Matthew 13:3
And he spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
(a) He spoke many things to them in parables. When Jesus spoke to the crowds, he almost always included a parable or two (Matt. 13:34). He was far more likely to give the people a story than a sermon. On this occasion, Jesus is sitting beside the Sea of Galilee, teaching the gathered crowds (Matt. 13:1). He has been traveling from town to town, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing the sick (Matt. 9:35). Yet not every town has welcomed him (Matt. 11:21–23). He has faced opposition and has even been driven out of a synagogue (Luke 4:28–29). Like a farmer sowing seed, preaching the gospel can be a risky and uncertain business.
To illustrate how people respond to the good news, Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower (Matt. 13:18). Sometimes called the Parable of the Seed, the Soils, or the Four Soils, the story reveals four responses to the gospel: complete indifference, brief enthusiasm, distracted attention, and wholehearted faith. Notice that Jesus is describing responses, not categories of people. Some read the parable and conclude that only one in four will be saved. But responses are not people, and people can change. You might be indifferent the first time you hear the good news. It may take time for the message to sink in, which is why we need to hear it again and again.
The Parable of the Sower is one of the few parables that Jesus explains line by line (Matt. 13:18–23). Because it’s about proclaiming and hearing the word of the kingdom, it has two takeaways. Those who share the word are encouraged to keep sowing, regardless of setbacks, and those who hear the word are urged to receive it in their hearts so they may be saved and bear much fruit.
(b) Parables. A parable is a metaphorical comparison expressed in the form of a short story. A parable has characters, a plot, and a point. It is something you could film as a short movie. The parables of Jesus have been called earthly stories with heavenly meanings. For those with ears to hear, the parables reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven (Matt. 13:11).
A parable is a comparison. The Greek word parabolē means “placing one thing beside another.” When Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field,” he was making a parabolic comparison. He was using an earthly illustration to unveil a spiritual reality.
Jesus was a master storyteller. When speaking to crowds, he was more likely to share a story than deliver a sermon. “He did not speak to them without a parable” (Matt. 13:34). About forty of his parables are recorded in the Bible—the exact number is a little higher or lower depending on what you count as a story. It’s likely that Jesus told many more parables that were never written down (John 21:25).
The Lord’s parables are notable for being brief (many are just a few verses long), engaging, and memorable. Depending on how you define them, there are between thirty and forty parables in the Synoptic Gospels and 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).
(c) Behold. “See.” The parable is not meant to be a mystery. Jesus wants us to hear and understand the story of the sower (Matt. 13:23).
(d) The Sower in the parable represents Jesus. “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man (Matt. 13:37). Yet in a broader sense, the sower is anyone who shares the word of the kingdom. The apostles were sowers (1 Cor. 9:11), as was the person who first told you the good news. Every believer can be a sower. We can sow the word of the kingdom a hundred different ways using whatever gifts God has given us. At times, it may seem that our sowing is not bearing fruit. The parable of the Sower explains why this happens (some people are not yet ready to receive the word) while encouraging us to persevere (keep sowing; a harvest will come).
(e) To sow seed is to proclaim the word of the kingdom (1 Pet. 1:25).
Matthew 13:4
and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.
(a) He sowed. The sower scatters seed freely and indiscriminately, broadcasting it everywhere. In the same way, we proclaim the good news of the kingdom to all people. Because Jesus died for all, the good news is for all. We take the message to every nation, city, and tribe because all are invited to the kingdom. No one is excluded.
(b) Seeds. The seed is the word of the kingdom (Matt. 13:19) or the word of God (Luke 8:11). Since Jesus is both the King and the Living Word, to sow the seed is to tell people the good news of Jesus Christ, who came from heaven full of grace and truth (John 1:17). The good news is no mere message, for it has the power to save and impart eternal life to those who receive it.
(c) The road. Some of the scattered seed landed on the trodden-down path beside the field. The compacted wayside represents the hard heart that refuses to believe in the goodness of God. The seed of the word does not penetrate. It is rejected and trampled underfoot (Matt. 13:19).
(d) Birds. The birds that snatch the seed represent the evil one who snatches away the word before it can take root (Matt. 13:19).
Matthew 13:5–6
“Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
(a) Not have much soil. Where rock lies hidden beneath a thin layer of soil, the seed cannot take root or draw up moisture. It springs up quickly but soon withers in the sun.
(b) The sun. The problem is not the sun, which always rises and is essential for life. The problem is that the seed has no access to moisture (Luke 8:6).
(c) Withered away. The withered sprouts symbolize the hearts of those who stumble and are offended by the message of the cross (Matt. 13:21).
Matthew 13:7–8
“Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
(a) The thorns represent the worries and worldly concerns that crowd the heart and prevent the word from being fruitful; see entry for Matt. 13:22.
(b) The good soil represents the heart that hears and accepts the word of God (Matt. 13:23, Mark 4:20). It is those who believe the gospel, are saved, and bear fruit (Luke 8:12, 15).
Matthew 13:9
“He who has ears, let him hear.”
(a) Ears. The quote, which comes from Ezekiel 3:27, was one Jesus often used (Matt. 11:15, 13:9, 43, Mark 4:9, 23, 7:16, Luke 8:8, 14:35).
(b) Let him hear. Jesus is saying, “Don’t just hear my words; receive the Spirit of revelation.” He gives a similar instruction to the Revelation churches. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7). The Holy Spirit always seeks to reveal Jesus (John 15:26), so one way to know we are hearing rightly is that we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. If the message you are hearing points you to Jesus, you can be sure it is from the Spirit.
Matthew 13:10
And the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
(a) The disciples. Later, Jesus meets privately with the twelve disciples and a few other followers (Mark 4:10). From Mark’s account of the meeting, we learn that the disciples did not understand the parable (see Mark 4:13).
(b) Why? “Why do you speak to the crowds in parables? Why not speak plainly?”
The parables have hidden meanings; otherwise, they wouldn’t be parables (see entry for Matt. 13:3). This prompted the disciples to ask their questions.
(c) Parables. A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a short story; see entry for Matt. 13:3.
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. The disciples were given insights into the mysteries of the kingdom because they asked with faith. “By faith we understand” (Heb. 11:3). Their questions weren’t intended to trap Jesus; they genuinely 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 he wants us to grow in the knowledge of his grace.
