(Tap footnote to read it. Old Testament quotations are underlined. "Love" with a caret ("^love") is agapé.1"agapé" The Greek words ἀγάπη (agapé, noun), and ἀγαπάω (agapaó; verb) are typically translated "love". However, unlike our English word "love" – which primarily speaks of affection and feelings – agapé centers on choice and behavior. It’s the "love" based on will, choice, behavior, and action; not feelings. (Feelings-based love is the Greek word φιλέω (phileó), which properly means "brotherly love/affection".) Thus, you could hate someone passionately and still treat him with "agapé". Agapé "love" is best understood as the pursuit of what is most beneficial to someone or something, regardless of the cost to yourself or the type of response received from the person or thing. It can also indicate a preference for someone or something over other things. )
The Parable of the Sower
- Later in that day, Jesus left the house and was sitting beside the sea.
- And many crowds were gathered to Him, so He stepped into a boat to sit down, and the whole crowd had stood on the seashore.
- And He told them many things in parables, saying; “Behold, the man sowing seed went out to sow.
- “And in his sowing, some seeds indeed fell beside the road.1“the road” is literal. However, it can also be translated “the way”, which is how it’s typically translated in the BOS Bible for good reason. In the early Christian church, they often referred to the Christian life as “The Way”. Interestingly, the seed fell “beside” or “next to” “the way”. And having come down, the birds devoured them.
- “And other seeds fell on rocky places where it didn’t have much soil. And it sprang up at once because it doesn’t have depth in the soil.
- “But it was scorched when the sun rose, and it was dried up because it doesn’t have a root.
- “And other seeds fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
- “And other seeds fell on the good soil and they were bearing fruit; indeed, some a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
- “The man having ears, let him hear.”
Why Jesus Spoke in Parables
- And having approached Him, the disciples said to Him; “Why do you speak to them in parables?”
- And answering, He told them; “Because it has been granted for you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens. But it hasn’t been granted to those men.
- “For whoever has, more will be given to him and he will have abundance. But whoever doesn’t have, even what he has will be taken away from him.
- “I speak to them in parables because of this, because while seeing, they don’t see. And while hearing, they don’t hear, nor do they understand.
- “And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, saying: “You will hear in your ear and definitely won’t understand; and you will see, and despite seeing definitely won’t perceive.
- “For the heart of this people grew calloused and their ears barely listened, and their eyes shut. Lest, when they see with the eyes, and hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and they return, and I will heal them.”2quotation/allusion to Isaiah 6:9-10
- “But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
- “For amen I tell you that many prophets and righteous men yearned to see what you see, and didn’t see it; and yearned to hear what you hear, and didn’t hear it.
The Parable Explained
- “Therefore, you must hear and understand3“hear and understand” is one word in the Greek. It literally means to hear, sometimes with the connotation of understanding what is being said. In this passage, it’s in the imperative mood, making it a command. the parable of the man who sowed seed.
- “To every man hearing the word of the kingdom and not understanding it, the evil one comes and openly steals what has been sown in his heart. This is the seed which was sown beside the road.
- “Now, the seed which was sown on the rocky places: this is the man hearing the word and immediately receiving it with great joy.
- “But he doesn’t have root in himself, but is temporary; only lasting for a season.4“temporary; only lasting for a season” is one word in the Greek. Its’ colloquial meaning is “temporary”, but the full technical meaning is “lasting (only) for a season”. Technically, including both is double translating a Greek word. However, the additional nuance of the full definition adds meaning to the verse, therefore it was included. And when constricting distress5“constricting distress ” The Greek word here focuses on the internal distress of an external situation. It refers to a narrow place that makes someone feel confined, trapped, and without options. This could indicate that Jesus was referring to the rocky seed falling away because they find the Christian life is too restricting/confining. or persecution happened because of the word, he immediately falls away.
- “Now, the seed which was sown among the thorns: this is the man hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age and the deception of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
- “Now, the seed which was sown on good soil: this is the man hearing the word and understanding it who truly bears fruit and produces. Indeed, some produce a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
The Wheat and False Wheat (tares)
- He set another parable before them, saying; “The kingdom of the heavens can be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field.”
- “But when the men laid down to sleep, his enemy came and sowed false wheat6“False wheat” is one word in Greek. It refers to the plant “Lolium temulentum”, commonly called darnel, cockle, tares, and false wheat. Darnel looks almost identical to wheat until the ear appears at maturity (the ear is different from wheat). Further, wheat is brown when ripe, whereas darnel is black. The differences between wheat and darnel are subtle and hard to spot while growing, but obvious and easily spotted when the plants mature. This made it a frustrating weed for much of human history. among the true wheat and departed.
- “And when the crop sprouted and made fruit, then the false wheat was also revealed.
- “So having come to the master of the house, the slaves said to him; “Master, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? So how does it have false wheat?”
- “And he was telling them; “A man – an enemy – did this.” And the slaves say to him; “Then, do you want us to go out and gather them?”
