You can easily picture that scene, — the Master sitting down in the vessel, with a little breathing space of water between Himself and the crowd, and then the multitude on the rising bank, standing one above another, and all gazing upon the Teacher who sat down and taught them. It ought to reconcile any of you who have to stand in the crowd here when you remember that the hearers all stood in those days, and only the preacher sat down.
4:2 And He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in His doctrine,
4:2 And He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in His doctrine,
He taught them many things by parables - After the usual manner of the eastern nations, to make his instructions more agreeable to them, and to impress them the more upon attentive hearers.
A parable signifies not only a simile or comparison, and sometimes a proverb, but any kind of instructive speech, wherein spiritual things are explained and illustrated by natural, Proverbs 1:6.
4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
4:3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:
Hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow - By whom is meant Jesus Christ, who came forth from God as a teacher, and went out into the land of Judea to preach the Gospel, which is sowing spiritual things among men; and this may be also applicable to any faithful minister of the word.
4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
4:4 And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And it came to pass, as he sowed,.... Whilst he was preaching the, Gospel, casting about the precious seed of the word, he was laden with:
some fell by the way side; the common beaten path: the word was dispensed among some men comparable to it, on whom it lighted, but made no impression; there it lay, though not long, and was not inwardly received, and took no root, and consequently was of no effect:
and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up; the devils, who have their abode in the air, especially the prince of the posse of them;
4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
some fell by the way side; the common beaten path: the word was dispensed among some men comparable to it, on whom it lighted, but made no impression; there it lay, though not long, and was not inwardly received, and took no root, and consequently was of no effect:
and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up; the devils, who have their abode in the air, especially the prince of the posse of them;
4:5 And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth:
And some fell on stony ground,.... The word was preached to some persons who had hearts of stone, and which remained so:
where it had not much earth; and so could be received only in a notional and superficial way, but could take no place, so as to produce any good effect:
and immediately it sprung up; a sudden and hasty profession of the word was made, without a powerful experience of it:
because it had no depth of earth; if it had, it would have been longer in coming up; more work would have been done by it, which would have required more time, before a profession of it had been made.
4:6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
where it had not much earth; and so could be received only in a notional and superficial way, but could take no place, so as to produce any good effect:
and immediately it sprung up; a sudden and hasty profession of the word was made, without a powerful experience of it:
because it had no depth of earth; if it had, it would have been longer in coming up; more work would have been done by it, which would have required more time, before a profession of it had been made.
4:6 But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.
But when the sun was up, it was scorched,.... When persecution arose because of the word, and that became very hot and vehement, it tried and pierced through this thin speculative knowledge of the word, which could not stand before it, and bear the heat of it:
and because it had no root, it withered away; the word had only a place in the head, and not in the heart; wherefore the profession of it was soon dropped, and came to nothing.
4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
and because it had no root, it withered away; the word had only a place in the head, and not in the heart; wherefore the profession of it was soon dropped, and came to nothing.
4:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
And some fell among thorns,.... The word was ministered to some who were eat up with the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and other lusts:
and the thorns grew up, and choked it; the word did not take place so as to beat down, overcome, and root out these things, nor even to weaken, and keep under, and prevent the influence of them.
4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
And other fell on good ground,.... The word was preached to some whose hearts were disposed by the Spirit and grace of God to receive it; and their understandings were enlightened by it; and they had a savory and comfortable experience of the truths of it.and the thorns grew up, and choked it; the word did not take place so as to beat down, overcome, and root out these things, nor even to weaken, and keep under, and prevent the influence of them.
4:8 And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.
and did yield fruit that sprang up, and increased; they not only appeared, and made an outward profession of the word, and brought forth a little show of fruit, which comes to nothing, as in others; but they were filled with the fruits of righteousness, and increased with the increase of God, and grew in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, and continued to bring forth fruit to the end of their lives:
and brought forth some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred; that is, so many fold: in some the word of God produced larger and greater effects.
4:9 And He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
And He said - He that hath ears to hear, let him hear - The Codex Bezae, later Syriac in the margin, and seven copies of the Itala, add, και ὁ συνιων συνιετω, and whoso understandeth, let him understand.
4:10 And when He was alone, they that were about Him with the twelve asked of Him the parable.
they that were about him with the twelve; that is, such disciples of His, who, besides the twelve, constantly attended Him; perhaps those who now were, or hereafter were the seventy disciples.
The Vulgate Latin reads, "the twelve that were with Him".
In Beza's most ancient copy it is read, "His disciples"; and to this agrees the Persic version; and so the other evangelists, Matthew and Luke, relate, that his disciples came and
asked of Him the parable; the meaning of it, and why he chose this way of speaking to the people.
asked of Him the parable; the meaning of it, and why he chose this way of speaking to the people.
4:11 And He said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables:
To them that are without - So the Jews termed the heathens: so our Lord terms all obstinate unbelievers.
4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
4:12 That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
That seeing they may see,.... Which the end and reason of his speaking to them in parables. The passage referred to is in Isaiah 6:9.
4:13 And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
4:13 And He said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
Though our Lord thought fit to give the above gentle rebuke to his disciples for their dulness; “For this is one of the simplest of them all; if you do not understand this parable, what will you understand?”
4:14 The sower soweth the word.
