Matthew · The Evangelist

Matthew · Chapter 13

The Kingdom Revealed in Parables

Jesus shifts His teaching method. After facing increasing opposition from religious leaders, Jesus begins teaching in parables—earthly stories with heavenly meanings. This chapter contains seven parables about the kingdom of heaven, revealing both its present mystery and future glory. Through these stories, Jesus explains why some receive His message while others reject it, and what the kingdom will look like as it grows in the world.

Matthew 13:1-23

Parable of the Sower and Its Explanation

LSB Text

¹That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. ²And great crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. ³And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, "Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. ⁵Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. ⁶But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ⁷Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. ⁸And others fell on the good soil and were yielding fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. ⁹He who has ears, let him hear." ¹⁰And the disciples came and said to Him, "Why do You speak to them in parables?" ¹¹And He answered and said to them, "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. ¹²For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. ¹³Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴And in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; ¹⁵for the heart of this people has become dull, with their ears they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I would heal them.' ¹⁶But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. ¹⁷For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. ¹⁸"Hear then the parable of the sower. ¹⁹When 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 the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. ²⁰The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹yet he has no root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ²²And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. ²³And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."

Greek Text

¹ Ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ ἐξελθὼν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τῆς οἰκίας ἐκάθητο παρὰ τὴν θάλασσαν· ² καὶ συνήχθησαν πρὸς αὐτὸν ὄχλοι πολλοί, ὥστε αὐτὸν εἰς πλοῖον ἐμβάντα καθῆσθαι, καὶ πᾶς ὁ ὄχλος ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν εἱστήκει. ³ καὶ ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς πολλὰ ἐν παραβολαῖς λέγων· ἰδοὺ ἐξῆλθεν ὁ σπείρων τοῦ σπείρειν. ⁴ καὶ ἐν τῷ σπείρειν αὐτὸν ἃ μὲν ἔπεσεν παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν, καὶ ἐλθόντα τὰ πετεινὰ κατέφαγεν αὐτά. ⁵ ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη ὅπου οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν, καὶ εὐθέως ἐξανέτειλεν διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν βάθος γῆς· ⁶ ἡλίου δὲ ἀνατείλαντος ἐκαυματίσθη καὶ διὰ τὸ μὴ ἔχειν ῥίζαν ἐξηράνθη. ⁷ ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας, καὶ ἀνέβησαν αἱ ἄκανθαι καὶ ἀπέπνιξαν αὐτά. ⁸ ἄλλα δὲ ἔπεσεν ἐπὶ τὴν γῆν τὴν καλὴν καὶ ἐδίδου καρπόν, ὃ μὲν ἑκατόν, ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα. ⁹ ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκουέτω. ¹⁰ Καὶ προσελθόντες οἱ μαθηταὶ εἶπαν αὐτῷ· διὰ τί ἐν παραβολαῖς λαλεῖς αὐτοῖς; ¹¹ ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· ὅτι ὑμῖν δέδοται γνῶναι τὰ μυστήρια τῆς βασιλείας τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἐκείνοις δὲ οὐ δέδοται. ¹² ὅστις γὰρ ἔχει, δοθήσεται αὐτῷ καὶ περισσευθήσεται· ὅστις δὲ οὐκ ἔχει, καὶ ὃ ἔχει ἀρθήσεται ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ. ¹³ διὰ τοῦτο ἐν παραβολαῖς αὐτοῖς λαλῶ, ὅτι βλέποντες οὐ βλέπουσιν καὶ ἀκούοντες οὐκ ἀκούουσιν οὐδὲ συνίουσιν. ¹⁴ καὶ ἀναπληροῦται αὐτοῖς ἡ προφητεία Ἠσαΐου ἡ λέγουσα· ἀκοῇ ἀκούσετε καὶ οὐ μὴ συνῆτε, καὶ βλέποντες βλέψετε καὶ οὐ μὴ ἴδητε. ¹⁵ ἐπαχύνθη γὰρ ἡ καρδία τοῦ λαοῦ τούτου, καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν βαρέως ἤκουσαν, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς αὐτῶν ἐκάμμυσαν, μήποτε ἴδωσιν τοῖς ὀφθαλμοῖς καὶ τοῖς ὠσὶν ἀκούσωσιν καὶ τῇ καρδίᾳ συνῶσιν καὶ ἐπιστρέψωσιν καὶ ἰάσομαι αὐτούς. ¹⁶ ὑμῶν δὲ μακάριοι οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ ὅτι βλέπουσιν, καὶ τὰ ὦτα ὑμῶν ὅτι ἀκούουσιν. ¹⁷ ἀμὴν λέγω ὑμῖν ὅτι πολλοὶ προφῆται καὶ δίκαιοι ἐπεθύμησαν ἰδεῖν ἃ βλέπετε καὶ οὐκ εἶδαν, καὶ ἀκοῦσαι ἃ ἀκούετε καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν. ¹⁸ Ὑμεῖς οὖν ἀκούσατε τὴν παραβολὴν τοῦ σπείραντος. ¹⁹ Παντὸς ἀκούοντος τὸν λόγον τῆς βασιλείας καὶ μὴ συνιέντος, ἔρχεται ὁ πονηρὸς καὶ ἁρπάζει τὸ ἐσπαρμένον ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ· οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν σπαρείς. ²⁰ ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη σπαρείς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ εὐθὺς μετὰ χαρᾶς λαμβάνων αὐτόν· ²¹ οὐκ ἔχει δὲ ῥίζαν ἐν ἑαυτῷ ἀλλὰ πρόσκαιρός ἐστιν, γενομένης δὲ θλίψεως ἢ διωγμοῦ διὰ τὸν λόγον εὐθὺς σκανδαλίζεται. ²² ὁ δὲ εἰς τὰς ἀκάνθας σπαρείς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ ἡ μέριμνα τοῦ αἰῶνος καὶ ἡ ἀπάτη τοῦ πλούτου συμπνίγει τὸν λόγον καὶ ἄκαρπος γίνεται. ²³ ὁ δὲ ἐπὶ τὴν καλὴν γῆν σπαρείς, οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τὸν λόγον ἀκούων καὶ συνιείς, ὃς δὴ καρποφορεῖ καὶ ποιεῖ ὃ μὲν ἑκατόν, ὃ δὲ ἑξήκοντα, ὃ δὲ τριάκοντα.

