Jesus · c. AD 28
Chapter 25
The Sower
“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.
For parents
When Jesus explains the parable of the darnel weeds among the wheat, he says that at the end of the age his angels will gather out of his Kingdom everyone who does wrong and throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth (Matthew 13:40–42). After the parable of the net he says the same of the wicked at the end of the world (13:49–50). It is told plainly, as Jesus says it.
That day went out of the house and sat down by the sea, and there he began to teach again. So many people crowded around him that he climbed into a boat out on the water and sat down there. All the people stood on the beach.
Luke tells of a great crowd coming together, with people from every city making their way to Jesus. He taught them many things in , and this is one he told:
“Listen! Look, a farmer went out to sow seed. As he sowed, some of the seed landed beside the road, and birds came along and gobbled it up.
“Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. It came up right away, because the earth there wasn’t deep. But the sun came up and scorched it, and because it had no root, it withered away.
“Some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
“But some seed fell on good soil and bore fruit, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Mark tells the story the same way, except that the seed among the thorns gives no grain. And in Mark, the seed in the good ground grows up and increases, giving thirty times as much, sixty times, and a hundred times. In Luke, the seed by the road is trampled underfoot, and the birds eat it. The seed on the rock withers as soon as it comes up, because it has no moisture. The thorns grow up along with the seed, and the good ground gives a hundred times as much. And Luke says that as Jesus said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The came to Jesus and asked, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” Mark says this was when Jesus was alone, and that the people around him, together with the twelve, asked him about the parables. In Luke, his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”
He answered, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it isn’t given to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have plenty. But whoever doesn’t have, even what he has will be taken from him.
“So I speak to them in parables, because they look but don’t see, they listen but don’t hear, and they don’t understand. The prophecy of is coming true in them. It says:
‘You will hear and keep on hearing,and not understand at all;you will see and keep on seeing,and not take it in at all,because the hearts of these people have grown hard,their ears are slow to hear,and they have closed their eyes;or else their eyes might see,their ears might hear,their hearts might understand,and they would turn back,and I would heal them.’”
Mark and Luke give his answer more briefly. In Mark, Jesus says, “The mystery of God’s Kingdom is given to you, but to those who are outside, everything is done in parables, that ‘seeing they may see and not take it in, and hearing they may hear and not understand; or else perhaps they might turn back, and their sins would be forgiven them.’” In Luke he says, “It is given to you to know the mysteries of God’s Kingdom, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”
He went on, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. I tell you for certain, many and men wanted to see the things you are seeing, and never saw them. They wanted to hear the things you are hearing, and never heard them.”
“Now hear the parable of the farmer,” Jesus went on.
“When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and carries off what was sown in his heart. That is the seed by the road.
“What was sown on the rocky places is the person who hears the word and right away welcomes it with joy. But there is no root in him, and he holds out only for a while. When he meets trouble or persecution because of the word, right away he stumbles.
“What was sown among the thorns is the person who hears the word, but then the worries of this age and the way riches fool people choke the word, and he bears no fruit.
“But what was sown on good ground is the person who hears the word and understands it. He surely bears fruit and gives a harvest, some a hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”
Mark tells the meaning in much the same way. There Jesus begins, “Don’t you understand this parable? How will you understand all of the parables? The farmer sows the word.” In Mark it is who “comes right away and takes away the word that has been sown in them.” Among the thorns, Mark adds the craving for other things: “the worries of this age, the way riches fool people, and the craving for other things get in and choke the word, and it bears no fruit.” And the good ground is “those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some thirty times as much, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
In Luke, Jesus says, “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.” There the people by the road hear, “then the comes and takes the word out of their heart, so that they won’t believe and be saved.” When those on the rock hear, they receive the word with joy, “but these have no root. They believe for a while, then fall away in a time of temptation.” The ones among the thorns have heard, “and as they go on their way they are choked with worry, riches, and pleasures of life, and none of their fruit ripens.” And the good ground is “those who hear the word with an honest and good heart, hold it tightly, and bear fruit, never giving up.”
Then, as Mark and Luke tell it, Jesus said to them, “Does anyone bring in a lamp to put it under a basket, or under a bed? Isn’t it put on a stand?” In Luke he says that no one who has lit a lamp covers it with a container or puts it under a bed; he puts it on a stand, “so that anyone coming in may see the light.”
“Whatever is hidden is meant to be made known, and whatever has been kept secret is meant to come to light. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear.”
He told them, “Be careful what you hear. The same measure you use will be used to measure out to you, and you who hear will be given even more. Whoever has will be given more, and whoever doesn’t have, even what he has will be taken from him.”
In Luke he says, “So be careful how you hear. Whoever has will be given more, and whoever doesn’t have will lose even what he thinks he has.”
Then, in Mark, Jesus said, “God’s Kingdom is like this. A man throws seed on the ground. Night and day he goes to sleep and gets up, while the seed springs up and grows, though he doesn’t know how.
“The earth bears fruit all on its own: first the green shoot, then the head of grain, then the full grain in the head. And when the grain is ripe, he cuts it with the right away, because the harvest has come.”
In Matthew, the next parable Jesus told them was about wheat and , a weed that looks very much like wheat until it is ripe. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,” he said. “But while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel among the wheat, and went away. Later, when the green blades came up and formed grain, the darnel appeared too.
“The master’s servants came to him. ‘Sir,’ they said, ‘didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did this darnel come from?’
“‘An enemy has done this,’ he told them. The servants asked, ‘Do you want us to go and gather it up?’
“‘No,’ he said. ‘While you gather up the darnel, you might pull up the wheat with it. Let both grow together until the harvest. When the harvest comes, I will tell the reapers, “First gather up the darnel and tie it up in bundles for burning, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
He told another parable. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like one mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field. This seed is smaller than any other, but once it has grown, it is bigger than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and settle in its branches.”
In Mark, Jesus begins, “How should we picture God’s Kingdom? What parable will we use to show it?” There it is like a mustard seed, smaller than all the seeds on the earth when it is sown. Yet it “grows up and becomes greater than all the herbs, and puts out great branches, so that the birds of the sky can settle under its shadow.”
He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast. A woman took it and hid it in three measures of flour, until all of it had risen.” That much flour is about ten gallons.
Jesus told the crowds all of this in parables. With many parables like these he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it, and he never spoke to them without one. Matthew says it happened so that the words spoken through the prophet would come true:
“I will open my mouth in parables;I will tell of things hidden ever since the world was founded.”
But in private, Mark says, Jesus explained everything to his own disciples.
Then Jesus sent the crowds away and went into the house. His disciples came to him. “Explain the parable of the darnel in the field to us,” they said.
He answered them, “The man who sows the good seed is the . The field is the world. The good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are .
“The darnel is gathered up and burned with fire, and that is how it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom everything that makes people stumble, and everyone who does wrong. They will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
“Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
“The Kingdom of Heaven is also like treasure hidden in a field. A man found it and hid it. Then, full of joy, he went and sold all that he had and bought that field.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls. When he found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered up fish of every kind. Once it was full, fishermen hauled it up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good ones into containers, but threw the bad ones away.
“That is how it will be when the world ends. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous. They will throw them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?”
“Yes, Lord,” they answered.
Then he said to them, “So every who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is the head of a household and brings new things and old out of his treasure.”