Matthew 13

The Parable of the Sower (13:1-9)

A. Parable literally means “place beside” or I place beside in order to compare. It is placing the ordinary event in natural life beside a spiritual
life in order to illustrate the spiritual. The basic meaning of parable is “earthly story with heavenly meaning.” These set of Parables Jesus
gave in chapter 13 are all “Kingdom Parables” for they all have reference to the coming kingdom of the Christ.
B. In the parable, the sower sowed his seeds unto his field and it went to four different kinds of soil. Some went to the hardly trodden soil.
Some seed fell upon a ledge of rock covered with a thin coating of soil. Others fell in thorns. And some fell into the good ground.

The Purpose of Parables (13:10-17)

A. Jesus already drew a line of demarcation between disciples and unbelievers; which line became more marked and visible after the church
was organized at Pentecost. These parables were spoken for the multitudes who do not yet know the mysteries of God because it has not
yet been revealed to them.
B. People had seen Jesus performing miracles, but were not able to grasp the purpose of it; they had heard Jesus teaching the gospel, but
were unable to understand the true meaning of it. The hindrance was their unbelief. Jesus will use parables to them if perhaps they would
be able to understand Him.

The Parable of the Sower Explained (13:18-23)

A. The four soils represent four hearts into which truth is sown.
1. Indifferent heart. The seeds that fell to the wayside naturally cannot grow for it is hard pressed land because of centuries of usage, the
only fate of these seeds is to be eaten by birds. These refer to people who have no interest with the word of God. Satan snatches the
message of God from them.
2. Emotional heart. This shallow, rock-covered soil represents those who are not fully determined or their purpose. They are made to be
short-lived disciples of Christ. When opposition comes, slight or severe, it would make them partial or total apostates. As the sunlight
both strengthens the healthy plant and withers the sickly plant, so sufferings both strengthen the faithful and destroy the unfaithful.
3. Worldly heart. The third class was choked by the thorns of the ground. These are people who became disciples but afterwards permit
worldly cares to gain the mastery.
4. Receptive heart. The seeds that fell to the good ground brought forth abundance. From these we can see that a person needs three
things: a preacher (sower), a pure gospel (seed), and an honest hearer (good soil).

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares (13:24-30)

The Parable of the Mustard Seed (13:31-32)

A. Jesus compared the kingdom into a tiny, small mustard seed. The mustard plant in Palestine is quite different from other countries because
it may attain the height of ten feet. This parable shows that the kingdom of Christ would begin from small to a magnitude of growth.

The Parable of the Leaven (13:33)

A. Yeast is a leavening agent used to raise dough. In the N.T. times yeast was not added to the dough as a separate ingredient, but some
yeast –containing dough from the previous day’s bread was added to the fresh dough. Leaven represents the quickness, quietness,
thoroughness and sureness with which gospel truth diffuses itself through human society.

Prophecy and the Parables (13:34-35)

A. We can see from these verses why Matthew included this set of parables as part of his narrative. He is still in his objective to prove that
Jesus is the coming Christ by quoting Psa. 78:2.

The Parable of the Tares Explained (13:36-43)

A. Jesus explained the Parable of the Tares which He had just narrated before. He broke down the Parable to them in simple terms:
1. The one who sowed the food seed is the Son of Man.
2. The field is the world.
3. The wheat is the children of the kingdom.
4. The weeds are the children of the evil one.
5. The enemy is the devil.
6. The harvest is the end of the age.
7. The reapers are the angels.
B. The parable speaks to what will happen at the end of time. Jesus will send His angels into the world to harvest the world. The weeds will be
thrown into the furnace of fire. The wheat will be invited into God’s eternal kingdom.
C. Some use this parable as an argument against church discipline, but such a use is clearly erroneous because the field is not the church but
the world. The teaching of the parable is that we are not to attempt to exterminate evil men by physical force.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure (13:44)

A. It was common during the ancient times for people to hide their treasures as best as they could usually in their fields. But the sudden death
of the hider often resulted in the loss of all knowledge as to the exact place of the treasure. The parable speaks of such a lost treasure.
Technically it belonged to the owner of the field, but practically it belonged to him who found it. He sold everything he had to buy the field.
In the same manner a person who would realize how priceless it is to become a follower of Jesus would forsake all he has in order to be
fully dedicated to Him.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price (13:45-46)

A. The same principle taught in the preceding parable is taught also in this parable. The notable difference of the two parables is that the
former accidentally found the treasure while the latter the pearl was sought. Some find without seeking, as the Samaritan woman (John
4:28-29); some only after diligent search, as did the eunuch (Acts 8:27).

The Parable of the Dragnet (13:47-52)

A. Like the parable of the tares, this one indicates the continuance of the mixture of bad and food, and points to the final separation.
1. The contents of a net cannot be sorted while it is being drawn. The net shows that in the dark waters in the deep, there are things
which cannot be seen. Some people’s wicked activities are not seen by the public eye.
2. But when the net is drawn to the shore, all fishes, clean and unclean, would be sorted carefully. All secrets would be revealed in the
Judgment day.

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth (13:53-58)

A. The people of Nazareth admitted his marvelous teaching and miraculous work but did not mind these mighty things instead they rejected
Jesus. But why did the town of Nazareth reject Jesus? The nearest answer was because of their familiarity of Him.
1. They could not imagine the Messiah being Jesus. They were so familiar with His humanity that made it hard for them to believe in His
divinity. They even enumerated every item that indicates Jesus humanity (i.e. family and trade).
2. The disciples did not fully understand who Jesus, was but they were willing to follow Him and discover more about Him. These people
would not even want to make some effort to know Jesus, hence they dishonored their Messiah in ignorance.