Matthew, Chapter 13

Matt. 13:1-23

Matt. 13:1 "The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And 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 sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. 10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? 11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. 12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. 17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. 20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. 22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. 23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Beginning with this parable the Lord spoke several parables to the people. First, we may ask ourselves, "What is a parable?" A parable is spiritual truth illustrated by natural truth. For instance, in the above, farmers do plant seed into the ground by broadcasting it over the ground. When this is done, some seed do literally fall by the wayside. Some seed fall on stony ground. Some seed fall among thorns. Some seed fall on good ground. All of this is true in nature. This, however, becomes a parable when these natural truths are used to parallel and teach spiritual lessons.

Next, we may ask ourselves, "Why did the Lord speak to the people in parables?" Since the parable is about the response that people have to the gospel, and if the gospel was a tool to save people from their sins, then why would not the Lord speak plainly and not in parables. The fact is that the gospel is not for the purpose of saving people from their sins. The Lord answered the question when he said, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given." The Lord spoke in parables in order to hide the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven from some and to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven unto others. Please also notice that it was from the multitude that the Lord was hiding the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven! He did not want the multitude to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven so he spoke to them in parables.

The Lord spoke concerning the multitude, "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." This people had done three things that rendered them unworthy to understand the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven:

1. They had hardened their hearts. People who resists the word and resist obeying the word will over time see their hearts become hardened to the word. These people had become hardened against the word.
2. They had become dull of hearing. When people hear the truth and yet ignore it, over time they will become dull of hearing the word. When the word is spoken, they will pay no attention to it.
3. They had closed their eyes. This is a willful act of knowing the truth and seeing error, yet closing their eyes to the sins and errors that they and others were committing.

It is through the spiritual eyes and spiritual ears and spiritual heart that we receive knowledge of the kingdom of heaven. The multitude of the Jews in that day had shut off these three venues to understanding and receiving the truth. Therefore, the Lord was making it impossible for them to understand the things concerning the kingdom of heaven.

In contrast to the multitudes, the disciples were seeking, asking, and knocking for the things of the kingdom of heaven. They had already been greatly blessed to see the kingdom and to enter therein. To these who had been so blessed, the Lord said, "But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." The Lord was now revealing to the disciples, things that even the Old Testament prophets and righteous men had not seen nor heard even thou they desired to see them and hear them. The Lord is sovereign and he works his sovereign will. He withholds some things from some and reveals some things to others.

In addition, the Lord said unto the disciples, "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." To those who are seeking, asking, and knocking for the truth the Lord adds to what they already have. To those who have hardened their hearts, dulled their hearing, and closed their eyes, the Lord takes away what they had previously received.

In the above parable, the Lord tells us that the sower is the preacher of the gospel. The preacher cannot possibly know what every person's heart condition is to whom he preaches. The preacher just broadcasts the word to those who are present to hear it. He does not know on what ground condition it will fall.

The ground represents the heart of the hearer. Luke 8:15 "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." Here we are told that the good ground is equal to the "honest and good heart." Thus, there are four heart conditions in which a child of God may receive the word.

We know that the people in all four grounds are children of God, because they all heard the word. No one can truly hear the word, but those who have been given "ears to hear" and these are the ones who are born of the Spirit of God.

Thus, the Lord is telling us there will be four different responses to the hearing of the gospel by the children of God depending on the current condition of their heart. The first condition is the way side condition. The people in this condition hear the word, but understand it not. A person who has not been born of the Spirit cannot understand the things of the Spirit of God (I Cor. 2:14). However, just because someone has been born of the Spirit does not guarantee that he will understand what is preached. They have the spiritual tools to understand it, but they must apply themselves to understand it. They must seek, ask, and knock for understanding. Furthermore, we must understand the process of acquiring knowledge and understanding. Isaiah 28:9 "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. 10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little." The understanding of the first precept is the foundation for understanding the second precept. We gain spiritual knowledge and understanding precept upon precept, line upon line, and here a little and there a little.

Sometimes when the word is preached we do not have enough foundation built up in our current knowledge of God's word, that we can understand what the preacher is preaching. When we are in the condition of a wayside heart, then the devil comes immediately and takes away that which is sown in our heart. The remedy for us is to build a foundation on which we can understand not only the milk of the word, but also can receive strong meat from the word.

The second condition of the heart on which the word fell was on stony ground. In this condition, the people receive the word with joy. They rejoice with what they hear, having understood the word. In nature, ground with many stones will impede the growth of the plant. The plant has no depth of earth in which to grow, therefore it soon withers away. According to Eph. 2:10, we are created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk therein. God's design for us is to bear fruit to his name's honor and glory. In order to bring forth fruit in our lives we must be willing to rid ourselves of the stones that impede growth. It is not enough to be just a hearer of the word, but we are to be doers also. Sometimes we need to make changes in the way that we live. Sometimes we need to put away evil from our lives. Other times we need to conform our lives to the teaching of the word of God. If we do not make the necessary changes, then we have stones in our lives which will impede the fruitfulness of the word in our lives. While those who had the stony hearts heard the word with joy, yet because they had the stones, when persecution or tribulation arose, then he became offended at the word. The word shines a light upon our actions and deeds. How easy it is for one to become offended when his deeds are contrary to the word.

The third condition of the heart on which the word of God is sown is said to be a thorny heart. In this condition, the person hears the word, understand and believes the word and even goes forth in the word. The problem this person encounters is that his priorities are not right. The Lord tells us that we are to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. We are to love the Lord above all else, even our own close kin folks. He deserves the priority of our love, action, and time. These on the thorny ground get their priorities out of kilter and consequently, the "care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful." How easy it is to put the job, or politics, or position, or even family ahead of serving the Lord. When we put other things ahead of serving the Lord, then the word will become unfruitful in our lives. We will not bring fruit to perfection.