- “And he says; “No, lest when gathering the false wheat you might uproot the true wheat with them.
- “Allow both to grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the harvesters; “First gather the false wheat and tie them into bundles to burn them, but gather the true wheat into my barn.”
The Mustard Seed, Leaven, and Reason for Parables
- He set another parable before them, saying; “The kingdom of the heavens is like a mustard seed which a man took and sowed in his field;
- “which is truly smaller than all the common7The word “common” is not in the Greek, but was added to provide cultural context. The mustard seed was the smallest seed of all the plants that the Jews cultivated. seeds. But when it’s grown, it’s greater than the garden plants and becomes a tree. Therefore, the birds of the air come and make nests on its branches.”
- He told them another parable; “The kingdom of the heavens is like leaven, which a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour until it was all mixed and began to rise.”8“was… …mixed and began to rise” is one word in Greek. It means to mix some type of leaven (such as yeast, sourdough, etc.) into dough in order to make it rise.
- Jesus said all these things to the crowds in parables, and He was speaking nothing to them without a parable,
- so that it might be fulfilled; what was spoken through the prophet, saying; “I will open My mouth in parables. I will declare things which have been hidden from the foundation of the world.”9quotation/allusion to Psalm 78:2
The Parable of the False Wheat (Tares) Explained
- Then having sent away the crowds, He went into the house. And His disciples approached Him saying; “Explain to us the parable of the false wheat in the field.”
- Then answering, He said: “The man sowing the good seed is the Son of Man;
- “and the field is the world; and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom; and the false wheat, these are the sons of the evil one,
- “and the enemy who sowed them is the Accuser;10“the Accuser” The Greek word used here is “διάβολος” (diabolos), and it’s the root of our English word “devil”. Much like “Christ” (see note on Matt 1:1) “devil” isn’t a name but a descriptive title. Matthew uses the name “Satan” only 4 times in his gospel, far less than Mark and Luke, but even more than John (who only uses it once). and the harvest is the culmination of the age, and the harvesters are the angels.
- “So just as the false wheat is gathered and completely burned by fire, it will be just like this in the culmination of the age.
- “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather all the baits that ensnare11“baits that ensnare” is a single word in the Greek. It specifically refers to a “bait stick”, meaning the trigger stick of a trap or snare to which the bait is attached. Think of the part of a mouse trap to which you affix the cheese. On reaching for the bait, the “bait stick” triggers the trap and ensnares the unsuspecting victim. out of His kingdom and the men acting without regard for God’s commands,12“without regard for God’s commands ” is one word in Greek, and is more literally “without regard for God’s law”. It’s a noun, and literally means “those who are without law”; i.e. those who – either by ignorance or by rebellion – don’t obey God’s (moral) law.
- “and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.
- “Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun13quotation/allusion to Daniel 12:3 in the kingdom of their Father. The man having ears, let him hear.
The kingdom is like: treasure, pearl, dragnet
- “The kingdom of the heavens is like a treasure that has been hidden in a field, which having found it, a man hid again. And for the joy of finding it, he departs and sells all that he has and buys that field.
- “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a traveling merchant searching for magnificent pearls.
- “And having found one extremely valuable pearl, he left and *sold all that he had and bought it.
- “Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like a dragnet14“dragnet” is literal. It’s a slang term for a type of fishing net that’s properly called a “seine”. A dragnet is a long net with weights at the bottom and floats at the top. It’s dragged through the sea either by men walking or boats. Notably, it catches everything between the surface and the bottom of the net, regardless of the type of fish the fishers want to catch. that was cast into the sea and gathered every kind of fish.
- “Which when it was filled, they pulled it up to the shore. And having sat down, they collected the good fish into containers; but they threw out the rotten fish.
- “It will be like this in the culmination of the age. The angels will go out and separate the wicked from the midst of the righteous,
- “and they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and grinding of teeth.”
- “Did you understand all these things?” They tell Him; “Yes.”
- Then He told them; “Because of this, every scribe15“scribe” in the New Testament, this Greek word is typically applied to those learned in the Mosaic Law. discipled into the kingdom of the heavens is like a man – a master of a house – who brings out new and old things from the treasury of his heart.”16“the treasury of his heart” is one word in Greek. It refers to a place where valuable things are stored, which can include thoughts or ideas stored in the heart or mind.
Jesus returns to Nazareth
- And it happened, when Jesus finished these parables, that He left that place.
- And having come into His hometown,17“hometown” is literally “fatherland”, as in the place his father lived/lives. This was another way of saying the place He came from, i.e. His hometown. He was teaching them in their synagogue so that they are stunned in amazement and saying: “From where did this man get this wisdom and the power to perform miracles?
- “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, and Joseph, and Simon, and Judas?
- And indeed, aren’t all His sisters with us? So then, where did He get all these things?
- And they were being offended at Him. But Jesus told them; “A prophet isn’t without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
- And He didn’t do many miracles there because of their unbelief.
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