believers.

(c) The sons of the evil one are those who carry out the desires of the evil one (John 8:44). It is those who reject the King and want no part in his kingdom (1 John 3:8, 10).

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Matthew 13:40

“So just as the tares are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age.

(a) Tares. At the end of the age, it is not the righteous who are taken away but the wicked. The weeds are weeded out and the bad fish are discarded from the net (Matt. 13:48). When the ungodly are removed, the meek will inherit the earth.

(b) Fire is another Old Testament image associated with divine judgment (Is. 66:15–16, Oba. 1:18, Zeph. 3:8, Mal. 4:1). Jesus often spoke of fire in connection with Judgment Day (Matt. 5:22, 13:42, 50, 18:9, 25:41, Mark 9:43, Luke 17:29–30, John 15:6). He did not dread this fire but he looked forward to it knowing that it would spell the end of sin and usher in eternity (see entry for Luke 12:49).

(c) The end of the age. The original word for end (sunteleia) means completion or consummation of a plan. God has a plan, and it comes to completion at the end or consummation of the age when the Lord returns in glory.

When things are going bad in the world, it’s easy to get discouraged. It may seem like evil is triumphing. But it won’t always be like this. Jesus is coming.

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Matthew 13:41

“The Son of Man will send forth his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,

(a) The Son of Man; see entry for Matt. 13:37.

(b) Gather. When Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire he will remove all those things that are opposed to him (2 Th. 1:7–10). Before his glorious presence, the wicked will blow away like chaff in the wind (Ps. 1:4–6, Mal. 4:1). “Evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land” (Ps. 37:9).

(c) His kingdom. In the parable, the field represents the world from which the tares, or the sons of the evil one, are removed. But here the evil ones are removed from the kingdom. Although the kingdom of God is not synonymous with the fallen world, the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord (Dan. 7:27, Rev. 11:15).

(d) Stumbling blocks. Things which hinder people from coming to the Savior and walking in his grace.

The original noun (skandalon) suggests a snare or trap or an obstacle that causes you to stumble (Rom. 11:9, 14:13). A hindrance, in other words. For example, Balaam taught Balak how to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel causing them to sin (Rev. 2:14).

In context, Jesus is talking about those who hinder people from coming to the kingdom. Just as weeds reduce crop yields, stumbling blocks diminish the gospel harvest, and this is the greatest of all tragedies (Matt. 18:7, Luke 17:1).

(e) Commit lawlessness. Evildoers. Slavers, traffickers, and those who recruit child soldiers. Wicked people who profit from human misery. They are a lawless in the sense that they live contrary to God’s good purposes. Their discordant notes mar his symphony. Either they will change their tune or they will leave the orchestra.

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Matthew 13:42

and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(a) The furnace of fire. On Judgment Day, when the Lord is revealed from heaven in blazing fire, the ungodly and all those things that are opposed to his goodwill will be destroyed by fire (2 Th. 1:7, 2 Pet. 2:6, 3:7).

On numerous occasions, the Lord spoke of fire in connection with Judgment Day (Matt. 5:22, 13:42, 50, 18:9, 25:41, Mark 9:43, Luke 17:29–30, John 15:6). He did not dread this fire but he looked forward to it knowing that it would spell the end of sin and usher in eternity (see entry for Luke 12:49).

(b) Weeping and gnashing of teeth; see entry for Matt. 8:12.

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Matthew 13:43

“Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The righteous are those who have been made right with God by receiving, through faith, the free gift of righteousness. See entry for Righteousness.

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Matthew 13:44

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

(a) The kingdom of heaven; see entry for Matt. 3:2.

(b) Treasure. Israel (Ex. 19:5, Deu. 26:18).

Some say the treasure hidden in the field is the kingdom or Jesus or the gospel and that we have to sell, or at least be prepared to sell, all we have to get it. There is no scriptural support for such an interpretation. Although Jesus counselled a rich ruler to sell his possessions and give the proceeds to the poor (Luke 18:22), he never charged admission into the kingdom. Salvation is by grace alone (Eph. 2:8).

Others put price tags on grace by promoting a two-tiered Christianity. “Real Christians, like ministers and missionaries, must make sacrifices if they want to receive an anointing/blessing/special grace from God.” Again, that is not remotely scriptural. Nothing in God’s kingdom is for sale. When Simon tried to purchase the Holy Spirit’s power, Peter said, “May your money perish with you” (Acts 8:20). Every blessing is freely ours in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3).

God himself tells us what the treasure is. At Mt Sinai he said to Israel, “You shall be my treasured possession among all peoples” (Ex. 19:5a). The Jews understood that they were God’s “treasured ones” (Ps. 83:3). God had a dream of dwelling among his people (1 Kgs. 6:13, Eze. 37:27). Israel was meant to be the fulfillment of that dream. God would dwell among the descendants of Abraham and bless the nations through them. Sadly, the dream was never realized.

