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Chapter 13
Sowing the Word of God
13.1 - 2. On that day after Jesus went out of the house, he sat by the lake. And such a large crowd gathered around him that he got into a boat to sit while the whole crowd stood on the shore.
On the same day that Jesus had been preaching and working miracles he left the house and went and sat by the lake of Galilee. A great multitude of people gathered together so He got into Simon Peter's boat (Luke 5:3) while the crowd stood on the shore.
a. The Parable of the Sower
13.3. He told them many things in parables, saying: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.
He began to tell them many truths concerning the Kingdom of Heaven by using parables. The simple explanation of a parable is, that it is and earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It would be more correct however to say that it is taking an everyday activity or common item and using it to explain a spiritual truth. He begins with the parable of the sower. Jesus makes it clear that He wants the full attention of His listeners as he uses the imperative "Listen". Before anything can be accomplished the sower has to put his hand to plough and then go out to the field to sow the seed.
13.4. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
The method of sowing was to scatter the seed by hand over the ground. Using this method it was inevitable that some seed would fall where it would not find sufficient soil to grow. The good thing about it was that every inch would be covered with seed. Some of the seed fell on the hard path and became food for the birds.
13.5 - 6. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil. They sprang up quickly because the soil was not deep. But when the sun came up, they were scorched, and because they did not have sufficient root, they withered.
Other seeds fell on rocky ground where there was hardly any soil. These did begin to sprout but because the soil was very thin when the sun came up they were scorched and died.
13.7. Other seeds fell among the thorns, and they grew up and choked them.
Other seed fell among thorns and grew up with them but these weeds were to strong for them and suffocated them.
13.8. But other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.
As the sower was planted his seed in a field that he would prepared then it must follow that most of the seed fell on fertile soil. The result was that some plants produced an abundant crop some as much as a hundred times as much.
13.9. The one who has ears had better listen!"
Anyone who hears this parable had better pay attention.
b. An Explanation why Jesus speaks in Parables.
13.10. Then the disciples came to him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?"
As soon as they had an opportunity the disciples came to Him and asked why He speaks in parables.
13.11. He replied, "You have been given the opportunity to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but they have not.
He tells them that He has chosen them so that He can make known to them those things concerning the kingdom of heaven that is hid from other people.
13.12. For whoever has will be given more, and will have an abundance. But whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
To those who listen and receive spiritual truths more will be given to them and they will have an abundant knowledge of these things. To those who will not listen and therefore cannot have this knowledge of spiritual truth the little that they do have will be taken away from them.
13.13. For this reason I speak to them in parables: Although they see they do not see, and although they hear they do not hear nor do they understand.
The reason why Jesus speaks to these people in parables is because although they see Him, who is the way, the truth and the life and hear Him speak the things of the kingdom of God and witness the miracles that He does they do not see or hear him in faith and believe that He is the Son of God. So they cannot understand.
13.14. And concerning them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: You will listen carefully yet will never understand, you will look closely yet will never comprehend.
This is in fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah when he said that although they will listen carefully to what the Christ says and see the mighty things that He will do they will not understand or perceive or recognise the meaning of it.
13.15. For the heart of this people has become dull; they are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they would not see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.'
This is because their hearts have become hardened to God and therefore cannot hear His word. They have shut their eyes to the truth and put their hands over their ears so that they cannot hear. They do not want to understand and believe in their hearts and turn to the Lord if they did He would forgive their sins (Mark 4:12).
13.16. "But your eyes are blessed because they see, and your ears because they hear.
Blest are His disciples whose eyes and ears have been opened to hear and see the spiritual truths and believe in them.
13.17. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
There were many prophets and righteous people who longed to see and hear what the disciples had but they did not see or hear although they had prophesied concerning these things (1 Peter 1:10-12, Hebrews 11:39 40).
c. The Meaning of the Parable.
13.18. "So listen to the parable of the sower:
Jesus now explains to His disciples the meaning of the parable of the sower.
13.19. When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; this is the seed sown along the path.
The seed is the Word of God and the Sower is first of all the Lord Jesus Christ and then all His followers who He has commissioned (Mark 16:15). The seed that falls on the hard path are those who hear the Word but have no understanding it goes no further than their ears. Like the bird that comes and snatches the seed away so the devil comes and takes the Word away from their hearts.
13.20. The seed sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.
The seed that falls on rocky ground is the emotional hearers. They receive the word straight away with great joy and they seem to flourish for a while.
13.21. But he has no root in himself and does not endure; when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.
But because they have not taken the word deep into their hearts when trouble comes and they are persecuted for Christ's sake they fall away and are seen no more.
13.22. The seed sown among thorns is the person who hears the word, but worldly cares and the seductiveness of wealth choke the word, so it produces nothing.
