Matthew 13 - The Popular Commentary by Paul E. Kretzmann

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the seaside.

The Parable of the Sower.

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.

Though the shadow of unbelief and of spiritual hostility is evident even in this chapter, it nevertheless affords a welcome relief from the strained condition of Christ's last encounter with the Pharisees. It was on the same day, indeed, but under entirely different conditions. Note: Christ hardly ever is represented as having become weary; He was untiring in His labors for the salvation of men; He never permitted an opportunity to do good to escape His tender solicitude. Leaving the house where He was staying in Capernaum, He went out to the shore of the lake and sat down, probably for a confidential talk with His disciples. But the usual crowds came together and surrounded Him, making it necessary for Him to enter into a boat, where He sat down, while the people occupied the space between the sea and the rise of land toward the west as a natural amphitheater. His power and popularity as a teacher had not yet diminished, in spite of all the efforts of the Pharisees, but Christ Himself was preparing for a change of sentiment, as His parables indicate.

And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying: Behold, a sower went forth to sow.

The parable story:

And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the fowls came, and devoured them up.

Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth.

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

And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them.

But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

Parables are stories of comparison, and as Jesus employed them, He made use of the familiar in nature and in human life and experience to teach and bring home the great facts of His kingdom in its real and in its apparent form. Even ordinarily the Orientals were fond of parables, but Jesus had, besides, a remarkably effective way of catching the attention of His hearers, and emphasizing the important points in the comparison. The parable of the fourfold soil is an example. There is a farmer, a husbandman, such as the people of Galilee were accustomed to see, engaged in sowing his grain, broadcast. It cannot be avoided that some of the seed falls upon the pathway leading through the field, such as were common in Palestine. The result: The grains are trodden under foot; the birds, all manner of birds, pick them up as welcome food. Some of the seeds find lodgment in the stony soil, where the rock was close to the surface, with only a thin covering of earth. The result: The rock holds the heat, there is a quick sprouting and shooting up into the air, but a still quicker scorching by the sun, since the roots have no chance to enter deeply into the ground. Other grains fell among the thorns, where the plow had indeed been used, but had not succeeded in clearing away all the thorn roots. The result: The hardier weeds with their heavy foliage cut off air, light, and moisture from the tender stalks of grain, thus suffocating them. But other seed fell upon good soil, rich, loamy, soft, deep, clean, where it had moisture and sunlight in the right proportion, and could grow up and fulfill the hopes of the husbandman, bringing a rich return for his labor.

Jesus cries out in conclusion: Who hath ears to hear, let him. hear.

A hint that there is a hidden meaning in the story, and that every hearer should find this meaning and apply it properly. Where is there a similar experience in the spiritual life?

The request for an explanation: And the disciples came and said unto Him, Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?

The disciples who were present with Jesus, including probably even some of the twelve apostles, were still remarkably dense in spiritual matters. They had little understanding of the kingdom of God and of the real reason and end of Christ's mission. They were not mainly concerned about the method of teaching, but about the explanation of the story.

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.

The reason for speaking in parables:

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.

Therefore speak I to them in parables; because they, seeing, see not, and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand.

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.

