1556 | MattheW 12:46
Jesus ’ Mother and Brothers
12:46-50pp — Mk 3:31-35 ; Lk 8:19-21
46
While Jesus was still talk ing to the crowd , his moth er and broth ers stood out side , want ing to speak to him . 47 Some one told him , “ Your moth er and broth ers are stand ing out side , want ing to speak to you .”
48
He re plied to him , “ Who is my moth er , and who are my broth ers ?” 49 Point ing to his dis ci ples , he said , “ Here are my moth er and my broth ers .
50
For who ev er does the will of my Fa ther in heav en is my broth er and sis ter and moth er .”
The Parable of the Sower
13:1-15pp — Mk 4:1-12 ; Lk 8:4-10 13:16,17pp — Lk 10:23,24 13:18-23pp — Mk 4:13-20 ; Lk 8:11-15
13
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake . 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it , while all the peo ple stood on the shore . 3 Then he told them many things in par a bles , say ing : “ A farm er went out to sow his seed . 4 As he was scatter ing the seed , some fell along the path , and the birds came and ate it up . 5 Some fell on rocky plac es , where it did not have much soil . It sprang up quickly , be cause the soil was shal low . 6 But when the sun came up , the plants were scorched , and they with ered be cause they had no root . 7 Oth er seed fell among thorns , which grew up and choked the pro duced a crop — a hun dred , six ty or thir ty times what was sown . 9 Who ev er has ears , let them hear .”
10
The dis ci ples came to him and asked , “ Why do you speak to the peo ple in par a bles ?”
11
He re plied , “ Be cause the knowl edge of the secrets of the king dom of heav en has been giv en to you , but not to them . 12 Who ever has will be giv en more , and they will have an abun dance . Who ever does not have , even what they have will be tak en from them . 13 This is why I speak to them in par a bles :
“ Though seeing , they do not see ; though hearing , they do not hear or understand .
14
In them is ful filled the proph e cy of Isa iah :
“ ‘ You will be ever hearing but never understanding ; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving .
15
For this people ’ s heart has become calloused ; they hardly hear with their ears , and they have closed their eyes .
Otherwise they might see with their eyes , hear with their ears , understand with their hearts and turn , and I would heal them .’ a
16
But blessed are your eyes be cause they see , and your ears be cause they hear . 17 For tru ly I tell you , many proph ets and righ teous peo ple longed to see what you see but did not see it , and to hear what you hear but did not hear it . plants . 8 Still oth er seed fell on good soil , where it a
15 Isaiah 6:9,10 ( see Septuagint ) even more vulnerable to the forces of darkness . This could also refer to the fall of Jerusalem , which occurred 35 – 40 years after Jesus ’ ministry ( AD 70 ).
12:46 – 50 Jesus ’ direct opposition to the religious establishment of his day drew the attention and concern of his family . Here , Jesus defines his extended family as those who do the will of his heavenly Father .
12:46 mother and brothers Jesus ’ earthly father , Joseph , is not mentioned in any of the Gospels after the trip to Jerusalem when Jesus was 12 ( Lk 2:41 – 51 ). His absence might indicate that he had died . 12:50 my brother and sister and mother Jesus is not negating the importance of the natural family , but he is emphasizing the greater importance of the spiritual family . Commitment to Jesus and his cause is a higher loyalty than familial loyalty .
13:1 – 9 Matthew 13 consists of eight parables . The first — the parable of the sower — describes four different responses to the message of the kingdom of heaven that Jesus and his disciples preach . Jesus interprets the parable in vv . 18 – 23 . See the table “ Parables of Jesus ” on p . 1584 .
13:1 sat See note on 5:1 . by the lake The Sea of Galilee . 13:2 got into a boat Jesus may have gone out on the water a short distance to improve people ’ s ability to hear him — sound travels better over the water . 13:3 parables In his parables , Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven , or certain aspects of it , to common situations of his day ( such as farming and fishing ). 13:5 rocky places Not loose stones in the soil , but ground with a shelf of bedrock close to the surface . The soil above the bedrock warms quickly , so seeds readily sprout , but the shallow soil cannot sustain growth . 13:8 a hundred An extraordinary harvest . A tenfold harvest would have been considered a good crop .
13:10 – 17 The disciples ask Jesus why he speaks in parables . He responds by quoting the OT and drawing a comparison between his ministry and Isaiah ’ s .
13:12 Whoever has Refers to those who have been given understanding regarding the kingdom of heaven and Jesus ’ message . what they have will be taken Those who do not have understanding about the kingdom of heaven have nothing of value because the kingdom of heaven is the only thing of lasting value ( compare 13:45 – 46 ; 25:29 ). 13:13 I speak to them in parables Rabbis used parables for illustrative purposes and typically provided an explanation . Jesus , however , did not always offer an interpretation . His followers likely viewed some of his parables as riddles rather than illustrations . seeing , they do not see An allusion to Isa 6:9 . Just as Israel rejected Isaiah ’ s message then , so Israel rejects Jesus ’ message now . 13:14 prophecy of Isaiah Introduces Jesus ’ quotation of Isa 6:9 – 10 as it appears in the Septuagint ( the Greek