(b) The mysteries of the kingdom are insights into God’s character and kingdom that are revealed to us by his Spirit. They are the answers to the deepest questions of life: What is God like? Does he care about us? What is his will? Each time Jesus said, “The kingdom of heaven is like…,” he was unveiling these divine mysteries.
The greatest mystery of all is the “mystery of Christ,” which is God’s plan to unite us with himself through his Son (Eph. 3:4). The revelation of “Christ in us” is the crowning truth of the new covenant, humanity’s great hope, and God’s answer to every need (see entry for Col. 1:27).
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.
Further reading: “Mysteries of God”
(c) The kingdom of heaven, also called the kingdom of God, refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. The kingdom is any place where God’s will is done (Matt. 6:10). In this present age, the kingdom is revealed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(d) Them. The crowds.
Jesus told the parable about the sower to the crowds, but only the disciples and a few other followers asked him to explain it. God gives wisdom to all who ask (Jas. 1:5), but those who remained outside never bothered to learn what the parable was about. Unlike the disciples, they didn’t ask.
(e) Has not been granted. Only those who ask, receive.
Jesus was not trying to make it difficult for people to enter the kingdom, but people divide themselves by their response to the truth. Some, like the disciples, hungered for his words of eternal life (John 6:68). Others, like the religious leaders, dismissed him as being in league with Beelzebul (Matt. 12:24). Jesus spoke to mixed audiences, and what each person heard reflected the state of their hearts. Those who desired understanding got revelation. The rest heard stories about seeds, sons, and Samaritans.
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. When we walk in the revelation God gives us, he gives us more revelation. Those who listen with open and teachable hearts will gain more insight and understanding.
When the disciples quizzed Jesus about the meaning of the parable, he replied, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13). This has led some to suggest that the Sower is a key parable that somehow unlocks all the rest. That’s not what Jesus was saying. It’s the revelation of the Holy Spirit that unveils or unlocks the treasures in scripture. “More shall be given” means that when we understand what a parable or scripture says about the goodness of God, we will begin to see his goodness revealed in other parables and scriptures.
The “more shall be given” saying is recorded five times in the Gospels (Matt. 13:12, 25:29, Mark 4:25, Luke 8:18, 19:26).
(b) Abundance. The Greek verb perisseuō means “to superabound.” It is a word used to describe the superabounding grace of God (Rom. 5:15, 17).
(c) Taken away. If we doubt what the Spirit is saying in one parable or scripture, it gets harder to receive what he says in others.
Matthew 13:13
“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
(a) Therefore. “To answer your question” (see Matt. 13:10).
(b) Parables. A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a short story; see entry for Matt. 13:3.
(c) Not see… not hear. The unbelieving crowds weren’t ready to receive the Spirit’s revelation.
Jesus did not make it hard for people to understand his stories; it was their own unbelief that blinded them, and then only sometimes. When he told parables aimed at the Pharisees, they sometimes realized that he was talking about them (e.g., Matt. 21:45), and sometimes they didn’t (e.g., John 10:6). Jesus hid the mysteries of the kingdom within simple, unforgettable stories. Those who wanted an explanation only had to ask, as the disciples did (Matt. 13:10).
(d) Understand. They get it; see entry for Matt. 13:23.
Matthew 13:14
“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive;
Isaiah. Jesus quotes Isaiah to show that some people are spiritually deaf and blind to the things of God (Is. 6:9–10). They hear without understanding, see without perceiving, and remain in darkness. They do not understand the mysteries of the kingdom because they are hard-hearted and slow to believe. John and Paul also quoted this prophecy (John 12:39–40, Acts 28:26–27).
Matthew 13:15
‘For the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.’
(a) Become dull. Notice that their hearts became calloused and hard (Eph. 4:19). We are not born insensitive to the things of God, but we become callous or dull by dismissing the good news of God’s love and resisting the Holy Spirit.
(b) They scarcely hear. A literal translation reads, “They hear heavily (or sluggishly) with their ears.” They hear but don’t listen.
(c) They have closed their eyes. Like a sleeper drifting off, they have shut their eyes to the truth.
(d) Otherwise. If they understood what they were hearing and seeing from Jesus, they would repent.
It would be wrong to think Jesus made his parables hard to understand to keep people out of the kingdom. This contradicts everything he stood for. Jesus came to save sinners, not to shut them out. Yet we each have a part to play in receiving the word of the kingdom (Mark 4:20). If we neglect the word or allow the cares and riches of life to distract us, our hearts will grow dull. We will see but not perceive, and hear but not understand.
(e) Heart. The inner self; see entry for Matt. 13:19.
(f) Return. In the new covenant, repentance is often described as a return or turning to God (Acts 3:19, 9:35, 11:21, 14:15, 26:20, 2 Cor. 3:16, 1 Th. 1:9). See entry for Acts 26:20.
(g) Heal them. Make them whole.
Matthew 13:16
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.
(a) Blessed. We are privileged when we receive spiritual insight and understanding. To see Jesus revealed in the parables is to be set free from confusion and dead works. To live in response to the realities of his kingdom is to experience heaven on earth.
(b) Your eyes… your ears. “Your spiritual senses are working fine.”
(c) They see… they hear. “You understand what I’m saying.”
The disciples were not more spiritual or better educated than others. What set them apart was their teachable hearts. They didn’t dismiss the parable as some sort of farming lesson, but sought the revelation. They wanted to understand what Jesus was saying. In doing so, they set an example for us to follow. If we desire wisdom and insight from the Lord, we only need to ask (Jas. 1:5).
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) Prophets and righteous men. The godly people and prophets of the Old Testament included notable women, such as Sarah, Miriam, and Deborah.
(b) Righteous men. Before the cross, no one could be made righteous because the gift of righteousness had not yet been given and the “one act of righteousness” had not yet been done (Rom. 5:18). This is why the saints of old, such as Abraham, were credited with righteousness on account of their faith in God (Gen. 15:6, Rom. 4:3, 9, 22, Gal. 3:6, Jas. 2:23). Before the cross, righteousness was credited to those who trusted God. Now, righteousness is created within all who believe in Christ.
(c) Desired. The original verb epithumeō is sometimes translated as “to long for.” Old Testament saints longed to see the Messiah and the coming of God’s kingdom. In short, they longed to see Jesus.
