In reading the passage from Matthew 13:3, Jesus is telling the crowds a parable, or in simpler words, a story to illustrate the kingdom of heaven and what it’s like.

After, his twelve disciples come and ask him, Why do you tell them things in stories and not just plainly say what you mean? Jesus says he does it to hide the truth of what he’s saying so that they don’t actually hear what’s being said.

It’s very ironic today because if you listen to people try to explain these stories, some will take it literally as promoting some type of bad habit or sin, like the unjust steward obtaining money. Then justifying themselves to be greedy. Or completely misinterpret it entirely. Fulfilling the old prophet Esaias.

“And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: for this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.” (Matthew 13:14-15)

I also think it’s ironic because Jesus explains these parables and what they mean plainly to his apostles and us when reading the gospels. Yet people still deliberately misinterpret the stories. We need to be wise and understand that these are only stories, but also that Jesus gives us the application to all the stories too.

Jesus says to his apostles, “And he said unto them, know ye not this parable? And how then will you know all parables?” (Mark 4:13)

The Parable of the Sower that Jesus emphasized in Mark 4:2-8 and later the explanation for that story in Mark 4:14-20 provide a framework for understanding the others because it reveals the different ways people respond when God speaks to them, and they are repeated in many other parables in unique ways.

He goes on to explain throughout that parable (I urge you to read it yourself) that the story is about sowing the Word of God or preaching the gospels to the entire world, as he said to do at the end of every gospel, and that the work that is done has effects on people and how they receive the Word of God (Jesus’ Teachings).

The people react to what they hear from Jesus in positive and negative ways because they choose to believe in the devil and lies instead, or after affliction and persecution come, they are afraid and stop pursuing God altogether. The second-to-last part is people valued riches instead of God and other lustful things and quit in the end as well. But at the end of the story, seeds are thrown on good ground and bring forth fruit.

Now we can see from this important parable what happens when God’s word confronts a human heart. Throughout Jesus’ parables, the same obstacles repeatedly appear: greed, selfishness, pride, hardness of heart, fear of suffering, attachment to the old life, and failure to prepare for eternal life. If a person does not receive God’s word deeply because of willful ignorance, fear of persecution, or attachment to worldly things, they will struggle to perceive and live out the truths taught in the rest of Jesus’ parables.

In Matthew 13:24-30 we can read that there is another sower who sowed good seed in a field; later that night an enemy of that man sows tares or weeds. The next morning when the fruit is grown and visible, the servants of the master ask if they should pull the weeds out, but the master says no and demands that they grow together; that way the good fruit is not damaged while trying to root out the bad. In the end, the master will order the reapers to gather the bad first and then burn them, only after bringing the good fruits to his barn.

The message of this story is similar to the first one mentioned: bring forth fruits and don’t be bad or suffer the consequences.

In Matthew 20:1-16, the kingdom of heaven is referenced as a man who was the owner of a house and went out to hire people to work in his vineyard. Right away applying the first parable we discussed prior, we know that the owner is God and the ones who are hired are ourselves. The people go out and work in the vineyard, or to explain plainly, go out and preach, heal the sick, cast out devils, etc. In the end of the story, every man is given a penny for payment. Or every man that obeys the Lord is given eternal life.

Another we read in Luke 16:1-8, where there is a certain rich man who entrusts his stewards with wealth, only to find out later that one steward steals from him. The rich man (God) decides to fire him. The steward then decides to cut his lord’s debtors debts in half; that way, later, when he is jobless and homeless, they can receive him into their houses for being so generous. Even though this was wrong legally, the lord commended or applauded such cleverness of the unjust steward.

Now, this is the same concept as the first parable mentioned; it’s just explained a little differently. This parable is not about finding laborers necessarily, but it is about helping the poor and being responsible with the money given to you as the man or woman in charge and being wise about it. These next verses directly connect to the story.

Verses Luke 16:1-8 go with verses Luke 16:9-13 and explain why the steward should have been responsible with the money given to him.

”And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” (Luke 16:9)

I want people to stop right here; it is really important to ponder on the words “friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.” Now let’s break this down. Remember, we just read a story of how the Lord entrusts wealth to his steward or his Christian, right? And how once he had the wealth, it was used improperly for his own greedy desires or covetousness. I am going to explain it a little more, so bear with me.

”And I say unto you, make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness.”

So, Jesus says to “make friends,” or another way to explain it is to use the money that’s given properly as a good friend would for him. It is actually reversed entirely in verse eleven; Jesus is recorded saying “unrighteous money.”

He calls it that because of the world’s addiction to it and covetousness to it in comparison to desiring to do good for God. Let’s continue, ”…that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations.” Here it´s saying when we fail, because we will in certain ways fail on judgment day, and the word “they” is referencing the poor, “they may receive you into everlasting habitations…” receiving us into heaven. And the poor will do this because we would have used the Lord’s unrighteous money responsibly for the poor.

