Matthew 13:3

Matthew 13:3

The Parable of the Sower

1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house ^aand sat by the sea.

2 ^aAnd great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that ^bHe got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ^a“Behold, a sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.

6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some ^aa hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 ^aHe who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The Purpose of Parables

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 He answered and said to them, “Because ^ait has been given to you to know the¹ mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

12 ^aFor whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
^a‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not ^bperceive;

15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears ^aare hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have ^bclosed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I¹ should ^cheal them.’

16 But ^ablessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;

17 for assuredly, I say to you ^athat many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 ^a“Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

19 When anyone hears the word ^aof the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.

20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately ^areceives it with joy;

21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when ^atribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately ^bhe stumbles.

22 Now ^ahe who received seed ^bamong the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears ^afruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares

24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

Commentaries:

Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown

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And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, etc.—These parables are SEVEN in number; and it is not a little remarkable that while this is the sacred number, the first FOUR of them were spoken to the mixed multitude, while the remaining THREE were spoken to the Twelve in private—these divisions, four and three, being themselves notable in the symbolical arithmetic of Scripture. Another thing remarkable in the structure of these parables is, that while the first of the Seven—that of the Sower—is of the nature of an Introduction to the whole, the remaining Six consist of three pairs—the Second and Seventh, the Third and Fourth, and the Fifth and Sixth, corresponding to each other; each pair setting forth the same general truths, but with a certain diversity of aspect. All this can hardly be accidental.

First Parable: THE SOWER (Matthew 13:3-9, Matthew 13:18-23).

This parable may be entitled, THE EFFECT OF THE WORD DEPENDENT ON THE STATE OF THE HEART. For the exposition of this parable, see on Mark 4:1-9, Mark 4:14-20.

Reason for Teaching in Parables (Matthew 13:10-17).

**Other Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown entries containing Matthew 13:3:**

Matthew 13:3

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