Matthew 13:24 says, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:  Jesus continued to teach using parables.  There was nothing mysterious and difficult to understand when Jesus taught, and there shouldn't be when we present the gospel today.  Sometimes, we seem to want to show off our intelligence or education more than we want to present the simple message of the gospel.  We need to present the gospel in such a way that even the simplest of people can understand it.  Jesus once again referred to a man sowing his field, and we know this man represented Jesus.  Verse twenty-five says, But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.  This enemy was out to destroy the man's crop without actually killing it.  He just wanted the tares to make it hard to separate the good seed from the bad.  We know that the gospel can never be destroyed, so there are those today who would like to make it harder for the gospel to grow in the world, so they attempt to choke it out with worldly concerns, and even with false religions.  Verse twenty-six says, But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.  The good seed grew up to bear fruit, but so did the tares.  As followers of Christ, we will always be in the presence of the tares, or those things that would choke off the gospel.  There will never be a time in this world when there won't be someone who is working against the gospel, sowing those tares.  Verse twenty seven states, 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?  The servants would be us the followers of Christ. The servants asked the one who sowed if he hadn't sowed good seed.  When we see the tares of the world attempting to choke off the gospel, we really do not need to ask if the gospel is good.  We simply need to continue to grow in faith, no matter how much opposition we may meet from the world.  In verse twenty-eight Jesus answers, He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?   Jesus said that an enemy had planted the tares, and we know that the enemy of the gospel is Satan.  The servants wanted to know if they should go and gather up the tares.  It would be great if we could remove all the things that attempt to destroy the gospel from the world, but that is impossible.  Verse twenty-nine declares, But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.  Jesus tells us that the sower said no to removing the tares, because they might uproot the wheat as well.  I believe that Jesus was saying that there is no way for us to separate and destroy evil people without possibly destroying some good people as well.  Verse thirty states, Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.  Just as the sower of good seed allowed both the wheat and tares to grow until they were harvested and then first separated and destroyed the tares, so will God allow both His followers and those who deny Him to live until the time of judgment.  For most, that will be death, but for some it will be the second coming of Christ.  Verse thirty-one says, Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:  Jesus uses another parable about a man sowing, this time specifying the seed sown, a mustard seed.  Verse thirty-two says, Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.  From the smallest of seeds came the greatest of herbs.  We know this is a reference to our faith.  From the smallest of faith in Christ can come the greatest life that a person can live, and it will be of benefit to others.  Then verse thirty-three says,  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.  In this parable Jesus speaks of leavening hid in meal.  Though the leavening was small, it leavened the whole three measures of meal.  We can view this as a reference to our faith, which should affect our whole life, or our proclaiming the gospel, which can affect the whole world.  I believe that we can say that once we have accepted Christ that we should work to bring those around us to Christ, that they might be brought to a spiritual rebirth.

Matthew 13:18 says, Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.  In the next few verses, Jesus explains the parable of the shower.  I believe that He did this because those around Him did not hear by faith and understand on their own.  I also believe that anytime we are having trouble understanding what God is saying to us, if we only listen, the Holy Spireit will teach us the truth.  If we will really listen, then God will always make His truth known to us.  Verse nineteen states, When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.  Jesus tells us that anyone who hears the gospel, but allows it to simply blow over them like so many empty words, are like the seed sow by the wayside.  The wicked one, or the Devil, will be quick to snatch the truth of the gospel away from them, never even giving it a chance to take root.  Verse twenty says, But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;  Then in verse twenty-one continues, Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.  Jesus tells us that those who hear the gospel, but only accept it when things are going well, are like the seed that fell on rocky ground.  As soon as adversity comes, they turn away from the gospel, and it withers and dies for them, because it never took root in their lives.  They may have professed to believe, but it was for material reasons and not for spiritual ones.  Verse twenty-two states, He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.  Jesus said that those who hear the word among thorns are those that allow the care of the world and the deceitfulness of riches to choke the word of God and they become unfruitful.  I am not sure if we can say these people were not saved, since evidently the gospel took root, but if they were, they still allowed the things of the world to have too much importance in their lives and ceased to bear fruit for God.  Verse twenty-three says, But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  This is what we want to be as followers of Christ.  We hear and understand God's word, especially His message of salvation, and we bear fruit for Him.  Not all will bear the same amount of fruit, but all will bear fruit.

