Matthew 13:21

Matthew 13:21, in plain English

But since there are no deep roots, the faith only lasts a while. When trouble or persecution comes because of their faith, they quickly give up and walk away.

Why it's here

Hard times do not create weak faith -- they reveal it. Without deep roots, the first real test of faith becomes the last.

Who's speaking

Jesus continues explaining the second soil.

Where it sits in the story

When the heat comes, shallow faith wilts. It is not that the trouble is too big -- it is that the roots are too small.

The scholarly reading

The rootless condition means the person 'lasts only a season' (proskairos estin). When 'tribulation or persecution' (thlipseos e diogmou) arises because of the word, the person immediately falls away (skandalizetai).

Language and setting

The term proskairos ('temporary/seasonal') characterizes faith that endures only in favorable conditions. The skandalizetai (stumbles/falls) connects to the broader theme of stumbling over Jesus (11:6).

Voice

Jesus continues interpreting the rocky-ground seed.

Significance

Jesus reveals the fatal flaw of shallow faith: without roots, it cannot survive the inevitable heat of opposition, and the person who seemed so enthusiastic quickly abandons the message.

19When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

20The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

21But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

22The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

23But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

Read all of Matthew 13 — A farmer scatters seed, a woman hides yeast, a merchant finds a pearl. Jesus teaches in parables — and not everyone is meant to understand.