(d) What you see… what you hear. The disciples were privileged to see the Messiah in the flesh and to hear him proclaim the gospel of the kingdom.
(e) Did not see… did not hear. The Old Testament saints knew that God had a redemption plan centered on a coming Messiah. Yet they never lived to see him or hear the good news of his arrival.
Matthew 13:18
“Hear then the parable of the sower.
(a) Hear then. Jesus frequently explained his parables to his disciples (Mark 4:34). However, only a few of those explanations made it into Scripture. Detailed or partial explanations are given for the parables of the Sower, the Wheat and the Weeds, the Net, the Ten Virgins, and the Shrewd Manager (Matt. 13:18–23, 37–42, 49–50, 25:13, Luke 16:9).
(b) Parable. A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a short story; see entry for Matt. 13:3.
(c) Parable of the sower. Although he named it “the Parable of the Sower,” Jesus does not mention the sower in his interpretation (cf. Mark 4:14). (However, Jesus refers to himself as the Sower in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matt. 13:37).) Nor is there any mention of the activities associated with sowing seed (e.g., plowing, clearing). Jesus’ sole concern is with the seed and the soil that receives it.
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) When anyone hears. Although the parable is about sowing the seed or proclaiming the word, the main focus of Jesus’ explanation is on receiving the seed or hearing the word. Jesus describes four responses to the gospel: First, we may hear it and dismiss it. Second, we may receive it with joy but fail to let it take root in our hearts. Third, we may receive it yet render it unfruitful by living in worry and fear. Fourth, we may receive it with faith, hold fast to it, and allow it to bear much fruit.
Some parables highlight what Jesus has done or will do for us, but the parable of the sower is about how we respond to him. Everything in life—our success or failure, our salvation or condemnation—depends on how we receive the word of the kingdom.
(b) Hears the word. The “weapons” of the kingdom are not swords or spears but the creative and life-giving word of God. His kingdom advances as people receive Jesus, the word of life, in their hearts and bear his fruit.
(c) The word of the kingdom is the good news of the King who gives life to the dead. It is synonymous with the word of God (Luke 8:11), the word of Christ (Rom. 10:17), and the word of his grace (Acts 14:3, 20:32). These are all different names for the gospel of Christ or the gospel of grace (Acts 20:24). The word of the kingdom or the gospel of grace is the only message with the power to save those who believe it (Rom. 1:16).
(d) Does not understand it. Some people hear about God’s grace and wonder what all the fuss is about. They don’t see their need for it. It’s as though the word of the kingdom goes in one ear and out the other.
(e) Understand. They get it; see entry for Matt. 13:23.
(f) The evil one is Satan (Mark 4:15) or the devil (Luke 8:12). The devil’s agenda is to keep people from coming to God. To this end, he propagates three lies: you don’t need help, you can’t get help, and God won’t help. These lies feed the misperception that God is absent, angry, or untrustworthy. When someone does not receive the good news, perhaps because they have heard one of these lies, it is as if the devil himself has snatched the word from their hearts.
Further reading: “The 9 lies of religion”
(g) Snatches away. Some give too much credit to the evil one. They say, “Some people are beyond saving.” A better interpretation is, “Some people need to hear the good news more than once.” No one is beyond the reach of God’s mighty arm.
(h) Heart. The heart is the inner self (Mark 7:21). Man-made religion is focused on externals—how you act and look—but real transformation begins in the heart.
(i) The road. The compacted wayside; see entry for Matt. 13:4.
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;
(a) Rocky places are not good for growing crops. The rocky places represent hearts that are trusting in the law written on tablets of stone. To seek righteousness through the law is to nullify the grace of God (Gal. 2:21).
Perhaps the number one reason why grace fails to take root or bear fruit is that people are trusting in the law instead of the Lord. They’re looking to the Ten Commandments as a guide for life when they could be leaning on the Holy Spirit. They hear, “Enthusiasm is not enough. It takes commitment and hard work to be a Christian.” So they try harder and trust less, and the result is that they wither.
(b) Hears the word; see previous verse.
(c) Receive. Under the old covenant, you gave, but under the new covenant, we receive. We receive the word (Mark 4:16), love (1 John 4:19), grace (Rom. 5:17), faith (2 Pet. 1:1), and salvation (Rom. 6:23). We receive Christ (Col. 2:6), the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38), righteousness (Rom. 5:17), peace (John 14:27), and wisdom (Jas. 1:5). We receive the crown of life (Jas. 1:12), the reward of our inheritance (Col. 3:24), and the rest from our labors (Matt. 11:28–29).
(d) Receives it with joy. The good news has the power to bring joy to all people (Luke 2:10). When Jesus revealed the kingdom to those under the law, they sometimes responded with praise to God (e.g., Matt. 9:8, 15:31). Yet, unless they turned to God in faith, their joy was short-lived. The same crowds that shouted “Hosanna” one week shouted “Crucify him” the next.
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) No firm root. The word “firm” is in italics to show it has been added by translators. The original text reads “they have no root,” which is what Jesus said in the parable. “They had no root, they withered away” (Matt. 13:6). To have no root is to have no connection with Jesus. He is the Righteous Root who sustains and nourishes us (Rom. 11:18). The righteous believer is like “a tree firmly planted by streams of water whose leaf does not wither” (Ps. 1:3). But the one who trusts in himself will wither and wilt, for they have no root.
(b) Affliction or persecution. Receive the message of grace, and you may face opposition from those still bound by the law. You will hear, “Grace must be balanced,” and “Too much grace is dangerous.” You will be pressured to conform and condemned if you refuse. If your faith is rooted in the unconditional love of God, you will not be shaken. But if it is rooted in anything else, such as the approval of others, you will stumble.
Further reading: “The high cost of free grace”
(c) He falls away. The Greek verb skandalizō means “to stumble.” It describes someone who is offended by the message of the cross. The religious Jews worshiped God but stumbled over his Son (1 Cor. 1:23). They preferred law to grace and sought righteousness through their works rather than through faith in Christ (Rom. 9:31–33).
Matthew 13:22
“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
(a) Thorns symbolize the worries, anxieties, and fears of life that pull us away from Jesus and can keep us from being fruitful.