Matthew 13:10 says, And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?  The disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables.  This would have been a reasonable question.  We today may at times question why God works as He does.  This does not mean that we can refuse to allow God to work in His own way and still be true followers.  If we do question why God is working a particular way, we must be ready to hear and accept His answer.  Verse eleven states, He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.  Jesus said that He spoke in parables so that those who believed in Him could understand what He was saying, but so that those who did not believe in Him would not understand.  This does not mean that Jesus was trying to hide the truth of the gospel from some, but instead that in order to understand God's word that we must first have a personal relationship with Christ.  The meaning of the parables would be revealed to those who had accepted Christ for Who He is, and that is Savior and Lord.  We can never come to Christ by our own understanding.  Verse twelve says, For 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.  I do not believe that Jesus was referring to material things, but to the acceptance of the gospel.  Those who have accepted the gospel will have an abundance of faith, and those who will not will ultimately have everything taken away from them.  Verse thirteen states, Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.  Again, I believe that Jesus was referring to those who refused to acknowledge Him.  Many, many people today hear the word of God, but since they refuse to acknowledge Jesus as Savior and Lord, they do not understand what God's word is saying.  Verse fourteen says, And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:  Another of the prophecies of Isaiah was fulfilled by the people not understanding what they saw Jesus do or heard Him say.  This does not mean that Jesus spoke in parables just to fulfill the prophecy, but that He knew that no matter how simply, some people will never hear and understand, because they do not accept Him.  Verse fifteen declares, For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.  Jesus said the the hearts of the people in His day had grown cold, and they refused to hear what He taught.  If they had, He would have saved them.  There are many people today whose  hearts are cold to the word of God.  They refuse to accept the fact that He is the only way to salvation, and therefore cannot be saved.  Verse sixteen says, But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.  Jesus said that those who did hear and see what He did and understood and accepted His teachings were blessed.  This will always be true.  Verse seventeen declares, For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.  I believe that Jesus was saying that those prophets and righteous men who lived before He came could only live in hope of seeing the Messiah, but now He had come.  Though Jesus is not with us physically today, we can look back, if we put our faith in Him,  and know that His coming is not just a promise, but an accomplished fact.  Once we accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, then the Holy Spirit will help us to understand the teachings of Jesus more thoroughly.

Matthew 13:1 says, The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.  We are not told if Jesus actually spoke to His mother and brothers when they came requesting that He come to them.  We should never expect Jesus to come to us on demand to meet our requests, but we should always go to Him to seek His will.  We are told that later that day that Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea side.  Verse two states,  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.  The crowds were still flocking to Jesus.  If He went to the sea side to rest, it did not work.  Jesus once again went into a ship to separate Himself from the crowd.  They set on the shore close to the boat.  It would be wonderful if people had that same desire to be close to Jesus today, but even then I believe most were there simply because of the miracles Jesus was performing and not because they saw Him as the promised Messiah.  We cannot come to Jesus simply expecting earthly blessings, but must come to Him through faith that He truly is the Messiah, the Savior of mankind.  Verse three states, And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;  We are told that Jesus spoke to the crowd on the shore in parables, which have been described as earthly stories with heavenly meaning.  Though the message of salvation is simple, we must actually us our brains to understand it, and the same applies to understanding the Bible.  Jesus always has and always will make understanding His teachings simple, if we only listen and think about what He says.  The multitudes may have been there looking for miracles, but Jesus gave them the simple truth instead.  Jesus began by speaking of a sower who went out to sow.  Though He didn't say so directly, the sower in this parable was Jesus, Who was sowing the gospel to those around Him.  Verse four says, And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:  Jesus said that some of the seed fell by the wayside and were devoured.  The purpose of the sower did not change when some seed did not fall on fertile ground, just as our purpose in sowing or spreading the gospel does not change just because some do not respond or even attempt to destroy it.  Verse five states, Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:  Jesus said some seed took root and sprung up in soil not deep enough to sustain them.  Some people profess to accept the gospel, but their faith is not deep enough to sustain them when trouble comes, and they wilt away from the gospel.  It takes more than just a shallow profession of faith to live a successful Christian life.  We must be rooted deep in our faith in Christ.  Verse six says, And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.   This is what I just discussed.  Not being rooted deeply, the plants faded in the heat of the sun.  Verse seven says, And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:  I believe this means that some people hear the gospel, but because they are more concerned about those around them who oppose the gospel, they refuse to accept it.  Even in the midst of unbelievers who scorn those who follow Christ, we must always proclaim Him.  We cannot afford to allow others to prevent us from accepting Christ, but many people allow friends or family to do just that.  Verse eight declares, But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.  Some seed fell on good ground, and all brought forth fruit to varying degrees.  As followers of Christ, we are the ones the good seed fell on.  We have heard and accepted the gospel and have our lives deeply rooted in Christ.  As such, we are expected to bring forth fruit, or reach others with the gospel.  We will not all be as successful, but we must continue to sow the seed.  Verse nine warns, Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.  I believe that this means more than just physically hearing the parable, but understanding what Jesus was really saying.  As followers of Christ, the Holy Spirit will always lead us to the understanding of what God has to say to us.  We simply have to be actively listening.

