CHAPTER 13

(A.D. 31)

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

¹The same day (the day the teaching was given as recorded in the previous Chapter) went Jesus out of the house (probably Peters house), and sat by the sea side (Sea of Galilee).

²And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him (they wanted Him to teach them, which He did), so that He went into a ship, and sat (which was the custom then regarding sitting while one taught); and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

³And He spoke many things unto them in Parables (a comparison illustration, used in order to explain a truth), saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow (concerns an illustration with which all would have been familiar);

⁴And when he sowed, some seeds(Word of God) fell by the way side, and the fowls (demon spirits) came and devoured them up:

⁵Some (seed) fell upon stony places, for they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth (no depth):

⁶And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away (because of having no depth, persecutions soon caused them to fall by the wayside; all of this pertains to the presentation of the Gospel, and as obvious, completely refutes the unscriptural doctrine of unconditional eternal security).

⁷And some (seed) fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them (other things were allowed to come in and hinder the growth of the Word in the heart):

⁸But other (seed) fell into good ground (receptive ground), and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold (Jn. 15:1-8).

⁹Who hath ears to hear, let him hear (whoever hears is responsible to hear, i.e., to obey, and will be so judged; the secret of this first Parable is that only about one-fourth of the expended efforts succeed, and three-fourths fail; subsequent history demonstrates the accuracy of this Prophecy).

JESUS EXPLAINS THE PURPOSE OF SPEAKING IN PARABLES

¹⁰And the Disciples came, and said unto Him (seems to pertain to a later time when they were alone), Why do You speak to them in Parables? (This portrays consternation on their part!)

¹¹He answered and said unto them (concerns the Lords method of dealing with two different classes of people, those who really wanted to know Gods Ways and those who were merely curious), Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given (two categories are presented here; in which category are you?).

¹²For whosoever has (and wants more), to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance (if one wills Righteousness, the Lord wills more Righteousness to them): but whosoever has not (no interest for more), from him shall be taken away even that he has (he not only loses what he could have had, but even that which he has; to those who accept the Cross, they will have even more, and to those who reject the Cross, they will lose everything, even that which they previously had).

¹³Therefore speak I to them in Parables (in order to separate those whohunger and thirst for Righteousness from those who dont): because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand (that is, they do not wish to see or hear or understand; and hence by a just judgment they lose this triple moral ability).

¹⁴And in them (those who reject the Cross [I Cor. 1:23]) is fulfilled the Prophecy of Isaiah, which says, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive (a willful deafness, a willful blindness, and a willful dullness; this Passage is quoted in one form or the other some seven times in the New Testament [Mat. 13:14-15; Mk. 4:12; Lk. 8:10; Jn. 12:39-40; Acts 28:26-27; Rom. 11:8]):

¹⁵For this peoples heart is waxed gross (this is the reason for their spiritual dullness and, therefore, rejection of Christ; Spiritual rejection or acceptance begins in the heart), and their ears are dull of hearing (they have heard, and heard, and little acted on what they heard, and the Holy Spirit pulls back until they lose even that which they have had), and their eyes they have closed (deliberately did so, even in the face of irrefutable proof); 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 (they would not turn to Him; had they done so He would most certainly have healed them morally, and spiritually; this speaks of those who have accepted the Lord, but for various reasons will fall by the wayside; as stated, this completely refutes the unscriptural doctrine of unconditional eternal security).

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear (this is the group who desires to know the Lord in an even greater way).

¹⁷For verily I say unto you (signals a very important statement), That many Prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see (that which Christ presented to Israel, but which were rejected), and have not seen them; and to hear those things which you hear, and have not heard them(contrasted were the many, who desired to see, hear, and to understand).

PARABLE OF THE SOWER EXPLAINED

¹⁸Hear ye therefore the Parable of the sower (Christ will now explain it).

¹⁹When any one hears the Word of the Kingdom (refers to the Word of God; it speaks of Gods Way vs. Satans way), and understands it not (does not refer to one who is incapable of understanding, but instead, to one who has no desire to understand), then cometh the wicked one(Jesus compares Satan to a vulture), and catches away that which was sown in his heart (refers to Satan being allowed to do such a thing by the individual involved; the initiative does not lie with the Lord or with Satan, but with the person). This is he which receives seed by the way side (the word way side refers to the fact that theindividual doesnt give it credence, i.e., unbelief).