The sower soweth the word - He condescends to favor them with an interpretation of the above parable, which here begins: by this it appears, that the seed in the parable, before delivered, and which fell on different sorts of ground, is the word of God, which was preached to hearers.4:14 The sower soweth the word.
4:15 And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
There is always a bird where there is a seed lying on the road,
and there is always a devil where there is a sermon heard,
but not received into the heart.
Satan cometh immediately - He is very prompt; we may delay, but the devil never does: When they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground - Such sort of hearers of the word are signified by the stony ground, on which the seed were sown, who are constant hearers of the word, and have some understanding of it, and some sort of affection for it, and yet their hearts are not truly broken by it; they are not brought to a thorough sight and sense of sin, and of their need of Christ, and salvation by him; their stony hearts are not taken away, and hearts of flesh given them:
who when they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness; - seem highly pleased, and greatly delighted with it, as being a well connected scheme things; and which declares things, as heaven and eternal happiness, which they, from a principle of self love, are desirous of enjoying.
4:17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And have no root in themselves - The word has no root in their hearts, only in their natural affections: nor is the root of grace in them; there is no heart work, only speculative notions, and flashy affections:
and so endure but for a time:- they continue hearers and professors of the Gospel but for a small season;
afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. - As soon as any small degree of trouble comes upon them, and especially when there is a hot persecution of the professors of religion, because of the Gospel they have embraced; such hearers are stumbled at these things, and cannot bear the loss of any thing, or endure any thing severe for the sake of the word they have professed a pleasure in; and therefore, rather than suffer, they relinquish at once their profession of it.
4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
And these are they that are sown among thorns - Such hearers of the word are designed by the thorny ground, upon which other seed fell, as it was sown, who are of worldly dispositions; who are immoderately careful and anxious about the things of this life, and are bent upon acquiring earthly riches, and gratifying their carnal and sensual appetites:
4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
The seed cannot grow in such soil as that. The man is too busy, or he is wholly taken up with pleasure; the women are too proud of themselves, or even of the clothes that cover them.
4:16 And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness;
And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground - Such sort of hearers of the word are signified by the stony ground, on which the seed were sown, who are constant hearers of the word, and have some understanding of it, and some sort of affection for it, and yet their hearts are not truly broken by it; they are not brought to a thorough sight and sense of sin, and of their need of Christ, and salvation by him; their stony hearts are not taken away, and hearts of flesh given them:
who when they have heard the word immediately receive it with gladness; - seem highly pleased, and greatly delighted with it, as being a well connected scheme things; and which declares things, as heaven and eternal happiness, which they, from a principle of self love, are desirous of enjoying.
4:17 And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And have no root in themselves - The word has no root in their hearts, only in their natural affections: nor is the root of grace in them; there is no heart work, only speculative notions, and flashy affections:
and so endure but for a time:- they continue hearers and professors of the Gospel but for a small season;
afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. - As soon as any small degree of trouble comes upon them, and especially when there is a hot persecution of the professors of religion, because of the Gospel they have embraced; such hearers are stumbled at these things, and cannot bear the loss of any thing, or endure any thing severe for the sake of the word they have professed a pleasure in; and therefore, rather than suffer, they relinquish at once their profession of it.
4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word,
And these are they that are sown among thorns - Such hearers of the word are designed by the thorny ground, upon which other seed fell, as it was sown, who are of worldly dispositions; who are immoderately careful and anxious about the things of this life, and are bent upon acquiring earthly riches, and gratifying their carnal and sensual appetites:
4:19 And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
The seed cannot grow in such soil as that. The man is too busy, or he is wholly taken up with pleasure; the women are too proud of themselves, or even of the clothes that cover them.
Q: How can there be room for Christ in the inn when it is crowded with other guests?
4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
When everything that is good is multiplied over, and over, and over, and over, and over again, a hundred for one, and when each one of that hundred bears another hundred, that is the blessing we long to see.
4:21 And He said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?
And He said, Is a candle - As if He had said, I explain these things to you, I give you this light, not to conceal, but to impart it to others.
4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
For there is nothing hid - In these parables, and figurative expressions used by Christ,
which shall not be manifested, sooner or later, to His disciples:
neither was any thing kept secret; any doctrine of the Gospel, or mystery of the kingdom:
4:23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. What is now delivered, being very momentous and important;
4:24 And He said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
take heed what you hear: diligently attend to it, seek to understand it, and lay it up in your minds and memories, that it may be of use to you in time to come, and you may be useful in communicating it to others:
4:25 For He that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
For he that hath, to him shall be given - He that has Gospel light and knowledge, and makes a proper use of it, he shall have more; 4:22 For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad.
For there is nothing hid - In these parables, and figurative expressions used by Christ,
which shall not be manifested, sooner or later, to His disciples:
neither was any thing kept secret; any doctrine of the Gospel, or mystery of the kingdom:
4:23 If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. What is now delivered, being very momentous and important;
4:24 And He said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given.
take heed what you hear: diligently attend to it, seek to understand it, and lay it up in your minds and memories, that it may be of use to you in time to come, and you may be useful in communicating it to others:
4:25 For He that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.
and he that hath not, from him shall be taken, even that which he hath; - or seemed to have, or thought he had.
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