Verse-by-Verse Commentary
The Book of Matthew
Chapter 13: The Parables of the Kingdom
Matthew 13 gathers seven parables in which Jesus unveils 'the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.' The sower scatters seed on four soils, and the same word yields wildly different harvests depending on the heart that receives it. Wheat and tares grow together until the harvest, when the reapers, the angels, separate them forever. The kingdom starts as small as a mustard seed and grows into a tree, and works unseen like leaven through dough. It is worth everything, a treasure hidden in a field, a pearl of great price, for which a man gladly sells all he has. And like a net, it gathers all kinds, to be sorted at the end of the world. The chapter closes with Jesus rejected in His own hometown, where 'he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.' These stories reveal how the kingdom comes, quietly, through the sown word, and how each heart must respond.
About This Commentary
This is a verse-by-verse study of Matthew chapter 13. For each section you will find the KJV text, word studies that sharpen the meaning, plain explanation, and a Gospel Focus. Here Jesus teaches the mysteries of the kingdom in seven parables, from the sower to the net. Every Scripture quotation is from the King James Version.
Setting the Stage
Four Soils
The same word yields different harvests according to the heart that receives it.
Wheat and Tares
Good and evil grow together until the harvest, when the angels separate them forever.
Mustard Seed and Leaven
The kingdom starts small and grows great, working unseen through the world.
Treasure and Pearl
The kingdom is worth selling all to gain; the net gathers all, to be sorted at the end.
A Sower Went Forth to Sow (Matthew 13:1-17)
Jesus tells of seed scattered on four soils, and explains why He teaches in parables that reveal to the humble and hide from the hardened.
Who Hath Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear
"The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, 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. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in 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. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them."
Word Study
"parables," Greek parabolai (παραβολαί). A parable is a story "cast alongside" a truth, an earthly picture that illustrates a heavenly reality. Jesus' parables both reveal and conceal: to the humble and hungry they open "the mysteries of the kingdom," but to the hardened who "seeing see not," they remain riddles. The same sunlight that softens wax hardens clay; the same word that opens the seeking heart closes the resistant one. Parables sort the hearers by the state of their hearts.
Explanation
Jesus begins to teach in parables, and the first -- the sower -- explains all the rest: the same seed of the word meets four soils, and the harvest depends on the heart's condition, not the seed's power. When the disciples ask why He speaks so, He answers that parables both reveal and conceal: to those hungry to understand, more is given; to the willfully deaf, the truth is veiled in story, fulfilling Isaiah's "seeing they see not." The parables are thus a mercy and a judgment at once -- a lamp to the seeking and a curtain to the scornful. "Blessed are your eyes, for they see."
Gospel Focus
The parable of the sower is really the parable of the soils, for the seed is the same, "the word of the kingdom", and the difference lies in the heart that receives it. Some hearts are a hard path where the word never penetrates before the enemy snatches it away; some are shallow and stony, receiving with quick joy but withering when trouble comes; some are thorny, where "the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches" choke the word; and some are good ground that hears, understands, and bears fruit "an hundredfold." The question the parable presses on every listener is simple: what kind of soil is my heart? When Jesus explains why He teaches in parables, He reveals a solemn truth: the gospel is not neutral. To those who welcome it, more is given; to those who harden themselves, even what they have is lost, "because they seeing see not." Yet He turns to His disciples with tenderness: "blessed are your eyes, for they see." To have ears that hear the word of God is a gift prophets and kings longed for. Do not treat the word carelessly; prepare your heart as good ground, receive it, understand it, and let it bear fruit.
Let Both Grow Together Until the Harvest (Matthew 13:18-30)
Jesus explains the four soils, then tells of an enemy who sows tares among the wheat, to be separated only at the harvest.
An Enemy Hath Done This
"Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, 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, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn."
Word Study
"tares," Greek zizania (ζιζάνια). The "tares" are darnel, a poisonous weed that looks almost exactly like wheat as it grows, indistinguishable until the heads form. This is why the wheat and tares cannot be safely separated too early. The picture is sobering: in this age, true believers and false, children of the kingdom and children of the wicked one, grow side by side, often hard to tell apart, until the harvest at the end of the world reveals each for what it is.
