Those who have watched the hauling in of the great seine net on our shores, the rapid sorting of its contents, the throwing of the bad away, and the noisy auction on the sands, will fully realize every point of our Lord's illustration. The net represents the gospel message, the good news of God the Saviour. It is like a net; it will catch and hold men. Put into words it is this: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Jesus "is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him." The gospel net is given in charge to the Church. The Church must work freely and constantly at casting the net in the wide sweep of the sea of humanity.

I. THE GOSPEL NET ENCLOSES ALL SORTS OF PEOPLE. From all sorts of motives, and with very different degrees of earnestness and sincerity, men accept the gospel message, and make Christian profession. Several parables teach that the Church is a very mixed body. Mere standing in a Church is no more guarantee of acceptance with Christ than presence in the net shows the goodness of the fish.

II. THE PEOPLE CANNOT BE SORTED WHILE THEY ARE IN THE NET. Some of the fish would escape if sorting were attempted while the net was being dragged through the water. Illustrate from the parable of the tares.

III. WHEN THE NET IS DRAWN ASHORE SORTING WORK CAN BE DONE. A revealing day, a testing day, must come for us all. But no imperfect human judgment will do the great sorting work. God himself will superintend the severing of the righteous from the wicked. We will not venture to describe the wicked. We can safely describe the good. They are such as

(1) receive Christ with meekness;

(2) bring forth the fruits of righteousness;

(3) patiently continue in well doing.

So Christ's gospel, like a great net, is to be sent out into all the world, that it may, if possible, gather all men in. So the contents of the gospel net, when gathered in at last, will need, and will receive, a final sifting. - R.T.

I. THE NATURE OF THE GROUND.

1. Stony ground wants breaking up. These persons enter into a profession of religion before their hearts are thoroughly broken in the sense of sin.

2. Stony ground is cold; what colder than a stone? These persons are without spiritual warmth.

3. Their hearts may be compared to stony ground from the heaviness or lumpishness of their spirits. These hearts are heavy and not soon removed out of their evil course.

4. Stony ground doth not drink in the rain that falls from heaven.

5. All the hearts of men are naturally hard.

6. Stony ground seems to be the fruit of the curse for man's sin. So these persons seem still to be under the curse.

7. Stony ground by reason of the little earth that is found there, never brings forth fruit to perfection. So these persons only bring forth the externals of religion.

8. Stony ground, when the sun rises high and begins to shine hot upon it, the scorching beams thereof soon causes the blade to wither away.

II. THE SUCCESS OF THE SEED. Stony or hard hearted hearers may go a great way in the profession of religion.

1. They may hear the Word of God with diligence.

2. They may be zealous hearers.

3. They may receive the Word into their hearts.

4. They receive it with joy.

5. They believe for a while.

6. They may yield obedience to all external duties.

7. They may become members of a visible church.

8. They may leave all gross acts of sin.

9. They may have some inward joy as to the hopes they have of heaven.Why they go so far?

1. From the common illuminations of God's Word and Spirit.

2. Because a temporary faith is not wholly without product.

3. It may arise from regard for some ministers.

4. Self-respect and honour may cause them to go so far.

5. It may be self-profit.

6. It may arise from that seeming sweetness and satisfaction they meet with from within themselves whilst they continue in the profession of religion.

7. It may be from a natural desire of being saved.

8. It may be from the shame and reproach which are attached to open wickedness.From whence it arises that these hearers go no further:

1. It may arise from the great ignorance that is in them.

2. It ariseth from the unsoundness of their hearts, the ground is not good.

3. It ariseth from the deceitfulness of their hearts.

4. They go no further because of their pride.

5. Because they had no vital but artificial principle ill them.

6. Because there is some secret sin hid in their hearts.

(B. Keach.)

I. As TO THE EVIL OF THE CAUSE THAT PRODUCES SUCH EVIL EFFECTS.

1. The principal cause is the stoniness of their hearts.

2. Privative cause.

(1)Want of moisture.

(2)Want of earth.

(3)Want of taking root.

II. THE BADNESS OF THOSE EFFECTS THAT PROCEED FROM SUCH EVIL CAUSES.

1. Barrenness.

2. Another effect that attends these professors is earthliness.

3. Lukewarmness in religious duties.

4. Pride.

5. Uncharitableness.

6. Contention.

7. Inconstancy.

8. Apostacy.

(1)In judgment.

(2)In affection.

(3)In practice.

(4)In respect of means.