The seed that falls among thorns is the worldly hearers. They receive the word of God but are so tied up with the world that they never become separated from it. They continue to walk in the ways of the world and desire to fill themselves with it until the word is crowded out and there is no room for spiritual fruit to grow in them (1 John 2:15, Rom. 12:2 ).
13.23. But as for the seed sown on good soil, this is the person who hears the word and understands. He bears fruit, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown."
The seed that falls on the good ground is the prepared and receptive heart. This is the person who receives the word in the very depths of their soul where it abides and matures. The person grows in grace and in the knowledge of the Lord and the fruit of the spirit abounds in them. This parable is generally applied to the sowing of the gospel message and is applied to the unsaved but it is equally applicable to believers and how they respond to the word of God. Jesus required the attention of His hearers, in verse three He said "listen" having heard the Word of God we are now responsible for how receive and respond it.
2. The True and False Growing Together 24 - 30.
13.24. He presented them with another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a person who sowed good seed in his field.
Jesus then continues to tell them another parable concerning the kingdom of heaven which has a similar setting. A man goes out to sow good seed in his field. Again the seed is the Word of God and the sower is the Lord Jesus Christ.
13.25. But while everyone was sleeping, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.
During the night when everyone was asleep his enemy came and sowed weeds among his wheat and stole away. The enemy is the Devil whose greatest delight is to sow his seeds of evil, false prophets and discord among God's people. Notice this is done in the dark, the night, when no one on guard. This is how the devil always works (Galatians 2:4, 2 Timothy 4:3-5, 2 Peter 2:1).
13.26. When the plants sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.
These weed seeds grew up and amongst the good seed.
13.27. So the slaves of the owner came and said to him, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your field? Then where did the weeds come from?'
When the servants of the owner saw the weeds growing among the wheat they asked him if he had sown good seed in his field. If he had then where did all the weeds come from. Jesus Christ is the owner of the field and of course He can only sow good seed (James 1:17)
13.28. He said, 'An enemy has done this.' So the slaves replied, 'Do you want us to go and gather them?'
The owner knew who had done this work and informs his servants that it was an enemy. They ask him if he wanted them to pull them up and burn them. Jesus Christ is not deceived by anything or anyone He knows who are His and the work He has done.
13.29. But he said, 'No, since in gathering the weeds you may uproot the wheat with them.
The owner tells his servants to leave the weeds where they are in case they disturb and pull up the whet with them. Jesus Christ's greatest concern is for the care of His own, those whom He has redeemed and will not suffer anything to be done that will cause them harm in their faith.
13.30. Let both grow together until the harvest. At harvest time I will tell the reapers, "First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned, but then gather the wheat into my barn."
The true and false are to grow up together until the harvest is ready to be gathered in. Then the weeds are to be collected tied in bundles and thrown in the fire to be burned. After this the wheat can be safely gathered in (Revelation 14: 15 - 16.) The "harvest" is the end of the age, the Day of Judgement when the Devil and all his demons and those who worship him shall be cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 19: 20, 2 Peter 2:9, 2 Peter 3:7)
13:31-32 He gave them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest garden plant and becomes a tree, so that the wild birds come and nest in its branches."
The growth of the mustard seed is an amazing phenomenon of nature. The smallest of all the garden seeds, it is barely visible, yet it grows into a tree, so that the birds may rest in its branches.
In the same way, the kingdom of heaven is small, in as much as it is invisible to the eye, yet as it grows and develops in each individual life into the likeness of Christ, so that His dwelling life can be clearly seen.
In fact, for "kingdom of heaven", we could substitute "Christ", and realize that his presence, though invisible to the eye, is made increasingly visible by its effects on the life of anyone in whom, the life of Christ is allowed to grow within.
13:33 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all the dough had risen."
Just as a woman would add yeast to a dough, so that it permeates the whole bread, so the life of Christ can fill and saturate the whole life, so that the likeness of Christ is formed within the soul. This truth, applied to the individual, may also be applied to the church as a whole.
Is Christ Lord of your whole life? He will continue to graciously move upon us until we yield our whole lives to him, just like the yeast fills the whole bread.
13:34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds; he did not speak to them without a parable.
Perhaps it was because of the profundity of his teaching concerning spiritual matters that Christ was compelled to use parables to teach the people. Without the parables, the people could not understand.
13:35 This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will announce what has been hidden from the foundation of the world."
This practice of Jesus confirmed him again to be the chosen One, the Messiah, because it was in fulfillment of the scripture. Truths which had been hidden since the foundation of the world were now made known in Him (Eph. 3:8-9). Christ is the fulfillment of all God's plans and purposes for man.
13:36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."
The source of all wisdom and knowledge is Christ (Col. 2:3). If we would know the meaning of his word, we would do no better than to ask him directly, as his disciples did. They specifically on this occasion wanted to know the meaning of the parable of the weeds. It is always good to inquire and seek concerning the word of God. You will notice from Jesus' reply the simplicity of meaning which he attaches to his own parable. This should warn us never to look for elaborate hidden meanings in the parables of Christ - meanings which Christ never meant them to convey.
