Matthew 13

Matthew 13:1

PARABLE OF THE SOWER.–Matthew 13:1-9. GOLDEN TEXT.–The seed is the word of God.–Luke 8:11. TIME.–A. D. 28. PLACE.–On the sea-shore of Galilee; probably not far from Capernaum. HELPFUL .–Matthew 12:14-50; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-18; Matthew 13:10-23. LESSON .–1. The Great Sower; 2. The Sowing; 3. Good Seed in Good Soil.. He privately retired to the margin of the lake, desiring probably to “rest awhile;” but no sooner had he taken his seat beside the cool, still water, than he was again surrounded by the anxious crowd. At once, to escape the pressure and to command the audience better when he should again begin to speak, he stepped into one of the fishing-boats that floated at ease close by the beach, on the margin of that tideless inland sea.

From the water’s edge, stretching away upward on the natural gallery formed by the sloping bank, the great congregation, with every face fixed in an attitude of eager expectancy, presented to the Preacher’s eye the appearance of a plowed field ready to receive the seed. As he opened his lips and cast the word of life freely abroad among them, he saw, he felt, the parallel between the sowing of Nature and the sowing of Grace. Into that word accordingly he threw the lesson of saving truth.–W. Arnot.I. THE GREAT SOWER.—

1. The same day Jesus went out of the house. Probably, but not certainly, the same day on which the events related in the preceding chapter occurred. What house is meant is not stated. It may have been the one in which the Lord made his home in Capernaum; where, too, his mother and brethren sought him (Matthew 12:46). The sea-shore is that of the Sea of Galilee, probably near Capernaum, at the northwest corner of the lake.

Matthew 13:2

2. And there were gathered unto him great multitudes. Literally, “greatest.” There is every reason to believe that this was the greatest. It was the turning-point in his public teaching, since the parabolic instruction now begins.–Schaff. The great Rabbi, according to the universal custom of the rabbis, sat as he taught. He sat “in the sea.” The boat in which he fiat was afloat in the sea.–Morison. The boat was small; and his position was near the surface of the water, the audience being slightly elevated above him. This is the best way of arranging an audience, but the world seems to have discovered it quicker than the church.–Schaff.

At the north end of the lake of Gennesaret, there are small creeks or inlets, where the ship could ride in safety only a few feet from the shore, and where the multitudes seated on both sides and before the boat could listen without distraction or fatigue. As if on purpose to furnish seats, the shores on both sides of these narrow inlets are piled up with smooth bundles of basalt.–Thomson.

Matthew 13:3

3. And he spake many things to them in parables. Of which only samples are preserved, even by Matthew, and still fewer in the other Gospels, showing that the writer’s aim was not to furnish an exhaustive history, but to illustrate by examples the ministry of Christ.–J. A. Alexander. By parables. Up to this time Christ’s preaching had been chiefly confined to a simple proclamation. “The kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17; Matthew 10:7). The Sermon on the Mount afforded some interpretation of the principles of that kingdom, but primarily to his own disciples, and chiefly in contrast with the Mosaic law and the Pharisaic system. In these parables Christ discloses those features respecting his kingdom which were surest to encounter prejudice and opposition. The parable differs from the proverb in being a narrative, from the fable in being true to nature, from the myth in being undeceptive, from the allegory in that it veils the spiritual truth.–Abbott. By the parable our Lord could give to his disciples in this method the deepest secrets of his kingdom for ages, while the caviler, who would have abused the truth, heard without understanding. But the truth thus embodied in narrative was, as it were, materialized, and made fit for perpetuation. It had a form and body to it, by which it could be preserved in tangible shape for future ages.–Whedon. Behold, a sower went forth to sow. It is the sower in the original. The Savior casts upon the canvas of the imagination a particular individual.–Morison. “Behold, a sower went out.” The expression implies that the sower, in the days of our Savior, lived, in a hamlet, or village, as all these farmers now do, to guard against robbers; that he did not sow near his own house, or in a garden fenced or walled, for such a field does not furnish all the basis of the parable. There are neither roads, nor thorns, nor stony places in such lots. They go forth into the open country, where the path passes through the cultivated land, where there are no fences, where thorns grow in clumps all around, where the rocks peep out in places through the scanty soil, and hard by are patches extremely fertile.–Thomson.

