Later
that same day Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. A large crowd soon
gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the
people stood on the shore. He told many stories in the form of parables,
such as this one:
“Listen!
A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his
field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other
seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly
because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot
sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell
among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other
seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty,
and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to
hear should listen and understand.”
His disciples came and asked him, “Why do you use parables when
you talk to the people?”
He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of
the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my
teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of
knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding
they have will be taken away from them. That is why I use these parables,
For
they look, but they don’t really see. They hear, but they don’t really listen
or understand.
This fulfills the
prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When
you hear what I say, you will not understand.
When you see
what I do, you will not comprehend.
For the hearts of these people are hardened,
and their ears cannot hear,
and they
have closed their eyes— so their eyes cannot see,
and their
ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand,
and they
cannot turn to me
and let me heal them.’
and let me heal them.’
“But blessed are your
eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. I tell you the
truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, but they
didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.
“Now listen to the explanation of the
parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the
footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t
understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was
planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who
hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t
have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have
problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell
among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the
message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so
no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents
those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty,
sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
~ Source :
Matthew 13:1-23 [Holy Bible -NLT] taken from https://www.biblegateway.com
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