Matthew 13:

Parable of Seeds 

Jesus sat by the sea on a ship and a great multitude was gathered around him on the shore to hear of his words. Jesus tells us about the Parable of the Sower; “…Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 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. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” (Matthew 13:3-8)

What does the Parable of the Sower or Parable of Seeds tell us? If we don’t plant ourselves in good soil, we will not produce anything. If we are given opportunities in life and we decided not to plant ourselves in good soil… when the sun comes out we will be scorched. If we plant ourselves among evil people, the thorns will choke us. We need to be around good influences and do good always.

After telling this Parable, one of the Apostles asks Jesus why He uses Parables; “He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand… For this people’s heart is waxed gross… their ears are dull of hearing… their eyes they have closed…” (Matthew 13:11-13,15) The people do not understand truths, even when they can see them with their own eyes or hear with their own ears. Parables help people, who “…understand with their heart…” (Matthew 13:15)

Jesus expounds on the Parable of Seeds, by explaining; that those who hear the words and understand them are the same people who will root themselves into good soil and thrive. Those who hear the word, but choose not to root themselves in the good will eventually be scorched of the sun because he will be offended by the word. Those who hear the word and root themselves among the thorns of life (riches, fame, etc.) and choose not to root out the evils are those who will eventually be choked by the evils of the word and will lose their root, causing themselves to shrivel and die.

Jesus continues his preaching with a number of parables, the Parable of the Tares among the Wheat, and the Parable of Mustard Seed.

Parable of the Tares: “…The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat… when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said… Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? He said unto them An enemy hath done this… Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? … he said, Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.” (Matthew 13:24-29)

Jesus explains that a man planted good seed in his field, but by night the enemy came and planted tares among the wheat. Once this was discovered the men of the field asked the master what they should do, should they rip up the tares? The master responded that they should wait to rip up the tares until harvest, for fear of de-rooting the good wheat. Jesus explains that this is like the world today, the field is the world and we are the wheat, in the last days reapers (angels) shall come and rip up the tares and burn them, this is the harvest.

Parable of the Mustard Seed: “…The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all the seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.” (Matthew 13:31-32)

Jesus explains that even the smallest, and what seems to be the least important of seeds, can actually be one of the biggest and most important. Those of us who feel unimportant or little, need to understand that if we root ourselves in good soil we can become a large tree, where we can provide support for others.

“…the kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.” (Matthew 13:44) Would that not be the wise thing to do? We too need to search for the treasure in the field, the spiritual treasure that all can access.

The people who were gathered there to listen and see the miracles Jesus was performing were questioning His power; “Is not this the carpenter’s on? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, Joses, and Simon, and Judas?” (Matthew 13:55) The people were confused as to why a carpenter’s son, with no formal education, could have such amazing insight. Jesus tells them that a prophet is never accepted in his own country. Jesus would also be rejected.

*One interesting note, in Matthew 13:55 it mentions that Jesus not only has a mother, but also siblings, meaning that Mary and Joseph continued to have kids.