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When Jesus spoke to the crowds, He often used simple stories (parables) to communicate profound truths about the Kingdom of God. Have you ever gotten confused over what Jesus was saying? If so, you’re in good company because even the apostles were confused—until they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The good news is, if we are followers of Jesus, we have that same Holy Spirit inside of us to reveal all truth.
Once, the disciples asked Him, “Why do You use parables when You talk to the people?” Jesus replied, “To those who listen to My teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” He added, “I use parables because they look, but don’t really see. They hear, but don’t really listen or understand.”(1)
Jesus was emphasizing profound truths:
There is a difference between looking and seeing.
There is a difference between hearing and listening.
There is a difference between knowledge and understanding.
And the difference is not a matter of the eyes, ears, or mind; it’s a matter of the heart.
Before we examine these parables, it's important to recognize that Jesus was correcting a misunderstanding about the Kingdom. The people of His day expected the Messiah to overthrow Rome, vindicate Israel, and establish an earthly kingdom. But Jesus was teaching that this was not how the Kingdom would come. The Kingdom had already come—because He was among them. Jesus was and is the arrival of the Kingdom. It is all about Him, all about the gospel. While some elements of the Kingdom are present now, others will only be fully revealed when He returns.
So, let’s look at some of those simple stories, asking the Father to open our hearts so we might understand His truth about His Kingdom.
The Parable of the Sower and the Soils
This parable doesn’t begin with “The Kingdom is like…” because it sets the stage for how the Kingdom begins in the hearts of followers. Jesus knew that most of the people listening to Him would not follow Him. The soils in this parable describe the hearts of those who heard Him then—and many who hear today. It must have pained Him to know that the majority, represented by three of the four soils, would never bear fruit. As Jesus said, “You can identify them by their fruit.”(2)
In the story, a farmer sows life-giving seed. Some falls on a footpath and is carried away by birds. Some lands on rocky soil, where it sprouts quickly but, with shallow roots, withers in the sun. Other seed falls among thorns, which choke out the plants. But some seed falls on fertile soil and produces a crop one hundred times what was planted.
The seed represents the life-giving gospel, and the soils represent the different conditions of the hearts in which it is sown. The footpath symbolizes a heart that is hard, unreceptive, and distracted by the busyness of life, giving the gospel no chance to take root. The evil one snatches the seed away before it can be planted. The rocky and thorny soils represent hearts that “believe” but are never truly surrendered. They may have “prayed a prayer,” but without a transformation of the heart, their faith either withers or is choked out by other pursuits.
For thirty years, my own life as a “Christian” was like that shallow or thorny soil. i prayed a prayer at age 6, but it became clear as i grew older that i had never truly surrendered my life. We make a mistake when we invite people to make a “commitment” to Christ because a commitment can change based on our terms. That’s why i prefer the idea of “surrender.” In surrender, we don’t set the terms—our Captor does—and we cannot change those terms later. i fear that many in the church today are “planted” in one of these two soils, never having truly surrendered to Christ. This is evident by the lack of fruit in their lives.
The fourth soil, however, represents a heart surrendered to Christ, transformed by the gospel, and bearing abundant fruit. In such soil, the Kingdom of Heaven has taken root and is growing.
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds (False Christians)
In this parable, the farmer (the Son of Man) plants good seed (His Word) that produces wheat (followers of Christ) in the field (the world). His followers are placed in the world to spread the gospel and multiply disciples. But the enemy (Satan) plants “weeds” (false Christians) among the wheat. These weeds may look like true followers, but they follow a counterfeit gospel and do not truly know Jesus. They may be products of seed that fell on rocky or thorny soil, adhering to religious practices but lacking true faith. Jesus often called out the religious leaders of His day as “blind guides”—weeds who prioritized tradition over true worship of God. At harvest time (when Christ returns), God will separate the weeds from the wheat, casting the weeds into eternal judgment. Jesus told His disciples not to waste time pulling out the weeds, but to focus on planting and multiplying the wheat.
The Parable of the Mustard Seed (False Growth)
Jesus compared the Kingdom to a mustard seed, the smallest of seeds, which grows into a large plant—not a towering tree, but a shrub where birds come to nest. Earlier, in the parable of the Sower and the Soils, birds represented the evil one. Some scholars suggest that this parable shows that as the Kingdom grows, it will include both true growth and false, as Satan nests in its branches.
In much of the world today, including the U.S., identifying as a Christian can be problematic—not because of persecution for genuine faith, but because the term “Christian” has come to mean so many different things, many of which do not reflect Jesus or His teachings. As the Kingdom grows, false branches will continue to sprout. i am reminded of the axiom—“everything that is healthy grows; but not everything that grows is healthy.” This parable is a reminder that not everything that is a part of the plant is truly what Jesus planted. We must always test everything we see and hear against God’s Word.
The Parable of the Yeast (False Doctrine)
Jesus also compared the Kingdom to yeast that a woman mixed into dough until it worked through the entire batch. Some interpret this as the gospel spreading, but yeast is typically a symbol of corruption in the Bible. Jesus used yeast to represent hypocrisy(6) and false teaching(7). Paul also used it to symbolize sin(8). i believe this parable warns of false teaching infiltrating the Kingdom.
In recent years, there has been a growing movement within the church to compromise Biblical truth with the politically correct views of the day. Truth has shifted from being absolute (God’s Word) to relative (society’s opinions). We need to heed the apostle Paul’s admonition to the believers to “test everything” and only “hold on to what is good.”(9), because even a little false teaching can corrupt the whole.
Though these are simple stories, they hold important truths. Hold on to them as you continue in your daily journey. Satan opposes the work of the Master by sowing counterfeit Christians, encouraging false growth, and introducing false doctrine. When our Lord returns, all will be exposed and judged. Until then, see and don’t just look, listen and don’t just hear, and seek to understand and not just gain knowledge. Remember, it’s an issue of the heart—test everything and only hold on to what is good.
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You can read about Jesus’ teaching of these parables in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel According to Matthew.
Portions of this post are adapted from chapter 28 of my book, Walking With The Master. For more information about the book, click here.
(1) Matthew 13:10, 12-13 (NLT)
(2) Matthew 7:16 (NLT)
(3) Matthew 7:21 (NLT)
(4) Matthew 13:31-32 (NLT)
(5) Matthew 13:33 (NLT)
(6) Luke 12:1
(7) Matthew 16:6-12
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