(c) Hidden in the field. By the time Jesus arrived, Israel was a piddling nation of little consequence. It had been invaded, conquered, and trampled by Gentiles. Any hope of glory had long been buried by centuries of unbelief.

(d) The field is the world, just as it was in the preceding parable of the Wheat and Weeds (Matt. 13:38).

(e) A man. Jesus, the man from heaven, came to the field (the world) to uncover the hidden treasure (the Israel of God’s dream). For three years he revealed the kingdom of God by healing the sick and delivering the captives. He preached good news to the poor and proclaimed the year of jubilee. He did these things to remind Israel that they were God’s treasured possession. God had chosen them, but they rejected him.

(f) Hid again. Israel-the-treasure did not want to be found by God. The religious leaders wanted to maintain a low profile lest they arouse the interest of the Romans (John 11:48).

Israel’s rejection broke the Lord’s heart. He wept over Jerusalem and lamented the folly of their leaders (Luke 19:41, Matt. 23:13–38). He knew that God’s dream would come to pass, one way or another, but the Jews were writing themselves out of his story. With a heavy heart, Jesus said “the kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation that will bring forth its fruits” (Matt. 21:43). And so it happened. God’s kingdom was given to a new Israel – the church. After the cross, the church became God’s treasure (1 Pet. 2:9).

(g) Joy. Jesus endured the cross “for the joy set before him” (Heb. 12:2). He happily gave his life for the beautiful treasure that was being birthed in his church (Eph. 5:2).

(h) Sells all that he has. Jesus gave everything he had to redeem us (Is. 53:12, Gal. 1:4).

(i) Buys that field. Jesus did not die for a few but for the whole world (John 1:29). He purchased the field with his blood and gave his life as a ransom for all (1 Cor. 6:20, 1 Tim. 2:6). He did this to show us that he treasures us and to invite us to partake in his dream. Prior to the cross, the treasure was the family of Abraham. But in the new covenant, everyone can become part of the treasured family of God.

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Matthew 13:45–46

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

(a) The kingdom of heaven; see entry for Matt. 3:2.

The parable of the Pearl complements the preceding parable of the Treasure: the treasure hidden in the field is Israel, while the pearl of great value is the church.

(b) A merchant. Jesus is the merchant who sold or gave all he had to redeem you.

(c) Seeking. Jesus came to seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10). We were like lost sheep but the Good Shepherd found us (Luke 15:4).

(d) Pearls. According to Pliny the Elder, pearls were the most valuable objects in the ancient world. (Natural History, 9.54).

Pearls are notably absent from the Old Testament. Study the jewels and gems in the high priest’s breastplate (Ex. 28:17–20), the crowns of kings (e.g., 2 Sam. 12:30), or the temple furnishings (1 Kgs. 7:48–50) and you will find no pearls. The Jews valued gold, silver, and gems, but apparently not pearls. Perhaps they dismissed them as the product of unclean shellfish. Perhaps they did not want to buy them from unclean Gentiles. But by the time of Christ, pearls were becoming more widely accepted.

Jesus referenced pearls in his sermons (Matt. 7:6) and women wore them as jewellery (1 Tim. 2:9). A pearl is a picture of redemption. Just as a pearl is created out of an injury inflicted upon an oyster, God is making something precious out of injured and sinful humanity. When we come to the city of God, the pearly gates remind us of this beautiful transformation (Rev. 21:21).

(e) A pearl of great value. In the Lord’s eyes you are highly valued, like a fine pearl without blemish.

(f) Sold all that he had. Jesus impoverished himself to ransom you (2 Cor. 8:9). He gave all he had – his position and life – to obtain something he valued more – you!

Further reading: “The Grace Bible: The Parables of Jesus” – coming soon!

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Matthew 13:47

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind;

(a) The kingdom of heaven; see entry for Matt. 3:2.

(b) Dragnet. Galilean fishermen caught fish using long dragnets with floats on top and weights to hold them down. The dragnets were either walked out or stretched between two boats. The filled nets were pulled into shore with ropes.

The parable of the Net or Dragnet or Fishnet, is the seventh and last in the Parable Discourse of Matthew 13. It is similar to the parable of the Wheat and Weeds and shares some of the same phrases (e.g., “the end of the age”, “throw them into the furnace of fire,” and “weeping and gnashing of teeth”).

(c) Gathering. Just as the crowds gathered around Jesus, the net of the kingdom gathers all kinds of people from every nation and tribe (see Rev. 7:9, 14:6).

The attractive and welcoming kingdom of God stands in contrast with the parochial kingdoms of this world. The Jews marginalized women and shunned sinners. The Greeks and Romans kept the barbarians at the gate. But those who were rejected by men were received by Jesus.

