The occasion (Matthew 13:1); the scene (Matthew 13:2); the first parable (Matthew 13:3-9); the question of the disciples (Matthew 13:10); the twofold answer; (1) why He taught in parables (Matthew 13:11-17); (2) what He taught in this parable (Matthew 13:18-23). The parable which begins the discours... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:1. ON THAT DAY. Probably, but not certainly, the same day. The interval was brief in any case. Comp. however, Luke 11:12 OUT OF THE HOUSE. If a particular house is meant, that in which ‘his mother and brethren' sought Him (chap. Matthew 12:46). THE SEA-SIDE, the shore of the Lake of G... [ Continue Reading ]
INTRODUCTORY NOTE. The Evangelist has just represented our Lord in opposition to the Pharisees. (A few events probably intervened; see Luke 11-13.) Thus His claims as the Messiah came out more fully. Instruction as to the nature of His kingdom naturally followed; but in view of the opposition alread... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:2. GREAT MULTITUDES. Comp. Mark 4:1; Luke 7:4 . A boat. Comp, the previous occasion (Mark 3:9), when ‘he spake to his disciples that a small boat should wait on him, because of the crowd, lest they should throng him.' The people STOOD ON THE SHORE, in order to hear Him. From the boat, th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:3. MANY THINGS. Out of the ‘many,' Matthew selects these parables; for this selection we seek a reason (see note on the whole discourse). BEHOLD, calling attention to what follows, not to some object in sight, which would have distracted attention from the parable. THE SOWER, standing... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:4. BY THE WAY-SIDE. The paths or roads pass close to the edge of the ploughed ground in unenclosed fields; or the reference may be to the path across the field on which the sower walked as he sowed. In any case the seed was exposed, and quickly picked up by the birds.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:5. UPON THE ROCKY PLACES. Not full of stones, but thin soil over rocks. FORTHWITH THEY SPRUNG UP, BECAUSE, etc. The greater heat of the shallow soil would cause a rapid growth upwards.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:6. SCORCHED, or ‘burnt.' The heat of the sun, so necessary to vegetable life, did this; but the effect must be connected with the cause: THEY HAD NO ROOT. Plants need both sunshine and moisture; they get the first from their growth above ground, the second from their growth below ground;... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:7. UPON THE THORNS, _i.e.,_ upon soil where there were roots of thorns, etc., not necessarily among thorn-bushes. AND THE THORNS GREW UP AND CHOKED THEM. The thorns were of ranker growth. Both ideas are implied in the phrase ‘sprung up.' Matthew 13:8. GOOD GROUND. The proportion of th... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:9. HE THAT HATH, etc. Comp. chap. Matthew 11:15. A peculiarly appropriate ending to a parable. It here refers to the understanding of the parable; the parable itself, as our Lord shows, signified the outward hearing. The former would in this case imply the latter.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:10. THE DISCIPLES, more than the Twelve (Mark 4:10). Evidently this method of instruction had not been used by our Lord to any great extent before this discourse. Mark and Luke omit the question.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:11. BECAUSE IT IS (‘hath been and is') GIVEN TO YOU. ‘To you' is emphatic. A _gift_ of God, is here said to be bestowed on one class of hearers (you), and not bestowed on another (them). TO KNOW. Without this gift there could not be proper knowledge of the truth to be conveyed by the pa... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:12. Mark and Luke put this verse after the exposition of the parable of the sower. FOR WHOSOEVER HATH. Applied more generally in chap. Matthew 25:29. A rule of God's dealings with men, holding good even in the lower forms of creation; here to be applied to knowledge of spiritual things.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:13. THEREFORE. According to the principle just mentioned. BECAUSE SEEING THEY SEE NOT, etc. Here the reason is based on the character of the persons concerned; Mark and Luke emphasize the purpose, namely, that this state of ignorance should go on unchecked to work out its own results. T... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:14. IN THEM, lit., ‘to them,' in the sense, ‘in their care' IT FULFILLED. A stronger word than that commonly used; a complete fulfilment, which may or may not have been preceded by a partial one. ISAIAH (Isaiah 6:9-10). Quoted in John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27; comp. Romans 11:8; referred... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:15. FOR THIS PEOPLE'S HEART. A more exact quotation, but changed into a prediction. WAXED GROSS, become fat, carnal, losing its spiritual life. THEIR EYES THEY HAVE CLOSED; a persistent course of action. LEST HAPLY. What they would not do, was what they at length could not do. The r... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:16. BUT BLESSED ARE YOUR EYES. ‘Your' is emphatic; ‘your eyes, blessed are they,' etc.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:17. THAT MANY PROPHETS, etc. Over against the responsibility of the ignorant (Matthew 13:13-15), prominence is given to the great and unmerited privilege of the disciples. They were permitted to see and know what had been denied even to inspired and good men who longed for such knowledge.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:18. HEAR YE THEREFORE. ‘Hear, in your hearts, ye who are so highly favored, the true meaning of these parables.' Our Lord's explanation is to guide us in the interpretation of other parables. He does not say: it teaches this general principle, nor does He give a significance to all the ob... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:19. THE WORD OF THE KINGDOM. This is the seed (comp. Mark 4:14; Luke 8:11); the sower being Christ (Matthew 13:37), Himself and His ministers (1 Corinthians 3:6). The _spoken_ word is made most prominent, as this was almost the only means used in the Apostolic age, to which this parable p... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:20. FORTHWITH RECEIVETH IT WITH JOY. The effect is immediate and apparently good; but beneath the surface easily stirred, is a soil harder than the trodden path. Great joy without deep spiritual conviction or conflict.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:21. YET HATH HE NOT ROOT IN HIMSELF. His apparent Christian life is rooted only in the temporary excitement about him. ENDURETH FOR A WHILE. The expression implies also: ‘is the creature of circumstances.' TRIBULATION, afflictions; PERSECUTION, a special form of affliction; all arisin... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:22. The _third class_ hold out longer, but are unfruitful, from a divided heart, in which evil triumphs; the thorns being hardier than the wheat THE CARE OF THE WORLD, not pure worldliness, which belongs to the first class, but anxieties about worldly things distracting persons of serio... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:23. THE GOOD GROUND. This has been prepared. All is of divine grace, yet the verse plainly teaches that the persons referred to _actively_ and _willingly_ accept and understand the truth; the result being continued fruitfulness. The degrees vary, since characters and capacities and gifts... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:24. SET HE BEFORE THEM. With the double purpose already spoken of; the word being often used in reference to food. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. The subject in all seven parables. Christ's reign in the new economy of salvation. IS LIKENED, or ‘made like.' Not ‘is like,' as in the succeeding... [ Continue Reading ]
THE THREE OTHER PARABLES SPOKEN in public (Matthew 13:24-33), with the interpretation of the parable of the tares in private (Matthew 13:36-43). The Evangelist inserts, as is his habit, a prophecy fulfilled by this method of instructing the multitudes (Matthew 13:34-35). The parable of the tares fol... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:25. BUT WHILE MEN SLEPT, i.e., ‘at night,' the opportune time for such an act of malice. No censure of the servants is expressed; though their natural weakness may be implied. HIS enemy came and sowed tares also amidst the wheat. ‘Tares,' ‘darnel' or bastard wheat, looking like wheat, b... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:26. THEN APPEARED THE TARES ALSO. After a time, and at a time of promise in the wheat the evil result of the malicious sowing is apparent.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:27-28. Simple life-like dialogue requiring little explanation. The servants in perplexity resort to the master, who checks their impatient zeal.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:29. LEST HAPLY WHILE YE GATHER UP _,_ etc. The answer of a wise husbandman. The servants might distinguish the two, but their roots were intertwined. Impatient zeal for purity in the Church has often rooted up the wheat.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:31. A _third parable_, also from agricultural _experience._ A grain of MUSTARD-SEED. The plant grows wild, but was often found in the gardens of the Jews. In the fertile soil of Palestine it reached the height of several feet ‘A grain of mustard seed' was the proverbial expression for the... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:32. LESS THAN ALL SEEDS, i.e., those sown by the Jews. GREATER THAN THE HERBS. The literal meaning leaves it uncertain whether the plant referred to was itself an herb. The main point is the rapid growth from a diminutive seed. THE BIRDS OF THE HEAVEN represent the external adherents... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:33. LEAVEN. In those days a piece of the leavened loaf was put amongst the new dough to cause fermentation. This illustrates the power of pervading and assimilating foreign substances. The figure is generally applied to evil influences, but here probably to gracious ones, see below. A W... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:34. AND WITHOUT A PARABLE SPAKE HE NOTHING UNTO THEM. On that occasion; probably true also of the subject of discourse, the kingdom of heaven.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:35. THAT, i.e., ‘in order that.' THE PROPHET. From Psalms 78:2, the author of which was Asaph, ‘the seer' (2 Chronicles 29:30), or prophet. The Psalm is historical, but the events it mentions have a reference to Christ (comp. 1 Corinthians 10:6; 1 Corinthians 10:11, where the same event... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:36. Into the house. Probably His usual residence. The purpose was to explain the parables more fully and to add others for the benefit of HIS DISCIPLES that were about Him, with the Twelve; Mark 4:10. THE PARABLE OF THE TARES would be less likely to be understood by the multitudes.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:37. THE SON OF MAN. Christ Himself. Our Lord uses the present tense, but this does not forbid an application to later events, in which Christ is represented by those who preach Him.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:38. THE FIELD IS THE WORLD. ‘His field' (Matthew 13:24), hence some would limit this to the Church. But in that case the parable would not differ from the last of the series. The phrase can only mean the Church, as the Church is seeking to occupy the whole world. The gospel is good seed t... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:39. THE DEVIL is here represented as the author of evil in the world (and in the Church as affected by the world). THE HARVEST, up to which time the tares are to be left, IS THE END OF THE WORLD. The phrase may be rendered: ‘the consummation of the age.' According to Jewish notions the c... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:40. The destruction of the wicked is first declared; it is to take place AT THE END OF THE WORLD, _i.e._, of the present order of things.