So the entire phrase of what Jesus is saying is more or less this: “Use the unrighteous money that is given to you properly for the poor so that when you fail on judgment day, the poor people that you helped with that money may vouch for you to the Lord and that you may enter Heaven.” (Luke 16:9)

Remember when I said this story has the same concept, but it is just explaining it a little differently? Well notice the poor that are helped in obedience to God are also valued souls that are in heaven too, so there you go, more fruit found as a byproduct!

In verse 10, it clarifies my point even further. “He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much, and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.” The word least is defined in a couple of different ways in the Bible itself. But these verses are talking about the poor in particular.  According to a couple of different dictionaries, least can mean not having any material wealth.

So Jesus is saying whoever is faithful with taking care of the poor is faithful in a lot. And whoever is not faithful with helping the poor, they are unjust or unrighteous in a lot of other areas. This is a lot coming from Jesus. It really emphasizes the focus on the poor.

Verse eleven, “If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches?” This verse makes the point clear. If we are not responsible with the unrighteous money that God may give us, like that unjust steward in the story Jesus told, then how can God give us anything to be responsible with? This could be the poor as in how can God trust you to take care of them if you’re a thief, or it could be money too.

Verse twelve says, “And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own?” If you are not faithful in another man’s wealth, as in helping the poor with money that you are given, how can God entrust you with even your own wealth?

”No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.” (Luke 16:13) The final verse reiterates the point of working solely for God and helping the poor and not for money. As in, quit your job, serve God, and help the poor, and God will give you wealth after to assist the poor and only for the poor and not your own greedy desires.

I have repeated this story from Jesus in another article, but I feel like it is fairly significant. But I also just realized there are about (debatable) 38 different parables from Jesus in total, not counting the same recorded instances. The most consistent story Jesus communicates to us and fellow believers is who belongs to God’s kingdom, how they enter it, and how they should live while waiting for the King.

But Jesus’ stories have a lot of good lessons that talk about how to find the lost sheep or followers, help the poor, and many more. It only takes some time with God and looking to discover the precious lessons to be learned and applied in our own lives. I hope this helps you, reader, with learning more about who Christ and God are and how the lessons can be applied in your daily walk. God be with you.

Appendix A: Reference List of Jesus’ Parables

Jesus asked His disciples, “Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13). The following parables are provided for further study so that readers may examine whether the themes introduced in the Parable of the Sower, hardness of heart, fear of suffering, worldly distraction, repentance, and faithful perseverance appear throughout the rest of Jesus’ teachings. Also, the solutions to all those problems too!

-Matthew-

The Two Builders — Matthew 7:24–27

The New Cloth on an Old Garment — Matthew 9:16

The New Wine in Old Wine-skins — Matthew 9:17

The Sower — Matthew 13:3–23

The Weeds (Tares) — Matthew 13:24–30, 36–43

The Mustard Seed — Matthew 13:31–32

The Leaven — Matthew 13:33

The Hidden Treasure — Matthew 13:44

The Pearl of Great Price — Matthew 13:45–46

The Dragnet — Matthew 13:47–50

The Unforgiving Servant — Matthew 18:23–35

The Workers in the Vineyard — Matthew 20:1–16

The Two Sons — Matthew 21:28–32

The Wicked Tenants — Matthew 21:33–46

The Wedding Feast — Matthew 22:1–14

The Ten Virgins — Matthew 25:1–13

The Talents — Matthew 25:14–30

The Sheep and the Goats — Matthew 25:31–46

-Mark-

The Growing Seed — Mark 4:26–29

-Luke-

The Two Debtors — Luke 7:41–43

The Good Samaritan — Luke 10:30–37

The Friend at Midnight — Luke 11:5–8

The Rich Fool — Luke 12:16–21

The Watchful Servants — Luke 12:35–40

The Barren Fig Tree — Luke 13:6–9

The Lowest Seat at the Feast — Luke 14:7–11

The Great Banquet — Luke 14:16–24

The Tower Builder — Luke 14:28–30

The King Going to War — Luke 14:31–33

The Lost Sheep — Luke 15:3–7

The Lost Coin — Luke 15:8–10

The Prodigal Son — Luke 15:11–32

The Unjust Steward — Luke 16:1–13

The Rich Man and Lazarus — Luke 16:19–31

The Persistent Widow — Luke 18:1–8

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector — Luke 18:9–14

The Minas — Luke 19:11–27

Additional Shared Parable

The Lamp Under a Basket — Matthew 5:14–16; Mark 4:21–25; Luke 8:16–18