(b) Hears the word; see entry for Matt. 13:19.
(c) Worry. Any area of your heart that is troubled and anxious is operating in unbelief. It is as though part of you is saying, “God doesn’t care” or “I don’t believe God can handle this.” When we allow cares and anxieties to distract us from God’s promises, his word doesn’t bear fruit in our lives.
(d) The deceitfulness of riches. Wealth offers a false sense of security.
If we look to money to protect our families or secure our futures, we set ourselves up for disappointment. The lure of wealth makes us barren, steals our joy, and can even pull us away from the faith (1 Tim. 6:10). Chasing money and success blinds us to the far greater blessings of a life centered on the Lord.
(e) Choke. The Greek verb sumpnigo means “to strangle, drown, or throttle.” Worry does not cause us to lose our salvation, but it does render the word of God unproductive in our lives.
(f) Unfruitful. Believers who are captive to fear never mature or become fruitful (Luke 8:14).
Some misread Christ’s words and conclude, “I’ve got to produce fruit to prove my salvation.” The result is dead works and anxious thorns (e.g., “Am I doing enough?”). But the seed produces the fruit, not us. We are merely the soil in which the seed grows. As long as we keep the garden of our hearts free from rocks (law) and thorns (worry), the indwelling Spirit of Christ will bear his fruit in us. It may not happen immediately. But as long as we rest in the Lord, his fruit will grow (John 15:4–5). “The soil produces crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, then the mature grain in the head” (Mark 4:28).
Matthew 13:23
“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”
(a) The good soil represents the good and honest heart that humbly receives the word.
(b) Hears the word; see entry for Matt. 13:19.
(c) The word is the good news of the kingdom. It is the happy announcement that God is good, he loves us unconditionally, and we don’t need to do anything to earn his favor. See entry for Matt. 13:19.
(d) Understands it. They get it. They accept, comprehend, and embrace the good news of God’s grace.
In Mark’s account, we are to accept the word, while Luke says we are to hold it fast (Mark 4:20, Luke 8:15). James adds that we are to receive the implanted word with humility, and be doers of the word and not merely hearers (Jas. 1:21, 23). When the word is proclaimed, we bend our hearts and minds towards it. We reorient our thinking to align ourselves with what God has said. We let the word take root in our lives, knowing that it will release the power of God and produce a bountiful harvest.
(e) Bears fruit. The one who receives and holds fast to the word is blessed and fruitful (Luke 8:15).
In Luke’s account of the parable, Jesus says the good heart will “bear fruit with perseverance” (Luke 8:15). Just as a farmer patiently waits for “the precious produce of the soil” (Jas. 5:7), we can be sure that God’s word will bear fruit in our lives.
(f) Hundredfold. The word of God is potent and bears much fruit.
When the same word that spoke the universe into existence takes root in an undivided heart, it will bring forth “much fruit” (John 15:5). Those who trust in God’s word can have a confident expectation of an abundant harvest.
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) Presented. The original verb paratithēmi means “to set before” and is sometimes used in connection with presenting food (e.g., Luke 10:8). Jesus presented parables as food for the hungry (Matt. 13:31).
(b) Parable. The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds follows the Parable of the Sower. Both were spoken to the crowds (Matt. 13:34) and later explained privately to his disciples (Matt. 13:36). The parable answers the question: Why didn’t Jesus overthrow the Romans and purify Israel? John the Baptist said the Messiah would come with a winnowing fork of judgment (Matt. 3:12), but the only fork Jesus wielded was a dinner fork. “He eats with sinners,” complained the Pharisees (Matt. 9:11).
If the kingdom had come, why was evil still present? The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds—sometimes called the Parable of the Tares of the Field or the Harvest—is Jesus’ answer to that question. “The wheat and the weeds grow together for a time.” In other words, the new has come, but the old remains. The good and the bad grow side by side. But it will not stay this way forever. At the end of the age, Jesus will come with a winnowing fork, and the weeds will be removed from the world.
Some people worry that they will be included among the lawless weeds who are gathered and thrown into the fiery furnace. They have been told, “Those who fail to keep God’s laws will burn in hell forever.” If this were true, all of us would be lost, for no one has ever kept all the laws. Thankfully, Jesus says no such thing. The Wheat and the Weeds is a hope-filled parable that ends on a positive note. One day, there will be no more evil in the world, and the true sons of the kingdom will shine like the sun.
(c) The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(d) Compared. The parable is an analogy that compares the kingdom of heaven to a man sowing seed.
(e) A man. The man who sowed the good seed represents Jesus, the Son of Man (Matt. 13:37).
(f) Good seed. The good seed is wheat (see next verse), which represents the sons of the kingdom (Matt. 13:38).
(g) Field. The field represents the world (Matt. 13:38).
Matthew 13:25–26
“But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went away. But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the tares became evident also.
(a) Sleeping. Sleeping is a normal routine for weary farmhands (see Mark 4:27).
Some say the farmhands were sleeping on the job, and this gave the enemy an opportunity to sow tares. “If Christian ministers were more diligent, the devil would not be able to infiltrate the church.” Yet in his explanation of this parable (verses 37–43), Jesus never mentions the sleeping men. We cannot stop the enemy’s schemes by working ourselves to exhaustion. In a fallen world, weeds are inevitable (Gen. 3:18).
(b) His enemy. Sabotaging a farmer’s crop is an evil, life-threatening act.
(c) Tares. The tares, likely referring to darnel, are a noxious weed that resembles wheat until the heads appear. They steal nutrients from the soil, reduce the harvest, create a burden for farmers, and produce toxic seeds.
(d) Wheat was one of the most important crops in the Bible. It was cultivated from ancient times (Gen. 30:14), and early variants of wheat were likely among the grains stored by Joseph in Egypt (Gen. 41:49). Wheat was used to make bread.
(e) Bore grain. Wheat and tares can be distinguished by their grain.
Matthew 13:27
“The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’
(a) The landowner. In the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, the landowner is God the Father (Matt. 21:33). Here, the landowner is the Son of Man (Matt. 13:37).
(b) Did you not sow? The farmhands’ confusion is shared by many people: If God is good and everything he does is good, why is there evil in the world?
(c) Good seed. The good seed represents the sons of the kingdom or believers; see entry for Matt. 13:38.
