18
“ Lis ten then to what the par a ble of the sow er means: 19 When any one hears the mes sage about the king dom and does not un der stand it, the evil one comes and snatch es away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed fall ing on rocky ground re fers to some one who hears the word and at once re ceives it with joy.
21
But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trou ble or per se cu tion comes be cause of the word, they quick ly fall away. 22 The seed fall ing among the thorns re fers to some one who hears the word, but the wor ries of this life and the de ceit ful ness of wealth choke the word, mak ing it un fruit ful. 23 But the seed fall ing on good soil re fers to some one who hears the word and un der stands it. This is the one who pro duces a crop, yield ing a hun dred, six ty or thir ty times what was sown.”
MattheW 13:39 | 1557
The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
13:31,32pp— Mk 4:30-32 13:31-33pp— Lk 13:18-21
31
He told them an oth er par a ble:“ The king dom of heav en is like a mus tard seed, which a man took and plant ed in his field. 32 Though it is the small est of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the larg est of gar den plants and be comes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branch es.”
33
He told them still an oth er par a ble:“ The kingdom of heav en is like yeast that a wom an took and mixed into about six ty pounds a of flour un til it worked all through the dough.”
34
Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in par a bles; he did not say any thing to them without us ing a par a ble. 35 So was ful filled what was spo ken through the proph et:
The Parable of the Weeds |
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24
Jesus told them an oth er par a ble:“ The kingdom of heav en is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while ev ery one was sleep ing, his
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“ I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.” b |
en e my came and sowed weeds among the wheat, |
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and went away. 26 When the wheat sprout ed and formed heads, then the weeds also ap peared.
27
“ The own er’ s ser vants came to him and said,
‘ Sir, didn’ t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28
“‘ An en e my did this,’ he re plied.
“ The ser vants asked him,‘ Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29
“‘ No,’ he an swered,‘ be cause while you are pull ing the weeds, you may up root the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow to geth er un til the har vest.
At that time I will tell the har vest ers: First col lect the weeds and tie them in bun dles to be burned;
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The Parable of the Weeds Explained
36
Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His dis ci ples came to him and said,“ Explain to us the par a ble of the weeds in the field.”
37
He an swered,“ The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the peo ple of the king dom. The weeds are the peo ple of the evil one,
39 and the en e my who sows them is the dev il. The har vest is the end of the age, and the har vest ers are an gels.
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then gath er the wheat and bring it into my barn.’” |
a
33 Or about 27 kilograms
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b
35 Psalm 78:2
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translation of the OT). See the table“ Jesus’ Fulfillment of OT Prophecy” on p. 1573.
13:18 – 23 In a rare display, Jesus explains one of his parables— but only to his disciples( compare Mt 13:36 – 43).
13:19 message about the kingdom Represented by the seeds in Jesus’ initial telling of the parable. The seed is always good; the variance is in where the seed lands.
13:24 – 30 Jesus returns to addressing the crowd( as opposed to his disciples in the boat) and offers them a second parable. Jesus later offers his disciples an explanation( vv. 36 – 43).
13:25 weeds The Greek word used here refers to a kind of weed that resembles wheat until both reach maturity.
13:31 – 33 The next two parables in ch. 13 stress the inevitable growth of the kingdom of heaven, despite the resistance it faces. The parable of the mustard seed contrasts the seemingly insignificant inception of the kingdom of heaven, in the world and in a person’ s life, with its momentous results.
13:31 mustard seed A tiny seed that grows into a tenfoot-high shrub. The shrub grew along the shores of the Sea of Galilee and may have been immediately in view of Jesus’ hearers. 13:32 the smallest of all seeds Rabbis used the mustard seed as a proverbial object to denote the smallest possible amount or size of something. Compare 17:20. 13:33 yeast A substance that causes dough to ferment and rise. Normally, yeast or leaven has negative connotations in the Bible, symbolizing sin or impurity( e. g., 16:6; 1Co 5:6 – 7). Here, Jesus uses it positively to symbolize the kingdom of heaven’ s expansion.
13:34 – 35 Similar to Mt 13:10 – 17, this section reiterates Jesus’ purpose in using parables.
13:35 fulfilled See note on 1:22. the prophet The quotation in this verse is from Ps 78:2. This psalm identifies its author as Asaph, who is described in 2 Chron icles as a seer( see note on Ps 73: title; note on Ps 78:2; 2Ch 29:30).
13:36 – 43 Jesus privately interprets the parable of the weeds( Mt 13:24 – 30) for his disciples.
13:37 the Son of Man See note on 8:20.