Matthew 13:4

II. THE SOWING.— 4. And when he sowed. The seed-time in Palestine is usually in October, about the time when this parable was spoken. Sowing is always done by hand; the ground is first scratched with a plow, which runs about four inches deep; the seed is sometimes covered with a harrow, sometimes trodden in by the feet of animals. Stanley (Sinai and Palestine, chap. 13, p. 418) gives a graphic description of Gennesaret as he saw it, the probable scene of this parable: “There was the undulating corn-field descending to the water’s edge. There was the trodden pathway running through the midst of it, with no fence or hedge to prevent the seed from falling here and there on either side of it, or upon it, itself hard with constant tramp of horse, mule, and human feet. There was the ‘good,’ rich soil, which distinguishes the whole of that plain and its neighborhood from the bare hills, elsewhere descending into the lake, and which, where there is no interruption, produces one vast mass of corn. There was the rocky ground of the hill-side protruding here and there through the corn-fields, as elsewhere through the grassy slopes. There were the large bushes of thorn–the ’nabak,’ that kind of which tradition says the Crown of Thorns was woven, springing up, like the fruit trees of the more inland parts, in the very midst of the waving wheat.” Fell by the wayside. Where the field and the road join,–the edge of the field which the plough had not turned up; or, rather, along the narrow trodden foot-path through the fields, which has no hedge or fence to separate it from the sown fields. Fowls. Small birds. Our horses are actually trampling down some seeds which have fallen by this wayside, and larks and sparrows are busy picking them up.–Land and Book.

Matthew 13:5

5. Some fell upon stony places. Where the rocks that jut out of the hills into the plain had a very thin covering of earth, rendering it wholly impossible that the roots should penetrate beyond a certain depth, or draw up any supplies of nourishment from beneath. It is not expected by the farmer that anything sown upon it will come to full maturity. But the place comes within his sweep, as he sows the grain, and so some seeds fall upon it.–Morison. Forthwith they sprung up. It sprang up sooner than the rest because the dry underlying rock drew the beat of the sun, and warmed the seed into earlier life.–P.. And, while the rock below hindered it from striking deeply downward, it put forth its energies the more luxuriantly in the stalk.–Trench.

Matthew 13:6

6. And when the sun was up they were scorched. When the hot suns and dry weather came it would wither away. It was not rooted in that deep, moist soil which would have enabled it to resist the scorching heat of the sun; and, being smitten by that, it withered and died.

Matthew 13:7

7. And some fell among thorns. More literally, into the thorns. He was thinking of some clump of thorny plants which had been burnt down according to Oriental custom, but not eradicated, before seed-growing time. In among these roots some seeds fell. Thorns grew up . . choked them. Or, as Wycliffe renders it, The thorns sprang up and strangled it. The thorns suffocated the growing plant, compressing it together, and thus preventing it from getting the free air and sunshine of heaven, and a sufficiency of the nourishment of the soil.–Morison. The thorns overtopped the good seed, and thus they pined and dwindled in the shade. Here there was no lack of soil; it might be good soil, but what was deficient was a careful husbandry (light and air).–Trench.