Matthew 12:46 says, While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.  Though Jesus was no longer speaking to the Pharisees directly, He was continuing to speak to the common people.  Sometimes, those who consider themselves to be the religious authority of the world are the least likely to listen to Jesus, because He might threaten their authority and position in the world.  We are told that Jesus's mother and brothers came desiring to speak to Him.  I wonder how Mary and her other children felt about Jesus.  We know that Mary knew of the miraculous birth of Jesus, but what had she shared with her other sons?  For whatever reason, they were outside and wanted to speak to Jesus.  Matthew Henry points out that they should have been inside wanting to hear Jesus.  Instead, they were outside wanting to speak to Him, and interrupted His teaching to do so.  As Matthew Henry points out, sometimes those who are the closest to a person are less likely to listen to them.  Verse forty-seven states, Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.  Someone interrupted Jesus to tell Him that His mother and brothers were standing without wanting to speak with Him.  It is a wonderful thing that we do not have to have someone go to Jesus to tell Him that we would like to speak to Him.  Mary and the brothers of Jesus could have gone directly to Him and listened until He was through speaking.  Sometimes, we may feel that our desire to speak to Jesus is more important than anything else, but sometimes when we come to Him we may need to first listen to what He has to say.  It could be that Mary and the brothers of Jesus felt that what they wanted should come ahead of what anyone else needed.  We need to be careful that this isn't our attitude. In verse forty-eight Jesus asks, But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?  This was a rhetorical question basically.  Who would people say the mother and brothers of Jesus were?  I believe that Jesus was implying that they were still looking at Him in earthly terms.  Verse forty-nine states, And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!  In this statement, Jesus was speaking spiritually.  No one person is spiritually more important to Jesus than any other, no matter who they may be in the eyes of the world.  In verse fifty Jesus declares, For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.  Jesus tells us that this not only applied to His disciples, but to anyone who would accept Him as Savior and Lord, which is the first necessarily step before being able to do the will of the Father. This includes everyone who accepts Jesus, including you and me.  We become brothers and sisters to Christ and each other.