(d) Tares. The tares represent the sons of the evil one; see entry for Matt. 13:38
Matthew 13:28–29
“And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ But he said, ‘No; for while you are gathering up the tares, you may uproot the wheat with them.
(a) Enemy. The enemy represents the devil; see entry for Matt. 13:39.
(b) Do you want us to fix this? Just as the farmhands wanted to rip out the weeds, the Jews wanted to rid Israel of every unclean thing, including Romans, Samaritans, and sinners. Even Jesus’ own disciples wanted to call down fire from heaven on those who didn’t receive them (Luke 9:54).
(c) No. Leave the weeds alone. We are not to judge, condemn, or burn “heretics” at the stake (see Luke 6:37). If the devil could keep Christians busy with witch hunts and weeding, the church would implode, and the harvest would be damaged.
We are not to receive false prophets and false teachers, and we are to refute those who contradict the gospel (Tit. 1:9, 2 John 1:10). But judging people is God’s business, not ours (Jas. 4:12).
Matthew 13:30
“‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
(a) Grow together. In the present age, good and evil coexist.
We live in an age of overlapping kingdoms. The kingdom of God has come, but the powers of darkness remain. But like a mustard seed that becomes a tree, God’s kingdom begins small but finishes big (Matt. 13:32).
(b) The harvest is the end of the age (Matt. 13:39).
(c) The reapers represent the angels (Matt. 13:39).
(d) Gather the tares. The enemy’s handiwork shall be destroyed, and “every plant which my heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted” (Matt. 15:13).
(e) Burn them up; see entry for Matt. 13:40.
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.” Jesus presented parables as food for the hungry (Matt. 13:24).
(b) Parable. A parable is a comparison, and here Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a mustard seed. The Parable of the Mustard Seed appears in Matthew, Mark 4:30–32, and Luke 13:18–19. In Matthew and Luke, it is followed by the Parable of the Leaven. The two parables form a pair as each illustrates the growing influence of God’s kingdom on earth. See also the entry for Matt. 13:3.
(c) The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(d) Mustard seed. The mustard seed represents the kingdom of God. “How shall we picture the kingdom of God… it is like a mustard seed” (Mark 4:30–31). The Parable of the Mustard Seed answers the question, “If the kingdom of heaven has come, why is it so small?”
This was the question that was troubling John the Baptist. John was the greatest of the old prophets, and crowds flocked to hear him (Luke 3:7). He said that the Messiah’s ministry would surpass his own (Luke 3:16). When Jesus came, expectations soared. “The kingdom has come,” said Jesus, and the crowds were delighted (Mark 12:37). At last, everything would be set right.
But Jesus did not overthrow the Romans or do half the things the Messiah was supposed to do. Eventually, the crowds drifted away (John 6:66), and even his own disciples deserted him (Matt. 26:56). For those waiting for a Messiah with a winnowing fork of judgment, Jesus was a disappointment. “Are you the one who is to come?” said John. “Or shall we look for another?” (Matt. 11:3).
John and others misunderstood the nature of God’s kingdom. They expected a conqueror at the head of a mighty army, but what they got was a Servant King and some Galilean fishermen. To readjust their thinking, Jesus tells a story about a small seed growing into a large tree. The lesson is that great things can come from humble beginnings (1 Cor. 1:27–28). This was hardly new revelation. God chose a shepherd boy named David to free a nation. With only 300 men, God helped Gideon defeat the Midianites. What had happened before was happening again. With a handful of uneducated disciples, Jesus was establishing his kingdom on earth.
(e) A man. The man who sows the mustard seed represents the Son of Man, who went about sowing the good news of the kingdom (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 already here, in seed form, and it is growing.”
(g) Field. The field could represent the world, as it does in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matt. 13:38). More likely, it’s just a field. Mark and Luke have the man sowing the seed in the soil and his garden, respectively (Mark 4:31; Luke 13:19).
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 the size of a pinhead. It’s a speck of a seed.
(b) Larger. The Greek adjective megas means exceedingly great and large. The seed in the story grows so large that it becomes a tree with “mega” branches (Mark 4:32). Jesus is describing supernatural growth.
(c) Becomes a tree. A full-grown mustard plant is more of a bush than a tree. A large one can grow up to ten feet tall, yet it is hundreds of millions times larger than the tiny seed from which it came. It demonstrates Jesus’ point, which is that great things can arise from small beginnings.
(d) The birds of the air. Scholars debate the symbolism of the birds. What do they represent? In such a short parable, the birds don’t have to represent anything. But if they are symbolic, they are those who make their home (nest) in the kingdom.
Matthew 13:33
He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened.”
(a) Parable. A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a short story; see entry for Matt. 13:3.
(b) The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(c) Leaven. The Parable of the Leaven is sometimes called the Parable of the Yeast, and it appears in two Gospels (Matt. 13:33, Luke 13:20–21). Yeast is a kind of leaven, but not all leaven is yeast. The leaven Jesus has in mind is fermented dough.
The Parable of the Leaven answers the question, “If the kingdom is here, why does nothing seem to change?” Jesus reveals that change is happening all the time—the kingdom is growing—even though we may not see it.
Leaven represents influence. When Jesus warned his disciples to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, he was warning them not to heed their hypocritical teaching (Luke 12:1). In this parable, however, he speaks of a different kind of influence: the power of God revealed in the gospel (Rom. 1:16). The power of God saves the lost, raises the dead, and transforms creation. This transforming, leavening power is evident wherever God reigns. It’s experienced in the hearts of believers and within grace-filled communities (Luke 17:21).
(d) Woman. Jesus, the champion of equality, follows a story about a man sowing seed with a story about a woman hiding leaven. If Jesus is the sower in the first parable, he is the woman in the second. A similar gender balance is seen in the parables of the Lost Sheep and the Lost Coin. A man loses a sheep and a woman loses a coin (Luke 15:4, 8).
(e) Hid. The woman does not knead the leaven into the flour; she hides it. The original verb egkryptō is related to a word (krypto) meaning “to conceal.” It’s the same word used to describe the treasure hidden in the field (Matt. 13:44). The hidden leaven alludes to the hidden working of the kingdom. Most of the time, the leaven of the kingdom spreads quietly, almost invisibly.