Matthew 13:8

III. GOOD SEED IN GOOD SOIL.— 8. But other fell in good ground. The goodness of this last soil consists in its qualities being precisely the reverse of the other three soils: from its softness and tenderness, receiving and cherishing the seed; from its depth, allowing it to take firm root, and not quickly losing its moisture; and from its cleanness, giving its whole vigor and sap to the plant.–J. F. and B. Some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred. Thirty-fold is now really a first-rate crop, even for such plains as Esdraelon, just below Nazareth. But in the time of Christ there might be realized, in favorable circumstances, a hundred-fold. Intelligent gentlemen (in the plain of Esdraelon) maintain that they have themselves reaped more than an hundred-fold. Moreover, the different kinds of fertility may be ascribed to different kinds of grain: barley yields more than wheat; and white maize, sown in the neighborhood, often yields several hundred-fold. An extraordinary number of stalks do actually spring from a single root. Here, on this plain of Sidon, I have seen more than a hundred, and each with a head bowing gracefully beneath the load of well-formed grains.

The yield was more than a thousand-fold.–Land and Book. Observe the four kinds of seed: the first did not spring up at all; the second sprang up, but soon withered away; the third sprang up and grew, but yielded no fruit; the fourth sprang up, grew, and brought forth fruit: and as there are three causes of unfaithfulness, so there are three degrees of fruitfulness, but only one cause of fruitfulness.–Maclear.

Matthew 13:9

9. He that hath ears to hear. This usually follows an important statement, intimating that he who has the discernment to understand will find the deeper meaning.–Schaff. Christ assumes that all without exception have been divinely provided with fitting organs of hearing; and he draws attention to the fact of the provision in a way that is calculated to lead each individual to reflect on his individual responsibility. It is quite a common phenomena among men, to misuse the ears, so as not to hear the still, small voices that speak the most important truth.–Morison..–In order to understand the parable we must go with the other disciples and listen to the explanation given by Christ in verses 18-23. Christ is the great Sower, and all whom he sends forth to preach are sowers under him. The seed sown is his Word, the Gospel of the Kingdom. The soil where the seed is cast is human hearts.

Four kinds of human hearts are described: 1. The wayside hearer; the light, flippant, indifferent hearer upon whom no impression is produced. 2. The stony hearer; the heart that exhibits an evanescent feeling at the appeal of the gospel, but upon whom no permanent impression is made. 3. The thorny soil; the heart that takes in the Word, but is so full of worldly cares that these presently gain the mastery. This describes the world-serving bearer. 4. The good soil: The good and honest heart; the heart that receives and retains the truth.

In such a heart the seed will grow and the new life will be manifest. Three things, then, are needful: 1. A Sower. 2. Good Seed; the pure word of God. 3. A good and honest heart. A dishonest man cannot be converted until he casts out his dishonesty.

He who cavils at and deceitfully entreats the word of God will not be profited. AND . The soul is the natural soil for the Word of God: one is adapted to the other. It is our duty to sow the good seed everywhere, even if some fails of a good result. The seed the Christian should sow is not his own fancies, but the pure Word of God. It is not the fault of the truth, but of our hard hearts, if we do not bring forth fruit. BY THE SEA- SIDE.–Observe that we have the highest authority for street and field preaching. Observe, too, how utterly incongruous such an informal service with the idea that any kind of ritualism is an essential accompaniment of religious instruction.–Abbott. Not that he declined the temple or the synagogue when he had the opportunity, but in the want of them Christ thought a house, a mountain, a ship, no unmeet place to preach in. It is not the place that sanctifies the ordinance, but the ordinance that sanctifies the people.–Burkitt.THE SEED.–Dry and dead as it seems, let a seed be planted with a stone–flashing diamond, or burning ruby; and while that in the richest soil remains a stone, this awakes, and, bursting its husky shell, rises from the ground to adorn the earth with beauty, perfume the air with fragrance, or enrich men with its fruit. Such life there is in all, but especially in Gospel, truth. It lives when we die; as the old martyr exclaimed when he stood bound to the fiery stake, “Me you may kill, the truth you cannot!”–Guthrie. .–We have several Scripture examples of the four characters.