En tē hēmera ekeinē exelthōn ho Iēsous tēs oikias ekathēto para tēn thalassan; kai synēchthēsan pros auton ochloi polloi, hōste auton eis ploion embanta kathēsthai, kai pas ho ochlos epi ton aigialon heistēkei. kai elalēsen autois polla en parabolais legōn; idou exēlthen ho speirōn tou speirein. kai en tō speirein auton ha men epesen para tēn hodon, kai elthonta ta peteina katephagen auta. alla de epesen epi ta petrōdē hopou ouk eichen gēn pollēn, kai eutheōs exaneteilen dia to mē echein bathos gēs; hēliou de anateilantos ekaumatisthē kai dia to mē echein rhizan exēranthē. alla de epesen epi tas akanthas, kai anebēsan hai akanthai kai apepnixan auta. alla de epesen epi tēn gēn tēn kalēn kai edidou karpon, ho men hekaton, ho de hexēkonta, ho de triakonta. ho echōn ōta akouetō. Kai proselthontes hoi mathētai eipan autō; dia ti en parabolais laleis autois? ho de apokritheis eipen autois; hoti hymin dedotai gnōnai ta mystēria tēs basileias tōn ouranōn, ekeinois de ou dedotai. hostis gar echei, dothēsetai autō kai perisseuthēsetai; hostis de ouk echei, kai ho echei arthēsetai ap' autou. dia touto en parabolais autois lalō, hoti blepontes ou blepousin kai akouontes ouk akouousin oude syniousin. kai anaplēroutai autois hē prophēteia Ēsaiou hē legousa; akoē akousete kai ou mē synēte, kai blepontes blepsete kai ou mē idēte. epachynthē gar hē kardia tou laou toutou, kai tois ōsin bareōs ēkousan, kai tous ophthalmous autōn ekammysan, mēpote idōsin tois ophthalmois kai tois ōsin akousōsin kai tē kardia synōsin kai epistrepsōsin kai iasomai autous. hymōn de makarioi hoi ophthalmoi hoti blepousin, kai ta ōta hymōn hoti akouousin. amēn legō hymin hoti polloi prophētai kai dikaioi epethymēsan idein ha blepete kai ouk eidan, kai akousai ha akouete kai ouk ēkousan. Hymeis oun akousate tēn parabolēn tou speirantos. Pantos akouontos ton logon tēs basileias kai mē synientos, erchetai ho ponēros kai harpazei to esparmenon en tē kardia autou; houtos estin ho para tēn hodon spareis. ho de epi ta petrōdē spareis, houtos estin ho ton logon akouōn kai euthys meta charas lambanōn auton; ouk echei de rhizan en heautō alla proskairos estin, genomenēs de thlipseōs ē diōgmou dia ton logon euthys skandalizetai. ho de eis tas akanthas spareis, houtos estin ho ton logon akouōn kai hē merimna tou aiōnos kai hē apatē tou ploutou sympnigei ton logon kai akarpos ginetai. ho de epi tēn kalēn gēn spareis, houtos estin ho ton logon akouōn kai synieis, hos dē karpophorei kai poiei ho men hekaton, ho de hexēkonta, ho de triakonta.

Key Words

παραβολή parabolē parable, comparison, riddle

From para ("beside") and ballō ("to throw"), thus "a throwing-beside" or comparison. In the LXX parabolē renders Hebrew māshāl—a category broader than the English "parable," covering proverbs, riddles, taunts, and extended figurative narratives. By choosing this term Matthew binds Jesus' teaching to wisdom-literature ancestry; Jesus stands in the tradition of Solomon's māshāl while exceeding it (cf. v. 35's Psalm 78:2 citation). The parable's hermeneutical edge is that it both reveals and conceals: it discloses the kingdom to those whose hearts are prepared and obscures it to those who are not. The parables are not merely teaching aids; they are themselves an act of judgment, separating attentive disciples from the crowd that hears stories without hearing the kingdom.

σπείρω speirō to sow, scatter seed

The verb dominates the pericope: it appears with various inflections nine times in vv. 3-23, anchoring the parable's identity. The aorist participles (spareis, "the one having been sown") in the explanation deliberately blur seed and soil—each soil-type is identified as the seed sown there. This blurring is theologically intentional: the seed is the word; the soil is the heart; but the disciple becomes the seed in the sense that the word's reception forms the person. Sowing in first-century Palestine often preceded plowing—the farmer scattered broadly, then plowed under—which explains why some seed lands on the path, the rocky places, and among thorns: the field was not yet pre-sorted. The grace of the gospel is similarly broadcast.

μυστήριον mystērion mystery, hidden secret

From myō ("to close, shut [eyes/lips]"), thus "a hidden thing." In Greco-Roman religion mystēria denoted initiate-only rites; in the LXX (Daniel 2:18-19, 27-30) it translates Aramaic rāz—God's hidden plan disclosed only to those whom He chooses. Jesus' usage in v. 11 (ta mystēria tēs basileias tōn ouranōn, "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven") follows the Daniel-apocalyptic register: the kingdom's secrets are not unknowable but undisclosed except by divine grant (dedotai, perfect passive—"it has been given"). The plural mystēria here, against Mark and Luke's singular, emphasizes the multiple parables as multi-faceted disclosures. Matthew's apocalyptic framing prepares the reader for Paul's cognate usage in Eph 3 and 1 Cor 2.

συνίημι syniēmi to understand, comprehend, "put together"

From syn ("together") and hiēmi ("to send"), thus "to bring together" mentally—to put pieces together into comprehension. The verb appears at strategic hinges of the parable (vv. 13, 14, 15, 19, 23): the crowd hears without putting the pieces together; the path-soil hearer fails the same way; the good-soil hearer is precisely ho ton logon akouōn kai synieis ("the one hearing the word and putting it together"). The contrast is not between intellect and emotion but between integrative reception and superficial hearing. Understanding here is not first cognitive grasp but the heart-disposition that allows the word to take root.

ῥίζα rhiza root

The botanical term covers both the literal subterranean structure and the metaphorical foundation of a plant or person. Rocky soil—a thin layer of earth over limestone bedrock common in Galilee—lets germination happen quickly (the seed is shallow, gets warmth) but kills the plant's prospects (no depth for roots). The rocky-soil hearer's failure is therefore not in the initial reception (meta charas lambanōn, "receiving with joy") but in the absence of rhizan en heautō ("root in himself"). The aorist skandalizetai ("he stumbles") is what eventually exposes the rootlessness. Discipleship requires not enthusiasm at germination but root-depth that can survive Galilean summer—affliction and persecution.

μέριμνα merimna anxiety, worry, distracting concern

From the same root as merizō ("to divide"), thus "the dividing of the mind"—worry that splits attention. Jesus has already used the cognate verb six times in 6:25-34 (the Sermon on the Mount's anxiety pericope). Here the noun pairs with apatē tou ploutou ("deceitfulness of riches") to name the thorn-soil's twin choking forces. Worry from below, wealth from above—both equally lethal, both equally subtle. Note the present indicative sympnigei ("chokes")—not aorist (a single event) but progressive (an ongoing strangulation). The thorn-soil hearer is not killed at once; the word is gradually choked out by the daily pressure of distracted concern.

ἀπάτη apatē deceit, deception

"Deceit, illusion, beguilement." Jesus pairs it with tou ploutou—the deceitfulness of riches (subjective genitive: riches deceive). Wealth's deception is its promise of security and significance; its lethality to discipleship is that it operates while the hearer continues to attend church, listen to sermons, even profess Christ. The word is heard but cannot fruit because the heart is already convinced of where its treasure actually is. Compare 6:24's ou dynasthe theō douleuein kai mamōna ("you cannot serve God and mammon"). Mammon is not abolished by hearing the kingdom message; it is only displaced when the heart's actual treasure relocates.

καρποφορέω karpophoreō to bear fruit

A compound from karpos ("fruit") and pherō ("to bear, carry"). The good-soil hearer is identified by karpophorei—the present indicative captures sustained fruitfulness, not a one-time harvest. The threefold yield (hekaton, hexēkonta, triakonta) is striking: ancient Galilean agriculture rarely produced even tenfold; Genesis 26:12 records Isaac's hundredfold harvest as a singular blessing. Jesus' "thirty, sixty, a hundredfold" is therefore not progressive grades of discipleship but uniformly miraculous yield, varied only in degree. The kingdom's good-soil hearer always bears fruit far beyond what natural farming would expect, because the word itself carries kingdom-power.

Grammar & Argument

Matthew 13 is the third of Matthew's five great discourses (after the Sermon on the Mount, chs. 5-7, and the missionary discourse, ch. 10). The transition formula en tē hēmera ekeinē ("on that day," v. 1) ties this discourse tightly to chapter 12's hostility, signaling a shift in Jesus' communicative strategy. After the Beelzebul accusation and the demand-for-a-sign rebuff, Jesus begins teaching the crowds in parables—stories that simultaneously reveal and conceal, depending on the hearer's spiritual receptivity.

The Sower parable (vv. 3-9) operates on a deceptively simple agricultural backdrop. The four soil-types are arranged in a 1:3 ratio (one path, three failure-modes—rocky, thorny, fruitful), but the climax inverts the ratio: three failures vs. one success, where the one success vastly outproduces the failures combined. The structural emphasis is therefore neither pessimism (most seed fails) nor optimism (the harvest is huge) but realism: kingdom-sowing always meets variable reception, but the genuine harvest, where it occurs, vastly exceeds natural yield.

