#parables explained

A Field Is Sown With Good And Bad Seed: At Harvest The Weeds Will Be Burned

24 He put-before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens became-like a man having sown good seed in his field. 25 But during the men’s sleeping, his enemy came and re-sowed darnel between the wheat, and went away. 26 Now when the grass budded and produced fruit, then the darnel appeared also. 27 And having come to him, the slaves of the house-master said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then from where does it have the darnel?’ 28 And the one said to them, ‘A hostile man did this’. And the slaves say to him, ‘Then do you want us, having gone, to collect them?’ 29 But the one says, ‘No, that while collecting the darnel, you may not perhaps uproot the wheat together with them. 30 Permit both to grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest I will say to the harvesters, “Collect first the darnel, and bind them into bundles so-as to burn them up. But gather the wheat into my barn”.

The Mustard Seed: God’s Kingdom Will Start Very Small And Grow Very Large

31 He put-before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like a seed of a mustard-plant, which having taken, a man sowed in his field— 32 which is smaller than all the seeds, but when it grows is larger than the garden-plants. And it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and are nesting in its branches”.

Like Leaven In Bread, God’s Kingdom Will Permeate The World

33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which having taken, a woman concealed into three measures of wheat-flour until which time the whole thing was leavened”.

Jesus Spoke In Parables In Fulfillment of Psalm 78:2

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. And He was speaking nothing to them apart from a parable, 35 so that the thing might be fulfilled having been spoken through the prophet saying “I will open My mouth in parables. I will utter things having been hidden since the foundation of the world” [Ps 78:2].

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Using Parables

36 Then, having left the crowds, He went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Make-clear to us the parable of the darnel of the field”. 37 And the One, having responded, said—

Jesus Explains The Parable of The Good And Bad Seed Sown In The Field

“The one sowing the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 And the field is the world. And the good seed— these are the sons of the kingdom. And the darnel are the sons of the evil one. 39 And the enemy having sown them is the devil. And the harvest is the conclusion of the age. And the harvesters are angels. 40 Therefore, just as the darnel is collected and burned up with fire, so it will be at the conclusion of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will collect out of His kingdom all the causes-of-falling and the ones doing lawlessness. 42 And they will throw them into the furnace of fire. In that place, there will be the weeping and the grinding of teeth. 43 Then the righteous ones will shine-forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Let the one having ears, hear. — Matthew 13:24-43 | Disciples’ Literal New Testament (DLNT) Disciples’ Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing Cross References: Genesis 18:6; 2 Samuel 23:6-7; Psalm 78:2; Psalm 104:12; Ezekiel 17:6; Daniel 3:6; Daniel 12:3; Zephaniah 1:3; Matthew 5:37; Matthew 8:20; Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:1; Matthew 13:3-4; Matthew 13:44; Matthew 13:49; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 20:1; 1 Corinthians 15:42

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Jesus Teaches in Parables

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed 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 “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 what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before 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 weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. — Matthew 13 | English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Cross References: Genesis 18:6; Genesis 26:12; Deuteronomy 29:4; 2 Samuel 23:6-7; Psalm 78:2; Psalm 104:12; Psalm 119:70; Ezekiel 17:6; Daniel 3:6; Daniel 12:3; Zephaniah 1:3; Matthew 5:37; Matthew 8:20; Matthew 12:32; Matthew 13:1; Matthew 13:3-4; Matthew 13:44; Matthew 13:49; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 20:1; Mark 3:23; Mark 4:4; Mark 4:6; Mark 4:16; Mark 4:25; Luke 5:3; Luke 8:8-9; Luke 8:11; Luke 10:23; 1 Corinthians 15:42

Why Did Jesus Teach in Parables?

Key Passages in Matthew 13

A Field Is Sown With Good And Bad Seed: At Harvest The Weeds Will Be Burned

24 He put-before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens became-like a man having sown good seed in his field. 25 But during the men’s sleeping, his enemy came and re-sowed darnel between the wheat, and went away. 26 Now when the grass budded and produced fruit, then the darnel appeared also. 27 And having come to him, the slaves of the house-master said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? Then from where does it have the darnel?’ 28 And the one said to them, ‘A hostile man did this’. And the slaves say to him, ‘Then do you want us, having gone, to collect them?’ 29 But the one says, ‘No, that while collecting the darnel, you may not perhaps uproot the wheat together with them. 30 Permit both to grow together until the harvest. And at the time of the harvest I will say to the harvesters, “Collect first the darnel, and bind them into bundles so-as to burn them up. But gather the wheat into my barn”.

The Mustard Seed: God’s Kingdom Will Start Very Small And Grow Very Large

31 He put-before them another parable, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like a seed of a mustard-plant, which having taken, a man sowed in his field— 32 which is smaller than all the seeds, but when it grows is larger than the garden-plants. And it becomes a tree, so that the birds of the heaven come and are nesting in its branches”.

Like Leaven In Bread, God’s Kingdom Will Permeate The World

33 He spoke another parable to them, “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which having taken, a woman concealed into three measures of wheat-flour until which time the whole thing was leavened”.

Jesus Spoke In Parables In Fulfillment of Psalm 78:2

34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. And He was speaking nothing to them apart from a parable, 35 so that the thing might be fulfilled having been spoken through the prophet saying “I will open My mouth in parables. I will utter things having been hidden since the foundation of the world” [Ps 78:2].

Jesus Teaches His Disciples Using Parables

36 Then, having left the crowds, He went into the house. And His disciples came to Him, saying, “Make-clear to us the parable of the darnel of the field”. 37 And the One, having responded, said—

Jesus Explains The Parable of The Good And Bad Seed Sown In The Field

24 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 When the plants sprouted and produced heads of grain, the weeds also appeared. 27 The servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? Where did the weeds come from?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy did this.’ The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather up the weeds?’ 29 ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because when you gather up the weeds, you might pull up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the weeds, bind them in bundles, and burn them. Then, gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

Mustard Seed and Yeast

31 He presented another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. 32 It is one of the smallest of seeds. But when it grows, it is larger than the other plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

33 He spoke another parable to them: “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast, which a woman took and mixed into a bushel of flour until the whole batch was leavened.”

34 Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the crowds. He did not speak to them without telling a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet:

I will open my mouth in parables,

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.

Jesus Explains the Parable of the Weeds

36 Then Jesus sent the people away and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

A guy that is living well, decides to take off with his inheritance and explore wordly pleasures...

He takes off and spends it all on women, alcohol, drugs, and fast worldly living.

Reality hits him and he starts to suffer the  consequences of his sin...

He is treated lowly and continues to suffer the consequences of his actions...

HE COMES TO HIS SENSES... Has a moment of clarity and decides he has hit bottom and that he needs to return to his family, his father in particular.

He returns in humility asking to be taken back as the lowest of his father's servants.

His father takes him in again and gives him his best, and also throws a party in honor of him for having returned back...

His brother is jealous and complains to their father...

Their father explains to him why he took his lost son back....