Jesus left the house and sat on the beach by the lake. A big crowd surrounded him, so he got into a boat. The crowd on the beach stood waiting. Jesus spoke to them in stories.

He said, “A farmer went out to plant some seeds. When he was throwing the seeds around, some fell on the road and were eaten by birds. Some seeds fell on rocks where there wasn’t much soil. The plants grew quickly, but the lack of soil caused them to get burnt and wither under the Sun. Other seeds fell on thorny bushes. When those plants grew, the thorny bushes choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced fruit; some 100, 60 or 30 times what was planted. If you have ears, listen!”

Jesus’ followers asked him, “Why are you speaking in abstract stories?”

Jesus answered, “You know the mysteries of the Heavenly Kingdom, but they don’t. Whoever has it, they’ll receive more until they have heaps. Whoever doesn’t have it, even what they have will be taken from them. I speak in stories because they look and listen, but don’t see or hear. They don’t understand. They are fulfilling Isaiah’s prophecy when he said, ‘You will listen but not understand, and you will look but not recognise.’ These people’s hearts have become dull. They can hardly hear and their eyes are closed. They should look with their eyes and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts and turn so I can heal them.

“You are blessed because your eyes can see and your ears can hear. I’m telling you, many prophets and good men wanted to see what you can see, but couldn’t see it. They wanted to hear what you could hear but didn’t hear it.

“So, listen to what the story of farmer means: Everyone who hears the message about the kingdom but doesn’t understand has whatever was planted in their heart snatched away by the devil. This is like the seeds that fell on the road. The seeds that fell on the rocks, this is like whoever hears the message and immediately is happy to hear it, but no roots are formed, and so his happiness is temporary. If troubles come, he immediately falls away. The seeds that fell on the thorny bushes, this is like someone who has heard the message, but is choked by worries and riches and lies, and it becomes unproductive. The seeds that were planted in the good soil, however, is like someone who hears and understands the word. They produce lots of fruit, 100, 60 or 30 times what was planted.”

Jesus told them another story. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who planted good seeds in his field. When everyone was asleep, his enemy came and planted weeds in the field and escaped. When the plants grew and produce fruit, the weeds also appeared. When the farmer’s servants asked him, ‘Didn’t you plant good seeds in your field? Why are there weeds?’

The master replied, “An enemy did this.”

“Do you want us to go and remove the weeds?” the servants asked.

“No, because you’ll pull up the wheat as well. Let them both grow until it’s harvest time. Then I will tell the harvesters to pull up the weeds, tie them together and burn them, and store the wheat in my barns.'”

Jesus told them another story. “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard, which a man planted in his field. Although it is the smallest of all the seeds, it grows into a tree that birds can sit on.”

He told them another story. “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast which a woman combined into a large amount of flour until it was evenly mixed.”

Jesus told these stories to the crowds and he didn’t speak to them without telling them a story so that what the prophet said might come true: “I will tell stories out of my mouth. I will tell secrets from the foundations of the world.”

After Jesus said goodbye to the crowds, he went back into the house.

His followers came to him and said, “Explain the story of the weeds in the field”.

Jesus answered, “The son of man is the one planting good seeds and the field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom and the weeds are the sons of the evil one. The enemy who planted them is the devil, and the harvest is at the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. The weeds are gathered and burned. The same thing will happen at the end of the age. The son of man will send out his angels, and they will gather everything that causes sin and everyone who is evil. They’ll be thrown into the fiery furnace, where there will be crying and grinding of teeth. Those that are right with God will shine forth like the sun in their father’s kingdom. If anyone has ears, listen!

“The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure that has been buried in a field. When a man finds the treasure, he happily sells everything he owns to buy the field.

“The kingdom of heaven is also like a trader looking for fine pearls. When the trade finds a very precious pearl he sells everything he has to afford it.

“The kingdom of heaven is also like a net that was thrown into the sea. It caught all the different types of fish and filled up. They pulled the nets onto the beach and collected the fish into their containers but threw bad fish back. This age will end just like that. The angels will separate the evil from people who have made themselves right with God. The evil people will be thrown into the furnace. There will be crying and grinding of teeth. Do you understand all this?”

They replied, “Yes.”

Jesus said, “Because of this, all the teachers who have been a follower of the kingdom of heaven are like house owners who bring out new and old treasures.

When Jesus had finished telling the stories, he left and went to his hometown. He taught the Jews there. They were amazed at what they had and asked, “Where does this wise man with his incredible powers come from? Is this the carpenter’s son? Is his mother named Mary? And his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? Aren’t his sisters here with us? Where does this man get these things?”

They were offended by him.

Jesus said to them, “A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his hometown and in his house.”

He didn’t do many miracles that because they didn’t believe in him.

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Continue exploring Matthew 13

If you’d like to read Matthew 13 in other translations, here are a few BibleHub links:
For a translation that aims to be word-for-word, try Matthew 13 in the English Standard Version.
For a translation that aims to be more thought-for-thought, try Matthew 13 in the New International Version.
For a translation that aims to communicate the overall meaning, try Matthew 13 in the Contemporary English Version.

If you prefer to read the Bible in a hard-copy format, here are cheaper versions from Amazon:
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For a translation that aims to be word-for-word, ESV Economy Bible
For a translation that aims to be more thought-for-thought, NIV, Economy Bible, Paperback: Accurate. Readable. Clear.
For a translation that aims to communicate the overall meaning, Holy Bible: Contemporary English Version

If you’d like to explore Matthew in more depth, here are some commentaries I would recommend:
[These are Amazon affiliate links which support the production of this blog]
Easy to access commentaries that include life applications:
The NIV Application Commentary: Matthew
Matthew (The Story of God Bible Commentary)
For a commentary that goes into more depth:
The Gospel of Matthew (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)