²⁰But he who receives the seed (Word of God) into stony places (refers to the second group), the same is he who hears the Word, and anon (immediately) with joy receives it (they make a good start, but then fall by the wayside);

²¹Yet has he not root in himself (refers to the stony places), but endures for a while (he hears the Word of God, believes it, and accepts Christ; it is all done with joy; but then something else happens): for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word (which it definitely will), by and by (immediately) he is offended (the offense of the Cross [Gal. 5:11]).

²²He also who received seed (the Word of God) among the thorns is he who hears the Word (he receives the Word; the soil is fertile and good with plenty depth); and the care of this world (ways of this world), and the deceitfulness of riches (deceitful, simply because the acquiring of such makes a person believe erroneous things), choke the Word (stops its growth), and he becomes unfruitful (such a one is ultimately lost [Jn. 15:2, 6]).

²³But he who receives seed into the good ground (prepared ground ground plowed up by the Spirit of conviction because of sin) is he who hears the Word (does so with eagerness), and understands it(he wanted to understand, and the Lord rewards such by giving more understanding); which also bears fruit (Christian growth), and brings forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty (the idea is one hundredfold; the Holy Spirit strives to bring the thirty fold and the sixty fold up to a hundred fold [Jn. 15:1-8]).

THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND TARES

²⁴Another Parable put He forth unto them, saying (presents the second Parable), The Kingdom of Heaven is likened unto a Man (Christ) which sowed good seed (the Word of God) in his field (the world):

²⁵But while men slept (the Church is often asleep), His (Christs) enemy came (Satan) and sowed tares (apostates) among the wheat (true Christians), and went his way (Satan works mostly through professed Believers).

²⁶But when the blade was sprung up (refers to the good seed taking root, growing, and having a healthy start), and brought forth fruit (refers to its intended purpose), then appeared the tares also (the Church has both the true and the false).

²⁷So the servants of the householder came and said unto him (refers to those who had helped sow the good seed), Sir, did not you sow good seed in your field? from whence then has it tares? (No tares were sowed, so why are they there?)

²⁸He said unto them, An enemy has done this (refers to Satan and his ministers [II Cor. 11:13-15]). The servants said unto him, Will you then that we go and gather them up? (Rid the field of the tares?)

²⁹But he said, No; lest while you gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them (while the tares [false doctrine] were to be pointed out, no force was to be used to take them out of the field; to do so, would be to destroy some wheat).

³⁰Let both grow together until the harvest (refers to the First Resurrection of Life): and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers (refers to the Lord performing this all-important task, because only He has the Wisdom and Ability to do), Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them (the tares will be eternally lost): but gather the wheat into my barn (refers to those who will be in the First Resurrection [I Thess. 4:13-18]).

THE PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED

³¹Another Parable put He forth unto them, saying (the third Parable), The Kingdom of Heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed (Word of God), which a man took (Christ), and sowed in his field (the world):

³²Which indeed is the least of all seeds (concerns the small beginnings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ): but when it is grown (which it now is), it is the greatest among herbs (Christianity is the largest faith on Earth, with approximately two billion adherents), and becomes a tree (a mustard bush that becomes a tree is abnormal), so that the birds of the air (all kind of birds, representing all kinds of doctrine) come and lodge in the branches thereof (thus in conduct and in doctrine the failure of what is called Christianity is revealed here beforehand).

THE PARABLE OF THE LEAVEN

³³Another Parable spoke He unto them (the fourth); The Kingdom of Heaven is like unto leaven (invariably presented in Scripture as a symbol of evil), which a woman took (frequently in Scripture the woman as well is presented as an agent of idolatry), and hid in three measures of meal (the meal is the Word of God), till the whole was leavened (more tares than wheat).

JESUS USE OF PARABLES

³⁴All these things spoke Jesus unto the multitude in Parables (relates only to this segment of His Teaching); and without a Parable spoke He not unto them:

³⁵That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Prophet (Asaph [Ps. 78:2]), saying, I will open My Mouth in Parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world (refers to Truths which have never before been revealed, but are now given, albeit in shadow; as an example, the Gentiles being brought in).

THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE TARES EXPLAINED

³⁶Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house (He had been teaching by the seaside, and now goes into Peters home): and His Disciples came unto Him, saying, Declare unto us the Parable of the tares of the field (a private audience).