The disciples' question in v. 10 (dia ti en parabolais laleis autois?—"why do You speak to them in parables?") presupposes that parables are obscurer than direct teaching. Jesus' answer in vv. 11-17 is one of the more theologically difficult sayings in the gospels. The grammar is precise: hymin dedotai... ekeinois de ou dedotai—"to you it has been given... but to those it has not been given." The perfect passive verbs locate the act in God: someone (the divine passive's unstated agent) has given understanding to disciples and withheld it from outsiders. This is divine election working through human response, not against it.

Verses 14-15 cite Isaiah 6:9-10—Isaiah's commission to a hardened people. Jesus reads His own ministry as the same prophetic-judgment pattern: parables function for "this people" what Isaiah's preaching functioned for his contemporaries. The verbs are cumulatively damning: epachynthē ("has become dull/fat"), bareōs ēkousan ("they heard heavily"), ekammysan ("they closed their eyes"). The hardening is judicial—God ratifies the preferred direction of a heart that has already chosen it. The mēpote clause ("lest they see... and I would heal them") is staggering: God speaks of judgment-by-parable as preventing the very repentance that would otherwise lead to healing.

Yet vv. 16-17 turn immediately to the disciples: makarioi hoi ophthalmoi hymōn ("blessed are your eyes"). The same parables that harden outsiders open insiders. Many prophets and righteous men longed for this disclosure and did not see it; the disciples see it. The contrast is structural, not psychological: the disciples are not naturally more perceptive than the prophets; they are simply standing inside the moment to which all prophecy was pointing.

The parable's interpretation (vv. 18-23) maps each soil-type to a hearer-type, and notably begins with the path-soil failure-mode rather than the seed itself. The path-soil hearer fails by absence of syniēmi—he hears but does not put the pieces together; the evil one (ho ponēros) snatches the seed. The rocky-soil hearer receives with joy but lacks root, falling away under thlipsis (affliction) or diōgmos (persecution). The thorn-soil hearer is choked progressively by anxiety and wealth's deceit. Only the good-soil hearer is described as ho ton logon akouōn kai synieis—the integrative hearer who lets the word take root. The threefold yield (100x, 60x, 30x) is the kingdom's signature abundance: where the word is genuinely received, the harvest is miraculous, varied only in degree.

The same parables that harden outsiders open insiders. The seed is the word; the soil is the heart; the difference is whether one stands inside or outside the moment to which all prophecy pointed. Joy at germination is no substitute for root-depth that survives the Galilean sun.

Matthew 13:24-43

Parables of the Weeds, Mustard Seed, and Leaven

LSB Text

²⁴He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶But when the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also became evident. ²⁷The slaves of the landowner came and said to him, 'Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?' ²⁸And he said to them, 'An enemy has done this!' The slaves said to him, 'Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?' ²⁹But he said, 'No; for while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, "First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them up; but gather the wheat into my barn."'" ³¹He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; ³²and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." ³³He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." ³⁴All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He was not speaking anything to them without a parable. ³⁵This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world." ³⁶Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field." ³⁷And He answered and said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man, ³⁸and the field is the world; and as for the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the weeds are the sons of the evil one; ³⁹and the enemy who sowed them is the devil, and the harvest is the end of the age; and the reapers are angels. ⁴⁰So just as the weeds are gathered up and burned with fire, so shall it be at the end of the age. ⁴¹The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who do lawless deeds, ⁴²and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear."

Greek Text

²⁴ Ἄλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ὡμοιώθη ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ σπείραντι καλὸν σπέρμα ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ. ²⁵ ἐν δὲ τῷ καθεύδειν τοὺς ἀνθρώπους ἦλθεν αὐτοῦ ὁ ἐχθρὸς καὶ ἐπέσπειρεν ζιζάνια ἀνὰ μέσον τοῦ σίτου καὶ ἀπῆλθεν. ²⁶ ὅτε δὲ ἐβλάστησεν ὁ χόρτος καὶ καρπὸν ἐποίησεν, τότε ἐφάνη καὶ τὰ ζιζάνια. ²⁷ προσελθόντες δὲ οἱ δοῦλοι τοῦ οἰκοδεσπότου εἶπον αὐτῷ· κύριε, οὐχὶ καλὸν σπέρμα ἔσπειρας ἐν τῷ σῷ ἀγρῷ; πόθεν οὖν ἔχει ζιζάνια; ²⁸ ὁ δὲ ἔφη αὐτοῖς· ἐχθρὸς ἄνθρωπος τοῦτο ἐποίησεν. οἱ δὲ δοῦλοι λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· θέλεις οὖν ἀπελθόντες συλλέξωμεν αὐτά; ²⁹ ὁ δέ φησιν· οὔ, μήποτε συλλέγοντες τὰ ζιζάνια ἐκριζώσητε ἅμα αὐτοῖς τὸν σῖτον. ³⁰ ἄφετε συναυξάνεσθαι ἀμφότερα ἕως τοῦ θερισμοῦ, καὶ ἐν καιρῷ τοῦ θερισμοῦ ἐρῶ τοῖς θερισταῖς· συλλέξατε πρῶτον τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ δήσατε αὐτὰ εἰς δέσμας πρὸς τὸ κατακαῦσαι αὐτά, τὸν δὲ σῖτον συναγάγετε εἰς τὴν ἀποθήκην μου. ³¹ Ἄλλην παραβολὴν παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς λέγων· ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν κόκκῳ σινάπεως, ὃν λαβὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔσπειρεν ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ αὐτοῦ· ³² ὃ μικρότερον μέν ἐστιν πάντων τῶν σπερμάτων, ὅταν δὲ αὐξηθῇ μεῖζον τῶν λαχάνων ἐστὶν καὶ γίνεται δένδρον, ὥστε ἐλθεῖν τὰ πετεινὰ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατασκηνοῦν ἐν τοῖς κλάδοις αὐτοῦ. ³³ Ἄλλην παραβολὴν ἐλάλησεν αὐτοῖς· ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ζύμῃ, ἣν λαβοῦσα γυνὴ ἐνέκρυψεν εἰς ἀλεύρου σάτα τρία ἕως οὗ ἐζυμώθη ὅλον. ³⁴ Ταῦτα πάντα ἐλάλησεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς ἐν παραβολαῖς τοῖς ὄχλοις, καὶ χωρὶς παραβολῆς οὐδὲν ἐλάλει αὐτοῖς, ³⁵ ὅπως πληρωθῇ τὸ ῥηθὲν διὰ τοῦ προφήτου λέγοντος· ἀνοίξω ἐν παραβολαῖς τὸ στόμα μου, ἐρεύξομαι κεκρυμμένα ἀπὸ καταβολῆς κόσμου. ³⁶ Τότε ἀφεὶς τοὺς ὄχλους ἦλθεν εἰς τὴν οἰκίαν. καὶ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες· διασάφησον ἡμῖν τὴν παραβολὴν τῶν ζιζανίων τοῦ ἀγροῦ. ³⁷ ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν· ὁ σπείρων τὸ καλὸν σπέρμα ἐστὶν ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου· ³⁸ ὁ δὲ ἀγρός ἐστιν ὁ κόσμος· τὸ δὲ καλὸν σπέρμα οὗτοί εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τῆς βασιλείας· τὰ δὲ ζιζάνιά εἰσιν οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ πονηροῦ, ³⁹ ὁ δὲ ἐχθρὸς ὁ σπείρας αὐτά ἐστιν ὁ διάβολος, ὁ δὲ θερισμὸς συντέλεια αἰῶνός ἐστιν, οἱ δὲ θερισταὶ ἄγγελοί εἰσιν. ⁴⁰ ὥσπερ οὖν συλλέγεται τὰ ζιζάνια καὶ πυρὶ κατακαίεται, οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος· ⁴¹ ἀποστελεῖ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τοὺς ἀγγέλους αὐτοῦ, καὶ συλλέξουσιν ἐκ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ πάντα τὰ σκάνδαλα καὶ τοὺς ποιοῦντας τὴν ἀνομίαν ⁴² καὶ βαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. ⁴³ Τότε οἱ δίκαιοι ἐκλάμψουσιν ὡς ὁ ἥλιος ἐν τῇ βασιλείᾳ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτῶν. ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκουέτω.

