Search for commentaries – Matthew 13

Teaching in Parables
In this chapter Jesus began to do something He had not done before. He began to teach in parables which was to make a comparison between a known truth and an unknown truth. Some define it as an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. He did not do this to confuse or condemn the pe …

The Secret Message
As the disciples noticed a change in Jesus’ method of teaching they came and asked Him why He was speaking in parables. The Lord gave them three reasons: To make known to them the secrets of the kingdom of heaven (vv. 11-12). This referred to truths not revealed in the Old Testam …

The Weeds among the Wheat
In this parable we find a farmer sowing his wheat. At night an enemy comes in and sows weeds on the same soil. As the wheat grows so do the weeds. If the farmer tries to remove the weeds before the harvest he will also destroy the wheat (v. 24-30). As Jesus explains this parable …

The Growth of Christendom
The mustard seed symbolizes false growth (v. 31. It was the smallest garden seed known yet it produced a plant that grew to a height of twelve to fifteen feet in one season and the birds of the air would sit in its branches (v. 32). Jesus did not explain this parable but its mean …

The Judgement Day
When the disciples get Jesus by himself they ask him to explain the story of the weeds in the field (v. 36). He had already given the parable of the tares (vv. 24-30). He explains how He is the farmer who sows the good seed (v. 37). The field is the world, not the church (v. 38). …

The Kingdom of Heaven
In this fifth parable Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field (v. 44). Since the Lord did not explain this parable there are various interpretations of how it can be applied. Since the Word of God makes it very clear in many places t …

Rejected in His Home Town
Jesus had been ministering in and around Capernaum for about a year, using it as His home base. When Jesus finished His parables He went to His hometown of Nazareth (v. 53). Upon arriving there He taught the people in the synagogue. The people were impressed by His powers a …