Christ divides His hearers into two classes; but far from expounding a Calvinistic double decree in God, He makes a very careful distinction in explanation of the different positions toward Him and His message. To you it is given, He tells the disciples. It is not a matter of greater intelligence or of greater moral worth, but only of God's gracious gift through the Holy Ghost. The mysteries of the kingdom of heaven they are to know through His agency, the truths once hidden, but now revealed and made known in order to add souls to the Kingdom, to His Church. The disciples had been given, and they had received, this knowledge for the salvation of their souls. The Spirit gave it to them that they not only heard and saw, but also understood with the heart and believed, as Luther says. And these mercies were to be multiplied upon them. Their understanding and their possession of the wonderful mysteries of God should grow from day to day, giving them, finally, a rich abundance of God's mercies. But the other class did not receive Christ's message, therefore to them nothing more is given. He that lacks understanding in spiritual matters will become more and more impoverished from day to day. It is the judgment of God upon a perverse people, due entirely to their own guilt and rejection of Him and His mercy. Isaiah had been obliged to take them to task for this refusal to bow under the hand of God, Isaiah 6:9-10. He had announced to them the judgment of God. Their physical eyes and ears may be in commission, but the understanding of their soul would become duller with the passage of time. Their heart would become stupid, they would have ever greater difficulty in hearing the voice of God, their eyes would become closed to the offering of His mercy. That is the judgment of God upon those that harden their hearts against the Gospel of mercy, whose prime purpose is to save souls. This judgment upon Israel began in the days of the Prophet Isaiah, and was completed in the days of Christ and the apostles. The great mass of the people of Palestine, both in Judea and Galilee, hardened their hearts against Christ's Word and work. And so the preaching of Christ finally became unto them a savor of death unto death, 2 Corinthians 2:16.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

The blessedness of Christ's followers:

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 full and true happiness is that of having eyes and ears opened by the benign mercy of Jesus. Not only were the outward members of the disciples' bodies blessed for being witnesses of the fulfillment of the Old Testament, of seeing Him and being in constant, intimate communion with Him, to whom the whole ancient covenant pointed forward, whom the prophets and the righteous people from Eve and Jacob to Malachi and Simeon had longed to behold, but the eyes of their understanding were enlightened by His power. They knew Jesus as their Savior, and were happy in this knowledge.

Hear ye, therefore, the parable of the sower.

The interpretation of the parable:

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 wayside,

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the Word, and anon with joy receiveth it.

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.

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.

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.

He sets His disciples apart: Ye therefore hear, and, in hearing, learn the lesson. The seed that is sown in the Kingdom and for the purpose of winning for the Kingdom, is always the same, the Word of God, just as He is the same that does the sowing, either personally, as in the days of His earthly career, or through His servants, as at the present time. But there are also four different kinds of soil in spiritual matters. Some there are (and it is true of all that act in the same way) that pay fleeting attention to the Message of the Kingdom. They have somehow come into contact with the Church, some phase of church-work has struck their fancy. But there is no understanding, they literally do not take it into their hearts and minds, the Word never becomes a real factor in their lives. In this case the Evil One, Satan, has little difficulty in snatching away the truth which they have just barely grasped with their intellect, 2 Timothy 4:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:11. "To us it does not seem a dangerous matter to hear the Word of God, and yet not keep it; those that do it we regard as bad, inattentive people and think it is natural that they hear the sermon and still forget it. But Christ judges differently here and says: The devil takes the Word out of the heart of the people. Therefore, if thou seest a person who permits himself to be talked to and preached to as to a log, and the whole matter amounts to as much as if one strikes into water,... then think nothing else than that the devil has sat down in his heart and snatches the seed, the Word of God, away, that he does not believe and is not saved."

Another class of people that are temporary Christians are characterized by the eagerness and apparent joy with which they accept the Word. Their avidity for instruction is sometimes almost embarrassing. But they are quick, emotional, shallow natures. Their faith, though genuine, is not rooted deeply enough to withstand disappointment, especially tribulation, suspicion, hatred, enmity, and the resulting open or hidden persecution on account of the Word. Their rapid acceptance of the Word is equaled only by their hasty offense when they are asked to suffer for the sake of Christ. They want the crown, but not the cross. Not much different is the case of another class, whose members are said to hear the Word, probably with at least an intellectual acceptance. Their hearts have not properly been cleared of the roots of worldly cares and desires. They are not sincere toward the Word, do not use it to purify their hearts. The cares and worries of this world, the love and the desire of riches, fill their hearts and engross their attention. There is no real Christianity in their souls.

