A Story About Planting Seed^(A)

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake [^Cthe Sea of Galilee]. ² Large crowds gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat down, while the people stood on the shore. ³ Then Jesus used ·stories [parables] to teach them many things. He said: “A ·farmer [sower] went out to ·plant [sow] his seed. ⁴ While he was ·planting [sowing], some seed fell ·by the road [along the path], and the birds came and ate it all up. ⁵ Some seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much dirt. That seed ·grew [sprang up] very fast, because the ground was not deep. ⁶ But when the sun rose, the plants ·dried up [were scorched and withered], because they did not have deep roots. ⁷ Some other seed fell among thorny weeds, which grew and choked the good plants. ⁸ Some other seed fell on good ground where it grew and produced ·a crop [grain]. Some plants made a hundred times more, some made sixty times more, and some made thirty times more. ⁹ ·Let those with ears use them and listen [^LThe one who has ears to hear, let him hear].”

Why Jesus Used Stories to Teach^(B)

¹⁰ The ·followers [disciples] came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you ·use stories to teach the people [^Lspeak to them in parables]?”

¹¹ Jesus answered, “·You have been chosen [^LIt has been granted/given to you] to ·know [understand] the ·secrets [mysteries] about the kingdom of heaven, but ·others cannot know these secrets [^Lit has not been given/granted to those others]. ¹² Those who ·have understanding [^Lhave] will be given more, and they will have ·all they need [an abundance]. But those who do not ·have understanding [^Lhave], even what they have will be taken away from them. ¹³ This is why I ·use stories to teach the people [^Lspeak in parables]: [^LBecause] They ·see [look], but they don’t ·really see [perceive]. They hear, but they don’t really hear or understand. ¹⁴ ·So they show that the things Isaiah said about them are true [^LIn them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says]:

¹⁶ But ·you [^Lyour eyes] are blessed, because you see with your eyes and hear with your ears. ¹⁷ I tell you the truth, many prophets and ·good [righteous; just] people ·wanted [longed] to see the things that you now see, but they did not see them. And they ·wanted [longed] to hear the things that you now hear, but they did not hear them.

Jesus Explains the Seed Story^(C)

¹⁸ “So listen to the ·meaning of that story about the farmer [parable of the sower]. ¹⁹ What is the seed that fell ·by the road [along the path]? That seed is like ·the person [anyone] who hears the ·message [word; teaching] about the kingdom but does not understand it. The Evil One comes and ·takes away [snatches] what was ·planted [sown] in that person’s heart. ²⁰ And what is the seed ·that fell [sown] on rocky ground? That seed is like the person who hears the ·teaching [word; message] and quickly ·accepts [receives] it with joy. ²¹ But ·he does not let the teaching go deep into his life, so [^Lsince he has no root in himself] ·he keeps it only a short time [he does not endure; it is shortlived]. When trouble or persecution comes because of the ·teaching he accepted [word, message], he ·quickly [immediately] ·gives up [falls away; stumbles]. ²² And what is the seed ·that fell [sown] among the thorny weeds? That seed is like the person who hears the ·teaching [word; message] but lets worries about this ·life [world; age] and the ·temptation [deceitfulness; seduction] of wealth ·stop that teaching from growing [^Lchoke the word/message]. So the teaching does not produce fruit in that person’s life. ²³ But what is the seed ·that fell [sown] on the good ground? That seed is like the person who hears the teaching and understands it. That person grows and produces ·fruit [a crop], sometimes a hundred times more, sometimes sixty times more, and sometimes thirty times more.”

A Story About Wheat and Weeds

²⁴ Then Jesus ·told [presented to] them another ·story [parable]: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who ·planted [sowed] good seed in his field. ²⁵ That night, when everyone was asleep, his enemy came and ·planted [sowed] ·weeds [^Ttares; ^Ca noxious weed that looks like wheat] among the wheat and then left. ²⁶ Later, the wheat sprouted and the heads of grain grew, but the ·weeds [^Ttares] also ·grew [appeared]. ²⁷ Then the man’s ·servants [slaves] came to him and said, ‘[Master; Sir] ·You planted [^LDidn’t you sow…?] good seed in your field. Where did the ·weeds [^Ttares] come from?’ ²⁸ The man answered, ‘An enemy ·planted weeds [^Ldid this].’ The ·servants [slaves] asked, ‘Do you want us to ·pull up the weeds [^Lgo and gather them]?’ ²⁹ The man answered, ‘No, because when you ·pull up [gather] the ·weeds [^Ttares], you might also ·pull up [uproot] the wheat. ³⁰ Let ·the weeds and the wheat [^Lboth] grow together until the harvest time. At harvest time I will tell the ·workers [reapers], “First gather the ·weeds [^Ttares] and tie them ·together [in bundles] to be burned. Then gather the wheat and bring it to my barn.”’”

