Matthew 13

₁That same day Jesus left the house and went to the lakeside, where he sat down to teach. ₂The crowd that gathered round him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it, while the crowd stood on the shore. ₃He used parables to tell them many things.

“Once there was a man who went out to sow corn. ₄As he scattered the seed in the field, some of it fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ₅Some of it fell on rocky ground, where there was little soil. The seeds soon sprouted, because the soil wasn't deep. ₆But when the sun came up, it burnt the young plants; and because the roots had not grown deep enough, the plants soon dried up. ₇Some of the seed fell among thorn bushes, which grew up and choked the plants. ₈But some seeds fell in good soil, and the plants produced corn; some produced 100 grains, others sixty, and others thirty.”

₉And Jesus concluded, “Listen, then, if you have ears!”

₁₀Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?”

₁₁Jesus answered, “The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. ₁₂For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has. ₁₃The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look, but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand. ₁₄So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them:

₁₆“As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear. ₁₇I assure you that many prophets and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.

₁₈“Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means. ₁₉Those who hear the message about the Kingdom but do not understand it are like the seeds that fell along the path. The Evil One comes and snatches away what was sown in them. ₂₀The seeds that fell on rocky ground stand for those who receive the message gladly as soon as they hear it. ₂₁But it does not sink deep into them, and they don't last long. So when trouble or persecution comes because of the message, they give up at once. ₂₂The seeds that fell among thorn bushes stand for those who hear the message; but the worries about this life and the love for riches choke the message, and they don't bear fruit. ₂₃And the seeds sown in the good soil stand for those who hear the message and understand it: they bear fruit, some as much as 100, others sixty, and others thirty.”

₂₄Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man sowed good seed in his field. ₂₅One night, when everyone was asleep, an enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. ₂₆When the plants grew and the ears of corn began to form, then the weeds showed up. ₂₇The man's servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, it was good seed you sowed in your field; where did the weeds come from?’ ₂₈‘It was some enemy who did this,’ he answered. ‘Do you want us to go and pull up the weeds?’ they asked him. ₂₉‘No,’ he answered, ‘because as you gather the weeds you might pull up some of the wheat along with them. ₃₀Let the wheat and the weeds both grow together until harvest. Then I will tell the harvest workers to pull up the weeds first, tie them in bundles and burn them, and then to gather in the wheat and put it in my barn.’ ”

₃₁Jesus told them another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man takes a mustard seed and sows it in his field. ₃₂It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it grows up, it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that birds come and make their nests in its branches.”

₃₃Jesus told them still another parable: “The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A woman takes some yeast and mixes it with forty litres of flour until the whole batch of dough rises.”

₃₄Jesus used parables to tell all these things to the crowds; he would not say a thing to them without using a parable. ₃₅He did this to make what the prophet had said come true:

₃₆When Jesus had left the crowd and gone indoors, his disciples came to him and said, “Tell us what the parable about the weeds in the field means.”

₃₇Jesus answered, “The man who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man; ₃₈the field is the world; the good seed is the people who belong to the Kingdom; the weeds are the people who belong to the Evil One; ₃₉and the enemy who sowed the weeds is the Devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvest workers are angels. ₄₀Just as the weeds are gathered up and burnt in the fire, so the same thing will happen at the end of the age: ₄₁the Son of Man will send out his angels to gather up out of his Kingdom all those who cause people to sin and all others who do evil things, ₄₂and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and grind their teeth. ₄₃Then God's people will shine like the sun in their Father's Kingdom. Listen, then, if you have ears!

₄₄“The Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man happens to find a treasure hidden in a field. He covers it up again, and is so happy that he goes and sells everything he has, and then goes back and buys that field.

₄₅“Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. A man is looking for fine pearls, ₄₆and when he finds one that is unusually fine, he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that pearl.

₄₇“Also, the Kingdom of heaven is like this. Some fishermen throw their net out in the lake and catch all kinds of fish. ₄₈When the net is full, they pull it to shore and sit down to divide the fish: the good ones go into their buckets, the worthless ones are thrown away. ₄₉It will be like this at the end of the age: the angels will go out and gather up the evil people from among the good ₅₀and will throw them into the fiery furnace, where they will cry and grind their teeth.

₅₁“Do you understand these things?” Jesus asked them.

“Yes,” they answered.

₅₂So he replied, “This means, then, that every teacher of the Law who becomes a disciple in the Kingdom of heaven is like the owner of a house who takes new and old things out of his storeroom.”

₅₃When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place ₅₄and went back to his home town. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles? ₅₅Isn't he the carpenter's son? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? ₅₆Aren't all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?” ₅₇And so they rejected him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his home town and by his own family.” ₅₈Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.