(Mark 4:1–9; Luke 8:4–8)
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And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea,
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and gathered together to Him were many multitudes, so that He having gone into the boat sat down, and all the multitude on the beach stood,
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and He spoke to them many things in allegories, saying, “Behold, the sower went forth to sow,
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and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the birds having come, devoured them,
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and others fell on the rocky places where they did not have much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through having no depth of earth,
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and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through having no root, they withered,
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and others fell on the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them,
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and others fell on the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.
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He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.”
The Purpose of Jesus’ Parables
(Isaiah 6:1–13; Mark 4:10–12; Luke 8:9–10)
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And the disciples having come near, said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in allegories?”
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And He answering said to them that, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of the heavens, and to these it has not been given,
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for whoever has, it will be given to him, and he will have overabundance, and whoever has not, even that which he has will be taken from him.
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Because of this, in allegories I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand,
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and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah that says, With hearing you will hear, and you will not understand, and seeing you will see, and you will not perceive,
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for the heart of this people was made obtuse, and with the ears they barely heard, and they closed their eyes, lest they might see with the eyes, and might hear with the ears, and understand with the heart, and turn back, and I might heal them.
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And blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,
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for truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see that which you look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which you hear, and they did not hear.
The Parable of the Sower Explained
(Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11–15)
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You, therefore, hear the allegory of the sower:
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Everyone hearing the word of the kingdom, and not understanding—the evil one comes, and snatches that which has been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way.
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And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it,
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and he has no root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled.
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And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, chokes the word, and it becomes unfruitful.
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And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed bears fruit, and makes, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.”
The Parable of the Weeds
(Ezekiel 17:1–10)
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Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens was likened to a man sowing good seed in his field,
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and while men are sleeping, his enemy came and sowed darnel in the midst of the wheat, and went away,
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and when the herb sprang up, and yielded fruit, then appeared also the darnel.
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And the servants of the householder, having come near, said to him, Lord, did you not sow good seed in your field? From where then does it have the darnel?
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And he says to them, A man, an enemy, did this; and the servants said to him, Will you, then, [that] having gone away we may gather it up?
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And he said, No, lest—gathering up the darnel—you root up with it the wheat;
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permit both to grow together until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather up first the darnel, and bind it in bundles, to burn it, and the wheat gather up into my storehouse.”
The Parable of the Mustard Seed
(Mark 4:30–34; Luke 13:18–19)
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Another allegory He set before them, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens is like to a grain of mustard, which a man having taken, sowed in his field,
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which less, indeed, is than all the seeds, but when it may be grown, is greatest of the herbs, and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the sky come and rest in its branches.”
The Parable of the Leaven
(Luke 13:20–21)
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Another allegory He spoke to them: “The kingdom of the heavens is like to leaven, which a woman having taken, hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened.”
I Will Open My Mouth in Parables
(Psalm 78:1–72)
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All these things Jesus spoke in allegories to the multitudes, and without an allegory He was not speaking to them,
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that it might be fulfilled that was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open in allegories My mouth, || I will utter things having been hidden from the foundation of the world.”
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
(Zephaniah 1:1–6)
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Then having let away the multitudes, Jesus came into the house, and His disciples came near to Him, saying, “Explain to us the allegory of the darnel of the field.”
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And He answering said to them, “He who is sowing the good seed is the Son of Man,
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and the field is the world, and the good seed, these are the sons of the kingdom, and the darnel are the sons of the evil one,
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and the enemy who sowed them is the Devil, and the harvest is [the] full end of the age, and the reapers are messengers.
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As, then, the darnel is gathered up, and is burned with fire, so will it be in the full end of this age;
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the Son of Man will send forth His messengers, and they will gather up out of His kingdom all the stumbling-blocks, and those doing the lawlessness,
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and will cast them into the furnace of the fire; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.
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Then will the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.
The Parables of the Treasure and the Pearl
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Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to treasure hid in the field, which a man having found, hid, and from his joy goes, and all, as much as he has, he sells, and buys that field.
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Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to a man, a merchant, seeking good pearls,
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who having found one pearl of great price, having gone away, has sold all, as much as he had, and bought it.
The Parable of the Net
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Again, the kingdom of the heavens is like to a net that was cast into the sea, and gathered together of every kind,
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which, when it was filled, having drawn up again on the beach, and having sat down, they gathered the good into vessels, and the bad they cast out,
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so will it be in the full end of the age, the messengers will come forth and separate the evil out of the midst of the righteous,
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and will cast them into the furnace of the fire; there will be the weeping and the gnashing of the teeth.”
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Jesus says to them, “Did you understand all these?” They say to Him, “Yes, Lord.”
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And He said to them, “Because of this, every scribe having been discipled in regard to the kingdom of the heavens is like to a man, a householder, who brings forth out of his treasure things new and old.”
The Rejection at Nazareth
(Mark 6:1–6; Luke 4:16–30)
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And it came to pass, when Jesus finished these allegories, He removed from there,
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and having come to His own country, He was teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and were saying, “From where to this One this wisdom and the mighty works?
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Is this not the carpenter’s Son? Is His mother not called Mary, and His brothers James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
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And His sisters—are they not all with us? From where, then, to this One all these?”
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And they were stumbled at Him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, and in his own house”:
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and He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
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