Pharaoh and Festus may be named as " wayside" hearers. King Saul, Herod Antipas, the Galatians (Galatians 5:7), some of the disciples in Galilee (John 6:66), proved to be like the “stony ground;” Balaam, Judas and Ananias, like the “thorny ground.” The young ruler, Simon Magus, and Demas, combine some of the features of the two latter classes; Felix combines those of the first and second.

Peter was in danger of being one of the second class; Lot and Martha, of belonging to the third. Of the good soil, Nathanael and Lydia are striking instances.–Eugene Stock.POINTS FOR . 1. Bring out the scenery. Christ in the boat near the sea-shore; the multitude on the shore; the season, seed-time; possibly a sower in sight on the rich plain. 2. Point out the nature of the grain-fields; hard-beaten paths through it; stony places with little soil; thorny spots; good, rich, deep soil. 3: Note the four kinds of soil on which the seed fell, the results of the sowing on each and the reasons for it. 4. Note the application: (1) the sowers; (2) the seed sown; (3) the wayside soil; (4) the stony soil; (5) the thorny soil; (6) the good ground.

Show what kind of hearts each represents. 5. Then look forward to when the harvest shall be gathered; the wheat into the garner; the tares or chaff, or weeds, or all that is barren to be burned.

Matthew 13:24

PARABLE OF THE TARES.–Matthew 13:24-30. GOLDEN TEXT.–The harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.–Matthew 13:39. TIME.–Probably same as in last lesson. PLACE.–Probably same as in last lesson. HELPFUL .–Matthew 13:36-43; Matthew 25:31-46; Matthew 13:47-50. LESSON .–1. The Good Seed in the Field; 2. Whence Come the Tares? 3. Separated at the Harvest.. The parable of the Tares follows that of the Sower; the development of evil is soon apparent, and it was foretold to prevent discouragement. The historical application of the Tares is more especially to the early days of Christianity, when evil tendencies, not yet rooted up, manifested themselves.

It has, however, an application to every succeeding age.–Schaff. Notwithstanding the Savior himself gives an explanation of this parable, there is no other that he spoke which has caused so much controversy. Even in the earlier centuries of the Church its interpretation was a question. Augustine, on the one hand, contending that its application was to the Church, and that the Tares and the wheat were to grow together in it, while Donatus held that it applied to the world, and insisted on a vigorous exclusion of the evil from the Church. The views of Augustine prevailed in the Catholic body; the Donatists were pronounced schismatics, and the Catholics retain profane persons, drunkards, fornicators, thieves and murderers in the fold. Still, there is the same difference of opinion concerning its application; due, we think, to the disregard of the Savior’s own explanation.

Where Church and State are united it is generally held that the Tares and the wheat are to grow together in the Church. I. THE GOOD SEED IN THE FIELD.— 24. The kingdom of heaven is likened. The object of all the parables in this connection is to explain various features and principles of the kingdom of heaven. Except the parable of the Sower they are introduced similarly. “The kingdom of heaven is like, or likened,” “to a man who sowed good seed in his field,” “a grain of mustard seed,” “leaven which a woman hid in three measures of meal,” “treasure in a field,” “a merchantman seeking goodly pearls,” “a net cast into the sea,” and “a householder.” Unto a man which sowed good seed in his field. It is important to note what the kingdom of heaven is likened to. It is not to the field in which the tares and the wheat were both sown, nor to the enemy who sowed the the tares, but to the man who sowed the good seed. If this had been kept in mind by the theologians and commentators it would have saved much ink and paper wasted in controversy. The kingdom does what the Sower is represented as doing. It sows the good seed. It is true that verse 37 states that the Sower of the good seed is the Son of man, and these two passages do not conflict. The work of the Son of man, the King, is done through and by the kingdom. Not since he ascended on high has he sowed the seed in person, but by means of the kingdom. Good seed. We are left in no doubt, either, as to what is meant by the good seed. It is declared in verse 19 that the seed is the “word of the kingdom,” and in verse 38 that the “good seed” are “the children of the kingdom.” These are those in whose hearts the good seed has fallen, and their now lives, as children of the kingdom, are the fruit of the good seed. In his field. The controversy has turned upon what the Savior represents by the field. 1. It is not the kingdom, or church, for this is represented by “the man that sowed good seed in his field.” 2. It is the place where the good seed is sown by the Son of man, or through his agency; in other words, the place where the gospel is preached to men. 3. Verse 38 states emphatically that the field is the world, not the church, or heaven, or hell, but the world.

