INTRODUCTION
The split within Israel continues to widen. Chapter 12 ended with Jesus teaching about His re-constituted family (12:46-50), and the end of chapter 13 reiterates that a prophet is without honor in His home town (13:53-58). Jesus appears in “their synagogue” for the last time in 13:53-58. With Israel growing dull of hearing, Jesus begins teaching in parables (13:15).

THE TEXT
“On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to them in parables . . . .” (Matthew 13:1-23).

STRUCTURE

Chapter 13 divides into three sections. Each section begins with a parable and ends with an interpretation of that parable. The first section includes the parable of the sower (vv. 1-9), an explanation of Jesus’ use of parables with a quotation from Isaiah (vv. 10-17), and an interpretation of the parable (vv. 18-23). Part two begins with the parable of the tares (vv. 24-30), adds two complementary parables (vv. 31-33), and ends with Jesus’ interpretation of that parable (vv. 36-43). The third section begins with the parable of the treasure (v. 44), adds two more parables (vv. 45-48), and ends with a reference to the treasure (vv. 51-52). Each section includes a question that Jesus answers (vv. 10, 36, 51).

PARABLES

How should we understand parables? Jesus teaches us two things about parables here. First, He explains that He teaches in parables in order to hide His message from those who refuse to receive Him (vv. 13-17). Jesus didn’t begin his ministry teaching in parables. He openly proclaimed the kingdom of heaven. Only after Israel resisted His call to repentance did He begin talking in riddles. Teaching in parables is an act of judgment (vv. 14-15), and furthers the division within Israel (vv. 11-12). Second, Jesus makes it plain that parables should be interpreted as allegories. In His interpretation of the parable of the sower, every detail has a symbolic meaning – the sower, the seed, the different sorts of ground, the thorns. One last point: Though Jesus doesn’t say it explicitly, He implies that His parables are explanations of His own work and ministry. They are about the “mysteries of the kingdom,” the kingdom that He has been proclaiming.

SOWER AND SEED

In the prophets, “sowing” has to do with the return from exile (Isaiah 61:11; Jeremiah 31:27; Ezekiel 36:9; Hosea 2:23). When Babylon invaded Judah, they emptied the land of people and animals. At the return, Yahweh will sow the land again with man and beast. Alongside the promise of physical return, Yahweh promises to sow the land with the word, so that it produces righteousness and peace (Isaiah 55:10-11; 61:11). Jesus parable is about the results of the Lord’s sowing, and can be read in two ways. On the one hand, it’s about the response to His own sowing of the word. He announces the kingdom of heaven, the final end of exile, and yet many don’t receive His word. Satan snatches away the seed, some fall away during persecution because they are shallowly rooted, and some are choked by love of the world. On the other hand, Jesus is talking about the whole history of Yahweh’s post-exilic re-sowing of Israel. Yahweh has sown seed again and again, but with little effect. Israel has not produced a harvest. But now Jesus comes with the final sowing, and, despite opposition from the leaders of Israel, He is reaping an abundant harvest.