1The parable of the sower. 10Why Christ taught in parables. 18The exposition of the parable of the sower. 24The parable of the tares; 31of the grain of mustard seed; 33of the leaven. 36The parable of the tares expounded. 44The parable of the hidden treasure; 45of one pearl of great price; 47of a net cast into the sea. 53Christ's countrymen are offended in him.
1THEa same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the 1sea side.
a Mark 4:1; Luke 8:4, 5.
1 Namely, the Sea of Galilee near Capernaum.
2And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went intob a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
b Luke 5:3.
3And he spake many things unto them in 2parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
2 Gr. parabolai, which are such similitudes, when some matters are historically narrated, as if they were come to pass among men, and something else, which is spiritual, is understood thereby. Yet are sometimes also taken in a wider sense for all manner of similitudes, doctrines and excellent sayings. See verse 35.
4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they 3sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
3 That is, grew or shoot up.
6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns 4sprung up, and choked them:
4 Gr. ascended up.
8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
95Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
5 That is, he, who has received of God the Spirit of understanding, let him take notice hereof with attention, 2 Cor. 3:5.
10Andc the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
c Mark 4:10; Luke 8:9.
11He answered and said unto them, Becaused it is 6given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to theme it is 7not given.
d 2 Cor. 3:14.
6 Namely, by God, of grace, according to His good pleasure, Mat. 16:17; Gal. 1:15.
e Mat. 11:25.
7 For, the Gospel is hid to them that are lost, 2 Cor. 4:3.
12Forf whosoever 8hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even 9that he hath.
f Mat. 25:29; Mark 4:24, 25; Luke 8:18; 19:26.
8 Namely, the beginnings of saving faith and takes heed to it by the power of the Holy Ghost.
9 That is, that which he thinks or seems to have, as Luke expounds in Luke 8:18. See also Mat. 25:29.
13Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14And in them is 10fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, 11Byg hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
10 Or, again fulfilled; seeing that which Isaiah said in former times to the stiff-necked Jews of his time, was yet once more fulfilled in these stiff-necked Jews.
11 That, which is here spoken by way of prediction, is set down in Isaiah by way of command to express better the judgment of God upon this stiff-necked people, as it might also be taken here. See the further exposition of all this in Isa. 6 on verse 9, etc.
g Isa. 6:9; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; Rom. 11:8.
15For this people's heart is waxed 12gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
12 Namely, with fatness, Acts 28:27.
16Buth13blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
h Luke 10:23; John 20:29; 1 Peter 1:8.
13 Or, happy.
17For verily I say unto you, Thati many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things 14which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
i 1 Peter 1:10.
14 Namely, the Messiah having come in the flesh, and executing His office. See John 8:56; Acts 26:6, 7.
18¶Hearj ye therefore the parable of the sower.
j Mark 4:13; Luke 8:11.
19When any one heareth 15the word ofk the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh 16the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This 17is he which 18received seed by the way side.
15 That is, the doctrine of the Gospel, whereby Christ sets up His kingdom, Mat. 9:35.
k Mat. 4:23.
16 That is, the devil.
17 That is, is signified by him, etc.
18 That is, seeded the seed.
20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anonl with joy 19receiveth it;
l immediately
19 This joy arises from the knowledge of the doctrine of the Gospel and the acceptableness of the promises of the same; though their heart still remains stony, that is, that the hardness thereof is not yet taken away by the Spirit of God.
21Yet hath he 20not root in himself, but durethm for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
20 That is, no accurate and firm confidence on Christ, whereby we are united unto Christ, as a sure Ground of our salvation, Heb. 3:14 and draw the sap of life from Him, Rom. 11:17, 20.
m endures, goes on
22Hen also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, 21choke the word, and he 22becometh unfruitful.
n Mat. 19:23; Mark 10:23; Luke 18:24; 1 Tim. 6:9.
21 That is, hinders the progress of the power of the Word.
22 Or, it bringeth no fruit.
23But he that received seed into the 23good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth 24fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
23 That is, those who receive it in a good and pure heart, Luke 8:15, which a man has not of himself, but receives (it) by the power of the Spirit of God, Acts 16:14.