Matthew 13:25

25. But while men slept. During sleep is the time of tare-sowing. It is when men sleep that they are most likely to inhale malarious poisons. It is when the church member sleeps that the enemy is wont to sow worldly influences and temptation in his heart. It is when the church sleeps that influences are planted that grow up into evil. It was while Prince Alexander of Bulgaria was sleeping that the conspiracy gathered which hustled him out of his kingdom. It is during the hours of sleep, whether in our souls, in the church, in affairs of state, or the natural sleep of night that the enemy is always busiest. It is a natural touch for the Savior to locate the evil “when men slept.” His enemy came and sowed. It is by no means uncommon for malice to show itself in this way. A wicked person may do great injury with little chance of detection. Dean Alford in his Commentary states that he was once the victim of such animosity, a mischievous weed being sown in his field. Trench says that such acts of revenge are very common in India and the East. Tares also among the wheat. The man had sown only wheat, good, clean, sound wheat. The enemy, however, watching the time of sowing, had scattered tares in the night. The tare or darnel is, like our chess or cheat, a kind of bastard wheat, looking like wheat, but producing a seed that is very injurious in its effects, producing, if eaten, vomiting, and even death. Thompson says, “The roots of the wheat and the darnel are often so intertwined that it is impossible to separate them without plucking them both up.” The grains of the darnel are black, and can be easily separated by sifting. As we have already considered what the Sower, the seed, and the field represent in connection with the kingdom of heaven, we will here refer to the explanation given by the Lord himself when he explained this parable to his disciples. “The enemy that sowed the tares is the devil” (verse 39), the author of all the evil that is in the world, the “father” of the wicked. “The tares are the children of the wicked one” (verse 38), not some of the children, or the children in the church, but the children wherever found. In other words, the enemy and the tares are the devil and his servants in the world.

Matthew 13:26

II. WHENCE COME THE TARES?— 26. When the blade was sprung up. At first, until there was growth, the difference would be unknown, but as both grew the difference would be more and more manifest. There is a great similarity at first between the wheat and the tares, the blades being very much alike, and it is only when the fruit begins to manifest itself that the distinction is manifest. It is also true of men that they are known by their fruits; thus are distinguished the “children of the kingdom” from the “children of the wicked one.”

Matthew 13:27

27. The servants . . . said, Didst thou not sow good seed? As the Lord has not explained whom he meant by the servants, we are left to conjecture. I suppose that be introduced them only to carry on the familiar conversation, and that it was never intended to make a special application of them. Whether celestial or earthly servants is not stated, but from what follows they are more likely to be the latter. They are certainly represented by those good people who are often wondering that God suffers the evil doers to remain in the world. “Didst thou not sow good seed?” implies that the Lord is not responsible for the wicked works of wicked men. “He created man upright, but he has sought out inventions.” When the world and man were created it was all “good,” without any admixture of evil. Whence then the tares? For thousands of years men have been asking this question. Whence came evil? Why is there evil in the world? Why are men wicked? If God made all good, sowed only good seed in the field, how does it come that evil and good are mixed together; the tares with the wheat?