III. THE DANGER AND FEARFUL CONDITION OF SUCH THAT WITHER

1. They disappoint God of His expectation.

2. These persons are hateful to God, as they seem to declare to all the world that there is not that good to be found in God which the Word and ministers do affirm.

3. They bring scandal upon the Church.

4. In respect of the world these men's sin and danger is also aggravated.

5. In respect to the sin itself, none is more odious and dangerous. Relapse more dangerous than the disease.

6. This sin of withering is generally punished with other sins,

(1)with blindness of mind;

(2)with judicial hardness of heart;

(3)with a seared conscience;

(4)with final impenitence.

7. How may it be known that a man is withering?

1. Self-confidence.

2. When he cannot bear a searching doctrine.

3. When his conscience is not so tender as it was.

4. When a man's prayers are short.

5. When he cannot stand in the hour of temptation.

6. Deadness of spirit.

(B. Keach.)

This man's faith has five stages:

1. He knows the Word.

2. He assents to it.

3. He professes it.

4. He rejoices inwardly in it.

5. He brings forth some kind of fruit; and yet. for all this, hath no more fruit in him than a faith that will fail in the end; because he wants the effectual application of the promise of the gospel, and is without all manner of sound conversation.This faith is like corn on the housetop, which grows for a while; but, when the heat of summer comes, it withers.

(W. Perkins).

There is deep knowledge of human nature and exquisite fidelity to truth in the single touch by which the impression of religion on them is described. The seed sprang up quickly; and then withered away as quickly, because it had no depth of root. There is a quick, easily-moved susceptibility, that rapidly exhibits the slightest breath of those emotions which play upon the surface of the soul, and then as rapidly passes off. In such persons words are ever at command — voluble and impassioned words. Tears flow readily. The expressive features exhibit every passing shade of thought. Every thought and every feeling plays upon the surface — everything that is sown springs up at once with vehement vegetation. But slightness and inconstancy go together with violence. "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." True; but also out of the emptiness of the heart the mouth can speak even more volubly. He who can always find the word which is appropriate and adequate to his emotion,, is not the man whose emotions are deepest'; warmth of feeling is one thing — permanence is another.

(F. W. Robertson.)

You meet with such persons in life. There is nothing deep about them — all they do and all they have is on the surface. The superficial servant's work is done: but lazily, partially — not thoroughly. The superficial workman's labour will not bear looking into — but it bears a showy outside. The very dress of such persons betrays the slatternly, incomplete character of their minds. When religion comes in contact with persons of this stamp, it shares the fate of everything else.

(F. W. Robertson.)

Beneath the light thin surface of easily stirred dust lies the bed of rock. The shallow ground was stony ground. And it is among the children of light enjoyment and unsettled life that we must look for stony heartlessness — not in the world of business — not among the poor, crushed to the earth by privation and suffering. These harden the character, but often leave the heart soft. If you wish to know what hollowness and heartlessness are, you must seek for them in the world of light, elegant, superficial Fashion — where frivolity has turned the heart into a rockbed of selfishness. Say what men will of the heartlessness of Trade, it is nothing compared with the heartlessness of Fashion. Say what they will of the atheism of Science, it is nothing to the atheism of that round of pleasure in which many a heart lives: dead while it lives.

(F. W. Robertson).

Among the affections, when they are warm and newly stirred, the seed speedily springs.

(W. Arnot.)

Do not keep Christ on the surface; let Him possess the centre, and thence direct all the circumference of your life.

(W. Arnot.)

The marked antithesis between the immediate reception and the immediate rejection is to be carefully observed. That which is hasty is not lasting. Grace, in almost every case, is slow and progressive; for, in the human heart, it has much to contend against; and God treats us as free agents, putting no force on any man's will,

(J. Ford,)

Esaias, Isaiah, James, Jesus, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Mary, SimonNazareth, Sea of GalileeAloud, Cast, Cries, Fiery, Fire, Furnace, Gnash, Gnashing, Sorrow, Teeth, Throw, Wailing, Weep, Weeping1. The parable of the sower and the seed;
18. the explanation of it.
24. The parable of the weeds;
31. of the mustard seed;
33. of the leaven;
36. explanation of the parable of the weeds.
44. The parable of the hidden treasure;
45. of the pearl;
47. of the drag net cast into the sea.
53. Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country.

