NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible | Page 132
Matthew 13:22 | 1725
13:8 n Ge 26:12
13:9 o Mt 11:15
13:11 p Mt 11:25; 16:17;
19:11; Jn 6:65;
1Co 2:10, 14; Col 1:27;
1Jn 2:20, 27
13:12 q Mt 25:29;
Lk 19:26
13:13 r Dt 29:4;
Jer 5:21; Eze 12:2
13:15 s Isa 6:9, 10;
Jn 12:40; Ac 28:26, 27;
Ro 11:8
13:16 t Mt 16:17
u
13:17 Jn 8:56;
Heb 11:13; 1Pe 1:10‑12
13:19 v Mt 4:23
w Mt 5:37
13:21 x Mt 11:6
to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds
came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang
up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were
scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns,
which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it pro
duced a crop — a hundred, n sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let
them hear.” o
10 The disciples came to him and a
sked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been
given to you, p but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an
abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. q 13 This
is why I s peak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. r
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’ a s
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. t 17 For truly
I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see u but did not see
it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the mes
sage about the kingdom v and does not understand it, the evil one w comes and snatches
away what was sown in t heir h
eart. This is the seed sown a
long the path. 20 The seed falling
on rocky g
round refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution
comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. x 22 The seed falling among the thorns
refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness
a 15 Isaiah 6:9,10
(see Septuagint)
to one’s audience. But often they contain sur-
prising twists that help listeners understand
God’s ways with humanity from new perspec-
tives. This is Christ’s third extended discourse
in Matthew (cf. chs. 5 – 7 and 10:5 – 42).
13:1 – 23 The Parable of the Sower. Farmers
used broadcast sowing, taking a bag of seeds
in their hands and scattering them across the
ground in which they wanted them to grow,
often plowing them into the dirt afterward.
Thus not every seed would take root in good
soil, and there would be varied growth based
on the kind of soil in which each seed landed
(vv. 3 – 9).
Jesus explains this parable in
vv. 18 – 23. Matthew probably places this par-
able here to explain the different reactions to
Jesus found in chs. 11 – 12. This parable also
explains that Jesus has not come to bring an
immediate end to evil, something which John
the Baptist may have expected.
13:2 into a boat. More people could hear Jesus
teaching from a boat secured in the shallow
water in one of the coves of the Sea of Galilee,
especially if the wind was blowing from be-
hind, than if he were on the beach with peo-
ple crowded around him. sat. Rabbis regularly
sat on a raised platform to teach.
13:8 produced a crop. The only result the
farmer desired. a hundred . . . times what
was sown. Would have been an outstanding
harvest by ancient standards. Cf. Gen 26:12.
13:10 – 17 Although parables illustrate spiritual
truths, their meanings are not always self-evi-
dent. Throughout church history commenta-
tors have swung the pendulum from treating
them as detailed allegories to simple stories
making only one point, with many interme-
diate options also suggested. Jesus’ own re-
marks here are also somewhat puzzling.
13:11 given to you, but not to them. There
are certain insights into the nature of God’s
kingdom that only Jesus’ disciples will un-
derstand. These insights do not appear to
involve the basic truths of the parables,
since v. 36 shows the disciples asking for an
explanation of these, while 21:45 has Christ’s
opponents recognizing that he was identify-
ing them as the wicked tenants in that par-
able. Rather, the “secrets” that the disciples
alone grasp must involve Jesus’ identity, so
that they are drawn to keep following him,
whereas others are not.
13:12 See note on 25:28 – 30.
13:13 – 15 Seeing the general reaction of too
many in Israel (their hard hearts and rebel-
lious behavior against God’s decrees), Jesus
quotes Isa 6:9 – 10, seeing it fulfilled again
as in the prophet’s day. But Isa 6 ends on a
note of hope, with “the holy seed” being “the
stump in the land” from which new life would
yet emerge (Isa 6:13). So Jesus is leaving open
the possibility that some of those whose
hearts are presently hard will yet be softened
to the gospel of grace.
13:18 – 23 Jesus proceeds to explain that the
parable he has just told refers to four main
ways people respond to “the message about
the kingdom” (v. 19).
13:19 the seed sown along the path. Stands
for those who completely fail to grasp Jesus’
person and teaching so that the gospel takes
no root at all.
13:20 The seed falling on rocky ground. It
may find just enough soil to produce a plant,
but it will not grow nearly enough to yield the
crop intended. While many think that “one
who hears the word and at once receives
it with joy” must be a Christian, this seems
unlikely.
13:21 trouble or persecution comes. It comes
for being identified with the Christian com-
munity and leads them to “quickly fall away.”
These appear to be people who are attracted
to the benefits of the gospel but are not will-
ing to endure the hardships associated with
it, and hence they are not true believers.
13:22 The seed falling among the thorns.
The seed apparently grows for a longer pe-
riod of time but ultimately proves “unfruit-
ful” as well. It has produced no crop for the
farmer to harvest. It too appears to represent
a spurious believer. These people may make
a profession of faith and continue in Christian