While Jesus continued to talk to the people, His mother and His brethren stood outside and requested to speak with Him. Someone reported this to Him saying, Behold, thy mother and brethren are outside and desire to speak with thee. But Jesus addressed the one that told Him by saying, Who is my mother and who are my brethren? Then He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! Whoever shall do the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.
13 That same day Jesus sat by the sea. Great multitudes gathered. He had to get into a boat and sit while the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then He taught them in parables.
Jesus said, Behold, a sower went forth to sow seed. When he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell upon stony places where there was not much earth. They sprang up but they had no deep roots. So, when the sun was up, they were scorched and withered away. Also, some of the seeds fell among thorns. The thorns sprang up and choked them. Yet other seeds fell on good ground. These brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The disciples asked Jesus, Why do you speak to them in parables? He answered, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whoever has understanding, more shall be given him and he shall have abundance. But whoever does not have understanding, what little he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables because, not seeing and not hearing, they do not understand.
Also, in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias: By hearing ye shall hear and shall not understand. And by seeing ye shall see and shall not perceive. For the people's hearts are hardened. Their ears are dull of hearing. They have closed their eyes. They do not see or hear for fear they will be converted and have to change their hearts.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see; and your ears, for they hear. Many prophets and righteous men have desired to see the things which ye see and they have not seen them. They have desired to hear the things which ye hear, and have not heard them. So, again, listen to the parable of the sower.
When any one hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one snatches away all that was sown in his heart. This is the one who received seed by the wayside. Now he that received the seed in the stony places, received the word with joy. But he has no deep root and endures only for a while. When tribulation or persecution arises he is uprooted. Now the one that received seed among the thorns hears the word but is too much ensnared by things of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. The understanding of the word is choked out and he becomes unfruitful. Finally, the one that received seed in the good ground is he that hears the word, understands it, and bears fruit. He brings forth a hundredfold or sixty or thirty.
He spoke another parable saying, The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But, during the night, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat then slipped away. When the blades sprang up and brought forth fruit weeds appeared also. The householder's servants came to him and asked, Sir, did thou not sow good seed in the field? Where did the tares come from? The householder answered, An enemy has done this. The servants then asked, Shall we go and pull them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye shall uproot the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest. Then, at harvest time, I will say to the reapers, First gather together the weeds and bind them in bundles. These tares shall ye burn up. Then the wheat is to go in the shelter.
Jesus told another parable, The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed. A man sowed it in his field. Now this, indeed, is the least of all seeds. However, when it is grown, it is the largest among all the herbs. It grows like a tree so the birds of the air can come and lodge in its branches.
Another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven. A woman took a little, hid it in three measures of meal and, at last, all was leavened. All these things Jesus spoke in parables to the multitude. Thus it might be fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet: I will open my mouth in parables. I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.