Stories of Mustard Seed and Yeast^(D)

³¹ Then Jesus ·told [presented to them] another ·story [parable]: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man ·planted [sowed] in his field. ³² That seed is the smallest of all seeds [^Cthe mustard seed was the smallest seed known to Jesus’ hearers], but when it grows, it is one of the largest garden plants. It becomes ·big enough [^La tree] for the ·wild birds [^Lbirds of the sky] to come and build nests in its branches.”

³³ Then Jesus told another ·story [parable]: “The kingdom of heaven is like ·yeast [leaven] that a woman took and ·hid [mixed] in a large tub [^CGreek: three sata; about fifty pounds] of flour until ·it made all the dough rise [^Lthe whole was leavened; Luke 13:20–21].”

³⁴ Jesus used ·stories [parables] to tell all these things to the people; he ·always used stories to teach them [^Ldid not speak to them without parables; Mark 4:33–34]. ³⁵ This ·is as [fulfills what] the prophet said:

Jesus Explains About the Weeds

³⁶ Then Jesus left the crowd and went into the house. His ·followers [disciples] came to him and said, “Explain to us the meaning of the ·story [parable] about the ·weeds [^Ttares] in the field.”

³⁷ Jesus answered, “The man who ·planted [sowed] the good seed in the field is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed are ·all of God’s children who belong to the kingdom [^Lthe children/sons of the kingdom]. The ·weeds [^Ttares] are ·those people who belong to the Evil One [^Lthe children/sons of the Evil One]. ³⁹ And the enemy who ·planted [sowed] the bad seed is the devil. The harvest time is the end of the age, and the ·workers who gather [harvesters; reapers] are God’s angels.

⁴⁰ “Just as the ·weeds [^Ttares] are ·pulled up [gathered] and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will ·gather [remove; weed] out of his kingdom ·all who [or all things that] ·cause sin [^Tare stumbling blocks] and all who ·do evil [break God’s law]. ⁴² The angels will throw them into the blazing furnace [Dan. 3:6], where ·the people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [^Lthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; ^Cindicating agony and remorse]. ⁴³ Then the ·good people [righteous] will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father [Dan. 12:3]. ·Let those with ears use them and listen [^LThe one who has ears to hear, let him hear.].

Stories of a Treasure and a Pearl

⁴⁴ “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. One day a man found the treasure, and then he hid it in the field again. He was so ·happy [joyful; excited] that he went and sold everything he owned to buy that field.

⁴⁵ “Also, 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.

A Story of a Fishing Net

⁴⁷ “Also, the kingdom of heaven is like a ·net [dragnet; ^Ca net dragged between two boats, or between a boat and the shore] that was put into the ·lake [sea] and caught many different kinds of fish. ⁴⁸ When it was full, the fishermen pulled the net to the shore. They sat down and put all the good fish in baskets and threw away the ·bad [worthless] fish. ⁴⁹ It will be this way at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the evil people from the ·good [righteous] people. ⁵⁰ The angels will throw the evil people into the blazing furnace [Dan. 3:11, 19–30], where ·people will cry and grind their teeth with pain [^Lthere will be weeping and gnashing of teeth; v. 42].”

⁵¹ Jesus asked his ·followers [disciples], “Do you understand all these things?”

They answered, “Yes.”

⁵² Then Jesus said to them, “So every ·teacher of the law [scribe] who has ·been taught about [become a disciple of] the kingdom of heaven is like the ·owner [head] of a house. He brings out both new things and old things ·he has saved [^Lfrom his treasure/storeroom; ^Cknowledge of the Old Testament provides insight into Jesus’ “new” message of the kingdom of God].”

Jesus Goes to His Hometown^(E)

⁵³ When Jesus finished teaching [see 7:28] with these ·stories [parables], he left there. ⁵⁴ He went to his hometown [^CNazareth; 2:23; Luke 2:39] and taught the people in their synagogue, and they were ·amazed [astonished]. They said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and this power to do miracles? ⁵⁵ ·He is just [Isn’t this…?] the son of ·a [^Lthe] carpenter. ·His mother is Mary [^LIsn’t his mother called Mary…?], and his brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. ⁵⁶ And all his sisters are here with us. Where then does this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ So the people were ·upset with [offended by] Jesus.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is ·honored everywhere [not dishonored] except in his hometown and in his own ·home [family; household].”

⁵⁸ So he did not do many miracles there because ·they had no faith [of their unbelief].