The fourth condition of the heart is the good condition. Here the person hears, understand, believes, bears and brings forth fruit to perfection. It is in this heart that has been prepared, had the stones removed, and has his priorities right, that the individual brings forth much fruit, some thirty fold, some sixty fold, and some hundred fold. We should be ever desiring to have our heart in such a condition.

Matt. 13:31, 32

Matt. 13:31 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: 32 Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof."
The kingdom of heaven certainly had a very humble beginning. Who would have thought, other than God, that the kingdom of heaven would become a great kingdom when John the Baptist went forth preaching, "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." The Lord said, "The law and the prophets were until John, since that time the kingdom of heaven is preached and every man presseth into it." One man under the direction of God went forth preaching the kingdom of heaven in the wilderness and people went out to hear him. Now the kingdom of heaven is the greatest of all kingdoms. A grain of mustard seed is the least of all seeds, but like the mustard seed takes root and the mustard plant grows up and becomes more like a tree than a herb, so the kingdom of heaven started out extremely small in the eyes of man. Yet under the direction of the Spirit of God, the Lord called his twelve apostles and sent them forth. On the day of Pentecost there were about 120 disciples, but under the power and direction of the Holy Spirit there were added to the church that day about 3,000 disciples. The Lord then added to the church daily such as should be saved (from their ignorance and false worship).

While many nations have prospered and then declined and many ceased to exist, the Kingdom of heaven has continued to grow and prosper in the world and had a far greater influence upon the world than any other kingdom. This is all true even though the vast majority of the world do not even know that the kingdom of heaven exists!
What is true of the kingdom of heaven as a whole is also true of each local congregation. They begin usually with a single man being called to preach the gospel and to labor in a certain locality. He begins to baptize people into a local church. Usually this church is one of the smaller congregations of people in that area. Yet the influence of the Lord's church if far greater than the influences of the other congregations in the area.

Further the kingdom of heaven is like the mustard plant, a lodging place for God's born again people. And, as the fowls of the air find lodging in the branches of the mustard plant, the sin sick children of God come to find rest and lodging in the local church of the Kingdom of heaven. The local church is a safe haven for the Lord's weary pilgrims as they make their journey through life.

Matt. 13:24-30; 36-43

Matt. 13:24 "Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? 29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."

Matt. 13:36 "Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. 37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; 38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; 39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. 40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. 41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; 42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

This parable along with all parables in the scripture are designed to hide knowledge from the multitudes, but to reveal knowledge to the disciples. As with the parable of the sower, this parable also is explained to us of the Lord. The Lord through his word reveals to us knowledge and understanding and wisdom. We are to look to him for guidance and understanding.

In this parable, there are two sowers, and two groups of people, and two outcomes. The Lord told us that the field in which the seed are sown is the world. The Son of man sowed the good seed. The preacher does not sow this seed. This is the Lord's sowing. Only the Lord can sow the good seed. Out of all the offspring of Adam, God chose a people to be his before the foundation of the world (Rom. 8:29, 30). As with all men, the elect come into this world with a totally depraved wicked nature and begin to manifest that wicked nature in their actions. When it pleases the sower, the Lord sows a new nature into the inward parts of the elect. This sowing brings about the new or spiritual birth. Unlike the outward flesh, which is altogether wicked, the new man is altogether good. As we read in 1 John 3:9, "Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God," this new nature cannot sin. Likewise, we read in 1 Pet. 1:23, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever." The elect are born of an incorruptible seed, which is Jesus Christ. Since the seed is incorruptible, the nature that comes from it is incorruptible. Thus, spiritually, the inward man of the elect is incorruptible and altogether good.

The non-elect also have a spirit working in them. We read about this in Eph. 2:1 "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins: 2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience." The prince of the power of the air or Satan is the spirit working in the children of disobedience. The Lord told some unbelieving Jews in John 8:42 "Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. 45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not. 46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me? 47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." The inward nature of the non-elect is altogether wicked and has the spirit of Satan working in it. Since Satan was a murderer from the beginning and is a liar and the father of it, those who have the spirit of Satan working in them are therefore the children of that wicked one.

In nature, you cannot tell the difference from an elect or non-elect in their physical make up. They look the same. I have read that wheat and tares are indistinguishable before they bear fruit. The fruit distinguishes between the wheat and the tares. The fruit of wheat is good, wholesome, and nourishing. The fruit of tares is poisonous.

The elect in time have a two-fold nature. They have the nature of the flesh and they have the nature of the spiritual inner man. The non-elect have only one nature and that is the nature of the flesh. In Galatians, we read of the fruits of the flesh and the fruits of the spirit: Gal. 5:19 "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law."

The fruits of the flesh and thus of the non-elect are all together wicked and sinful. The fruits of the spirit are altogether good. Only the elect can bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. The Lord said, "by their fruits ye shall know them." When we see the fruit of the Spirit, then we know the person is a planting of the Lord.

The elect are called good. But they have the sinful flesh nature. How can they be called good? The answer is found in 2 Cor. 5:21: "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ the elect have the righteousness of Christ imputed unto them. In the eyes of a just and holy God, they are altogether good and righteous.

In Matthew chapter 25 we read of the final outcome of these two groups of people that the Lord refers to as wheat and tares: Matt. 25:31 "When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? 45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal."

The Lord did not tell the righteous that they had eternal life because of their good deeds, but they had eternal life by inheritance. Their good deeds was evidence of their good and righteous nature that God had given them. These went away into life eternal.
The wicked, however, bore no good fruit, but only evil fruit. These cursed went away into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. This is the same as the lake of fire spoken of in Revelations chapter 20.