Only the fourth class of hearers present soil ready for a crop and fruit hat is well-pleasing to the Lord. They are they who hear and heed the Word in fine and good hearts. In this instance the soil of the hearts has been well prepared by the plowing of the Law, which incidentally weeded out all earthly love and care of this world, all selfishness and self-righteousness. Then the Master has sowed His good seed, the Gospel of His mercy. He also sends the fountains of His grace and the sun of His righteousness. And, behold, there is good fruit, though the measure depends upon differences of gifts, of disposition, and of the capacity for receiving and spreading the kingdom of God.

Another parable put He forth unto them, saying: The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field.

The Parable of the Tares

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

An important point: The parable is set forth, is presented, as spiritual food, for instruction of the soul. The kingdom of heaven, the Church of Christ, strictly speaking, includes only such as are united under His leadership by the bonds of a common, sincere faith in Him. But the Lord here, as often, describes the Church as it appears in the world, as we deal with it in concrete form. His picture is again taken from the work of the farmer. A man will certainly sow only the best seed obtainable in his field if he wants a large and heavy crop. That was also the custom of this husbandman. But during the time when men, that is, the average-honest man, usually slept, his enemy came with a certain malignant seed, a degenerate form of wheat, whose stalks and spikes closely resemble the true grain (bastard wheat, or darnel), and deliberately and maliciously sowed this weed-seed in the midst of the wheat as thickly as though there were nothing there. Having done his spiteful deed, he went his way. The damage, he knew, could hardly be discovered until it would be too late to remedy matters.

But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

The result of the scheme:

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?

He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou, then, that we go and gather them up?

But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

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.

The enemy's plan certainly proceeded from devilish ingenuity. For not until the field began to mature and form' spikes did the spiteful trick become evident, since the false wheat branches out with ears on each twig. The surprise of the farm-laborers is due to the extent of the area infested with the weeds: surely not due to bad seed nor a case of volunteer growth. The householder knew the reason, some hostile man being the only one that could carry out such a thorough plan to work him harm. Moreover, he is opposed to the plan suggested by the workmen that they go out and pull up all the false wheat. The roots of the tares being intertwined with those of the wheat, the danger was that both would be uprooted together. His plan is rather to wait until the wheat is ripe, when the present objection no longer holds good. The reapers could easily make the proper selection, after which the tares could be tied into bundles to be burned, while the wheat could be brought into the granary. Aside from the Lord's explanation below, there is a lesson in these words of the householder which should be carefully noted. "According to this example thou canst now also get the proper idea of the manner in which we should proceed against the tares, which are called false doctrine, or the heresies and false Christians of whom this Gospel speaks. For in the Church it happens just the same way: We cannot avoid having evil men in our midst, such as heretics and sectarians, for if one be rooted up, the evil spirit will awaken others. How then shall I proceed? I must eliminate and yet not destroy them. How so? Why, do as the grain does here, let them grow a while. Only be sure to remain lord in thy dominion. Thou preacher, pastor, and hearer, hinder and prevent them, the heretics and rebellious teachers, from ruling and reigning. Let them indeed grumble in the corner, but do not, so far as in thee lies, permit them to come into the pulpit and to the altar. In no other way can one restrain them; for if I should want to eradicate one with force, two would grow in his stead. Therefore thou must act against them in this way, by restraining them through the Word and faith; and let no one take thy pure faith, confession, and Christian life; admonish and upbraid them as much as thou canst; if that has no results, excommunicate them publicly, that every one may regard and shun them as dangerous weeds."

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;

Parable of the mustard seed:

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.

He set before them choice spiritual food for their instruction and edification. The kingdom of Christ in its growth is like a grain of mustard seed, whose size and appearance give no intimation of the force of its sprouting nor of the size of the herb at its full maturity, whether one restricts the word to the garden herb or includes the mustard tree of the Orient, whose great size is often referred to by Jewish writers. So large does it become that the birds may make their roosts in its branches. It seems almost incredible that such a tiny seed can produce such a large, treelike plant. But even so, as Christ here predicts, the kingdom of Christ grows from small beginnings until it extends over the whole earth, and becomes a place of rest and of peace for all people. The few despised disciples whom Christ gathered about Him were the nucleus of the great Christian Church, which came into existence and is maintained through the power of the Gospel.

