Matthew 13:1-23

Preview: In chapter 13, Matthew gathers together some of Jesus’s teachings that are in the form of parables.  In chapter 14, Matthew gathers together some of Jesus’s actions that might be thought of as living parables – stories that reveal something bigger than just what happens in the story.

Read Matt. 13:1-23 The sower and the seed, and why Jesus speaks in parables

Although it is helpful to read the whole passage at once, we will discuss the sower and seed parable first, before discussing verses 10-17 about Jesus’s use of parables more generally.

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 The sower, the seed, and the soils

Parables are stories in the form of metaphors or similes that use ordinary human experiences to communicate deeper truths about spiritual matters.

In v. 19, Jesus says that the parable of the sower and the seed is about the kingdom of heaven, which is everywhere that people follow God’s Word and acknowledge his lordship. 

In this parable, what is the seed a metaphor for?

The seed is “the word of the kingdom” (13:18); so represents the Word of God, the message of good news that Jesus is preaching about the kingdom of God.

What are the different soils a metaphor for ?

The soils are different types of people with their different responses to the message of Jesus.  Or, to personalize it, the soil is the state of your heart as you hear the word of God.

Who are the people in whom the seed takes root and produces fruit?

Who are the people in whom the seed doesn’t take permanent root?

Now let’s look at each type of soil more closely.  There are 3 types of soil where the seed does not take lasting root: the path, the rocky ground, and the ground where there are thorns.  In each of those cases, what is the reaction of the person who hears the word in that kind of soil?  What goes wrong that prevents the word from taking permanent root?

• The path: They don’t understand the word, so it does not take root in their heart and the evil one snatches it away.

• The rocky ground: They receive it with joy for a while, but it does not last.  Trouble or persecution arises, and they fall away.

• The thorns: They hear the word, but anxiety about worldly concerns and the desire for wealth choke it off; so the word does not produce fruit.

Consider the seed on the path.  Verse 19 says the evil one snatches the word from them because they do not understand it.  How can the seed be sowed but not understood?

How are people in our day vulnerable to hearing the word but not really understanding it, so that it gets snatched away before it can take root and turn into a solid faith?

Consider the seed on rocky ground.  In verse 20, how do people respond at first?

In verse 21, Jesus says that when they encounter troubles or persecution because of the word, they fall away.  In the Western world today, Christians may not encounter a lot of direct persecution, but what are some ways that living the faith can cause trouble or become difficult for a person who starts out believing?

What does it look like when a person’s faith “withers” (verse 6) because it has no roots.  How might we be vulnerable to having our faith wither when living the faith becomes more difficult?

How can we build stronger roots for our faith?

Consider the seed among thorns.  How are people in our day vulnerable to having their faith choked off by worldly concerns and the desire for money?

Consider these three risks: that the word of God might be snatched away because we don’t understand it, that it might wither in the face of difficulties, and that it might be choked off by the cares of the world.  How are you vulnerable to these risks?  Which risk is the greatest danger for you?  [If you are studying this passage with a group, break into smaller groups of two or three people and share together.]

Now consider the good soil.  How does the person in good soil respond to the seed/word?

For the people in good soil, what is the result?

In our time, what does a person in good soil look like?

What can we do to be good soil for God’s Word to take root?

Jesus says that the fruitful people produce thirty-, sixty-, even a hundredfold.  This means that, even among the people who let the Word of God take root in them, we are not all alike in our output.  What do you think affects the fruit produced?

Can you produce a lot of “fruit” for God even if your life is difficult and you encounter a lot of troubles?  Explain.

If the soil is the heart or receptivity of the person, it is not something that is external and just “happens” to us; we have some control over what kind of soil we are.  What do we need to do to be the kind of good soil that allows God’s word to take deep and fruitful root in our lives?

Matthew 13:10-17 Why Jesus speaks in parables

Jesus is asked why he speaks in parables.  He describes in vv. 16-17 how his disciples are different than other people.  How are they different?

What does it mean when Jesus says that the disciples see and hear while others do not?  What do they see and hear that others do not?