Allēn parabolēn parethēken autois legōn; hōmoiōthē hē basileia tōn ouranōn anthrōpō speiranti kalon sperma en tō agrō autou. en de tō katheudein tous anthrōpous ēlthen autou ho echthros kai epespeiren zizania ana meson tou sitou kai apēlthen. hote de eblastēsen ho chortos kai karpon epoiēsen, tote ephanē kai ta zizania. proselthontes de hoi douloi tou oikodespotou eipon autō; kyrie, ouchi kalon sperma espeiras en tō sō agrō? pothen oun echei zizania? ho de ephē autois; echthros anthrōpos touto epoiēsen. hoi de douloi legousin autō; theleis oun apelthontes syllexōmen auta? ho de phēsin; ou, mēpote syllegontes ta zizania ekrizōsēte hama autois ton siton. aphete synauxanesthai amphotera heōs tou therismou, kai en kairō tou therismou erō tois theristais; syllexate prōton ta zizania kai dēsate auta eis desmas pros to katakausai auta, ton de siton synagagete eis tēn apothēkēn mou. Allēn parabolēn parethēken autois legōn; homoia estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn kokkō sinapeōs, hon labōn anthrōpos espeiren en tō agrō autou; ho mikroteron men estin pantōn tōn spermatōn, hotan de auxēthē meizon tōn lachanōn estin kai ginetai dendron, hōste elthein ta peteina tou ouranou kai kataskēnoun en tois kladois autou. Allēn parabolēn elalēsen autois; homoia estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn zymē, hēn labousa gynē enekrypsen eis aleurou sata tria heōs hou ezymōthē holon. Tauta panta elalēsen ho Iēsous en parabolais tois ochlois, kai chōris parabolēs ouden elalei autois, hopōs plērōthē to rhēthen dia tou prophētou legontos; anoixō en parabolais to stoma mou, ereuxomai kekrymmena apo katabolēs kosmou. Tote apheis tous ochlous ēlthen eis tēn oikian. kai prosēlthon autō hoi mathētai autou legontes; diasaphēson hēmin tēn parabolēn tōn zizaniōn tou agrou. ho de apokritheis eipen; ho speirōn to kalon sperma estin ho huios tou anthrōpou; ho de agros estin ho kosmos; to de kalon sperma houtoi eisin hoi huioi tēs basileias; ta de zizania eisin hoi huioi tou ponērou, ho de echthros ho speiras auta estin ho diabolos, ho de therismos synteleia aiōnos estin, hoi de theristai angeloi eisin. hōsper oun syllegetai ta zizania kai pyri katakaietai, houtōs estai en tē synteleia tou aiōnos; apostelei ho huios tou anthrōpou tous angelous autou, kai syllexousin ek tēs basileias autou panta ta skandala kai tous poiountas tēn anomian kai balousin autous eis tēn kaminon tou pyros; ekei estai ho klauthmos kai ho brygmos tōn odontōn. Tote hoi dikaioi eklampsousin hōs ho hēlios en tē basileia tou patros autōn. ho echōn ōta akouetō.

Key Words

ζιζάνια zizania weeds, darnel (Lolium temulentum)

A loanword (likely from Semitic zûnîn), zizania denotes the bearded darnel, a poisonous grass nearly indistinguishable from young wheat in its early growth—stalk, leaf-shape, even color match. Only at heading-time, when wheat shows its grain and darnel its black seed-heads, can they be told apart. Roman law actually punished the malicious sowing of lolium in an enemy's field as a recognized form of agricultural sabotage. Jesus' choice of plant is theologically precise: visible church and false church appear identical until the harvest exposes both. Premature uprooting risks losing the wheat; only the angelic reapers at the synteleia can sort safely.

συντέλεια αἰῶνος synteleia aiōnos end of the age, consummation

Synteleia from syn ("together") and teleō ("to complete") thus "completion, consummation"—not annihilation but the bringing of the age to its appointed terminus. The phrase appears five times in Matthew (13:39, 40, 49; 24:3; 28:20)—an exclusively Matthean expression in the gospels. It denotes the eschatological harvest-point at which the present mixed kingdom-condition gives way to the purified kingdom-condition. Daniel 12:13 LXX uses the same word for the end at which the righteous "rise to their inheritance"—Matthew's framing places the parable squarely in apocalyptic-Daniel framework.

σκάνδαλα skandala stumbling-blocks, traps

Originally the trigger-stick of an animal trap, then by extension anything that causes someone to fall. The plural form here personalizes—"all the stumbling-blocks" gathered out of His kingdom. The pairing with tous poiountas tēn anomian (those practicing lawlessness) interprets skandala not as inanimate stumbling-occasions but as persons whose conduct trips others up. The angels gather them ek tēs basileias autou—"out of His kingdom"—a striking phrase implying that the present kingdom contains both wheat and weeds, both genuine subjects and counterfeits within its visible scope.

κόκκος σινάπεως kokkos sinapeōs mustard seed

A kokkos is a small grain or seed; sinapi is the mustard plant (Brassica nigra in the Levant). The mustard seed was proverbial in Jewish wisdom for the smallest visible thing (cf. b. Niddah 5:2). Jesus' description of it growing into a dendron ("tree") with birds nesting in its branches reaches well beyond actual mustard botany (the plant grows tall, but is technically a shrub, not a tree). The hyperbole alludes to Daniel 4:12, 21, where Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom-tree houses the birds of all peoples, and Ezekiel 17:23, 31:6, where the messianic kingdom-tree shelters the nations. The tiny-seed-becomes-vast-tree imagery is OT kingdom imagery: from Israel's seemingly negligible Galilean origin, the kingdom grows to canopy the nations.

ζύμη zymē leaven

In Jewish ritual, zymē typically carries negative connotations: leaven represents corruption (Exod 12:15, 1 Cor 5:6-8), and Jesus elsewhere uses it negatively (Matt 16:6 of Pharisaic teaching). Its use here as a positive kingdom-image is therefore deliberately surprising. The verb enekrypsen ("hid") and the duration phrase heōs hou ezymōthē holon ("until the whole was leavened") capture leaven's signature property: hidden permeation. The kingdom enters the world the same way—seemingly absorbed, invisible at the moment of entry, but transforming the entire mass from within. The three sata (Heb. seah, ca. 13 liters apiece, roughly 50 lbs of flour) is enough bread to feed 100+ people—a generous, abundant batch.

καταβολὴ κόσμου katabolē kosmou foundation of the world

From katabolē ("a casting down, founding"), the phrase denotes the world's primordial establishment. Matthew 13:35 cites Psalm 78:2 with this phrase added, claiming that the parables disclose kekrymmena apo katabolēs kosmou—"things hidden from the foundation of the world." These are not merely OT puzzles being unlocked but kingdom-truths embedded in creation itself, awaiting the one who could speak them aloud. The phrase reappears in Matt 25:34 (the kingdom prepared from the world's foundation) and Eph 1:4 (election before the foundation of the world)—the kingdom's existence in the divine purpose is older than creation.

ἐκλάμψουσιν eklampsousin they will shine forth

Future of eklampō, "to shine out, blaze forth." The image deliberately echoes Daniel 12:3 LXX: "and those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the firmament... and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever." Jesus' "the righteous will shine forth as the sun" intensifies Daniel: not stars but the sun itself. The aspect of the future tense here is decisive: not "may shine" or "could shine" but eklampsousin, ingressive future—"will burst into shining." The verb closes the apocalyptic-Daniel frame that synteleia aiōnos opened.

