That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea.
And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and
sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them
many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as
he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and
devoured them. 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, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since
they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on
good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some
thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to
them in parables?” 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. 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. 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. 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.”
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.’
But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for
they hear. 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.
“Hear then the parable of the sower: 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. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is
the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
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. 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.
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.”
He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of
heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field,
but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds
among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore
grain, then the weeds appeared also. 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?’ 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?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering
the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 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.”’”
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. 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.”
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.”
All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he
said nothing to them without a parable. 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.”
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.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed
is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the
sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and
the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of
the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered
and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son
of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his
kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into
the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom
of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
“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.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of
fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and
sold all that he had and bought it.
“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into
the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew
it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but
threw away the bad. So it will be at the end of the age. The angels
will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw
them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.”
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.”
And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from
there, 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? 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? And are not all his
sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 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.” And
he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
