Matthew
Chapter 13
1 That day, Jesus left the house and sat by the sea.
2 Large crowds gathered to him, so he got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the beach.
3 He told them many stories with hidden meanings, saying, “Look, a farmer went out to plant seeds.
4 As he was planting, some seeds fell by the path, and the birds came and ate them.
5 Some seeds fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much soil. They quickly grew because the soil wasn’t deep.
6 When the sun rose, they got burned up and since they had no roots, they dried out.
7 Some seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew and choked them.
8 Some seeds fell on good soil and produced crops: some 100 times more, some 60 times more, and some 30 times more.
9 Anyone who has ears to listen should listen.
10 The disciples came and asked him, “Why do you talk to the people using stories with hidden meanings?”
11 He replied, “You are allowed to understand the secrets of heaven’s kingdom, but others are not.”
12 Whoever has will get more and have plenty, but whoever does not have will lose even what they have.
13 So I tell them stories because they look but don’t really see, and they listen but don’t truly hear or understand.
14 In them, the prediction of Isaiah comes true, which says, “You will hear but not understand; you will see but not recognize.”
15 This people’s heart has grown hard, their ears can barely hear, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, turn back, and be healed by me.
16 Your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears are blessed because they hear.
17 Truly, I tell you, many prophets and good people wanted to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 Listen to the story of the farmer who plants seeds.
19 When someone hears about God’s kingdom but doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and takes away what was planted in their heart. This is like the seed that falls on the path.
20 But the one who gets the seed on rocky ground is the person who hears the message and immediately receives it with happiness.
21 He doesn’t have a deep root inside, but lasts only a short time. When trouble or harassment comes because of the message, he quickly gets upset.
22 The person who received the seed among thorns is the one who hears the message, but worries of life and the lure of wealth choke the message, making them unproductive.
23 The person who receives the seed on good soil is the one who listens to the word and understands it; they also produce a harvest, yielding sometimes a hundred times, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty.
24 He told them another story, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seeds in his field.”
25 While people were sleeping, his enemy came and scattered weeds among the wheat, then left.
26 But when the plants grew and produced grain, the weeds also showed up.
27 The workers of the owner came and asked him, “Sir, didn’t you plant good seeds in your field? Where did the weeds come from?”
28 He told them, “An enemy did this.” The servants asked him, “Do you want us to go and collect them?”
29 He said, “No, because if you pull up the weeds, you might also pull out the wheat.”
30 Let both grow until harvest time. At harvest, I will tell the workers, “First collect the weeds and tie them to burn, but bring the wheat into my barn.”
31 He told them another story: “God’s kingdom is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in his field.
32 This seed is really the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows, it becomes the largest of garden plants and turns into a tree, so that the birds can come and nest in its branches.
33 He told them another story: The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour until it spread through all of it.
34 Jesus told all these things to the crowd using stories; he did not tell them anything without using a story.
35 This was done so the prophet’s words would come true, where he said, “I will tell stories to explain things; I will share secrets hidden since the world began.”
36 Jesus sent the crowd home and went inside. His followers came to him and said, “Explain the story of the weeds in the field to us.”
37 He replied to them, “The one who plants the good seeds is the Son of Man.”
38 The field means the world; the good seeds represent the people of God’s kingdom, while the weeds are the people of the evil one.
39 The enemy who planted the seeds is the devil; the harvest time is the end of the world; and the workers who harvest are the angels.
40 So just as weeds are collected and burned in a fire, it will be at the end of this world.
41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil.
42 They will throw them into a fiery furnace, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth.
43 The good people will shine like the sun in God’s kingdom. If someone can listen, they should listen.
44 The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a person finds it, they hide it again. Out of happiness, they sell everything they own and buy that field.
45 The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls.
46 When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had, and bought it.
47 The kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea that caught all kinds of fish.
48 When the net was full, they pulled it onto the shore. They sat down and put the good fish into containers, but threw the bad ones away.
49 At the world’s end, the angels will come and separate the bad people from the good ones.
50 They will throw them into a fiery furnace, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth.
51 Jesus asked them, “Do you understand all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”
52 He told them, “So, every teacher trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out new and old treasures from his storage.”
53 After Jesus told these stories, he left that place.
54 When he returned to his hometown, he taught in their meeting place. People were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such wisdom and the power to do great things?”
55 Isn’t this the son of the carpenter? Isn’t his mother named Mary? And his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?
56 Doesn’t he have all his sisters here with us? So where did this man get all these things?
57 They were upset because of him. But Jesus told them, a prophet is respected everywhere except in his own town and home.
58 He did not do many powerful things there because they did not believe.