Commentary - Matthew 13:10-17

Bird's-eye view

In this pivotal section, Jesus provides the divine rationale for His chosen method of teaching in parables. It is not, as modern sentimentality might assume, a technique to make difficult truths easier for everyone to understand. The purpose is precisely the opposite. Jesus explains that parables are instruments of spiritual division. They are designed to reveal the mysteries of the kingdom to His chosen disciples while simultaneously concealing those same truths from the hardened and unbelieving crowds. This method is not an innovation; it is the fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy concerning a people whose hearts have grown dull. The ability to understand is a sovereignly bestowed gift, a grace, which results in blessing for the receptive. For the obstinate, the parables serve as a means of judicial hardening, confirming them in the unbelief they have already chosen. This passage establishes the principle of the great antithesis in the reception of God's Word: to those who have, more will be given, and from those who have not, even what they have will be taken away.

The disciples ask a simple question, "Why parables?" and Jesus gives them a profound, two-edged answer that cuts to the heart of divine election and human responsibility. Truth is not a neutral commodity to be dispensed equally to all, regardless of their heart's posture. Rather, truth is a sword. In the hands of the Spirit, it brings life and understanding to God's people. But to those who hate the light, that same truth brings blindness and judgment. The parables are a manifestation of this principle in action.

Outline

Context In Matthew

This passage is the interpretive key to the entire thirteenth chapter of Matthew, which is a collection of seven key parables about the kingdom of heaven. It comes immediately after Jesus tells the Parable of the Sower, a story about different responses to the proclamation of the Word. The disciples' question arises from a noticeable shift in Jesus' public teaching ministry. Up to this point, particularly in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5-7), His teaching was more direct. Now, He begins to speak in these enigmatic stories. This section explains that the shift is a direct response to the growing unbelief and opposition from the Jewish leadership and the crowds. The parables, therefore, function as a dividing line. They separate the true seekers from the merely curious and the hostile. This explanation sets the stage for the remaining parables and provides the lens through which they must be understood. It is a moment of sifting.

Key Issues

A Tale of Two Hearings

We live in a democratic age, and we tend to think that God is a democrat as well. We assume that information, especially divine information, ought to be made available to all in the most accessible, easy-to-understand format possible. If people do not understand, we conclude, the fault must lie with the communicator. But Jesus Christ, the master communicator, here demolishes that entire line of thinking. When His disciples ask Him why He is speaking in riddles, His answer is a thunderbolt. He tells them plainly that He is doing it on purpose, in order to make a distinction between those on the inside and those on the outside. The parables are not a bridge for all to cross; they are a filter. They are a test. For the humble heart, a parable is an invitation to lean in, to ask, to seek. For the proud and calloused heart, a parable is a smooth stone that causes them to stumble and fall. The Word of God never returns void; it always accomplishes its purpose. Sometimes that purpose is to save, and sometimes that purpose is to harden.

Verse by Verse Commentary

10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

This is a perfectly reasonable question. The disciples are on the inside, and they are confused. They have witnessed a change in Jesus' method. He used to speak plainly, and now He speaks in these stories that seem to obscure as much as they reveal. They are essentially asking, "What's the strategy here?" They represent the seeking heart. They do not understand, so they come to the source and ask for clarification. This simple act of asking is the first step toward the blessing Jesus is about to describe.

11 And Jesus answered and said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.

Jesus' answer establishes a sharp, non-negotiable distinction. He divides all of humanity into two groups: "you" and "them." The ability to understand the mysteries of the kingdom, which are the truths about Christ's reign that were hidden in the Old Testament but are now being revealed, is not a human achievement. It is not the result of a higher IQ or a better education. It is a gift. It has been given. This is the language of pure, sovereign grace. And if it is given to some, it is by definition withheld from others. This is a hard truth for our egalitarian age, but it is the bedrock of biblical reality. God chooses to whom He will reveal Himself.

12 For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

This is the fundamental law of the spiritual world. It is a principle of spiritual momentum. The one who "has" is the one who has received the initial gift of grace, the one with a soft heart and open ears. To that person, God gives more and more understanding, leading to an abundance. But the one who "does not have" is the one who has rejected that initial grace. He hears the Word and scoffs. To him, not only is more truth withheld, but even the little bit of natural light or common grace he possessed is extinguished. His rejection of the light results in a deeper darkness. This is why a faithful churchgoer grows in wisdom over the years, while a hardened skeptic becomes more and more cynical and blind.

13 Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Notice the logic carefully. He does not speak in parables so that they will not see. He speaks in parables because they are already blind. Their eyes are open, they can physically see the Messiah performing miracles. Their ears work, they can physically hear the greatest sermon ever preached. But there is no spiritual uptake. The signal is being broadcast, but their receiver is broken. The parables, then, are a judgment that fits the crime. They have chosen blindness, so Jesus gives them a teaching that only the seeing can comprehend. He is confirming them in the state they have already chosen.

14-15 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE; FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, LEST THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’

Jesus is not just grabbing a convenient proof-text. He is saying that the spiritual condition of first-century Israel is a direct parallel to the Israel of Isaiah's day. Isaiah was commissioned by God (Isaiah 6) to preach a message that would have a hardening effect on an already rebellious people. Jesus is claiming that same prophetic commission. Notice the interplay of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. The people's heart has become dull. And what did they do? They have closed their eyes. This is a willful act of rebellion. They do not want to see, hear, and understand, because that would lead to repentance ("return") and submission to God's healing. God's judgment, therefore, is to give them exactly what they want. He confirms their self-inflicted blindness. The parables are the instrument of this judicial hardening.

16 But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

The contrast is stark. "Them" versus "you." Judgment versus blessing. What is the difference between the disciples and the crowd? It is not their native intelligence or moral superiority. The difference is grace. They are blessed. Their ability to see and hear is a gift from God. This is the doctrine of effectual calling in narrative form. God has opened their eyes and unplugged their ears, and as a result, they are in a state of spiritual beatitude.

17 For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Jesus concludes by putting their blessing into its redemptive-historical context. He tells them that the greatest saints of the Old Testament, men like Abraham, Moses, David, and Isaiah, lived their entire lives in the hope of seeing this day. They saw the promises from afar, as shadows and types. But these disciples, this motley crew of fishermen and zealots, are standing in the broad daylight of fulfillment. They are seeing the Messiah with their own eyes and hearing the mysteries of the kingdom from His own lips. Their privilege is immeasurable. This is meant to overwhelm them with gratitude and to underscore the magnitude of the gift they have been given.

Application

This passage forces us to ask a very personal question: how do we hear the Word of God? There are only two options. We are either in the "you" group or the "them" group. There is no neutral ground. When the Word is preached, when you read your Bible, is your heart soft? Do you receive it with humility, asking God for the grace to see and understand? Or is your heart hard? Do you listen with a critical spirit, with your arms crossed, looking for things to dispute? According to Jesus, the way you listen today determines how you will be able to listen tomorrow.

This passage is a great encouragement to the humble believer. Your understanding is a gift. It is not something you achieved. Therefore, be grateful. Cherish the Word. And if you do not understand something, do what the disciples did: ask the Lord for wisdom. He gives it liberally to those who ask in faith.

But this is also a terrifying warning to all who would trifle with the things of God. To sit under the preaching of the gospel week after week with a calloused heart is not a neutral activity. It is an act that invites the judgment of God. It is to participate in the closing of your own eyes. The light you reject will be taken from you, and the darkness will grow deeper. The most dangerous place in the world to be is in a church service, hearing the truth, and refusing to bow the knee to it.