(f) Three pecks or measures of flour equal about 50 pounds or 20 kilograms. (The Greek noun saton is roughly equal to sixteen dry pounds or seven kilograms.) It is an extravagant amount of flour, enough to make bread for more than 100 people. This woman is baking bread for a feast.
When it comes to food, Jesus seldom does things by halves. He feeds 5,000 and leaves twelve baskets of leftovers (Matt. 14:21). He turns plain water into stone jars brimming with extraordinary wine (John 2:1–10). He fills fishermen’s nets to bursting and then cooks them breakfast (John 21:3–13). In a world where hunger was never far away, Jesus portrayed the kingdom as a banquet where people feast at tables laden with abundance.
Sarah used three measures of flour to make “cakes” or flatbread for Abraham’s three visitors (Gen. 18:6). On that occasion, the Lord promised she would soon bear a son (Gen. 18:10). The image of three measures signals that God is birthing something new. Like a pregnancy, it begins small and unseen. But what God promises always comes to pass, and when it does, there will be feasting and joy.
(g) All leavened does not mean all will be saved, but that all will be made new (Rev. 21:5).
Jesus’ bread-making recipe is simple: add leaven to the dough and wait. Leaven works quickly and multiplies fast. In the same way, the word of God spreads and multiplies (Acts 12:24, 13:49, 19:20). We see this in the explosive growth of the early church. A gathering of 120 believers in an upper room became a church of thousands (Acts 2:41, 4:4). Within a few years, the gospel was bearing fruit all over the world (Col. 1:6).
The kingdom of heaven operates quietly through churches, missionary organizations, orphanages, relief agencies, nonprofits, hospitals, schools, and more. But one day the whole batch will be leavened, and the kingdom will fill the world around us. Every part of society—from the sciences to the arts, from business to government—will come under the gracious, life-giving influence of King Jesus. Every activity and endeavor will display the glory of God, and the earth itself will carry the fragrance of heaven (Hab. 2:14).
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!
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.
Matthew 13:36
Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field.”
(a) Explain. The original verb diasapheō means “to make clear.” The disciples were asking, “Lord, can you clarify this parable for us?” The disciples regularly asked Jesus to explain his parables (Mark 4:10, 7:17, Luke 8:9), and Jesus was happy to do so (Mark 4:34).
(b) Parable. A parable is a comparison expressed in the form of a short story; see entry for Matt. 13:3.
(c) Tares. Weeds; see entry for Matt. 13:25.
Matthew 13:37
And he said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
(a) The Son of Man is one of several references to Daniel’s prophecies in this parable.
The parable of the Wheat and the Weeds is about Judgment Day. The Jews drew much of their understanding of that day from the prophet Daniel. For this reason, when Jesus speaks about the end of the age, he uses images and phrases taken from Daniel. These include the Son of Man (Dan. 7:13–14), the kingdom (Dan. 7:27), the furnace of fire (Dan. 3:6), and the shining of the saints (Dan. 12:3).
(b) The good seed; see next verse.
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) The field is the world. The field is not just Galilee and Judea, but the whole world. Here, Jesus gives one of his first hints that his mission is to rescue humanity and be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14).
(b) Good seed. The good seed represents born-again believers.
In this parable, the good seed represents believers. In the parable of the Sower, however, the good seed is the word of the kingdom (Matt. 13:19) or the word of God (Luke 8:11). These differences are more apparent than real. Jesus is the Word of life (1 John 1:1) who imparts life like a seed. When we come to Christ in faith, we receive his life and become the Christ-bearing children of God.
(c) The sons of the kingdom or the “sons of God” (Gal. 3:26) are the children of God. They are believers who have died, been buried, and raised to new life with Christ (Rom. 6:3–5, Eph. 2:5–6). A son of the kingdom is no longer part of Adam’s lineage but has become a member of God’s family and a co-heir with Christ (Rom. 8:17, Eph. 2:19, 3:6). They belong to a new species of humanity called the new creation.
In Matthew 8:12, the phrase “sons of the kingdom” refers to unbelieving Jews who are cast into the outer darkness. Under the new covenant, old labels take on new meanings. Just as the definition of Israel changed to include those who share Abraham’s faith (see Rom. 4:16, 9:8), the true sons of the kingdom are those who embrace the true King.
(d) The sons of the evil one. Jesus is not talking about hurting or broken people. The “children of the devil” are those who walk in darkness and harbour hatred in their hearts (1 John 2:9, 3:10). They oppose God and hinder others from entering his kingdom. Elymas the magician is one example. He tried to turn the proconsul away from the faith, and Paul called him a “son of the devil” (Acts 13:8–10). Others include the religious Jews who dismissed Jesus as a demon-possessed Samaritan (John 8:44–48). Then there are the false apostles, prophets, and teachers who infiltrate the church with destructive and divisive teachings. They malign the way of truth by preaching false gospels that distract from Christ and cause believers to fall from grace (Gal. 1:7, 5:4). These “evil and deceitful workers” may talk a good line, but they can be recognized by their bad fruit (Matt. 7:20, 2 Cor. 11:13). They deny that Jesus is Lord, lack his indwelling Spirit, and live immoral lives (2 Pet. 2:1–3, 13–15, 2 John 1:7–9, Jude 1:4, 19). Like Jezebel of Thyatira, they lead people away from Christ (e.g., Rev. 2:20).
What can we do with such people? Scripture tells us to turn away from those who create divisions and cause others to stumble (Rom. 16:17). Do not follow them, listen to them, or give them a platform (2 Tim. 3:5, 2 John 1:10). The best response to their lies is to keep proclaiming the truth.
(e) The evil one, a.k.a. the devil (see next verse).
Matthew 13:39
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels.
(a) The devil is also known as the tempter (Matt. 4:3, 1 Th. 3:5), the evil one (1 John 2:13), the accuser (Rev. 12:10), and Satan (Matt. 4:10). His purpose is to ruin the harvest, and one way he does this is by promoting teachers whose message and ministry distract people from Jesus. See entry for Matt. 4:1.
(b) The harvest is an Old Testament metaphor for judgment and the end of the age (Is. 27:12, Hos. 6:11, Joel 3:12–13, Mic. 4:12).
(c) The end of the age; see next verse.
