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1 On that day, Jesus left the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such a large crowd gathered around him that he had to move and sit in a boat while the crowd stood on shore. 3 He taught them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow seeds. 4 As he was sowing, some seed fell on the road, and the birds came and devoured it. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where there was not much soil. Because the soil was not deep, the seed sprouted right away. 6 When the sun was high, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have deep roots. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked the plants. 8 Other seed fell on good ground, where it yielded fruit. Some plants yielded one hundred-fold, others sixty-fold, and others thirty-fold. 9 Whoever has ears ought to listen.”

10 His disciples came to him and said, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered them and said, “Because to you it has been granted to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven. It has not been granted to them. 12 To whomever has, more will be given until they are overflowing. 13 Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away. 14 This is why I speak to them in parables: They see but do not perceive. They hear, but do not listen or understand. They fulfil Isaiah’s prophecy that says: Your hearing hears but does not comprehend. Your seeing sees but does not perceive. 15 The hearts of this people have grown dull. They hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. So they cannot listen with their ears or perceive with their eyes or understand with their hearts, and they cannot return to me so I can heal them.

Comments

The third teaching section in Mt is called the Parabolic Discourse, because it contains seven parables. Jesus leaves the house he is staying in (traditionally though to be the house of Simon Peter in the seaside village of Capernaum) and gets in a boat to address the large crowd that has gathered on the shore to hear him speak. He teaches them in parables (Greek parabole, which translates the Hebrew mashal, any saying that uses poetic or figurative language to convey wisdom or provoke thought). When his disciples ask him why he teaches in parables, he answers with the LXX form of Is 6.9-10. Jesus speaks in figurative language because understanding him requires an initial movement of faith: the belief that his words are worth understanding, and that it worthwhile to ponder and engage with his message. Those who do this will find the truth in his words, and those who do not will get nothing. To whomever has [faith and understanding], more will be given.