Matthew 13:1-23
Matthew 13:1. “The same day Jesus went out of the house, and sat by the seaside.” This action signifies His leaving Judaism, to teach whosoever would hear; the last verses of Matthew 12 show that relationship by birth is no longer acknowledged, but, “he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven”; so that whosoever received the word, would be brought into blessing in Christ. It is now sowing the seed, a new thing; not seeking fruit from a vine or fig tree, as in Israel, but sowing seed that will produce fruit in the soul, where it is mixed with faith in those who hear it (Heb. 4:1).
Matthew 13:2-3. He speaks to the multitude in parables: The Sower is the first. “Behold, a sower went forth to sow;” it illustrates His action.
Matthew 13:4. “And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up.
Matthew 13:5-6. 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.
Matthew 13:7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up and choked them.
Matthew 13:8. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.
Matthew 13:9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
This chapter has seven parables; the last six are similitudes of the kingdom of heaven, that is, six pictures of those who are professedly under Christ’s authority on earth. The first parable is not called a likeness, but is given to show how the kingdom of heaven is formed by the preaching of the Word; those who profess His name are therefore looked at as in it. The next parable will show us that both false and real are there.
Matthew 13:10-11. The disciples ask, “Why speakest Thou unto them in parables?” He answered, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.” This marks the difference between the believers — just a remnant — and the mass, or nation, that did not receive Him.
Matthew 13:12. The one would increase in knowledge and possession, the other would lose even what he had.
Matthew 13:13-15 tells us they are the ones spoken of in Isaiah 6:9,10, quoted in verses 14 and 15.
Matthew 13:16-17. It was a blessed time for this remnant that received the Lord, and heard and understood His Word; their eyes were opened to see Jesus as the sent one of God. Many Old Testament saints and prophets had desired to see and to hear, but had not seen nor heard them.
Matthew 13:18. He begins the explanation of the parable.
Matthew 13:19. The wayside hearer pays no attention to what he had heard; it does not enter his understanding, and Satan takes the seed away. His attention is wholly given to other things (2 Cor. 4:4).
Matthew 13:20-21. The stony ground hearer receives the Word without exercise. He has no felt need for it; he rejoices over it, but when it causes him tribulation, he does not want to have any more to do with it; there was no deepness of earth. It looked like conversion, but he had no root in himself; so he can give it up when it does not suit him. The flesh can never stand persecution because of the Word, so he is offended.
Matthew 13:22. The thorny ground hearer heard the Word, and owned the truth of the Word, but failed to put it into practice. The cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches engaged all his attention. In him also there is no fruit. Cares and riches do not look like sin, but if permitted in the mind, they shut out God, and all is barrenness.
Matthew 13:23. In the good ground we get reality. The Word is understood, the ground is plowed up, the Word penetrates and produces fruit; but in different degrees, according to the exercises of the soul: in some an hundred-fold, in some sixty-fold, in some thirty-fold. Leaving some of those thorns in the ground (Matt. 13:22), and the lusts of other things, hinder believers from bringing forth fruit as they should. If the believer gets under the power and influence of the world and worldly things, he loses his communion with the Lord; his fruit bearing is hindered; he is sleeping (Eph. 5:14). He cannot enjoy the company of those who enjoy and talk of spiritual things, and his conscience reproves him for want of faithfulness.
“Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Prov. 4:23).