13:37-38 He answered, "The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.
Christ is the only one who produces "good seed" for these are those who are saved by his grace and made children of God. The field is the world and the good seed are the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one,
Believers are chosen out of the world to become part of God's spiritual and eternal kingdom. Those who refuse to accept and believe the gospel are those who are blinded by the devil, and refuse to accept Christ as their Saviour. These, who reject Christ, are described as the children of the devil, for they listen to him and, albeit unwittingly, do his will (John 8:44).
13:39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels.
At the end of the world, those who have constituted themselves to be the devil's children and enemies of God by rejecting Jesus Christ will be seized, at His command, by the angels and cast into the fiery furnace of everlasting punishment, "Where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." That is, their punishment will never cease, they will not be annihilated, but consciously tormented forever in hell.
13:40-43 As the weeds are collected and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes sin as well as all lawbreakers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. The one who has ears had better listen!
After this event, the final Judgment, comes a new heaven and a new earth, wherein only righteousness dwells, sin having been removed, and those who practiced lawlessness having been removed also.
13:44-46 "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure, hidden in a field, that a person found and hid. Then because of joy he went and sold all that he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found a pearl of great value, he went out and sold everything he had and bought it.
These two famous parable has possibly two meanings. Both convey the truth, but from different aspects. Firstly, the merchant and the person finding treasure can be likened to Christ, who came into this world, not to find pearls, but souls of men. He considered the church to be such a prize worth gaining that he emptied himself of all his privileges, and humbles himself to the death of the cross, giving all he had to purchase the church.
It is of note, that if the field here is the world, then Christ has "potentially" paid the price to redeem all men, but only when they accept that it was paid for them is what is "potential" made "actual" in their experience.
Because of joy. It was for the joy set before him that Christ endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of God (Heb. 12:2). Despising the shame means he thought nothing of it, for the joy of gaining souls - bringing many sons to glory.
On the other hand, one might think of the merchant as any man or woman who realizes the great worth of the treasures contained in the gospel - forgiveness, redemption, salvation and so on, and is willing to part with all things and follow Christ in order to gain such blessings. It is better to lose all, and to gain Christ, (Phil. 3:8) than to gain all, and without Christ, lose one's own soul (Matt. 16:26).
13:47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea that caught all kinds of fish. When it was full, they pulled it ashore, sat down, and put the good fish into containers and threw the bad away. It will be this way at the end of the age. Angels will come and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
This parable is almost a repeat of the parable of the weeds in the field. The gospel is proclaimed to all men. Yet only those who believe and receive Christ will obtain eternal life. These are the "good fish" those who reject Christ as Saviour are the "bad fish" who are thrown into the lake of fire.
The fact that it is the angels who do the separation is significant only because it shows that the Judgment takes place outside of the sphere of this world. It will be at the end of time, when earth and heaven have passed away, that this judgment will take place. One might imagine the angels as heavens police officers, ensuring the inevitable, that none will get away or escape (Heb. 2:3).
13:51-52 Have you understood all these things?" They replied, "Yes." Then he said to them, "Therefore every expert in the law who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who brings out of his treasure what is new and old."
The disciples, simple though they were, as a result of Jesus' teaching and explanation, understood these parables perfectly.
Because of this, Jesus declares that if men understand the word of God, both the old testament, and the new, then he can bring teaching of God's truth from each. The lessons of the old testament still stand: the lessons of the new have not replaced them, but revealed them much more fully.
13:53-58 Now when Jesus finished these parables, he moved on from there. Then he came to his hometown and began to teach the people in their synagogue. They were astonished and said, "Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers? Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother named Mary? And aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? And aren't all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?" And so they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own house." And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
It was at Nazareth that he people failed to recognize and appreciate Jesus and his teaching. They were too familiar with him, since he had grown up among them and they knew his family well. The saying "familiarity breeds contempt" is true. They confessed the wisdom of his teaching, and his miraculous powers, yet refused to accept them. A prophet does not receive honor in his home town" is a shortened and gentle version of what Jesus actually said to them. Jesus knew their hardened hearts and was predicting their utter rejection of him ,and they rose up and tried to kill him (Luke 4:23-29).
During his ministry, Christ was unable to perform many miracles in Nazareth, except lay hands on a few sick people and heal them. This was because of the power of Christ. Let us be clear that unbelief does not tie the hands of God, or reduce his power. It has no effect on God whatsoever. Some say faith moves the hand of God, but it is not true, God will move his own hand. Your faith makes no difference to God, it only makes difference to you. If you have faith, you can receive from God, and if you have unbelief you fail to reach out your hand to receive.