(d) Fish of every kind. Whether bad or good, all are welcome in the house of grace (Matt. 22:10). A healthy church community will receive all sorts of people, including the wrong sorts of people, even those who may be frauds.

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Matthew 13:48

and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away.

(a) Beach. Fishermen could not sort the fish while they were fishing. The sorting came at the end, when they were back on the beach. Analogously, we are to occupy ourselves with fishing (preaching the gospel) and leave the sorting to the Lord.

(b) Gathered. Sellable fish were stored, perhaps in containers of water, while bad fish (too small, unclean) were discarded.

(c) The bad are known by their bad or evil deeds, specifically, their rejection of the king and his kingdom (see entry for John 5:29).

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Matthew 13:49

“So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous,

(a) So it will be. The parable of the Net is one of three parables where Jesus provides his own interpretation. The other two are the parables of the sower and the wheat and tares (Matt. 13:18–23, 36–43).

(b) The end of the age; see entry for Matt. 13:40.

(c) The angels. As in the parable of the Wheat and Weeds, it is the angels who do the separating (Matt. 13:41).

(d) Take out the wicked. Judgment day is a day of separation (Matt. 25:32). Whether it’s the tares being separated from the wheat or the goats being sent away from the sheep, the wicked are removed and the righteous remain. They are not removed on account of their sin, which was judged on the cross, but because they have written themselves out of God’s story. Those who want no part in what he is doing will have no place in his new home.

(e) The righteous are those who have been made right with God by receiving, through faith, the free gift of righteousness. See entry for Righteousness.

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Matthew 13:50

and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

(a) Furnace. The imagery of a fiery furnace as a place of punishment comes from the Old Testament prophets (e.g., Eze. 22:20–22, Dan. 3:6, Mal. 4:1). It also appears in the New Testament and (Matt. 13:42, Rev. 9:2) other Jewish texts (e.g., Enoch 98, 4 Ezra 7:36).

(b) Fire. Jesus often spoke of fire in connection with Judgment Day (Matt. 5:22, 13:42, 18:9, 25:41, Mark 9:43, Luke 17:29–30, John 15:6). He did not dread this fire but he looked forward to it knowing that it would spell the end of sin and usher in eternity (see entry for Luke 12:49).

(c) Weeping and gnashing of teeth; see entry for Matt. 13:42.

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Matthew 13:51

“Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.”

(a) These things? The parables of Matthew 13. Jesus wants us to understand or grasp the revelation of the kingdom that comes through his parables.

(b) Yes. We are not blessed by merely hearing the parables, but by understanding the truths that are hidden within them (Matt. 13:16).

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Matthew 13:52

And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

(a) Scribe. The scribes were responsible for copying the scriptures (the Old Testament) and interpreting the Law of Moses; see entry for Matt. 5:20.

(b) Become a disciple. The original verb mathēteuō means “to teach.” A literal translation is, “Every scribe who has been taught or instructed in the kingdom of heaven.”

(c) The kingdom of heaven; see entry for Matt. 3:2.

(d) Treasure. The mysteries of the kingdom; see entry for Matt. 13:11.

(e) New and old. The new revelations of the Holy Spirit confirm the old scriptures.

An old covenant scribe was concerned with the law and prophets, things that were shadows of new covenant realities (Col. 2:17, Heb. 10:1). A true scribe or disciple interprets the old through the lens of the new. They read the whole Bible in light of who Christ is and what he has done.

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Matthew 13:53

When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.

(a) These parables are the seven parables of Matthew 13: the Sower (3–9), the Weeds (24–30), the Mustard Seed (31–32), the Leaven (33), the Hidden Treasure (44), the Pearl (45–46), and the Net (47–49). Some count the proverb about the householder as an eighth parable (52).

(b) Parables; see entry for Matt. 13:3.

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Matthew 13:54

He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?

Synagogue. Jesus preached in the Jewish assemblies or synagogues (Matt. 12:9, Mark 1:21, Luke 4:44, John 6:59) and the apostle Paul followed his example (Acts 17:1–2). The first Christians were Jewish and when they travelled they proclaimed the good news in Jewish assemblies. To a large degree, the Christian church was birthed in Jewish synagogues. See also the entry for Jas. 2:2.

It was his hometown but it was not his synagogue. Matthew notes it was their synagogue and they did not receive him. This was the last time Matthew mentions Jesus teaching in a synagogue.

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Matthew 13:55

“Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

(a) His brothers. At first, the step-brothers of Jesus did not believe that he was the Son of God (Mark 3:21). But they and their mother Mary were among those praying in the Upper Room after the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:14). James became the influential leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13). It’s possible the other brothers became ministers of the gospel and apostles, but we have no direct evidence for this (1 Cor. 9:5).

(b) Simon. There are nine men named Simon in the New Testament; see entry for Matt. 4:18.

(c) Judas may have been the author of the epistle we know as Jude; see entry for Jude 1:1.

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