Matthew 13:28

28. An enemy hath done this. The enemy has already been identified as the devil. He began the tare sowing in Eden, sowed seeds in the hearts of Adam and Eve that led them astray, and has continued his quiet, active sowing of tares in the field ever since. Whence came the tares? Whence came evil? Christ answers that they came from the devil. Man was made a free agent, with the power to choose the right or the wrong, and the devil led him to choose the wrong. Whence came the devil? He is a fallen angel; an angel that was created upright, but in the exercise of free choice, chose to rebel against God. See Jude, verse 6. Wilt thou that we go and gather them up? It has been assumed by one class of interpreters that this, in its application, is a question whether discipline shall be administered upon recreant church members. If the field in which the tares are growing with the wheat is “the world,” then it refers to some thing quite different. To comprehend the idea we must consider the views held by the Jews, and even by the disciples, concerning the kingdom. The Jews sought to exterminate the Canaanites, and even as good a man as David prayed for the utter destruction of those who did not worship Jehovah. It was the general expectation that when Christ came his kingdom would cast out and destroy all who did not bow to his authority. Hence the apostles asked the Lord to send fire upon the Samaritan village, and all expected his kingdom would wage conquering and exterminating war of the sword on evil doers.

It was needful that Christ’s disciples should be taught otherwise, and it has been hard for them to learn the lesson. Romanists and even Protestants have persecuted unto death all whom they regarded tares, and myriads were slain, in his name, by those who believed themselves the servants of Christ. They could not understand how, if Christ is the rightful Lord of the earth, rebels to his authority should be allowed to live in disobedience to his will.

Matthew 13:29

III. AT THE HARVEST.— 29. Nay; lost . . . ye root up the wheat also with them. We have quoted from Thomson the statement that the roots of the wheat and tares were often so intertwined that one could not be pulled up without the other. The Lord does not mean to prohibit discipline in the church lest it might lead astray weaker brethren, but to prohibit the church from persecution of heretics or unbelievers, and to prohibit it on the ground that it would be ruinous to the church itself. The struggle that would arise would often cause the slaughter of his followers, the wheat would be pulled up as well as tares, the world would everywhere regard Christians as relentless foemen, and would seek to destroy them. Besides the attempt to remove the tares from the world would demoralize the church.

Matthew 13:30

30. Let both grow together until the harvest. The time of separation will come at last. The righteous shall not always be vexed by the presence and deeds of evil doers. Harvest time will come, and that is the time of separation. The tares, ripened and manifest, can easily be sifted out from the wheat. The Lord himself tells when shall be this time of separation. (1) “The harvest is the end of the world,” the time when all men shall be summoned to judgment. (2) “The reapers are the angels;” the angels who are sent to the four corners of the earth to gather all men. (3) At his bidding the angel reapers shall separate the tares from the wheat; the sheep from the goats; the wheat shall be gathered into the barn, into heaven, “inherit the kingdom;” the tares shall be burned; cast “into everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” .–To make still clearer the meaning of this parable, I condense the results of the above examination. 1. The kingdom is likened to a man sowing good seed in his field. 2. The Sower is the Son of man, who sows by means of his kingdom. 3. The good seed is the word of God as seen in its fruits, Christ’s followers. 4. The field is the world. It is Christ’s field.

All power is given to him in heaven and in earth. His kingdom is rightfully the whole earth, but much of it is held still by the enemy, who has to be conquered. He will be, finally, and the kingdoms of the earth shall become the kingdom of the Lord and his Christ. 5. The wheat raised from the good seed is the “children of the kingdom,” the disciples of Christ converted by his word. 6. The tares are not bad church members, but bad men; those who have been under the influence of the wicked one. 7. The righteous and wicked are to remain in the earth together.

