Matthew Chapter 13

At a Glance

  • Matthew 13 is the central repository of Jesus’ parables, a teaching chapter that reveals how the Kingdom of Heaven operates in the soil of human hearts.
  • The chapter culminates in Jesus’ exhortation to his followers about hearing and understanding—those who have will gain more, while those without will lose even what they seem to possess.
  • Historical & Literary Context.
  • Chapter 13 sits at a crucial junction in Matthew, where Jesus shifts from direct, public confrontation with opponents to a pedagogy of parables that reveals the ethics and trajectory of the Kingdom.
  • This chapter advances the book’s theological arc: Jesus’ authority is confirmed through his teaching methods, and the crowd’s varied responses mirror the human condition regarding the kingdom.

Chapter Overview

Matthew 13 is the central repository of Jesus’ parables, a teaching chapter that reveals how the Kingdom of Heaven operates in the soil of human hearts. The narrative begins with Jesus teaching by the sea, using parables to reveal mysteries to his disciples while veiling comprehension from onlookers who are not receptive. The parable of the sower grounds the chapter: seeds fall on various terrains—path, rocky ground, thorns, and good soil—producing a spectrum of outcomes. The disciples ask why Jesus speaks in parables; he explains that mysteries of the kingdom are given to the faithful yet remain hidden from those who are uninterested or hard-hearted. The parables unfold with layers: the weeds among the wheat, the mustard seed, the yeast, and more, each illustrating different dimensions of the kingdom’s growth, influence, and hiddenness.

The chapter culminates in Jesus’ exhortation to his followers about hearing and understanding—those who have will gain more, while those without will lose even what they seem to possess. This section anchors the notion that divine revelation is a gift that invites responsible response. The final portion (beyond the excerpt provided) often includes the return to households and the reorientation of Jesus’ mission toward the broader Galilean audience and the surrounding towns, reinforcing a movement from secret knowledge to public proclamation.

Historical & Literary Context

Chapter 13 sits at a crucial junction in Matthew, where Jesus shifts from direct, public confrontation with opponents to a pedagogy of parables that reveals the ethics and trajectory of the Kingdom. The genre blends narrative and teaching, with parables functioning as both wisdom literature and evangelistic pedagogy. The sea-side setting recurs as a symbolic stage for unveiling and concealment of truth—a motif that resonates with prophetic literature where revelation comes in measured, sometimes enigmatic forms.

This chapter advances the book’s theological arc: Jesus’ authority is confirmed through his teaching methods, and the crowd’s varied responses mirror the human condition regarding the kingdom. The parables are not mere stories but interpretive instruments that require spiritual receptivity to yield understanding and transformation. Theologically, it underscores the theme of judgment: receptivity opens the door to deeper truth, while refusal leads to continued blindness.

Key Themes

- Kingdom Secrecy and Revelation: Parables reveal truth to insiders while concealing it from the indifferent.

- Reception and Response: Hearing leads to understanding only for those prepared to receive it.

- Growth in Hidden Form: The mustard seed and yeast depict the kingdom’s growth from small beginnings to pervasive influence.

- Moral and Spiritual Discernment: The parables require spiritual insight beyond surface-level listening.

- Judgment for Unrepentant Heart: Rejection of Jesus’ message carries consequences.

Modern Application

For today’s readers, Matthew 13 invites contemplation on how the gospel takes root in diverse life soils. It challenges Christians to examine the condition of their own hearts: is the soil rocky or crowded with thorns, or is it open and fertile? The parables urge believers to cultivate receptivity, humility, and endurance in the face of obscurity or misunderstanding.

The growth metaphors encourage patient, faithful commitment to discipleship and mission even when immediate fruit isn’t visible. The idea that divine truth is mediated through everyday stories and experiences invites Christians to interpret culture, relationships, and personal challenges through a Kingdom lens. It also pushes the church to discern how to present the gospel in a way that invites sincere inquiry rather than mere assent.

- Isaiah 6:9–10 (prophetic hearing and seeing)

- Luke 8:4–15 (parallel parable of the sower)

- Mark 4:1–34 (parabolic teaching on the kingdom)

- Psalm 78:2–4 (revelation through parables)

- Jesus (chief interpreter of parables)

- Solomon (wisdom on discernment and growth)

- Paul (theology of revelation and transformation)

- David (shepherd imagery of growing hidden kingdoms)

Chapter Text

1

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2

And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

4

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

5

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6

And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

7

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

8

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

9

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

10

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

11

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

12

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

13

Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

14

And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

15

For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

16

But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

17

For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

18

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

24

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25

But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26

But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27

So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29

But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30

Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

31

Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:

32

Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.

33

Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

34

All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:

35

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

36

Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

37

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;

38

The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;

39

The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

40

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.

41

The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;

42

And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

44

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

45

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:

46

Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.

47

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:

48

Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.

49

So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,

50

And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

51

Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.

52

Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.

53

And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.

54

And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?

55

Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

56

And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?

57

And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.

58

And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

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