Matthew 13:50

     5189   teeth
     5321   furnace

Matthew 13:1-52

     2345   Christ, kingdom of

Matthew 13:31-52

     2357   Christ, parables

Matthew 13:36-50

     5438   parables

Matthew 13:44-50

     2377   kingdom of God, entry into

Matthew 13:47-50

     2309   Christ, as judge
     4915   completion
     8341   separation

Matthew 13:49-50

     4113   angels, agents of judgment
     9155   millennium

Toleration
(Preached at Christ Church, Marylebone, 1867, for the Bishop of London's Fund.) MATTHEW xiii. 24-30. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the household came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons

'To Him that Hath Shall be Given'
'Whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.'-- MATT. xiii. 12. There are several instances in the Gospels of our Lord's repetition of sayings which seem to have been, if we may use the expression, favourites with Him; as, for instance, 'There are first which shall be last, and there are last which shall be first'; or, again, 'The servant is not greater than his master, nor the disciple than his lord.' …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Leaven
'The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and bid to three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.'--MATT. xiii. 33. How lovingly and meditatively Jesus looked upon homely life, knowing nothing of the differences, the vulgar differences, between the small and great! A poor woman, with her morsel of barm, kneading it up among three measures of meal, in some coarse earthenware pan, stands to Him as representing the whole process of His work in the world. Matthew brings …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ears and no Ears
'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.--MATT. xiii. 8. This saying was frequently on our Lord's lips, and that in very various connections. He sometimes, as in the instance before us, appended it to teaching which, from its parabolic form, required attention to disentangle the spiritual truth implied. He sometimes used it to commend some strange, new revolutionary teaching to men's investigation--as, for instance, after that great declaration of the nullity of ceremonial worship, how that nothing …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Seeing and Blind
'They seeing, see not.'--MATT. xiii, 13. This is true about all the senses of the word 'seeing'; there is not one man in ten thousand who sees the things before his eyes. Is not this the distinction, for instance, of the poet or painter, and man of science--just that they do see? How true is this about the eye of the mind, what a small number really understand what they know! But these illustrations are of less moment than the saddest example--religious indifference. I wish to speak about this now, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Four Sowings and one Ripening
'The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 2. And great multitudes were gathered together unto Him, so that He went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 8. And He spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 6. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Mingled in Growth, Separated in Maturity
'Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: 25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. 26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. 27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? 28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Treasure and Pearl
The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: 46. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.'--MATT. xiii. 44-46. In this couple of parables, which are twins, and must be taken together, our Lord utilises two very familiar facts …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xiii. 19, Etc. , Where the Lord Jesus Explaineth the Parables of the Sower.
1. Both yesterday and to-day ye have heard the parables of the sower, in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do ye who were present yesterday, recollect to-day. Yesterday we read of that sower, who when he scattered seed, "some fell by the way side," [2507] which the birds picked up; "some in stony places," which dried up from the heat; "some among thorns, which were choked," and could not bring forth fruit; and "other some into good ground, and it brought forth fruit, a hundred, sixty, thirty fold." …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xiii. 52, "Therefore Every Scribe who Hath Been Made a Disciple to the Kingdom of Heaven," Etc.
1. The lesson of the Gospel reminds me to seek out, and to explain to you, Beloved, as the Lord shall give me power, who is "that Scribe instructed in the kingdom of God, who is "like unto an householder bringing out of his treasure things new and old." [2524] For here the lesson ended. "What are the new and old things of an instructed Scribe?" Now it is well known who they were, whom the ancients, after the custom of our Scriptures, called Scribes, those, namely, who professed the knowledge of the …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament

Sown among Thorns
WHEN that which comes of his sowing is unfruitful, the sower's work is wasted: he has spent his strength for nothing. Without fruit the sower's work would even seem to be insane, for he takes good wheat, throws it away, and loses it in the ground. Preaching is the most idle of occupations if the Word is not adapted to enter the heart, and produce good results. O my hearers, if you are not converted, I waste time and energy in standing here! People might well think it madness that one whole day in …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

The Parable of the Tares, by Bishop Latimer, Preached on the 7Th of February, 1553.
MATTHEW XIII.--The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way, &c. This is a parable or similitude wherein our Saviour compared the kingdom of God, that is, the preaching of his word, wherein consisteth the salvation of mankind, unto a husbandman who sowed good seed in his field. But before we come unto the matter, you shall first learn to understand what this word parable, which …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.