Matthew 12:38 says, Then certain of the scribes and of the Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.  The scribes and Pharisees were always quick to attempt to discredit Jesus.  They asked Jesus to show them some sign that He was indeed the Messiah.  I believe they asked more from the belief that Jesus could not give them a sign than the hope that He would.  Some people today attempt to put conditions on their believing God.  They demand some particular sign before they will even acknowledge that God exists.  Verse thirty-nine states, But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:  Jesus told them, and tells us as well, that those who seek a sign before believing in Jesus as Savior are a wicked and adulterous generation.  Jesus further said that the only sign would be the sign of Jonah.  Verse forty continues, For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale’s belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.  Jesus said that just as Jonah spent three days and nights in the belly of the whale, so would Jesus, the Messiah, spend three days and nights in the grave.  Then, just as Jonah was rescued from the whale, so would Jesus be resurrected from the grave.  For those Jesus was speaking to the sign was yet to come, but for us today it is something we look back on through faith as an accomplished fact.  Verse forty-one declares, The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.  Even though God had been ready to destroy Ninevah before Jonah preached God's word to them, they repented.  Jesus said that the people of Nineveh could rise in judgment against God's chosen people around Jesus who did not repent at the preaching of Jesus, Who was much greater than Jonah.  Verse forty-two says, The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.  Jesus said that the queen of the south came to hear the wisdom of Solomon, but that those around Jesus refused to hear Him, though He was much greater than Solomon.  There will always be people who will listen to the wisdom of the world more quickly than they will to the gospel of Christ.  Verse forty-three says, When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. Jesus said that even when the unclean spirits leave a person that they may still not have a safe place to stay.  When we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, our situation in life does not necessarily change.  The thief on the cross was still on the cross after he accepted Jesus.  Verse forty-four says, Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.  The man cleansed of the evil spirit returned to where he had lived and saw it as a better place to be than where he was after he was cleansed of the spirit.  Verse forty-five says, Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.  Upon going in to where he had lived, the man became much worse off than he was before.  I believe this is an analogy to deciding to follow Christ simply for material reasons, and then deciding that things were better before.  We can never follow Jesus simply hoping for a better life materially and find peace and happiness.  Jesus said that just as the man who had the demon cast out but returned to where he had lived and ended up in a worse situation, that it would be the same for that wicked generation.  They had Jesus with them willing to heal them spiritually, but were often following Him for material reasons and soon turned away.  Jesus has already freed everyone from the power of sin, but often people say that it just cost them too much materially to follow Him, so they return to where they had been before spiritually, and they are even worse off than they were before.

Matthew 12:29 says, Or else how can one enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he first bind the strong man? and then he will spoil his house.   I believe that Jesus was asking how He could cast out devils, if He did not first bind Satan.  God has allowed Satan to have certain power in the world, but he has already been bound for those who put their faith in Jesus.  The only power that Satan has over those who follow Christ by faith is the power we grant him by our own self will.  Satan, or the Devil, can never make us do anything.  In verse thirty Jesus declares, He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.  There really is no neutral ground with Jesus. We are either for Him, or we are against Him.  Those who profess neutrality about Jesus have made their stand as being against Him.  Verse thirty-one states, Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.  We sometimes hear people speak about unpardonable sin, but Jesus says there is only one, and that is blasphemy against the Holy Ghost.  Blasphemy is attributing the works of God to the Devil or any other source, and that is what the Pharisees had attempted to do when Jesus cast out devils.  The ultimate blasphemy is attributing the work of Jesus to anything other than His bringing salvation to people under the power of the heavenly Father.  If we do not accept this fact by faith, then there is no forgiveness.  Verse thirty-two declares, And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.  Jesus tells us that people can be forgiven for speaking against Him, but not for speaking against the Holy Ghost.  I believe that this is because once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord, at which time those times we spoke against Him are forgiven, the the Holy Spirit indwells us to guide us.  If we then speak against the Holy Spirit, we are deliberately sinning.  Verse thirty-three states, Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.  Jesus says that a good tree bears good fruit, and a bad tree bears bad friut, and the tree is known by its fruit.  The analogy was about people.  If we are good, or have put our faith in Christ as Savior and Lord, then we will do things that bring honor to God.  If we are bad, or have not accepted Christ, then we cannot bring honor to God.  It is not enough to simply claim to follow Christ, but we if we are truly His, we must bear good fruit for Him.  Our fruit, or actions, will show the truth of our faith.  Verse thirty-four declares, O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  Jesus called those around Him, which were still mostly those who professed to be God's people, a generation of vipers and asked how they could speak good things.  Jesus further said that what they felt in their hearts determined what they said.  This is still true today.  Verse thirty-five says, A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  Jesus tells us that the way we believe will determine the way that we act in life.  If God and His will are at the center of our lives, the things we do will be good and bring glory to Him.  The opposite is also true.  Anytime we act from self will or any influence other than we will of God, we cannot bear good fruit.  Verse thirty-six says, But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  We will be held accountable for every word we speak.  I believe that this goes even further than the actual speaking, but also to our attitude when we speak.  We may say the right words without them having any meaning.  Verse thirty-seven says, For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.  I believe that the only words that we can be justified by are a true proclamation of Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, and then all that we say should be guided by the Holy Spirit.