Explanation
The sower's meaning is unfolded soil by soil -- the hardened path, the shallow rock, the choking thorns, the good ground -- a mirror in which every hearer must find himself. Then the parable of the wheat and tares answers a question the kingdom's slow arrival raises: why does evil grow alongside the good? The Master forbids a premature uprooting, "lest... ye root up also the wheat with them," and commits the final separation to the harvest. The kingdom advances not by purging the field now but by patient growth until the appointed reckoning.
Gospel Focus
Jesus explains the soils plainly, and the lesson is searching: it is possible to hear the word with "joy" and still have "no root," to receive it and yet let "the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches" choke it into barrenness. Only the heart that "heareth the word, and understandeth it" bears lasting fruit. Then He tells of the wheat and the tares. An enemy, the devil, sows weeds among the wheat while men sleep, and the servants want to pull them at once. But the Master says, "Nay... Let both grow together until the harvest." Two truths steady us here. First, evil in the world and even mixture in the visible church is not a sign that God has lost control; the enemy's work is real, but the harvest is coming. Second, final separation belongs to God, not to us; we are not competent to pull up every tare now, and premature judgment uproots the wheat with the weeds. There is a day of reckoning, "the harvest," when the reapers separate forever, but until then, God is patient, giving the tares time and the wheat room to grow. Our task is not to play the final judge but to be good wheat, rooted, understanding, fruitful, and to trust the Lord of the harvest to sort all things rightly in the end.
The Least of All Seeds (Matthew 13:31-43)
The kingdom grows from a tiny seed and works like hidden leaven; and Jesus explains the harvest, when the righteous shine and the wicked are removed.
Then Shall the Righteous Shine Forth as the Sun
"Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, 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 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. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."
Word Study
"leaven," Greek zume (ζύμη). Leaven is a small piece of fermented dough worked into a fresh batch, spreading quietly until "the whole was leavened." Here it pictures the kingdom's hidden, pervasive, transforming power: unseen at first, but permeating everything it touches. Together with the mustard seed, which grows from "the least of all seeds" into a great tree, the two parables teach that the kingdom of God begins small and inconspicuous, yet grows and works its way through the world with unstoppable power.
Explanation
The mustard seed and the leaven answer the disciples' likely disappointment at the kingdom's tiny, hidden beginnings: the smallest seed becomes a tree, and a little leaven works unseen through the whole lump. What looks negligible now will fill the earth. Then Jesus privately explains the tares: the field is the world, the harvest is the end of the age, and the angels will at last gather "all things that offend" out of His kingdom. The same patience that lets wheat and tares grow together guarantees a final, unmixed glory -- "then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun."
Gospel Focus
The mustard seed and the leaven answer a doubt that troubled Jesus' first hearers, and troubles us: how can this small band, this quiet Galilean movement, be the kingdom of God? Jesus says: do not despise its small beginnings. The kingdom starts as "the least of all seeds" and becomes a great tree; it works like hidden "leaven" until "the whole was leavened." From twelve apostles it has spread to every nation; in a single life it begins as a whisper of grace and transforms the whole person. Never measure God's kingdom by its outward smallness. Then Jesus explains the tares: "the field is the world," "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man," and "the harvest is the end of the world." At that harvest the angels will "gather out of his kingdom all things that offend," and "the righteous shall shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father." Two destinies could not be more different, "a furnace of fire" with "wailing and gnashing of teeth," or shining "as the sun." The mixture of this age is temporary; the separation of the last day is final and eternal. This is a sober warning to make sure we are wheat and not tares, and a bright hope for the faithful, who will one day "shine forth as the sun." Let him who has ears, hear.
One Pearl of Great Price (Matthew 13:44-58)
The kingdom is worth selling all to gain, gathers all kinds like a net, and is rejected by those who think they know Jesus best.
He Did Not Many Mighty Works There Because of Their Unbelief
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto 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. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
Word Study
"pearl of great price," Greek margarites polutimos (μαργαρίτης πολύτιμος). A pearl of immense value, worth more than all the merchant's other holdings combined. When he finds it, he "sold all that he had, and bought it", not with reluctance, but "for joy." The kingdom of heaven is that pearl: worth everything, and gladly worth everything. Whoever truly sees its value counts all else as loss to gain it, "I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord" (Philippians 3:8).
