Testimonia — Early Christian Bible Commentary

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Matthew 13

1On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside.

2Great multitudes gathered to him, so that he entered into a boat and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach.

3He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow.

4As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.

5Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.

6When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.

7Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.

8Others fell on good soil and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

9He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

10The disciples came, and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

11He answered them, “To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it is not given to them.

12For whoever has, to him will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever doesn’t have, from him will be taken away even that which he has.

13Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they don’t see, and hearing, they don’t hear, neither do they understand.

14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says, ‘By hearing you will hear, and will in no way understand; Seeing you will see, and will in no way perceive;

15for this people’s heart has grown callous, their ears are dull of hearing, and they have closed their eyes; or else perhaps they might perceive with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their heart, and would turn again, and I would heal them.’

16“But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear.

17For most certainly I tell you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see the things which you see, and didn’t see them; and to hear the things which you hear, and didn’t hear them.

18“Hear, then, the parable of the farmer.

19When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside.

20What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately with joy receives it;

21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

22What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.

23What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”

24He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,

25but while people slept, his enemy came and sowed darnel weeds also among the wheat, and went away.

26But when the blade sprang up and produced grain, then the darnel weeds appeared also.

27The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’

28“He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ “The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and gather them up?’

29“But he said, ‘No, lest perhaps while you gather up the darnel weeds, you root up the wheat with them.

30Let both grow together until the harvest, and in the harvest time I will tell the reapers, “First, gather up the darnel weeds, and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

31He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a grain of mustard seed which a man took, and sowed in his field,

32which indeed is smaller than all seeds. But when it is grown, it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches.”

33He spoke another parable to them. “The Kingdom of Heaven is like yeast which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal, until it was all leavened.”

34Jesus spoke all these things in parables to the multitudes; and without a parable, he didn’t speak to them,

35that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world.”

36Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”

37He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

38the field is the world, the good seeds are the children of the Kingdom, and the darnel weeds are the children of the evil one.

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

40As therefore the darnel weeds are gathered up and burned with fire; so will it be at the end of this age.

41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling and those who do iniquity,

42and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

43Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the Kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

44“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid. In his joy, he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

45“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a merchant seeking fine pearls,

46who having found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had and bought it.

47“Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some fish of every kind,

48which, when it was filled, fishermen drew up on the beach. They sat down and gathered the good into containers, but the bad they threw away.

49So it will be in the end of the world. The angels will come and separate the wicked from among the righteous,

50and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

51Jesus said to them, “Have you understood all these things?” They answered him, “Yes, Lord.”

52He said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been made a disciple in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who is a householder, who brings out of his treasure new and old things.”

53When Jesus had finished these parables, he departed from there.

54Coming into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

55Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?

56Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?”

57They were offended by him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.”

58He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Early Christian commentary

c. 153–157 AD (date debated) | Justin Martyr

And with regard to our not swearing at all, and always speaking the truth, He enjoined as follows: "Swear not at all; but let your yea be yea, and your nay, nay; for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." And that we ought to worship God alone, He thus persuaded us: "The greatest commandment is, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve, with all thy heart, and with all thy strength, the Lord God that made thee." And when a certain man came to Him and said, "Good Master," He answered and said, "There is none good but God only, who made all things." And let those who are not found living as He taught, be understood to be no Christians, even though they profess with the lip the precepts of Christ; for not those who make profession, but those who do the works, shall be saved, according to His word: "Not every one who saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. For whosoever heareth me, and doeth my sayings, heareth Him that sent me. And many will say unto me, Lord, Lord, have we not eaten and drunk in Thy name, and done wonders? And then will I say unto them, Depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. Then shall there be wailing and gnashing of teeth, when the righteous shall shine as the sun, and the wicked are sent into everlasting fire. For many shall come in my name, clothed outwardly in sheep's clothing, but inwardly being ravening wolves. By their works ye shall know them. And every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down and cast into the fire." And as to those who are not living pursuant to these His teachings, and are Christians only in name, we demand that all such be punished by you.

Verse mention · The First Apology, Chapter 16 · Original source · Justin Martyr; translated by Marcus Dods; T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1870. Historical transcription supplied by Wikisource contributors. · Licence · Source revision · Whitespace normalized; source pagination and footnote reference markers removed. English wording unchanged.

c. 182–188 AD (historical editorial dating) | Irenaeus of Lyons

1. This truth, therefore, [he declares], in order that we may not reject the engrafting of the Spirit while pampering the flesh. "But thou, being a wild olive-tree," he says, "hast been grafted into the good olive-tree, and been made a partaker of the fatness of the olive-tree." As, therefore, when the wild olive has been engrafted, if it remain in its former condition, viz. a wild olive, it is "cut off, and cast into the fire;" but if it takes kindly to the graft, and is changed into the good olive-tree, it becomes a fruit-bearing olive, planted, as it were, in a king's park (paradiso): so likewise men, if they do truly progress by faith towards better things, and receive the Spirit of God, and bring forth the fruit thereof, shall be spiritual, as being planted in the paradise of God. But if they cast out the Spirit, and remain in their former condition, desirous of being of the flesh rather than of the Spirit, then it is very justly said with regard to men of this stamp, "That flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God;" just as if any one were to say that the wild olive is not received into the paradise of God. Admirably therefore does the apostle exhibit our nature, and God's universal appointment, in his discourse about flesh and blood and the wild olive. For as the good olive, if neglected for a certain time, if left to grow wild and to run to wood, does itself become a wild olive; or again, if the wild olive be carefully tended and grafted, it naturally reverts to its former fruit-bearing condition: so men also, when they become careless, and bring forth for fruit the lusts of the flesh like woody produce, are rendered, by their own fault, unfruitful in righteousness. For when men sleep, the enemy sows the material of tares; and for this cause did the Lord command His disciples to be on the watch. And again, those persons who are not bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, and are, as it were, covered over and lost among brambles, if they use diligence, and receive the word of God as a graft, arrive at the pristine nature of man—that which was created after the image and likeness of God.

Verse mention · Against Heresies, Book V, Chapter 10, section 1 · Original source · Irenaeus of Lyons; The Writings of Irenaeus, Volume II, Ante-Nicene Christian Library IX; translated by Alexander Roberts and W. H. Rambaut; T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh, 1869. Existing transcription supplied by Wikisource contributors. · Licence · Source revision · Whitespace normalized; source pagination and footnote reference markers removed. English wording unchanged.