Limitless Word
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Matthew 13:20 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it;
  • BSB The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
  • NKJV But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
  • NASB The one sown with seed on the rocky places, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
  • NLT The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The rocky-soil hearer receives the word at once with joy but has no depth.

Overview

This person responds with immediate enthusiasm but no genuine root. Emotional excitement is not the same as saving faith. The shallow response foreshadows a quick falling away under pressure.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • Ezek 33:31–32And they come unto thee as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them: for with their mouth they shew much love, but their heart goeth after their covetousness.
  • Ps 106:12–13Then believed they his words; they sang his praise.
  • John 5:35He was a burning and a shining light: and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light.
  • Isa 58:2Yet they seek me daily, and delight to know my ways, as a nation that did righteousness, and forsook not the ordinance of their God: they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God.
  • Ps 78:34–37When he slew them, then they sought him: and they returned and enquired early after God.
  • 2 Chr 24:2And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest.
  • 2 Chr 24:6And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness?
  • Acts 8:13Then Simon himself believed also: and when he was baptized, he continued with Philip, and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done.
  • 2 Chr 24:14And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house of the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada.
  • Mark 4:16–17And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
  • 1 Sam 11:13–15And Saul said, There shall not a man be put to death this day: for to day the LORD hath wrought salvation in Israel.
  • Gal 4:14–15And my temptation which was in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.
  • Matt 13:5–6Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
  • Mark 6:20For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (8)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 13:20YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 13:20 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.