PRELIMINARY REMARKS
_The parables of Jesus_.—The word “parable” has in the New
Testament, in its application to the discourses of Jesus, a
considerably wider meaning than the one in which we speak of the
parables of the Lord in the current phraseology of the church. The
designation παραβολή, from πα... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_
PRELIMINARY REMARKS
_The parables of Jesus_.—The word “parable” has in the New
Testament, in its application to the discourses of Jesus, a
considerably wider meaning than the one in which we speak of the
parables of the Lord in the current phraseology of the church. The
designation... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_
Matthew 13:19. WHICH RECEIVED SEED.—_That was sown (R_. V.). A
change in the figure quite common among Orientals. It should have
been: This is he in whose case the seed was sown by the wayside
(_Meyer_). But there is a deeper meaning in this change. The loss of
the seed becomes in... [ Continue Reading ]
_MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Matthew 13:24_
The seeds of error.—The explanation of the last parable is, in part,
the explanation of this. It teaches us, _e.g_. what is meant in this
parable by sowing the seed, viz. the dissemination of truth. In the
same general way, therefore, it enables us... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_
Matthew 13:31. MUSTARD SEED.—It is disputed whether the allusion is
to the _Sinapis_ or common mustard plant, or to the _Salvadora
Persica_ of European botanists. Dean Plumptre suggests that the name
was probably used widely for any plant that had the pungent flavour of
mustard. Dr.... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_
Matthew 13:35. FULFILLED.—The quotation illustrates, much in the
same way as those in Matthew 8:17; Matthew 12:17, St. Matthew’s
peculiar way of dealing with the prophetic language of the Old
Testament. He found the word “parable” at the opening of a psalm
(Psalms 78:2). The psalm i... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_
Matthew 13:47. NET.—The reference is to the large drag-net or
_seine_, [σαγήνη—hence _sagena_ (Vulgate) and English _sean_
or _seine_]. One end of the _seine_ is held on the shore, the other is
hauled off by a boat and then returned to the land (_Carr_).
Matthew 13:52. INSTRUCTED... [ Continue Reading ]
_CRITICAL NOTES_
Matthew 13:54. HIS OWN COUNTRY.—The district of Nazareth.
Matthew 13:55. THE CARPENTER’S SON (see Mark 6:3).—Joseph was an
_artificer_, for the word “carpenter” must not be interpreted in
its narrowed modern import. The word “carpenter” originally meant
“cart-maker.” But the term e... [ Continue Reading ]