The righteous are not to seek to exterminate the wicked. The evil and the good will be mixed until judgment day. 8. Then all shall be gathered at the throne of judgment. The righteous shall “inherit the kingdom.” All that are wicked shall be cast out of the kingdom. An eternal separation shall take place. AND . The whole world rightfully belongs to Christ. The “prince of this world” is a usurper. The church should seek to conquer the world for Christ. Christ sows only good seed. His word makes men better. If they are wicked it is due to other influences. We must avoid spiritual slumber. It is while we sleep that the enemy does his work. The enemy is always sowing tares whenever opportunity offers. Sometimes by tempting men to evil; sometimes by introducing trouble into the church; sometimes by whispering slanders to destroy the good names of those who are doing a good work. In the field we will always find some tares here. If we would escape from evil doers we must needs get out of the world. We must leave the final separation to the Lord. He will gather the wheat into his garner; the tares and the chaff will be burned with an unquenchable fire. We must show that we are wheat instead of tares by bearing the right kind of fruit. Not the leaves of profession, but the fruit of our lives determine what we are. “By their fruits ye shall know them.” In the Eternal Kingdom, the New Jerusalem, there shall be no evil doers. Nothing unrighteous, or filthy, or “that maketh or believeth a lie,” will ever pass through its gates. POINTS FOR . 1. Point to the wheat field; all green and beautiful. When time comes for fruit, however, much of it is chess or cheat. The tares are somewhat similar to the chess. 2. Bring out the story; the householder sows in good soil good seed with great care. His enemy comes in the night, like a thief, and sows the evil weed.

The wheat and tares come up together. The difference unknown until the time of fruiting. The servants, surprised, ask directions. No separation till the harvest. 3. Identify each feature. The Sower of the seed sowing.

The good seed. The field. The wheat. The tares. The reapers. The harvest. 4.

Bring out the lesson. Whence the tares, or evil? Where is it found? How shall the wicked be treated? When separated? By whom?

Bring out the Jewish idea, that of the disciples at first, why the church must not seek to pull up the tares, what would be the effect on it. 6. Show how the church must fight evil, by sowing good seed and not sleeping: eternal work, sowing, and wakefulness. 7. Point to the final separation, where and when made, where each are gathered, how the wheat is known. Which are you?

Matthew 13:31

OTHER .– Matthew 13:31-33; Matthew 13:44-52. GOLDEN TEXT.–So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth and sever the wicked from the just.–Matthew 13:49. TIME AND PLACE.–As in the preceding lesson. HELPFUL .–Review the parable of the Sower, Matthew 13:36-43; the parable of the Tares, Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:30-32; Luke 13:18-21. LESSON .–l. The Growth of the Kingdom; 2. The Value of the Kingdom; 3. The Wicked Severed from the Just.. The third and fourth parables follow logically after that of the Tares. It is well to notice the connection of thought. 1.

The Sower shows the effect of sowing the good seed of the kingdom and how much depends on the proper preparation of the heart. 2. The Tares show that the Enemy will sow as well as the Son of man, and that tares will remain among the wheat until the judgment. 3. The third and fourth parables show that the tares will not take the wheat because of the wonderful growth of the kingdom. 4. The fifth shows the inestimable value of the kingdom. 5. And the sixth that the gospel net will often draw in worthless fish, which will be separated at the judgment. The parables of the Mustard Seed and the Leaven form a pair; both pointing to the growth of Christianity from small beginnings; the former to its extensive power, in consequence of its inherent capacity for development; the latter to its intensive power, all the more pervasive because noiseless.–Schaff.1.

THE GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM.— 31. Another parable put he forth unto them. This is the third parable in succession drawn from agricultural experience. After the difficulties in the beginning (the sower), and the mixture of evil, have been emphasized, the successful result is foretold. The lesson of patience is again enforced, but hope directly encouraged. Like a grain of mustard seed. The mustard-plant (sinapis orientalis, or nigra) was a shrub, bearing pods; but In Eastern countries and in the South of Europe it is cultivated for its seed. The Jews grew mustard in their gardens. Its round seed-corns (4-6 in a pod) were proverbially characterized by them as the smallest thing, which indeed holds true so far as the various kinds of seed-corn used in Jewish husbandry are concerned, though scientific botany knows still smaller seeds.–Lange. It would be difficult to find an emblem which more faithfully represents the history of the visible Church of Christ than this grain of mustard-seed.–Ryle.