ἀνομία anomia lawlessness

Alpha-privative + nomos: literally "without law" or "against law"—a denial of the moral order. The phrase tous poiountas tēn anomian ("those practicing lawlessness") is itself an LXX echo of Psalm 6:8 / 36:1, where lawlessness is the antonym of righteousness. Matthew's distinctive use of anomia elsewhere (7:23, 23:28, 24:12) consistently identifies it as the diagnostic of false discipleship—those who appear in the kingdom's visible community but practice the contrary of its King's reign. The present participle poiountas ("practicing") indicates settled habit, not isolated lapse.

Grammar & Argument

The second tab assembles three kingdom parables (weeds, mustard seed, leaven) plus the angelic interpretation of the weeds. Matthew arranges these as a triad about the kingdom's hidden-yet-irresistible mode of advance. The opening verb parethēken ("He set before [them]") in v. 24 is a meal-image: parables are courses presented for the listener's reception. The aorist passive hōmoiōthē in the formula "the kingdom of heaven may be compared to" is Matthean (the typical Matthean kingdom-formula is hōmoia estin / hōmoiōthē hē basileia tōn ouranōn), recurring through chapter 13.

The Wheat-and-Weeds parable (vv. 24-30) addresses a problem the Sower parable did not: not just unreceptive soils, but actively counterfeit growth. The enemy's strategy—sowing zizania while the field-workers slept—exploits the morphological similarity between wheat and darnel. The owner's refusal to authorize premature uprooting (v. 29) is theologically critical: in the present age of the kingdom's growth, visible church and false church coexist; a purifying rip would damage the genuine wheat. The aphete synauxanesthai ("let both grow together") establishes a profound restraint: the master of the field, who could sort instantly, deliberately defers the sorting until the harvest. The parable is therefore aimed against zealous purification movements (whether ancient Pharisaic or modern sectarian) that arrogate to themselves the angelic reapers' role.

The interpretation in vv. 36-43 names every figure with apocalyptic precision. The sower is the Son of Man; the field is ho kosmos ("the world"—not "the church," critically); the good seed are hoi huioi tēs basileias; the weeds are hoi huioi tou ponērou; the enemy is the devil; the harvest is the synteleia aiōnos; the reapers are angels. The phrase ek tēs basileias autou in v. 41 is striking: angels gather stumbling-blocks "out of His kingdom"—suggesting that the present visible kingdom contains both genuine subjects and stumbling-blocks, and that the eschatological harvest cleanses the kingdom itself. The destination of the lawless is tēn kaminon tou pyros ("the furnace of fire"), echoing Daniel 3's furnace and the prophetic imagery of Mal 4:1. The destination of the righteous is to eklampsousin hōs ho hēlios—a direct citation of Daniel 12:3 LXX, intensified from "stars" to "sun."

The Mustard Seed parable (vv. 31-32) and Leaven parable (v. 33) function as a paired illustration of the kingdom's growth-pattern: external (mustard seed → tree, visible expansion) and internal (leaven → leavened mass, invisible permeation). Both parables emphasize disproportion: tiny beginning, vast result. The mustard seed's growth into a dendron sheltering birds picks up Daniel 4 and Ezekiel 17/31 imagery of kingdom-trees housing the nations—a Gentile-inclusion hint embedded in the parable. The leaven hidden in three sata (an enormous batch—about 50 lbs of flour) emphasizes both hiddenness and totality: the kingdom's permeation is invisible at entry but exhaustive at consummation.

Verses 34-35 cite Psalm 78:2 (with v. 35's wording closer to a non-LXX rendering). Asaph the prophet-singer of Psalm 78 had sung "I will open my mouth in a parable... uttering hidden things from of old"—reciting the Exodus narrative as a wisdom-parable for Israel. Jesus' parabolic teaching of the kingdom is positioned as the eschatological climax of Asaph's prophetic mode: things hidden apo katabolēs kosmou ("from the foundation of the world") now spoken aloud. The fulfillment-formula hopōs plērōthē ("in order that it might be fulfilled") frames Jesus' parabolic method itself, not merely the content, as prophesied. The kingdom whose existence pre-dates creation now finds its public utterance in these very stories.

The kingdom grows two ways at once: visibly, like the mustard tree that shelters the nations; and invisibly, like leaven that transforms the mass it has been hidden in. The owner of the field will not authorize premature purification—the wheat and weeds grow together until the harvest, when the angels finally sort what only they can see clearly.

Matthew 13:44-52

Parables of Hidden Treasure, Pearl, and Net

LSB Text

⁴⁴"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. ⁴⁵"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking fine pearls, ⁴⁶and upon finding one pearl of great value, he went and sold all that he had and bought it. ⁴⁷"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; ⁴⁸and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁵¹"Have you understood all these things?" They said to Him, "Yes." ⁵²And Jesus said to them, "Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

Greek Text

⁴⁴ Ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν θησαυρῷ κεκρυμμένῳ ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ, ὃν εὑρὼν ἄνθρωπος ἔκρυψεν, καὶ ἀπὸ τῆς χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ ὑπάγει καὶ πωλεῖ πάντα ὅσα ἔχει καὶ ἀγοράζει τὸν ἀγρὸν ἐκεῖνον. ⁴⁵ Πάλιν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν ἀνθρώπῳ ἐμπόρῳ ζητοῦντι καλοὺς μαργαρίτας· ⁴⁶ εὑρὼν δὲ ἕνα πολύτιμον μαργαρίτην ἀπελθὼν πέπρακεν πάντα ὅσα εἶχεν καὶ ἠγόρασεν αὐτόν. ⁴⁷ Πάλιν ὁμοία ἐστὶν ἡ βασιλεία τῶν οὐρανῶν σαγήνῃ βληθείσῃ εἰς τὴν θάλασσαν καὶ ἐκ παντὸς γένους συναγαγούσῃ· ⁴⁸ ἣν ὅτε ἐπληρώθη ἀναβιβάσαντες ἐπὶ τὸν αἰγιαλὸν καὶ καθίσαντες συνέλεξαν τὰ καλὰ εἰς ἄγγη, τὰ δὲ σαπρὰ ἔξω ἔβαλον. ⁴⁹ οὕτως ἔσται ἐν τῇ συντελείᾳ τοῦ αἰῶνος· ἐξελεύσονται οἱ ἄγγελοι καὶ ἀφοριοῦσιν τοὺς πονηροὺς ἐκ μέσου τῶν δικαίων ⁵⁰ καὶ βαλοῦσιν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὴν κάμινον τοῦ πυρός· ἐκεῖ ἔσται ὁ κλαυθμὸς καὶ ὁ βρυγμὸς τῶν ὀδόντων. ⁵¹ Συνήκατε ταῦτα πάντα; λέγουσιν αὐτῷ· ναί. ⁵² ὁ δὲ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· διὰ τοῦτο πᾶς γραμματεὺς μαθητευθεὶς τῇ βασιλείᾳ τῶν οὐρανῶν ὅμοιός ἐστιν ἀνθρώπῳ οἰκοδεσπότῃ, ὅστις ἐκβάλλει ἐκ τοῦ θησαυροῦ αὐτοῦ καινὰ καὶ παλαιά.

Homoia estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn thēsaurō kekrymmenō en tō agrō, hon heurōn anthrōpos ekrypsen, kai apo tēs charas autou hypagei kai pōlei panta hosa echei kai agorazei ton agron ekeinon. Palin homoia estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn anthrōpō emporō zētounti kalous margaritas; heurōn de hena polytimon margaritēn apelthōn pepraken panta hosa eichen kai ēgorasen auton. Palin homoia estin hē basileia tōn ouranōn sagēnē blētheisē eis tēn thalassan kai ek pantos genous synagagousē; hēn hote eplērōthē anabibasantes epi ton aigialon kai kathisantes synelexan ta kala eis angē, ta de sapra exō ebalon. houtōs estai en tē synteleia tou aiōnos; exeleusontai hoi angeloi kai aphoriousin tous ponērous ek mesou tōn dikaiōn kai balousin autous eis tēn kaminon tou pyros; ekei estai ho klauthmos kai ho brygmos tōn odontōn. Synēkate tauta panta? legousin autō; nai. ho de eipen autois; dia touto pas grammateus mathēteutheis tē basileia tōn ouranōn homoios estin anthrōpō oikodespotē, hostis ekballei ek tou thēsaurou autou kaina kai palaia.