(d) Angels are spiritual beings whose home is heaven (Mark 12:25). Notable angels named in the New Testament include Gabriel (Luke 1:19) and Michael (Jude 1:9). See entry for Heb. 1:4.
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 the wicked—not the righteous—who are taken away. The weeds are weeded out from the field, and the bad fish are removed from the net (Matt. 13:48). When the ungodly are removed, the meek will inherit the earth.
(b) Fire is an Old Testament image associated with divine judgment (Is. 66:15–16, Obad. 1:18, Zeph. 3:8, Mal. 4:1). A fiery judgment appears in the parables of the Wedding Feast, the Wheat and the Weeds, the Net, the Sheep and the Goats, and the Vine and Branches (Matt. 13:40, 50, 22:7, 25:41, John 15:6).
Jesus often spoke of fire in connection with Judgment Day (Matt. 5:22, 13:42, 18:9, Luke 17:29–30). He didn’t fear this fire; he looked forward to it. He knew that it would spell the end of sin and ungodliness and usher in the eternal age. “How I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). After the fires of judgment have purged the earth, the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43).
(c) The end of the age. The present age will come to an end when the Lord returns in glory (2 Pet. 3:7, 10).
When times are tough, it’s easy to get discouraged. It may seem as though evil is triumphing and that nothing ever changes. It won’t always be this way. When the Author steps onto the stage, the play will end, the curtain will fall, and those who have done evil will exit stage left (John 5:29).
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. Jesus; 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. The kingdom of God isn’t synonymous with the fallen world, but the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdom of our Lord (Dan. 7:27, Rev. 11:15). In the fullness of time, God will bring all things in the heavens and on earth under the headship of his Son (Eph. 1:10, Col. 1:20).
(d) Stumbling blocks. The original noun skandalon means “a snare” or “trap.” A stumbling block is anything that hinders people from coming to the Savior and walking in his grace. Legalism and licentiousness are two examples of stumbling blocks. Legalism puts price tags on the free grace of God, while licentiousness removes the price tags from sin.
(e) Lawlessness. Jesus is not talking about Christians who stumble. Nor is he talking about preachers who say we are under grace, not law (Rom. 6:14). The “lawless ones” are the wicked who live contrary to God’s purposes (e.g., evildoers, slavers, traffickers), and the self-righteous who twist the law for their own ends. Jesus told the Pharisees they were “full of hypocrisy and lawlessness” (Matt. 23:28). Those who rely on their good works rather than doing the will of God are also known as workers of lawlessness (Matt. 7:23).
Matthew 13:42
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 (Matt. 13:50, Rev. 9:2). The fiery furnace, which is synonymous with the lake of fire, symbolizes the second death (see entry for Rev. 20:14).
(b) Fire. Judgment; see entry for Matt. 13:40.
(c) Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Rage and anguish.
On Judgment Day, the wicked sons of the evil one will be indignant at the “unjust” way they are being treated (Matt. 13:50). They will say things like, “Did we not prophesy and cast out demons in your name?” (Matt. 7:22). And Jesus will reply, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23).
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.
(a) The righteous are those who have received by faith the righteousness that comes from God (Php. 3:9). One with the Lord, they are as righteous as the Righteous One. This is why the believer has nothing to fear from Judgment Day. Because they are clothed with Christ’s righteousness, and his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor. 9:9).
See entry for Righteousness.
(b) Shine. When Christ returns, we will be robed in immortality and radiant glory (Dan. 12:3, 1 Cor. 15:51–52). In that moment, our true identity as God’s children will be revealed, and we will shine like gods.
(c) Kingdom of their Father. Since God the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30), the kingdom of God the Father is also the kingdom of Christ (Eph. 5:5). There is no difference.
(d) He who has ears. The quote, which comes from Ezekiel 3:27, was one that Jesus often used (Matt. 11:15, 13:9, 43, Mark 4:9, 23, 7:16, Luke 8:8, 14:35).
(e) Let him hear. “This is important. You need to receive this.” It’s not enough that we merely hear the word of the kingdom; we need to receive it in our hearts and hold fast to it (Luke 8:15).
God is making all things new. Like a city from heaven, a new civilization is being forged, one built on the grace and truth revealed in Jesus Christ. Those who have aligned themselves with the fallen city of man will find they have no place in this new earth. Like the tares, they will be weeded out and cast away. But those who are looking forward to the return of King Jesus will shine in his kingdom forever.
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. Jesus presents two pairs of comparisons in quick succession. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed a mustard seed and a woman who hid leaven. It’s also like a treasure hidden in a field and a pearl of great price.” The parables of the Treasure and the Pearl form a beautiful symmetry. The “treasure” is an Old Testament symbol for the nation of Israel, while the “pearl” is a New Testament symbol for the new Israel, the church.
The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(b) Treasure. The treasure represents the people of God. Jesus’ disciples would have understood that he was referring to the nation of Israel. At Mt. Sinai, God said to Israel, “You shall be my treasured possession among all peoples” (Ex. 19:5a). The Jews were God’s “treasured ones” (Ps. 83:3).
(c) Hidden in the field. God called Abraham’s descendants to shine and be a blessing to the nations (Gen. 22:18). But Israel chose to withdraw from the world. By the time of Christ, the nation had become like a treasure hidden in a field.
Some say the hidden treasure is the kingdom or even Jesus himself, and that we must give up all we have to gain it. Scripture does not support this interpretation. The God who gave us his Son has also given us the kingdom (Luke 12:32). Others use the parable to promote elite levels of Christianity: “Real Christians, like ministers and missionaries, must make sacrifices if they want to receive a special anointing or grace.” This too is unscriptural. Nothing in God’s kingdom is for sale. Every blessing is freely ours in Christ Jesus (Eph. 1:3).
(d) The field is the world, just as it is in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (Matt. 13:38).
(e) A man. Jesus, the man from heaven, came to the field (the world) to uncover the hidden treasure (Israel). For three years, he revealed the kingdom of God by healing the sick, delivering the captives, and preaching good news to the poor. He did these things to remind Israel that they were God’s treasured possession.
