The parable of the sower1Later that same day Jesus left the house and went to sit by the lake.2Such large crowds gathered around Him that He had to sit in a boat, while the people remained on the shore.3Then He explained many things to them in parables. "A farmer began to sow his seed.4As he scattered it around him, some fell on the pathway and the birds came and ate it.5-6Some fell in rocky places, where there was no depth to the soil. At first it grew quickly, but because the soil was so shallow the plants were soon scorched by the sun and withered because they did not have deep roots.7Some of the seed fell among thorns, which also grew and choked the plants.8But some of the other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a good crop. These seeds multiplied, producing a hundred, sixty or thirty times the amount that was sown.9He who has ears open to My Word let him hear and understand what I say."10The disciples came and asked Him: "Why do You speak to the people in parables?"11He replied: "The revelation of the secret things of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to everybody.12Whoever has what I give will be given more until he has an abundance. But anyone who does not have what I offer will lose even what he does have. Everything will be taken from him.13I spoke in parables because it is written, 'Though they have eyes they do not see; though they have ears, they do not hear nor understand.'14So the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled in them: 'You will keep hearing what is said, but never understand. You will keep looking but never receive the revelation placed before you.15For a hard skin covers the hearts of this people. They can hardly hear anything with their ears and they have closed their eyes to the truth. If this was not the case, they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears and understand with their hearts. Then they would turn to Me and I would heal them.'16"But your eyes are blessed because you do see, and your ears are blessed because you do listen.17For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men of the past longed to see what you now see, but they never saw it. They longed to hear what you now hear, but never heard it!18"Listen and I will explain what the parable of the sower means.19The seed on the path represents anyone who hears the gospel of God's Kingdom, but does not understand it. The evil one is able to come and steal the seed of truth that was sown in his hard heart.20"The person whose life is like the rocky soil receives with joy the seed, the Word of truth, when he first hears the gospel.21But because the Word is not deeply rooted in his shallow heart, his response is short lived. As soon as difficulties arise or he has to face persecution because of his faith in the Word, he rapidly deserts the truth.22"The thorny soil represents the kind of person who hears and knows the Word of truth, but he allows himself to be overcome through other things in his life that cause him to worry, or because he places his trust in his worldly possessions instead of in My words. So, the truth cannot be fruitful in his life because he has a divided heart.23"However, the seed that falls on good soil signifies those who receive the Word with faith. When they hear it they understand and apply it to their lives; so they produce a harvest. They have good hearts and the seed of truth is reproduced and multiplied in others, a hundred, sixty or thirty times!"The parable of the weeds24Then Jesus told the people another parable: "The Kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.25But under cover of dark when all were asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, the good seed, and then quietly crept away.26As the wheat grew and developed, so the weeds also became obvious.27"The servants of the field's owner asked him, 'Sir, you sowed good seed in your field, didn't you? So how is it that there are all these weeds among the wheat?' 'An enemy must have done this,' the owner replied.28"'Do you want us to pull the weeds up?' the servants asked.29'No,' he replied, 'because in the process you may also pull up the wheat accidentally.30So let both the wheat and weeds grow together until it is time to harvest the crop. Then I will give these instructions to the reapers, 'First you are to collect the weeds, tie them in bundles and burn them. Then you can gather the wheat and store it in my barn.'"The mustard seed and the yeast31Jesus told them a further parable: "The Kingdom of heaven can be likened to a mustard seed which a man planted in his field.32Although this is such a tiny seed, it becomes a large plant and then a tree big enough for the birds to come and perch in its branches."33In yet another parable Jesus said: "The Kingdom of heaven is like the yeast that a woman mixed into a large amount of flour. The yeast permeated the whole lump of dough."34Jesus never spoke to the crowd without using such parables as these.35In this way He fulfilled the prophetic words, 'I will speak openly in parables. I will reveal things that have remained hidden since the world was created.'Jesus explains the parable of the weeds36When Jesus left the people and entered the house, the disciples said to Him: "Please explain to us the meaning of the parable of the weeds in the field."37Jesus replied: "The Son of Man sowed the good seed, the Word of truth.38-39The field represents the world and the good seeds stand for those who believe, the sons of the Kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one because they believe the lies sown by the devil. Harvest time will be at the end of this age when the angels will be sent to gather the harvest.40"At that time the weeds, the devil's children, will be uprooted and thrown into the fire.41The Son of Man will send His angels to weed out of His Kingdom all who do evil and everything that causes sin.42They will be thrown into the furnace of fire, where they will mourn their foolishness and suffer eternally.43By contrast, the righteous ones will shine as brightly as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. Let the one with spiritual perception hear what I am saying.More parables about the Kingdom44"The Kingdom of heaven is like treasure that a man found hidden in a field. He was so overjoyed that he concealed it again, then went and sold everything he had so he could buy the field and own the treasure.45"Similarly, the Kingdom of heaven is like a merchant who sought the finest pearls.46He discovered one of such great value, that he went and sold everything he had to enable him to buy that one pearl.47"Again, you can liken the Kingdom of heaven to a net in which all kinds of fish were caught when it was cast into the sea.48The fishermen pulled it to shore when it was full and then sat and sorted out the catch. The good fish they put in baskets, but the bad they threw away.49This is what will happen at the time of judgment at the end of this present age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous.50They will throw the wicked into the furnace of fire where they will mourn their foolishness and suffer eternally."51Jesus asked His disciples: "Do you understand these things?" "Yes," they replied.52So He then told them: "This being the case, every teacher of the religious law who has himself been taught about the Kingdom of heaven is like the house-owner who brings out of his storehouse these new treasures, as well as the truth he already knew."Jesus rejected in Nazareth53It was time for Jesus to move on when He had finished telling these parables.54He came to His hometown of Nazareth and began teaching the people in their synagogue. They were astonished at what they heard. They asked: "Where could this Man have received all this wisdom and the power to work such miracles?55This is the carpenter's Son, isn't it? We know Mary His mother and His brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.56And all His sisters lived here among us, didn't they? So from where did this Man receive all these things He now teaches and does?"57They were offended by Him. So Jesus said to them, "A prophet is honoured everywhere except in his own town and among his own family."58Because of this they failed to believe in Him, and so Jesus did not perform many miracles there.
Scripture quoted by permission. The passage above is taken from THE TRUTH VERSION. Copyright © 2009 by Colin Urquhart. All rights reserved worldwide. (The Truth New Testament)