Explanation
Three quick parables measure the kingdom's worth and reach: the hidden treasure and the pearl are worth selling everything to gain, and the dragnet, like the tares, gathers good and bad until the sorting at the end. The one who has understood becomes a "scribe" who brings out of his treasure "things new and old" -- the gospel fulfilling, not discarding, the Scriptures. The chapter closes at Nazareth, where familiarity breeds unbelief and "he did not many mighty works there" -- a sobering last soil, the hometown heart too proud to receive its own King.
Gospel Focus
The treasure and the pearl teach the supreme worth of the kingdom, and the joy of surrendering everything for it. One man stumbles on "treasure hid in a field"; another, a merchant, deliberately searches and finds "one pearl of great price." Both do the same thing: they sell "all that" they have to gain it, and the treasure-finder does it "for joy." This is the response of a heart that has truly seen the value of Christ and His kingdom: not grudging sacrifice, but glad exchange. Whatever it costs to follow Jesus, it is the bargain of eternity, for we give up what we cannot keep to gain what we cannot lose. The net then repeats the lesson of the tares: the gospel gathers "of every kind," and the final sorting comes "at the end of the world." And the chapter ends with a painful irony: in Nazareth, where they knew Jesus best as "the carpenter's son," they "were offended in him," and "he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." Familiarity had bred contempt; they could not see the treasure standing in front of them. It is a warning to us: do not let a casual familiarity with Jesus blind you to who He is. The kingdom is a treasure and a pearl of great price. Have you seen its worth, and gladly sold all to gain the Christ who is worth more than all the world?
Chapter 13 in Review
Matthew 13 reveals "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" in seven parables. The sower scatters one seed on four soils, and the harvest depends on the heart that receives the word. Wheat and tares grow together until the harvest, when the angels separate them forever. The kingdom starts small as a mustard seed and works unseen like leaven, yet grows to fill the world. It is worth everything, a hidden treasure and a pearl of great price, for which a man gladly "sold all that he had." Like a net it gathers every kind, to be sorted at the end of the world, when "the righteous shall shine forth as the sun" and the wicked are cast into "the furnace of fire." And in His own hometown, where familiarity bred unbelief, "he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief."
For the Apostolic reader these parables teach how the kingdom actually comes, not by outward force or spectacle, but through the quiet sowing of the word into human hearts, growing from small beginnings by hidden power. They call us to examine our own soil, to receive and understand and bear fruit. They warn that the mixture of good and evil in this age is temporary, and that a final, eternal separation is coming. They summon us to count the kingdom worth everything, selling all with joy to gain Christ, the pearl of great price. And they caution against the unbelief of the overly familiar, who had the Saviour among them and missed Him. May we be good ground, fruitful wheat, wise merchants who gladly give all for the pearl, and, in the end, among the righteous who shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
- The word is one seed; the harvest depends on the soil of the heart (13:3-9, 18-23).
- Wheat and tares grow together until the harvest, when the angels separate them (13:24-30, 36-43).
- The kingdom starts small and grows with unstoppable, hidden power (13:31-33).
- The kingdom is worth selling all to gain, a treasure and a pearl of great price (13:44-46; Philippians 3:8).
- A final, eternal separation is coming: the righteous shine, the wicked are cast out (13:43, 49-50).
- Familiar unbelief missed the Saviour: "he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief" (13:58).
Questions for Reflection
- What kind of soil is your heart, and what is choking or nurturing the word in you?
- Do you trust God to be the final judge, rather than pulling up every tare yourself?
- Have you seen the kingdom's worth clearly enough to give all for it "for joy"?
- Has familiarity with Jesus dulled your faith, or do you still marvel at who He is?
References & Sources
Scripture is quoted from the King James Version (KJV). Supporting passages are listed so every claim can be verified in its own setting. The prophecy of Isaiah on dull hearts: Isaiah 6:9-10. Parables foretold: Psalm 78:2. The worth of Christ above all: Philippians 3:7-8. If anything here does not look right, a verse, a reference, or a wording, please tell us at info@FruitBearers.net. Thank you for helping us keep Bible Learning error free.
- The sower and the purpose of parables: Matthew 13:1-17; Mark 4:1-12; Luke 8:4-10; Isaiah 6:9-10.
- The sower explained and the wheat and tares: Matthew 13:18-30; Mark 4:13-20.
- Mustard seed, leaven, and the harvest of the age: Matthew 13:31-43; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-21.
- Treasure, pearl, net, and rejection at Nazareth: Matthew 13:44-58; Mark 6:1-6; Luke 4:16-30.