Key Words

θησαυρός thēsauros treasure, storehouse

From the root *thē-, meaning 'to place' or 'to store,' this noun denotes accumulated wealth or a repository of valuable items. In ancient Mediterranean culture, burying treasure in fields was common practice due to lack of secure banking systems. Matthew uses the term both literally (vv. 44, 52) and metaphorically for the kingdom's surpassing worth. The word appears in the Sermon on the Mount (6:19-21) where Jesus contrasts earthly and heavenly treasures, establishing a thematic link between discipleship's cost and its incomparable reward. The cognate verb *thēsaurizō* ('to store up') reinforces the deliberate, purposeful nature of accumulating what matters eternally.

κρύπτω kryptō to hide, conceal

A verb meaning to cover, conceal, or keep secret, from which English derives 'crypt' and 'cryptic.' The perfect passive participle *kekrymmenon* (v. 44) emphasizes the treasure's state of hiddenness—it has been concealed and remains so until discovered. The man's subsequent action of hiding it again (*ekrypsen*, aorist active) raises ethical questions debated by commentators, though Jesus's focus is clearly on the joy-driven totality of the man's response. The kingdom's hiddenness is a recurring Matthean theme (11:25; 13:11, 35), underscoring that divine revelation, not human wisdom, grants access to God's reign. What remains hidden to the wise is revealed to those who seek with childlike faith.

χαρά chara joy, gladness

A noun denoting joy, delight, or gladness, related to *chairō* ('to rejoice'). The prepositional phrase *apo tēs charas autou* ('from his joy') in verse 44 is striking—the man's radical divestment is not grudging sacrifice but joyful response to overwhelming discovery. This joy distinguishes kingdom parables from mere moral tales about duty or obligation. The same exuberant joy appears in Luke's parallel parables of the lost sheep and coin (Luke 15:5-10). Paul later echoes this theme when he counts all things as loss 'because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus' (Phil. 3:8). Joy, not grim determination, fuels the disciple's willingness to abandon all for the kingdom's sake.

μαργαρίτης margaritēs pearl

A loanword likely from Persian through Sanskrit, denoting a pearl—the ancient world's most prized gem. Unlike modern cultured pearls, ancient pearls were rare natural formations discovered by divers at great personal risk. A single perfect pearl could represent a lifetime's wealth. The merchant in verses 45-46 is already seeking 'fine pearls' (*kalous margaritas*), suggesting expertise and means, yet he liquidates everything for one surpassing specimen. Revelation 21:21 depicts the New Jerusalem's gates as individual pearls, linking this parable to eschatological fulfillment. Jesus's earlier warning against casting pearls before swine (7:6) uses the same imagery to denote sacred truth's preciousness, creating an inclusio around Matthew's Gospel.

σαγήνη sagēnē dragnet, seine

A large fishing net, specifically a dragnet or seine that sweeps through water indiscriminately, capturing everything in its path. This term appears only here in the New Testament. Unlike the casting net (*amphiblestron*, 4:18) used from shore or boat for targeted fishing, the *sagēnē* was deployed between two boats or from boat to shore, designed for maximum catch regardless of species or quality. The net's indiscriminate gathering perfectly illustrates the kingdom's present mixed composition—the gospel call goes forth broadly, assembling a visible community that includes both genuine and false disciples. Only at 'the end of the age' (*synteleia tou aiōnos*, v. 49) will angelic sorting separate the righteous from the wicked, a sobering reminder that present appearances deceive.

σαπρός sapros rotten, bad, worthless

An adjective meaning rotten, putrid, or worthless, used of decayed organic matter or, metaphorically, moral corruption. In verse 48, *ta sapra* designates fish unfit for consumption—whether ritually unclean species (Lev. 11:9-12) or spoiled specimens. Matthew uses the same term in 7:17-18 for trees bearing bad fruit, establishing a pattern of judgment based on intrinsic quality rather than external profession. The stark binary—good fish gathered, bad fish discarded—allows no middle category. The parable's interpretation (vv. 49-50) removes any ambiguity: *sapros* corresponds to *ponērous* ('evil ones'), those whose inner corruption will be revealed and judged at history's consummation. The furnace of fire awaits not the struggling or weak, but the fundamentally rotten.

γραμματεύς grammateus scribe, expert in the law

A noun denoting a scribe or expert in Torah, from *gramma* ('letter, writing'). Scribes were professional interpreters of Scripture, combining roles of scholar, teacher, and legal expert. Throughout Matthew's Gospel, scribes typically appear as Jesus's opponents (e.g., 5:20; 23:2-36), making verse 52 remarkable. The perfect passive participle *mathēteutheis* ('having been discipled') suggests transformation—a scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom represents the ideal synthesis of old covenant expertise and new covenant revelation. This scribe brings forth 'things new and old' (*kaina kai palaia*), honoring Scripture's continuity while embracing Messiah's fulfillment. Matthew himself, traditionally identified as a tax collector turned apostle, may exemplify this transformed scribe, his Gospel masterfully weaving Old Testament prophecy with Jesus's teaching.

οἰκοδεσπότης oikodespotēs master of a house, householder

A compound noun from *oikos* ('house') and *despotēs* ('master, lord'), denoting the head of a household who exercises authority over property and persons. This term appears frequently in Matthew's parables (10:25; 13:27, 52; 20:1, 11; 21:33; 24:43), always depicting one with resources and responsibility. The householder's treasury (*thēsauros*) contains accumulated wealth from which he selectively draws. The image of bringing forth 'new and old' suggests neither innovation that discards tradition nor traditionalism that resists revelation, but wise stewardship that honors both. The disciple-scribe, like a master of a well-stocked household, possesses resources spanning redemptive history and dispenses them appropriately for each occasion. This is Matthew's vision of mature Christian teaching—rooted in Scripture, illuminated by Christ, applied with wisdom.

Grammar & Argument

The third tab contains the chapter's most personal kingdom-images: a man finding hidden treasure, a merchant finding a peerless pearl, a dragnet, and the disciple-scribe drawing from his treasury. Where the first three parables (sower, weeds, mustard, leaven) describe the kingdom's mode of growth, these last describe the kingdom's worth and its eschatological sorting. The transition is also from public-crowd parables (vv. 1-35) to in-house disciple-explanation parables (after v. 36's apheis tous ochlous ēlthen eis tēn oikian, "having left the crowds He went into the house").

The Hidden Treasure parable (v. 44) is compact—one sentence in Greek. The participial chain heurōn... ekrypsen... hypagei... pōlei... agorazei moves through five verbs in sequence: finding, hiding (again), going, selling all, buying the field. The phrase apo tēs charas autou ("from his joy") is the affective fulcrum. The man's total liquidation is not grim duty but joy-driven exuberance—he gives up everything because what he has discovered makes everything else irrelevant. The minor ethical question (was it lawful to buy the field with prior knowledge of buried treasure?) is not Jesus' interest; rabbinic law on found objects in fields was complex (cf. m. Bava Metzia 2:1-4), and Jesus' audience would not have read this as moral commentary. The point is the joy-cost dynamic.

The Pearl-of-Great-Price parable (vv. 45-46) shifts the figure from accidental finding to deliberate seeking. The merchant zētounti kalous margaritas—"seeking fine pearls"—is already an expert. He knows pearls; this is his vocation. When he finds hena polytimon margaritēn, "one pearl of great value," he liquidates his entire stock. The pair Treasure/Pearl together captures both modes of kingdom-discovery: the unsought stumbled-upon discovery of the field-laborer, and the long-sought consummation of the trained merchant. Either way, the response is total divestment without regret.

