Mark 4:34

But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples.

But without a parable spake he not unto them. See the note at .

And when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. See the note at .

Remarks:

(1) In the parable of the Sower, we have, an illustration of the principle that our Lord's parables illustrate only certain features a subject, and that though others may be added as accessory and subsidiary, no conclusions are to be drawn as to those features of the subject which are not in the parable at all. (See the note at , etc., 25:1, where, though the subject in both is a marriage, the Bride appears in neither. ) Thus, the one point in this parable is the diversity of the soils, as affecting the result of the sowing. To make this the clearer, the sower and the seed are here supposed to be the same in all. But were one to refer from this that the preacher and his doctrine are of no importance, or of less moment than the state of the heart on which the word lights, he would fall into that spurious style of interpretation which has misled not a few.

(2) Perhaps our Lord's own ministry furnishes the most striking illustration of this Parable of the Sower. Look first at Chorazin, Bethsaida, Capernaum, Jerusalem-what a hard wayside did they present to the precious seed that fell upon it-yielding, with few exceptions, not only no fruit, but not so much as one green blade! Turn next to him who said to Him, "Lord, I will follow thee wheresoever thou goest," and the crowds that followed Him with wonder and heard Him with joy, and cast in their lot with Him-until the uncompromising severity of His teaching, or the privations and the obloquy they had to suffer, or the prospect of a deadly conflict with the world, stumbled them, and then they went back, and walked no more with Him: this was the Rocky Ground.

As for the Thorny Ground-not hard, like the wayside; nor shallow, like the rocky ground; but soft enough and deep enough; in which, therefore the good seed sprang up, and promised fruit, and would have ripened but for the thorns which were allowed to spring up and choke the plant-this kind of hearers had scarcely time to develop themselves before the Lord Himself was taken from them. But Judas-in so far as he bade so fair as a disciple as to be taken into the number of the Twelve, and went forth with the rest of the apostles on their preaching-tour, and in every other thing acted so faithfully to all appearance as to inspire no suspicion of his false-heartedness up to the very night of his treason-perhaps he may be taken as one of a class which, but for one or more predominant sins, cherished until they become resistless, would have borne fruit unto life eternal. Of honest and good hearts there were but too few to cheer the heart of the Great Sower.

But the Eleven certainly were such, and as many as received Him, to whom He gave power to become sons of God;" and them He deigned to call "His brother, and sister, and mother." As to the varying fruitfulness of these, Peter and John might perhaps be taken as examples of the "some who brought forth an hundred-fold;" Andrew, and Nathanael (or Bartholomew), and Matthew, and Thomas, and it may be others, sixty-fold; and the rest thirty. But from age to age these diversified characters are developed; and some more in one, some in another. There are periods of such spiritual death in the Church, that its whole territory presents to the spiritual eye the aspect of one vast wayside, with but here and there, at wide distances, a green spot. There are periods of intense religious excitement, in which, as if all were Rocky ground, the sower's heart is gladdened by the quick up-springing of an immense breadth of beautiful green "blade," as if the Latter Day of universal turning to the Lord were about to dawn; and a goodly portion of it comes into "ear," but of "the full grain in the ear," scarce any is there to reward the reaper's toil. And there are periods of high orthodox belief, fair religious profession, and universally proper outward Christianity, in which the all-engrossing pursuit of wealth in the walks of untiring industry, and the carnal indulgences to which outward prosperity ministers, starve the soul and suffer no spiritual fruit to come "to perfection." These are the thorny-ground periods.

Of good-ground periods have there been any? In a partial sense there certainly have; but on any great scale it is rather to be expected in the times of refreshing which are coming upon the earth, than referred to as an experienced fact. Perhaps every congregation furnishes some of all these classes; but would to God we could see more of the last!

(3) What encouragement may not be fetched from the parable of the imperceptible growth of the good seed! It is slow; it is gradual; it is unseen-alike in the natural and the spiritual kingdom. Hence, the wisdom of early sowing, and long patience, and cheerful expectancy.

(4) Illustrative preaching has here the highest example. Not more attractive than instructive is this style of preaching; and the parables of our Lord are incomparable models of both. If there be such a thing in perfection as "apples of gold in a framework of silver," these are they. It is true that to excel in this style requires an original capacity, with which every preacher is not gifted. But the systematic observation of nature and of human life, with continual reference to spiritual things, will do a good deal to aid the most unapt, while luxuriant fancies, which are apt to overpower with their illustrations the thing illustrated, have quite as much need of pruning. For both classes of mind the careful study of that grand simplicity and freedom, and freshness and elegance, and whatever else there be, which combine to render our Lord's parables indescribably perfect, both in the truths they convey and the mode of conveying them, would be a fruitful exercise.

(5) The command to take heed what we hear is to be taken as a hint supplementary to the parable of the sower, and is just on that account the more worthy of attention. For since the quality of the seed sown had nothing to do with the design of that parable-it being supposed in all the cases to be good seed-a supplementary caution to look well to "what" we hear, as well as "how," must have been intended to teach us that, in point of fact, the doctrine taught requires as much attention as the right frame of mind in listening to it. For in respect of both, "the word which we hear, the same shall judge us at the last day."

The time of this section is very definitely marked by our Evangelist, and by him alone, in the opening, words.