24 Namely, true faith and sincere love, Mat. 21:43.
24¶Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed 25tares among the wheat, and went his way.
25 Gr. zizania, which some think to be an Arabian word, signifying principally a certain kind of weeds, which is a kind of darnel and which cannot be weeded out well without damage to the wheat.
26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye 26root up also the wheat with them.
26 Or, pluck out.
3027Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: buto gather the wheat into my barn.
27 Hereby Christ does not take away the office from the magistrate, in punishing the wicked, Rom. 13:4, nor from the church in the exercise of discipline, 1 Cor. 5:7, but gives to understand that men must use prudence therein, and that the hypocrites and wicked cannot be wholly removed, forasmuch as sometimes they cannot be clearly distinguished from true believers, as the blasted wheat can hardly be distinguished from the good wheat when it first comes up.
o Mat. 3:12.
31 ¶ 28Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, Thep kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
28 By these two parables Christ points to the power of His Word, which although in the beginning it seemed small and despicable, yet afterwards would spread itself far and wide, and press through the entire world, Rom. 10:18.
p Mark 4:30; Luke 13:18.
32Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
33¶Another parable spake he unto them; Theq kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three 29measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
q Luke 13:20, 21.
29 Gr. sata. See thereof Gen. 18:6.
34Allr these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and 30without a parable spake he not unto them:
r Mark 4:33.
30 Namely, at that time, and in this and other sermons.
35That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, Is will open my mouth in parables; I will 31utter things which have been kept 32secret from the foundation of the world.
s Psalm 78:2.
31 Or, abundantly bring forth. Gr. bubble out, as a fountain does its water.
32 That is, such doctrines, which were always mysteries in themselves, but notwithstanding foretold and revealed in God’s Word; as it is likewise so taken in Psalm 78:2.
36Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
37He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is 33the Son of man;
33 Namely, by Himself, as well as by His apostles and faithful teachers, Eph. 4:11, 12.
38The field is the world; the good seed are 34the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
34 That is, who are not only outward members of Christ’s Kingdom, as Mat. 8:12, but also true and living members.
39The enemy that sowed them is the devil; thet harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
t Joel 3:13; Rev. 14:15.
40As therefore the taresu are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
u weeds, darnel; see verse 25
41The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things 35that offend, and them which do iniquity;
35 That is, men who have led a scandalous life.
42And shall cast them into a 36furnace of fire: therev shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
36 Or, fiery furnace, that is, hell. It seems that in this phrase there is an allusion to the horrible punishments of fire, which were in use in former times. See Dan. 3:6.
v Mat. 8:12; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30; Luke 13:28.
43Thenw shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
w Dan. 12:3; 1 Cor. 15:42.
44 ¶ 37Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goethx and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
37 By these two parables Christ points to the excellent worth of the doctrine and promises of the Gospel, together with the zeal and diligence which one ought to put forth, to obtain the same, although it were even with the damage and loss of all temporal things.
x Philip. 3:7.
45¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
47¶Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall 38come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
38 Namely, being sent forth by Christ, as verse 41.
50And shall cast them into the 39furnace of fire: therey shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
39 Or, fiery furnace, as verse 42.
y verse 42.
51Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed 40unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his 41treasure things new and old.
40 Or, into; that is, an intelligent and exercised man in the Scripture, a teacher, such as was Ezra. See Ezra 7:6, 11.
41 Or, storage.
53¶Andz it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
z Mark 6:1; Luke 4:16.
54And when he was come into his 42own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whenceaa hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
42 Namely, Nazareth, where He was brought up and His friends dwelled. See Luke 4:16.
aa Mark 6:2.
55Isab not this the 43carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his 44brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
ab John 6:42.
43 Namely, of Joseph, whom they thought (but amiss) to be His father. See Luke 3:23; John 6:42.
44 That is, His kinsmen; for, James and Joses were sons of the sister of Christ’s mother; as may be seen, John 19:25, compared with Mat. 27:56 and Mark 15:40.
56And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, Aac prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
ac Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44.
58And he did not many mighty works there 45because of their unbelief.
45 Because they, by reason of their unbelief, brought not the sick unto Him.