The Dragnet parable (vv. 47-50) returns to the wheat/weeds eschatological structure. The sagēnē is the large dragnet hauled between two boats; it sweeps indiscriminately. The kingdom's present visible community is similarly indiscriminate—it gathers ek pantos genous ("from every kind"). Only when the net is full and dragged ashore do the fishermen sit down (kathisantes—a posture of judicial care) and sort. The verbs aphoriousin ("they will separate") in v. 49 echoes Matthew 25:32's sheep-and-goats—the same forensic-eschatological vocabulary. The conclusion (v. 50) is verbatim the same as v. 42: tēn kaminon tou pyros... ho klauthmos kai ho brygmos tōn odontōn. The repetition is deliberate Matthean redaction—the wheat/weeds and dragnet are paired bookends teaching the same eschatology of mixed-then-sorted kingdom.

The disciple-scribe metaphor (vv. 51-52) closes the discourse with a self-portrait. After the disciples confess understanding (nai, "yes"), Jesus offers a meta-parable: every scribe mathēteutheis tē basileia tōn ouranōn ("having been discipled by the kingdom of heaven") is like a householder bringing out of his treasury kaina kai palaia—"new things and old." The aorist passive participle is grace-receptive: the scribe does not master the kingdom but is mastered by it. The treasury contains both new and old—Old Testament Scripture continues to be load-bearing, but it is now read in the light of the kingdom that has arrived in Jesus. Matthew himself, traditionally a tax-collector-turned-disciple who weaves OT prophecy through his Gospel with surgical precision, may be the implicit self-portrait. The discourse ends with a vocational charge to disciples who will, like Matthew, draw from both treasuries.

The kingdom is worth everything, and the joy of discovery makes the divestment feel light. The discipled scribe brings forth both new and old—old Scripture read with new eyes, new revelation grounded in old promise.

Matthew 13:53-58

Rejection at Nazareth

LSB Text

⁵³And it happened that when Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴And coming to His hometown, He began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, 'Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? ⁵⁵Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?' ⁵⁷And 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.' ⁵⁸And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Greek Text

⁵³Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν ὁ Ἰησοῦς τὰς παραβολὰς ταύτας, μετῆρεν ἐκεῖθεν. ⁵⁴καὶ ἐλθὼν εἰς τὴν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ ἐδίδασκεν αὐτοὺς ἐν τῇ συναγωγῇ αὐτῶν, ὥστε ἐκπλήσσεσθαι αὐτοὺς καὶ λέγειν· Πόθεν τούτῳ ἡ σοφία αὕτη καὶ αἱ δυνάμεις; ⁵⁵οὐχ οὗτός ἐστιν ὁ τοῦ τέκτονος υἱός; οὐχ ἡ μήτηρ αὐτοῦ λέγεται Μαριὰμ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ Ἰάκωβος καὶ Ἰωσὴφ καὶ Σίμων καὶ Ἰούδας; ⁵⁶καὶ αἱ ἀδελφαὶ αὐτοῦ οὐχὶ πᾶσαι πρὸς ἡμᾶς εἰσιν; πόθεν οὖν τούτῳ ταῦτα πάντα; ⁵⁷καὶ ἐσκανδαλίζοντο ἐν αὐτῷ. ὁ δὲ Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς· Οὐκ ἔστιν προφήτης ἄτιμος εἰ μὴ ἐν τῇ πατρίδι καὶ ἐν τῇ οἰκίᾳ αὐτοῦ. ⁵⁸καὶ οὐκ ἐποίησεν ἐκεῖ δυνάμεις πολλὰς διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν.

⁵³Kai egeneto hote etelesen ho Iēsous tas parabolas tautas, metēren ekeithen. ⁵⁴kai elthōn eis tēn patrida autou edidasken autous en tē synagōgē autōn, hōste ekplēssesthai autous kai legein· Pothen toutō hē sophia hautē kai hai dynameis? ⁵⁵ouch houtos estin ho tou tektonos huios? ouch hē mētēr autou legetai Mariam kai hoi adelphoi autou Iakōbos kai Iōsēph kai Simōn kai Ioudas? ⁵⁶kai hai adelphai autou ouchi pasai pros hēmas eisin? pothen oun toutō tauta panta? ⁵⁷kai eskandalizonto en autō. ho de Iēsous eipen autois· Ouk estin prophētēs atimos ei mē en tē patridi kai en tē oikia autou. ⁵⁸kai ouk epoiēsen ekei dynameis pollas dia tēn apistian autōn.

Key Words

πατρίς patris hometown, fatherland

Derived from πατήρ (father), this noun denotes one's native place or ancestral homeland. In classical usage it could refer to a city-state or region, but here it specifically means Nazareth, the town where Jesus grew up. The term carries connotations of belonging, identity, and shared history—precisely the factors that should have predisposed the Nazarenes toward Jesus but instead became stumbling blocks. Matthew's use highlights the tragic irony: those who knew Him longest understood Him least. The word appears in the proverbial saying of verse 57, underscoring that familiarity can breed contempt rather than faith.

τέκτων tektōn carpenter, builder, craftsman

This noun refers to a skilled worker in wood, stone, or metal—a builder or artisan. In first-century Galilee, a tektōn would have been a respectable tradesman, neither wealthy nor destitute, engaged in construction and repair work. The term derives from the root related to τέχνη (craft, art), emphasizing skilled labor. The Nazarenes' reference to Jesus as 'the carpenter's son' (Mark 6:3 calls Jesus himself the carpenter) is meant dismissively: how could someone from such ordinary origins possess extraordinary wisdom and power? Yet this very ordinariness fulfills the prophetic pattern of God choosing the humble and unexpected to accomplish His purposes.

σκανδαλίζω skandalizō to cause to stumble, to take offense

This verb, from which English derives 'scandalize,' originally referred to the trigger of a trap that causes it to snap shut. Metaphorically, it means to cause someone to stumble morally or spiritually, or to take offense. In verse 57, the imperfect tense (ἐσκανδαλίζοντο) indicates continuous or repeated action: they kept taking offense at Him. The Nazarenes' offense was rooted in their inability to reconcile Jesus' familiar background with His extraordinary claims and powers. What should have been a cause for celebration became a σκάνδαλον (stumbling block). This verb appears throughout Matthew's Gospel as a key term for the various ways people reject Jesus, from the religious leaders to His own neighbors.

ἄτιμος atimos without honor, dishonored

This adjective combines the alpha-privative (negation) with τιμή (honor, value, price), meaning 'without honor' or 'dishonored.' In the honor-shame culture of the ancient Mediterranean world, honor was a core social value, and to be atimos was to lack social standing or respect. Jesus' proverbial statement in verse 57 acknowledges a universal human tendency: prophets are honored everywhere except where they are most familiar. The double negative construction (οὐκ ἔστιν... ἄτιμος εἰ μή) creates a strong affirmation—'a prophet is honored nowhere except...'—which Matthew inverts to emphasize the exception. The term underscores that Jesus' rejection was not about His message or miracles but about His neighbors' refusal to grant Him the honor His identity demanded.

δύναμις dynamis power, miracle, mighty work

From this noun, meaning inherent power or ability, English derives 'dynamic' and 'dynamite.' In the Gospels, δύναμις frequently refers to miraculous works that demonstrate divine power. The plural αἱ δυνάμεις (verses 54, 58) denotes Jesus' miracles as manifestations of God's power working through Him. The Nazarenes' question 'Where did this man get... these miraculous powers?' (v. 54) reveals their astonishment but also their spiritual blindness: they recognized the power but refused to acknowledge its divine source. Verse 58's statement that Jesus 'did not do many miracles there' (οὐκ ἐποίησεν... δυνάμεις πολλάς) is striking—not that He could not, but that He did not, because miracles require some measure of faith as the context for divine self-disclosure.