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:41. THE SON OF MAN. Christ Himself is Lord of angels and Ruler in this kingdom. OUT OF HIS KINGDOM. The angels sent forth by Christ will accomplish what men could not do, ought not to attempt to do, namely, remove all evil from the Church and from the world, which will stand only so lon... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:42. AND SHALL CAST THEM, etc. As the tares were burned, this may be figurative, but it undoubtedly refers to intolerable suffering, resulting not simply from the circumstances of the evildoers in a future state but from their character. THERE SHALL BE THE WEEPING. Comp. chap. Matthew 8:... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:43. THEN SHALL THE RIGHTEOUS SHINE FORTH. The gospel tells how men become ‘righteous.' As such they have a glory, a light which is here obscured, but shall then burst forth, as Christ's glory shall appear. IN THE KINGDOM OF THEIR FATHER. The righteous being God's adopted sons, He is ‘th... [ Continue Reading ]
These three parables relate mainly to human effort in the development of the kingdom of heaven. The last one corresponds to the second, while the fifth and sixth form a pair; the transition of thought being easy and natural in every case. The Hidden Treasure (Matthew 13:44), finding without seeking;... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:44. A TREASURE HIDDEN IN THE FIELD. It is; possible, but not probable, that our Lord refers to some case of ‘treasure trove,' which had lately occurred. In his joy. Natural to those who find unexpectedly. The legality or morality of the transaction does not enter into the discussion; the... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:45. MERCHANT SEEKING GOODLY PEARLS. One who is making it his business to seek what is valuable, what is true and right.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:46. ONE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE. Christ Himself, not religion; when this pearl becomes ours, we have true religion. The seeker finds and obtains the pearl in its purity. No mention is made of joy in this case, since this is more characteristic of those who make the discovery without seeking.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:47. A NET, THAT WAS CAST INTO THE SEA. A drag-net or seine is meant. Appropriate for an audience largely made up of fishermen. The parable resembles that of the tares; that, however, represented the two developments of good and evil, side by side in the world (and in the church); this one... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:48. WHEN IT WAS FILLED. A caution against too hasty attempts at separating before the Church has finished her work. If fishermen stop to sort while drawing in their net, they catch little, good or bad. THEY DREW UP ON THE SHORE, i.e., the limit of the sea, the end of nations and of time... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:49. SEVER THE WICKED FROM AMONG THE JUST. Comp. Matthew 13:41. The phrase ‘sitting down,' in Matthew 13:48, and other minor points in the two parables, suggest that this may occupy a period of some length. In the parable of the tares, however, the final separating process accounts for the... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:50. Repeats word for word the awful language of Matthew 13:42, giving great solemnity to the close of the discourse in parables. The _historical_ application is obviously to the closing period and scene of the Church militant.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:51. HAVE YE UNDERSTOOD? A test of their progress in the art of interpretation. They answered rightly, but the next verse suggests that they did not yet fully understand.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:52. EVERY SCRIBE. Official expounder of the Scriptures, applicable now to the Christian ministry. HATH BEEN MADE A DISCIPLE, of Jesus, the Teacher as well as King. FOR THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. Not simply for his own benefit but for the advantage of this kingdom. HOUSEHOLDER, whose dut... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:53. HE DEPARTED THENCE. The departure was to Gadara (comp. chap. Matthew 8:18; Mark 6:35 ff.); a number of events intervening between this and the second visit to Nazareth.... [ Continue Reading ]
CHRONOLOGY, and relation to the account in LUKE 4:14-30. Views: (1.) Two distinct visits. That in Luke at the beginning of the Galilean ministry, and occasioning the removal to Capernaum (Matthew 4:17). This one much later, after the discourse in parables (chap. 13), the visit to Gadara and the subs... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:54. INTO HIS OWN COUNTRY. Nazareth as the home of His parents and the place ‘where he had been brought up' (Luke 4:16). WHENCE HATH THIS MAN. As if to say: This is our townsman, what better schooling did he have than we; what his family is, we all know, etc.... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:55. THE CARPENTER'S SON. The word rendered ‘carpenter' is sometimes applied to artisans in general, but it means strictly a worker in wood. The question, though not contemptuous, implies: He is one of us, no better than we are, etc. They knew His family, and mention the name of His mother... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:57. AND THEY WERE OFFENDED IN HIM, made to stumble. They were led into error and sin with regard to Him. A PROPHET IS NOT WITHOUT HONOR, etc. The rejection is accounted for by a proverbial expression, verified by human experience. ‘Familiarity breeds contempt,' ‘Distance lends enchantme... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:58. AND HE DID NOT THERE MANY MIGHTY WORKS BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF. This unbelief was inconsistent and criminal, for they acknowledged His wisdom and power (Matthew 13:54). Jesus does not force His love or blessings on us, and His miracles were not mere displays of Almighty Power. Where... [ Continue Reading ]