³⁷He answered and said unto them, He who sows the good seed (Word of God) is the Son of Man (Christ is the Lord of the Harvest);

³⁸The field is the world (not just the Jews, which in effect, speaks of the coming Church); the good seed are the children of the Kingdom (refers to true Believers of the Word of God); but the tares are the children of the wicked one(they profess to be children of the Kingdom, but in effect, were Satans ministers in one way or the other [II Cor. 11:13-15]);

³⁹The enemy that sowed them (bad seed) is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world (end of the age; the Judgment); and the reapers are the Angels (the Angels which will come back with Christ, and all redeemed Saints, at the Second Coming [Rev., Chpt. 19]).

⁴⁰As therefore the tares (bad seed) are gathered and burned in the fire (Great White Throne Judgment [Rev. 20:11-15]); so shall it be in the end of this world (end of this age).

⁴¹The Son of Man shall send forth His Angels, and they shall gather out of His Kingdom (separate the tares from the wheat) all things that offend, and them which do iniquity (Great White Throne Judgment);

⁴²And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth (the Second Resurrection of Damnation, i.e., the Second Death [Rev. 20:11-15]).

⁴³Then (the beginning of the Kingdom Age) shall the Righteous shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father (the perfect age to come [Rev., Chpts. 21-22]). Who has ears to hear, let him hear (proclaims the certitude of such action).

THE PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE

⁴⁴Again (the fifth Parable), the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto treasure (the New Covenant) hid in a field (the world); the which when a man has found (the treasure is Christ), he hides it, and for joy thereof goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field (the moral is, Christ is worth more than everything else, and by far).

THE PARABLE OF THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE

⁴⁵Again (the sixth Parable), the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls (this man is rich, but yet not satisfied, and rightly so; Pearls are the only substance which cannot be improved by man; this Pearl represents Christ):

⁴⁶Who, when he had found one pearl of great price (this one pearl among many pearls, which was greater than all, i.e., Christ), went and sold all that he had, and bought it (this Pearl is worth everything, and everything is what it will take to obtain it).

THE PARABLE OF THE NET

⁴⁷Again (the seventh Parable), the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind (all type of Believers come into the Church):

⁴⁸Which, when it was full (when the dispensation of the Church runs its course; it is almost over), they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away (the separation of the tares and the wheat).

⁴⁹So shall it be at the end of the world (at the end of the age): the Angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just (the just are those who trust in Christ and the Cross),

⁵⁰And shall cast them (the wicked) into the furnace of fire (Great White Throne Judgment [Rev. 20:11-15]): there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

THE HOUSEHOLDER

⁵¹Jesus said unto them, Have you understood all these things? They say unto Him, Yes, Lord.

⁵²Then said He unto them, Therefore every Scribe (all Believers are likened here as Scribes, which means they diligently search the Word of God)which is instructed (versed in the Word, which should be all Believers) unto the Kingdom of Heaven is like unto a man whois an householder (possesses the keys to the Kingdom), which brings forth out of his treasure things new and old (can enrich others out of his store of Divine Truth; that Truth as to time is old, i.e., eternal, as to experience, power, and character perpetually new).

JESUS REJECTED AT NAZARETH

⁵³And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these Parables, He departed thence.

⁵⁴And when He was come into His own country (Nazareth), He taught them in their Synagogue (Lk. 4:16-30), insomuch that they were astonished (rendered speechless), and said, Whence has this Man this wisdom, and these mighty works? (Meant to cast aspersions on Christ.)

⁵⁵Is not this the carpenters son? (This was a denial of His claim regarding Messiahship.) is not his mother called Mary? and His brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? (They were denying as well, His Virgin Birth.)

⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then has this Man all these things? (If all of these things were so, they were saying, His family, by now, would have mentioned it.)

⁵⁷And they were offended in Him (Luke said they were filled with wrath, and would have killed Him had they been able to do so [Lk. 4:28-30]). But Jesus said unto them, A Prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house (the last phrase in his own is revealing; it proclaims the fact that His own family didnt believe in Him [Jn. 7:5]).

⁵⁸And He did not many mighty works there (in Nazareth) because of their unbelief (they would not bring the sick and afflicted to Him; unbelief was the reason).