131 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea . 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down , and the whole crowd was standing on the beach . 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables , saying , "Behold , the sower went out to sow ; 4 and as he sowed , some seeds fell beside the road , and the birds came and ate them up. 5 "Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil ; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil . 6 "But when the sun had risen , they were scorched ; and because they had no root , they withered away . 7 "Others fell among the thorns , and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8 "And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop , some a hundredfold , some sixty , and some thirty . 9 " He who has ears , let him hear ."
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why e do You speak to them in parables ?" 11 Jesus answered them, " To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven , but to them it has not been granted . 12 " For whoever has , to him more shall be given , and he will have an abundance ; but whoever does not have , even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13 "Therefore e I speak to them in parables ; because while seeing they do not see , and while hearing they do not hear , nor do they understand . 14 "In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled , which says , ' YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING , BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND ; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING , BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE ; 15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL , WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR , AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES , OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES , HEAR WITH THEIR EARS , AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN , AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.' 16 " But blessed are your eyes , because they see ; and your ears , because they hear . 17 "For truly I say to you that 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.
18 " Hear then the parable of the sower . 19 "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart . This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road . 20 "The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy ; 21 yet he has no firm root in himself , but is only temporary , and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word , immediately he falls away . 22 "And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns , this is the man who hears the word , and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word , and it becomes unfruitful . 23 "And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil , this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth , some a hundredfold , some sixty , and some thirty ."
24 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying , " The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field . 25 "But while his men were sleeping , his enemy came and sowed tares among e the wheat , and went away . 26 "But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain , then the tares became evident also .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 13:1-26
Commentary on Matthew 13:1-23
(Read Matthew 13:1-23)
Jesus entered into a boat that he might be the less pressed, and be the better heard by the people. By this he teaches us in the outward circumstances of worship not to covet that which is stately, but to make the best of the conveniences God in his providence allots to us. Christ taught in parables. Thereby the things of God were made more plain and easy to those willing to be taught, and at the same time more difficult and obscure to those who were willingly ignorant. The parable of the sower is plain. The seed sown is the word of God. The sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, by himself, or by his ministers. Preaching to a multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it will light. Some sort of ground, though we take ever so much pains with it, brings forth no fruit to purpose, while the good soil brings forth plentifully. So it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are here described by four sorts of ground. Careless, trifling hearers, are an easy prey to Satan; who, as he is the great murderer of souls, so he is the great thief of sermons, and will be sure to rob us of the word, if we take not care to keep it. Hypocrites, like the stony ground, often get the start of true Christians in the shows of profession. Many are glad to hear a good sermon, who do not profit by it. They are told of free salvation, of the believer's privileges, and the happiness of heaven; and, without any change of heart, without any abiding conviction of their own depravity, their need of a Saviour, or the excellence of holiness, they soon profess an unwarranted assurance. But when some heavy trial threatens them, or some sinful advantage may be had, they give up or disguise their profession, or turn to some easier system. Worldly cares are fitly compared to thorns, for they came in with sin, and are a fruit of the curse; they are good in their place to stop a gap, but a man must be well armed that has much to do with them; they are entangling, vexing, scratching, and their end is to be burned, Hebrews 6:8. Worldly cares are great hinderances to our profiting by the word of God. The deceitfulness of riches does the mischief; they cannot be said to deceive us unless we put our trust in them, then they choke the good seed. What distinguished the good ground was fruitfulness. By this true Christians are distinguished from hypocrites. Christ does not say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns; but none that could hinder its fruitfulness. All are not alike; we should aim at the highest, to bring forth most fruit. The sense of hearing cannot be better employed than in hearing God's word; and let us look to ourselves that we may know what sort of hearers we are.
Commentary on Matthew 13:24-30
(Read Matthew 13:24-30)
36-43 This parable represents the present and future state of the gospel church; Christ's care of it, the devil's enmity against it, the mixture there is in it of good and bad in this world, and the separation between them in the other world. So prone is fallen man to sin, that if the enemy sow the tares, he may go his way, they will spring up, and do hurt; whereas, when good seed is sown, it must be tended, watered, and fenced. The servants complained to their master; Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? No doubt he did; whatever is amiss in the church, we are sure it is not from Christ. Though gross transgressors, and such as openly oppose the gospel, ought to be separated from the society of the faithful, yet no human skill can make an exact separation. Those who oppose must not be cut off, but instructed, and that with meekness. And though good and bad are together in this world, yet at the great day they shall be parted; then the righteous and the wicked shall be plainly known; here sometimes it is hard to distinguish between them. Let us, knowing the terrors of the Lord, not do iniquity. At death, believers shall shine forth to themselves; at the great day they shall shine forth before all the world. They shall shine by reflection, with light borrowed from the Fountain of light. Their sanctification will be made perfect, and their justification published. May we be found of that happy number.