Matthew 13:25-58 ▼

25 While people were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away.

26 When the crop came up and bore grain, the weeds appeared, too.

27 |The owner's servants came and asked him, 'Master, you sowed good seed in your field, didn't you? Then where did these weeds come from?'

28 |He told them, 'An enemy did this!' |The servants asked him, 'Do you want us to go and pull them out?'

29 |He said, 'No! If you pull out the weeds, you might pull out the wheat with them.

30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, |Gather the weeds first and tie them in bundles for burning, but bring the wheat into my barn.|'|

31 He presented another parable to them, saying, |The kingdom from heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and planted in his field.

32 Although it is the smallest of all seeds, when it is fully grown it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, and the birds in the sky come and nest in its branches.|

33 He told them another parable: |The kingdom from heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of flour until all of it was leavened.|

34 Jesus told the crowds all these things in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was declared by the prophet when he said, |I will open my mouth to speak in parables. I will declare what has been hidden since the creation of the world.|

36 Then Jesus left the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to him and asked, |Explain to us the parable about the weeds in the field.|

37 He answered, |The person who sowed good seed is the Son of Man,

38 while the field is the world. The good seed are those who belong to the kingdom, while the weeds are those who belong to the evil one.

39 The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

40 Just as weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at end of the age.

41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather from his kingdom everything that causes others to sin and those who practice lawlessness

42 and they will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in their Father's kingdom. Let the person who has ears listen!|

44 |The kingdom from heaven is like treasure hidden in a field that a man found and hid. In his excitement he went and sold everything he had and bought that field.|

45 |Again, the kingdom from heaven is like a merchant searching for fine pearls.

46 When he found a very valuable pearl, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.|

47 |Again, the kingdom from heaven is like a large net thrown into the sea that gathered all kinds of fish.

48 When it was full, the fishermen hauled it ashore. Then they sat down, sorted the good fish into containers, and threw the bad ones away.

49 That is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will go out, cull out the evil people from among the righteous ones,

50 and will throw them into a blazing furnace. In that place there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.|

51 |Do you understand all these things?| They told him, |Yes.|

52 Then he told them, |That is why every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom from heaven is like the master of a household who brings both new and old things out of his treasure chest.|

53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he left that place.

54 He went to his hometown and began teaching the people in their synagogue in such a way that they were amazed and asked, |Where did this man get this wisdom and these miracles?

55 This is the builder's son, isn't it? His mother is named Mary, isn't she? His brothers are James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, aren't they?

56 And his sisters are all with us, aren't they? So where did this man get all these things?|

57 And they were offended by him. But Jesus told them, |A prophet is without honor only in his hometown and in his own home.|

58 He did not perform many miracles there because of their unbelief.