A Man Reaps More than He Sows.
A MAN REAPS MORE THAN HE SOWS. "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."--Matt. xiii: 8. If I sow a bushel, I expect to reap ten or twenty bushels. I can sow in one day what will take ten men to reap. The Spaniards have this proverb: "Sow a thought and reap an act. Sow an act, and reap a habit. Sow a habit, and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny." And it takes a longer time to reap than to sow. I have heard …
Dwight L. Moody—Sowing and Reaping

The Christian Society
Scripture references: Matthew 13:31-33; 5:21-24; Mark 8:1-9; John 2:1-11; Luke 5:29; 14:13; 1 Peter 2:17; Galatians 6:9; Matthew 11:28-30; 12:50; Luke 15:5,6,8-10; John 17:11-15; Luke 5:29,30; Mark 1:28-33; Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:13-15. THE SOCIAL CIRCLE The Word Society is used to designate the set of people with whom we are on more intimate terms of acquaintanceship--whom we call friends--and those whom we do not know so well, and whom we call acquaintances. The term society may also have other …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian

The First Great Group of Parables.
(Beside the Sea of Galilee.) Subdivision A. Introduction. ^A Matt. XIII. 1-3; ^B Mark IV. 1, 2; ^C Luke VIII. 4. ^a 1 On that day went Jesus out of the house [It is possible that Matthew here refers to the house mentioned at Mark iii. 19. If so, the events in Sections XLVIII.-LVI. all occurred on the same day. There are several indications in the gospel narratives that this is so], and sat by the sea side. ^b 1 And again he began again to teach by the sea side. [By the Sea of Galilee.] And there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Jesus visits Nazareth and is Rejected.
^A Matt. XIII. 54-58; ^B Mark VI. 1-6; ^C Luke IV. 16-31. ^b 1 And he went out from thence [from Capernaum] ; and he cometh { ^a And coming} ^b into his own country; and his disciples follow him. ^c 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up [As to this city, see pages 14 and 55. As to the early years of Jesus at Nazareth, see page 60]: ^b 2 And when the sabbath was come ^c he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. [This does not mean …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

New Teaching in Parables' - the Parables to the People by the Lake of Galilee, and those to the Disciples in Capernaum
We are once more with Jesus and His disciples by the Lake of Galilee. We love to think that it was in the early morning, when the light laid its golden shadows on the still waters, and the fresh air, untainted by man, was fragrant of earth's morning sacrifice, when no voice of human discord marred the restfulness of holy silence, nor broke the Psalm of Nature's praise. It was a spring morning too, and of such spring-time as only the East, and chiefly the Galilean Lake, knows - nor of mingled sunshine …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

Infancy and Youth of Jesus --His First Impressions.
Jesus was born at Nazareth,[1] a small town of Galilee, which before his time had no celebrity.[2] All his life he was designated by the name of "the Nazarene,"[3] and it is only by a rather embarrassed and round-about way,[4] that, in the legends respecting him, he is made to be born at Bethlehem. We shall see later[5] the motive for this supposition, and how it was the necessary consequence of the Messianic character attributed to Jesus.[6] The precise date of his birth is unknown. It took place …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus

The Leaven.
"Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened."--MATT. xiii. 33. In the mustard-seed we saw the kingdom growing great by its inherent vitality; in the leaven we see it growing great by a contagious influence. There, the increase was attained by development from within; here, by acquisitions from without. It is not that there are two distinct ways in which the Gospel may gain complete …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

The Hidden Treasure.
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field."--MATT. xiii. 44. These two parables, the hidden treasure and the costly pearl, are even more closely allied to each other than the two which precede them. Generically they teach the same truth; but they teach it with distinct specific differences. It will be most convenient to notice in connection with the first, …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son.
LUKE xv. The three parables of this chapter, like the seven in Matt. xiii., constitute a connected series. As soon as we begin to look into their contents and relations, it becomes obvious that they have been arranged according to a logical scheme, and that the group so framed is not fragmentary but complete. We cannot indeed fully comprehend the reciprocal relations of all until we shall have examined in detail the actual contents of each; and yet, on the other hand, a preliminary survey of the …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

The Group in Matt. xiii.
"The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables."--MATT. xiii. 1-3. In Matthew's narrative, the first specimen of that peculiar pictorial method which characterized the teaching of our Lord, is not an isolated parable occurring in the midst of a miscellaneous discourse, but a group of seven presented …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

The Sower.
"The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord

Matthew 13:50 NIV
Matthew 13:50 NLT
Matthew 13:50 ESV
Matthew 13:50 NASB
Matthew 13:50 KJV

Matthew 13:50 Bible Apps
Matthew 13:50 Parallel
Matthew 13:50 Biblia Paralela
Matthew 13:50 Chinese Bible
Matthew 13:50 French Bible
Matthew 13:50 German Bible

Matthew 13:50 Commentaries

Bible Hub