Parable of the leaven: Another parable spake He unto them: The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.

A very small piece of leaven, or yeast, if set to flour or meal, under the proper conditions, will quickly impart its properties to the entire mass. Jesus purposely takes a large quantity, three satons or seahs being equal to about sixty pints. The yeast may be hidden by the process of kneading, but it will not be long before its strength will become apparent, and the whole mass be leavened. Thus the Word of God, which builds the Kingdom, also exerts its leavening power in case of individuals as well as in that of whole communities and nations. It has the inherent strength to change and to renew the heart and the life of men and to fit them ever more thoroughly to be true members of the kingdom of God.

All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake He not unto them,

An explanation by the evangelist:

that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open My mouth in parables, I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.

It was at this time that Jesus made use of this form of teaching for reasons which Matthew had indicated above, v. 13. Here again was a prophecy fulfilled, Psalms 78:2. But, though the majority of the audience no longer had the true spiritual benefit from the beautiful stories which Jesus told them, yet there were a few that would understand His language. For them His teaching became in reality a revealing, a making known, of the wonderful things of God which had been hidden since the foundation of the world, known only within God's council. The invisible, heavenly beauties are here unfolded before the eyes of the unlearned disciples in a simple, appealing manner, though Christ was obliged, especially at first, to open the eyes of their understanding.

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.

Jesus explains the parable of the tares:

He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man.

The field is the world. The good seed are the children of the Kingdom; but the tares are the children of the Wicked One.

The enemy that sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so shall it be in the end of this world.

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;

and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

The narrative reveals a respectful intimacy on the part of the disciples. When Jesus had returned home, they did not hesitate to ask for an explanation, in order that the meaning of the parable might be altogether clear to them. He was patient with them. He interpreted to them one point after another. The wide world is the harvest-field of the Son of Man, who here represents Himself as the Lord of the Church. His seed are the believers; the unbelievers are the children of the devil. At the time of harvest their unbelief will become apparent, though they have skillfully hidden it under a semblance of piety. They are called offenders that hinder the development of the good grain; they are guilty of behavior contrary to law, of a deliberate ignoring of the law. These facts should not be a matter of surprise to the Christians. "Christ not only tells us about this, but also indicates the reason where such rubbish comes from, that in the Church where the true seed is sown, that is, the Word of God is preached in its truth and purity, there are still so many noxious weeds, so many hypocrites and false Christians. But He indicates the reason to warn us against the offense, which otherwise scandalizes the whole world and causes her to say that nothing good comes from the preaching of the Gospel. Such is not the fault of the doctrine, which is pure and wholesome: neither is it the preachers' fault, who would like to see, and apply all diligence to have, the people become more pious. But it is the enemy's, the devil's, fault; he does like a wicked farmer or neighbor: When people sleep and are not thinking of harm, he does not sleep, but comes and sows tares in the field. That is the point which is brought out also in the parable before this: He takes hold of the hearts that they pay no attention to the Word, and thus day by day are farther removed from it, and let the devil lead and drive them as he will, into all manner of sin and shame."

On the Day of Judgment the sifting will take place: The false Christians will receive their sentence and be condemned to suffer the tortures of hell-fire, where wailing and gnashing of teeth will be their lot. But those whom Christ has declared righteous, who are righteous in His eyes through the merits of the Savior whom they have accepted, they will receive the reward of mercy. Their glory will be a shining, visible brightness, as of the sun. And they will have the full realization that God is their true Father in Jesus Christ, through whom they are justified in His sight and have received the adoption of sons. It is a matter of earnest, prayerful anticipation.