This pericope falls into two parts: Jesus' explanation of why He taught with parables (vv. 10-17), and His explanation of the first parable (vv. 18-23).
13:10 The disciples wanted to know why Jesus was teaching in parables. This was not the clearest form of communication. Evidently the disciples asked this question when Jesus had finished giving the parables to the crowd (cf. Mark 4:10). The plural "parables"suggests this. Matthew apparently rearranged the material Jesus presented to help his readers understand the reasons for Jesus' use of parables at this point since their enigmatic character raises questions in our minds.
13:11-12 Jesus explained that He was teaching in parables because He wanted to give new revelation concerning the kingdom to His disciples but not to the multitudes. Therefore He presented this truth in a veiled way. The word "mysteries"(Gr. mysterion, secrets) comes from the Old Testament and the Hebrew word raz(Dan. 2:18, 19, 27, 28, 29, 30, 47 [twice]; 4:9). It refers to what God knows will happen in the future. "Mysteries"are divine plans for the future that He reveals to His elect. Paul defined a mystery in Colossians 1:26 where he wrote, "the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints."
Jesus was revealing some of God's plans concerning the future of the messianic kingdom, but He was not allowing the unbelieving multitudes to understand these plans. Some have interpreted these parables as revealing "the coming of the Kingdom into history in advance of its apocalyptic manifestation."532Others believe Jesus revealed information about the kingdom in view of its postponement.533
". . . the very outskirts of the subject already force the conclusion that those mysteries refer not to the nature of the kingdom, but to the manner of its establishment, the means employed, the preparation for it, the time for its manifestation, and such related subjects."534
The Bible student must determine which of these two views is correct on the basis of the meaning of the parables and from all that Matthew has recorded about the kingdom.
Some dispensational writers believe the parables in Matthew 13 deal with the period between the first and second advents of Messiah exclusively.535Some of these believe that there is no connection between these parables and Old Testament teaching.536Other dispensationalists believe these parables describe both the inter-advent period and the messianic kingdom.537Another option is that they describe only the messianic kingdom.538
Verse 12 repeats a proverbial truth (cf. 25:29). It encourages gratitude for spiritual blessings and warns against taking these for granted. The believing disciples had access into the kingdom by faith in Jesus Christ. God would give them greater understanding that would result in abundance of blessing. However the unbeliever would not only fail to receive further revelation, but God would remove the privilege of becoming a subject in the kingdom from him or her.
13:13 Jesus restated His reason for using parables in terms of human perception rather than divine intention (cf. vv. 11-12). The unbelievers were not able to understand what He had to reveal since they had refused to accept more basic revelation, namely about Jesus and the kingdom. The parables do not just convey information. They challenge for a response. The unbelievers had not responded to the challenge Jesus had already given them. Until they did they were in no position to receive another challenge.
13:14-15 Jesus quoted Isaiah 6:9-10 where God told His prophet that widespread unbelief and consequent divine heart-hardening would be what he would experience in his ministry. The context of the Isaiah passage explained that Israel's hardness would continue until the land lay in ruins. The Exile was not the complete fulfillment of this prophecy. The hardhearted condition was still present in Jesus' day and, we might add, even today. The Jews will remain generally unresponsive until their land is desolate in the Tribulation, but they will turn to the Lord when He returns to earth at His second coming. The word "lest"(NASB) or "otherwise"(NIV) in the middle of verse 15 probably indicates God's judicial hardening of the Jews' hearts (cf. 2 Thess. 2:11).
13:16-17 The believing disciples were blessed for this reason. They saw not just what their unbelieving contemporaries could not see but what many prophets and righteous people of bygone years longed to see but could not. Jesus referred to Old Testament prophets and believers who wanted more revelation about the kingdom than they had. Jesus' claim to be able to reveal more than the Old Testament prophets knew was a claim to being more than a prophet. Only God could do what He claimed to be doing.
As the unbelievers in Jesus' day were the spiritual descendants of the unbelievers in Isaiah's day, so the disciples were the sons of the prophets. Likewise Jesus was the Son of God.
Jesus interpreted His first parable to help His disciples understand it and the others that followed (cf. Mark 4:13).
13:18 Since former prophets and righteous people wanted to know this revelation and since the unbelieving could not understand it, the disciples needed to listen to it carefully.
13:19 Some people heard Jesus' preaching about the kingdom, but, as hard soil, the truth did not penetrate them. Satan snatched the message away before they really understood it. The four soils represent four types of reception people gave the preaching about the kingdom.
13:20-21 The second type of soil stands for those whose initial response to the message Jesus preached was enthusiastic reception. This reception gave hope for much fruit to follow. However external pressures inhibit growth, and because they do not have an adequate rooting in the truth they soon fade and wither (cf. 5:29). These people are disciples who begin well but fail to continue to follow the Lord faithfully. Whether they are saved or lost is beside the point.
"It is important to understand the explanation of the parable of the soils in its context and with the purpose of the original parable particularly in mind. The key issue is responsiveness or non-responsiveness to the message of the kingdom."539
13:22 This disciple allows the other concerns of life to crowd out his commitment to Jesus. He permits the competing concerns of life to take precedence over his spiritual development. The present life rather than the life to come, and present treasure rather than future treasure, capture his affections. They are deceitful in that they can drain spiritual vitality before the person realizes what is happening to him or her.540
13:23 The good soil stands for the person who understands the message about the kingdom when he or she hears it and responds appropriately to it. This would involve believing in Jesus. Such a person eventually becomes spiritually productive, though the degree of productivity varies. However, Jesus commended all who received the message of the kingdom and believed it regardless of their measure of productivity. The fruit in view probably represents increasing understanding of and proper response to divine revelation in view of the context.
If the disciples understood this parable, they could understand the others that followed.
"The principle taught by the parable is this: reception of the word of the kingdom in one's heart produces more understanding and revelation of the kingdom."541