When Jesus says in verse 11 that the disciples have been allowed to know the “mysteries” or “secrets” of the kingdom, he is using a technical term that does not mean something that can never be understood by anyone; rather, it is something that can be understood only by those to whom God has revealed it.  God has revealed his divine plan to the disciples through Jesus.  For those who do not understand God’s divine plan, it does not make sense.

In what ways is Christianity a mystery to those who have not embraced it, even though those who have become part of God’s people understood God’s plans?

In what ways is it true that, as Jesus says in verse 12, to those who have some knowledge of God, more will be given?

In verse 13, Jesus explains why he speaks in parables.  In the typical Jewish thinking of Jesus’s time and in the Old Testament, everything was caused by God – even when people turned away from God and were held responsible for their actions.  Following that line of thinking, in Mark 4:11 Jesus says that he speaks in parables “so that” they will not understand – which implies that Jesus’s use of parables is the reason they don’t understand.  Matthew says it differently, in a way that make the human responsibility clearer: Jesus speaks in parables because” they hear but do not listen or understand.

In verse 13, Jesus says that people hear but do not listen.  What is going on when a person hears but doesn’t listen?  Whose fault is it that they don’t understand?  Does it suggest that they aren’t trying very hard to understand?

Matthew then quotes from Isaiah 6:9-10, which can be interpreted either to say that God has prevented the people from understanding or that the people themselves bear some responsibility for not understanding and turning to God.  (Matthew quotes the Greek Septuagint translation, which preserves the element of human responsibility more clearly.)

What do you see in verse 15 that indicates that the people’s lack of understanding is because of choices on their part?

Their hearts are insensitive, they are barely hearing, and they have closed their eyes.

What challenge does this present to us?  Are there times when we might be at risk of not hearing God because of our own apathetic or halfhearted approach to the Gospel?

What do we need to do in order to understand Jesus’s teachings and allow his seeds to bear fruit in our lives?

Why might Jesus choose to shift to parables if people aren’t trying very hard to understand him?

Perhaps it helps separate out those who want to learn from those who don’t really want to put any effort into his new way of following God.

What are some advantages of teaching in parables?

• Stories are powerful.  They capture our imagination.  They engage us an motivate us.

• Illustrations are concrete rather than abstract.  They use familiar circumstances to open the door to more abstract points.  In Matthew 13:3, Jesus begins the parable by saying, “Behold the sower went out to sow” – not “a sower went out to sow” (64).  He might have been pointing at a specific sower who was at that very moment sowing seed.  Parables use familiar, concrete situations from everyday life.

• Parables make people think.  They force listeners to discover truth for themselves.  We have to do some work if we want to gain any benefit.  Is there a value in that?

• Parables remain opaque for people who are not willing to be open to the message.

• William Barclay makes one other point.  Parables are especially useful as a speaking technique: “A parable is not an allegory; an allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning; but an allegory has to be read and studied: a parable is heard.  We must be very careful not to make allegories of the parables, but to remember that they were designed to make one stabbing truth flash out at a man the moment he heard it” (Barclay, The Gospel of Matthew, Volume 2, p. 63).

We have looked at what this parable means for us from the perspective of our being the one who hears the word.  But it can also be looked at from the perspective of the sower, the one who preaches or shares God’s word with others.  What lessons are there in this parable for us as we try to share God’s word with others?

There are many good answers to this question.  One answer is: Don’t be surprised that you will get varying responses when you share the word of God with others.  Take courage and don’t be discouraged.  Some people will hear and receive the message and produce fruit.  You may not know how big the harvest will be – that’s God’s business; but there will be a harvest.

Take a step back and consider this:

One interpretation of this parable focuses on the fact that only a small proportion of the people who receive the word are actually transformed by it.  Just as there are times in the Old Testament where only a remnant survive, Jesus is being very realistic that the Word of God will not be embraced by all.

In many areas of our lives, we want to find the pleasant middle ground where we don’t have to work too hard: The house may not be perfectly clean, but it’s clean enough.  I didn’t write an A paper, but it was pretty good.  I put as much into that event as everyone else did.  But does that work with our spiritual life?  Is there a middle-ground level of faith, or does trying to settle for a middle ground lead us to situations where the seed withers or is choked off?

How can I be part of the remnant or smaller group that gives itself fully to the divine plan for us to be fruitful in this world?