(f) Hid again. For the most part, the people of Israel responded to Jesus with disinterest and unbelief. Israel’s leaders actively tried to suppress his ministry. They were like a treasure that did not want to be found. Jesus lamented their folly (Luke 19:41, Matt. 23:13–38). He knew that God’s purposes 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 treasured or chosen nation (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, the new Israel (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 died for the whole world (John 1:29). He purchased the field with his blood and gave his life as a ransom for all (1 Tim. 2:6). “For you have been bought with a price” (1 Cor. 6:20a). He did this to show that he treasures all of us and wants us to be part of God’s great family. He wants the treasured Jews and the pearly Gentiles. In the new covenant, everyone can become part of the treasured family of God.
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 or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. See entry for Matt. 3:2.
(b) A merchant. In the Parable of the Pearl, the merchant represents Jesus, who searched for you and sold or gave all he had to redeem you.
(c) Seeking. Jesus came seeking to save the lost (Luke 19:10).
(d) Pearls. According to Pliny the Elder, pearls were the most valuable objects in the ancient world. (Natural History, 9.54). Yet pearls are conspicuously absent from the Old Testament. Examine the jewels 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 prized gold, silver, and precious stones, but not pearls. Perhaps they regarded them as unclean because they came from shellfish, or avoided them because they were associated with Gentiles. By the time of Christ, however, pearls had gained wider acceptance. Jesus mentioned pearls in his sermons (Matt. 7:6), and women wore them as jewellery (1 Tim. 2:9). Just as treasure symbolizes Israel, the pearl signifies the church—something once foreign, now made holy and precious.
(e) A pearl of great value. The pearl of great value represents the people of God.
A pearl is a picture of redemption. Just as a pearl forms from an injury within an oyster, God is making something precious out of wounded and sinful humanity. He is making a new species in Christ called the new creation (2 Cor. 5:17).
(f) Sold all that he had. Jesus impoverished himself to redeem you (2 Cor. 8:9). He gave all he had—his position and life—to obtain something he valued more—you!
The wrong way to read the parables of the Treasure, the Pearl, the Tower Builder and the Warring King (Luke 14:28–33) is to think you must pay a great price or make great sacrifices to enter the kingdom. The truth is, you cannot afford the price of entry. But the good news is that Christ gave everything he had to ransom you (Php. 2:6–7, 1 Tim. 2:6). He did this because he loves you and sees you as priceless. In his eyes, you are the fine pearl of great value.
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 or the kingdom of God refers to the reign of God revealed through his Son. In this present age, it is expressed through the body of Christ, the church. 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 into the water or stretched between two boats. The filled nets were then pulled onto the shore with ropes.
The Parable of the Net, or Dragnet, is the seventh and final parable in the Parable Discourse of Matthew 13. It is similar to the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds and shares several 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 a dragnet gathers all kinds of fish, the kingdom of heaven gathers all kinds of people from every nation and tribe (see Rev. 7:9, 14:6).
The inclusive and welcoming kingdom of God stands in sharp contrast to the parochial kingdoms of this world. The Jews marginalized women and shunned sinners, while the Greeks and Romans kept the barbarians outside their gates. Yet those rejected by men are welcomed and received by Jesus.
(d) Fish of every kind. Whether good or bad, all are welcome in God’s kingdom (Matt. 22:10).
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. In the same way, we are to occupy ourselves with fishing (preaching the gospel) and leave the sorting to the Lord (Matt. 13:41). Jesus will separate the good fish from the bad fish, the wheat from the weeds, and the sheep from the goats at the end of the age.
(b) Gathered. Sellable fish were stored, perhaps in containers of water, while bad fish (too small or unclean) were discarded.
(c) The good fish represent the righteous (see next verse).
(d) The bad fish represent the wicked (see next verse).
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 several parables where Jesus speaks of a judgment day separation of the righteous from the wicked (the Wheat and the Weeds, the Sheep and the Goats).
(b) The end of the age. The present age will come to an end when the Lord returns in glory (2 Pet. 3:7, 10).
(c) The angels. As in the Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds, it is the angels who separate the wicked from the righteous (Matt. 13:41).
(d) Take out the wicked. Judgment Day is a day of separation (Matt. 25:32). Whether it’s the weeds being separated from the wheat or the goats being sent away from the sheep, the wicked are removed and the righteous remain. The wicked are not removed on account of their sin, which was judged at the cross, but because they have written themselves out of God’s story. Those who want no part in God’s great restoration plan will have no place in his new creation.
(e) The wicked. To be wicked is to be evil and cut from the same rebellious cloth as the devil and his demons. It is refusing to honor God as God or worshiping something other than God (Rom. 1:21, 23).
(f) The righteous. One with the Lord, the believer is as righteous as the Righteous One. This is why the believer has nothing to fear on Judgment Day. They are clothed with Christ’s righteousness, and his righteousness endures forever (2 Cor. 9:9).
See entry for Righteousness.
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 (Matt. 13:50, Rev. 9:2). The fiery furnace, which is synonymous with the lake of fire, symbolizes the second death (see entry for Rev. 20:14, 21:8).
(b) Fire. Jesus often spoke of fire in connection with Judgment Day (Matt. 5:22, 13:42, 18:9, Luke 17:29–30). He didn’t fear this fire; he looked forward to it. He knew that it would spell the end of sin and ungodliness and usher in the eternal age. “How I wish it were already kindled!” (Luke 12:49). After the fires of judgment have purged the earth, the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43).
God is making all things new. Like a city from heaven, a new civilization is being forged, one based on the grace and truth that are revealed in Jesus. Those who have aligned themselves with the fallen city of man will find they have no place in this new earth. Like bad fish, they will be separated and thrown away. But those new creation believers who welcome the king and his kingdom will shine forever.
(c) Weeping and gnashing of teeth. Rage and anguish.
On Judgment Day, the wicked will be furious at the “unjust” way they are being treated (Matt. 13:50). They will say things like, “Did we not prophesy and cast out demons in your name?” (Matt. 7:22). And Jesus will reply, “Depart from me, I never knew you” (Matt. 7:23). See entry for Matt. 13:42.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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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Great commentary Paul! Do you have any in sights on verse 25 and 39? I have people who cherry pick those verses, I was hoping to see some commentary from you on those to share.
As it happens, I have been writing commentary for the parable of the wheat and tares this week. It will get uploaded, but probably not this month. We tend to batch process the parables. But sign up for updates, and I’ll let you know when it’s up. Glad to hear you like the commentary.