ἀπιστία apistia unbelief, lack of faith

This noun combines the alpha-privative with πίστις (faith, trust), denoting the absence or opposite of faith. In verse 58, Matthew identifies ἀπιστία as the reason Jesus did not perform many miracles in Nazareth. This is not a limitation on Jesus' power but a reflection of the relational nature of faith: God does not typically override human unbelief with coercive displays of power. The term appears rarely in the Gospels, making its use here all the more significant. The Nazarenes' unbelief was not mere intellectual doubt but active rejection rooted in offense (σκανδαλίζω). Their familiarity with Jesus' background became an insurmountable barrier to recognizing His true identity, illustrating how presumption can harden into unbelief.

ἀδελφός adelphos brother

Literally 'from the same womb' (ἀ- copulative + δελφύς, womb), this noun denotes a brother, either biological or metaphorical. In verses 55-56, the Nazarenes list Jesus' brothers by name (James, Joseph, Simon, Judas) and mention His sisters, using these family relationships as evidence of His ordinariness. The precise nature of these relationships has been debated: whether they were Jesus' younger half-siblings (children of Mary and Joseph), Joseph's children from a previous marriage, or cousins (as ἀδελφός can have a broader semantic range in Semitic usage). The most natural reading of the Greek supports biological brothers and sisters. Regardless, the Nazarenes' point is clear: Jesus is one of them, from a known family, and therefore cannot be who He claims to be—a tragic failure to see that the incarnation means God enters human ordinariness.

προφήτης prophētēs prophet

Derived from προ- (before, forth) and φημί (to speak), this noun denotes one who speaks forth divine revelation, often with predictive elements but primarily as God's spokesperson. In verse 57, Jesus identifies Himself with the prophetic tradition, invoking what appears to be a proverbial saying about prophets being dishonored in their hometowns. This self-identification is significant: Jesus is not merely a teacher or miracle-worker but stands in the line of Israel's prophets who were regularly rejected by their own people. The saying echoes the experiences of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others who faced opposition from those who should have received them. By applying this prophetic pattern to Himself, Jesus interprets His rejection at Nazareth as part of the larger biblical narrative of Israel's resistance to God's messengers.

Grammar & Argument

Verse 53 opens with Matthew's characteristic transitional formula (Καὶ ἐγένετο ὅτε ἐτέλεσεν), marking the conclusion of the parable discourse and the beginning of a new narrative section. The aorist ἐτέλεσεν ('finished') is the same verb used at the end of each of Matthew's five major discourses (7:28; 11:1; 13:53; 19:1; 26:1), creating a structural marker throughout the Gospel. The departure (μετῆρεν ἐκεῖθεν) is geographically vague, but verse 54's reference to 'His hometown' (τὴν πατρίδα αὐτοῦ) identifies the destination as Nazareth, though Matthew never names it explicitly—perhaps assuming his readers know, or perhaps emphasizing the irony that Jesus' πατρίς rejected Him.

The narrative structure of verses 54-56 builds through a series of rhetorical questions that reveal the Nazarenes' cognitive dissonance. The initial result clause (ὥστε ἐκπλήσσεσθαι) shows they were 'astonished' by His teaching—the verb ἐκπλήσσω suggests being struck with amazement, even overwhelmed. But their astonishment does not lead to faith; instead, it generates skeptical interrogation. The first question (Πόθεν τούτῳ...) asks about the source of His wisdom and powers, using the dative of disadvantage or interest (τούτῳ, 'to this man') with a dismissive tone. The subsequent questions pile up, each one grounding Jesus more firmly in His ordinary origins: His father's occupation, His mother's name, His brothers listed individually, His sisters mentioned collectively. The final question (πόθεν οὖν τούτῳ ταῦτα πάντα;) uses the inferential conjunction οὖν to draw a conclusion: given all this ordinariness, where could 'all these things' possibly come from? The grammar itself enacts their reasoning—and their failure to reason rightly.

Verse 57's response is devastating in its economy. The imperfect ἐσκανδαλίζοντο indicates continuous action: they kept taking offense, kept stumbling over Him. Jesus' reply is proverbial in form, using a double negative construction (οὐκ ἔστιν... ἄτιμος εἰ μή) that creates a strong positive assertion: a prophet is honored everywhere except in his hometown and household. The exception clause (εἰ μή) is emphatic, and the pairing of πατρίς and οἰκία moves from the broader community to the most intimate circle—both reject the prophet. This saying functions as both explanation and indictment: it explains why they reject Him (familiarity breeds contempt) while simultaneously identifying their rejection as part of a larger pattern of prophetic resistance in Israel's history.

The concluding verse (58) is theologically loaded. The negative statement (οὐκ ἐποίησεν... δυνάμεις πολλάς) does not say He could not perform miracles, but that He did not—a crucial distinction. The causal phrase διὰ τὴν ἀπιστίαν αὐτῶν ('because of their unbelief') identifies the reason, but we must understand this carefully: Jesus' miracles were never mere displays of power but signs meant to evoke faith and reveal His identity. Where unbelief is entrenched, miracles would be wasted, even counterproductive, hardening hearts further. The grammar suggests a sovereign restraint rather than an inability: Jesus chose not to cast pearls before swine (7:6). Mark's parallel account says He 'could not' (οὐκ ἐδύνατο, Mark 6:5), which some find troubling, but Mark immediately qualifies this by noting He did heal a few sick people—the 'inability' is moral and relational, not ontological. Matthew's version emphasizes Jesus' agency (οὐκ ἐποίησεν) while still attributing the cause to their unbelief, maintaining both divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

Familiarity can be the enemy of faith. The Nazarenes knew Jesus' family tree but missed the forest for the trees—they catalogued His relatives while remaining blind to His identity. Proximity without perception is not an advantage but a liability, turning what should be evidence of the incarnation's reality into a stumbling block.

LSB Choices Worth Noting

The LSB's rendering of verse 54, 'He began teaching them in their synagogue,' preserves the imperfect tense of ἐδίδασκεν, suggesting ongoing or repeated teaching rather than a single event. This is more accurate than translations that use a simple past tense, as it indicates Jesus engaged in sustained instruction before the rejection crystallized. The phrase 'their synagogue' (τῇ συναγωγῇ αὐτῶν) is rendered literally, maintaining the slight distancing effect present in Matthew's Greek—it is 'their' synagogue, not 'the' synagogue, perhaps reflecting the growing separation between Jesus' followers and the Jewish community at the time of Matthew's writing.

In verse 55, the LSB translates τέκτων as 'carpenter,' following traditional usage, though the term could encompass a broader range of building trades. The decision to specify 'carpenter' is defensible given the Galilean context where woodworking would have been common, but readers should know the term is not as narrow as modern 'carpenter' might suggest. More significantly, the LSB preserves the straightforward reference to Jesus' 'brothers' (ἀδελφοί) and 'sisters' (ἀδελφαί) without adding interpretive glosses. Some traditions uncomfortable with the implication of Mary having other children have translated these as 'cousins' or 'kinsmen,' but the LSB rightly allows the natural meaning of the Greek to stand, letting theological interpretation follow exegesis rather than predetermine it.

The LSB's translation of verse 57, 'they took offense at Him,' accurately captures the force of ἐσκανδαλίζοντο without the archaic feel of 'they were offended in Him' (KJV) or the overly mild 'they took offense at Him' found in some versions. The verb σκανδαλίζω is stronger than mere offense—it implies a stumbling, a moral or spiritual collapse in the face of Jesus. The LSB's choice maintains the gravity of their response while remaining accessible to modern readers. The proverbial saying that follows is rendered with appropriate dignity: 'A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.' The double negative construction is preserved, and 'without honor' for ἄτιμος is preferable to paraphrases like 'not respected' or 'not accepted,' as it maintains the honor-shame cultural context crucial to understanding the saying.