Matthew 13 is the thirteenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. This chapter contains the third of the five Discourses of Matthew, called the Parabolic Discourse, based on the parables of the Kingdom. At the end of the chapter, Jesus is rejected by the people of his hometown, Nazareth.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 58 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

Old Testament references

New Testament references

Structure

Matthew 13 presents seven parables, and two explanations of his parables. Overall, the verses in this chapter can be divided into groups (with cross references to parallel sections in the other gospels): Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer identifies two groups of parables: the four first parables (up to ) "were spoken in presence of the multitude, and the other three again within the circle of the disciples". German liberal Protestant theologian David Strauss thought this chapter was "overwhelming with parables". At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus sits in a ship or a boat on the Sea of Galilee and addresses the crowd who stand on the shore or the beach. The Textus Receptus has inserted the definite article (, to ploion), suggesting that there was a boat kept waiting for him, but other texts do not include the definite article and the Pulpit Commentary therefore argues that it was "wrongly inserted".

Verses 51-52

These verses conclude the Parabolic Discourse and may be called a "comparative proverb". Henry Alford describes them as a "solemn conclusion to the parables. Johann Bengel suggests that Jesus would have been ready to explain the other parables if necessary, "but they understood them, if not perfectly, yet truly". The reference to scribes, or teachers of the Jewish law, who became disciples reflects the Matthean gospel focus in particular; the Jerusalem Bible suggests that this reference may portray the evangelist himself.

Verses 53-58

The final verses of this chapter see Jesus return to his home town, meaning Nazareth, where he preaches in the synagogue and experiences the rejection of his "own people", and his own country. Dale Allison sees these verses and the following chapters as far as chapter 17 as recounting "the birth of the Church"; the Jerusalem Bible likewise holds that the same long section constitutes a narrative on the Church, followed by Matthew 18, which is often called the Discourse on the Church.