Matthew 13:32

32. Which, indeed, is the least of all seeds. The least of all the field or garden seeds sown in Palestine. Less in proportion to the size which it obtains at its maturity.–P. The mustard-seed is not the least of all seeds in the world, but of all which the husbandman was accustomed to sow; and the “tree,” when full grown, was larger than the other herbs in his garden.–Maclear. But when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs. All herbs cultivated in the fields or gardens of Palestine. Not absolutely, but in relation to the small size of the seed. The herb of our English garden is but a pygmy in comparison with the giant growth of a richer soil and a warmer clime. Dr. Hooker measured a mustard-plant in the Jordan Valley ten feet high.–Biblical Things not Generally Known. It grew into an herbaceous plant, as tall as a horse and his rider.–Thomson.

The growth of a mighty kingdom is not here for the first time likened to that of a tree. Many of our Lord’s hearers must have been familiar with such a comparison from the Scriptures of the Old Testament.–Trench. Daniel uses the growth of the tree to typify that of an earthly kingdom (Daniel 4:10-12), Ezekiel to symbolize that of the kingdom of God (Ezekiel 17:22-24; comp. Psalms 80:8-11). This is the point to which the Lord calls special attention, not to the greatness of the mustard-tree in itself, but its greatness as compared with the seed from whence it springs; for what he would teach his disciples was not (merely) that his kingdom should be glorious, but that it should be glorious despite its weak and slight and despised beginnings.–Trench. And becometh a tree. Professor Hackett, after long and doubtful search, found on the plains of Akka, on the way to Carmel, a little forest of mustard trees, which he thus interestingly describes: “It was then in blossom, full grown, in some cases six, seven, and nine feet high, with a stem or trunk an inch or more in thickness, throwing out branches on either side. I was now satisfied in part. I felt that such a plant might well be called a tree, and, in comparison with the seed producing it, a great tree. But still the branches, or stems of the branches, were not very large, or apparently very strong. Can the birds, I said to myself, rest upon them? Are they not too slight and flexible?

Will they not bend or break beneath the superadded weight? At that very instant, as I stood and revolved the thought, lo I one of the fowls of heaven stopped in its flight through the air, alighted down on one of the branches, which hardly moved beneath the shock, and then began, perched there before my eyes, to warble forth a strain of the richest music. All my doubts were now charmed away. I was delighted at the incident. It seemed to me at the moment as if I enjoyed enough to repay me for all the trouble of the whole journey.” .–“The interpretation of the parable lies almost on the surface. Here, again, the sower is the Son of man; but the seed in this case is not so much the ‘word’ as the Christian society, the church, which forms, so to speak, the first-fruits of the word. As it then was, it was smaller than any sect or party in Palestine or Greece or Italy. It was sown in God’s field of the world, but it was to grow till it became greater than any sect or school, a tree among the trees of the forest, a kingdom among other kingdoms,–a great organized society; and the birds of the air, i. e., the systems of thought, institutions, and the like, of other races, were to find refuge under its protection.” This parable, like most others respecting the kingdom of God, has a double reference,–general and individual. (1) In the general sense the insignificant beginnings of the kingdom are set forth; the little babe cast in the manger at Bethlehem; the man of sorrows, with no place to lay his head; the crucified One; or again the hundred and twenty names who were the seed of the church after the Lord had ascended; then we have the kingdom of God waxing onward and spreading its branches here and there, and different nations coming into it. (2) The individual application points to the small beginnings of divine grace; a word, a thought, a passing sentence, may prove to be the little seed which eventually fills and shadows the whole heart and being, and calls all thoughts, all passions, all delights, to come and shelter under it.–Alford.

Matthew 13:33

33. The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven. In those days a piece of the leavened dough from an unbaked loaf was put among the new dough to cause fermentation. Usually the term leaven is used in the Scripture of evil influences which extend rapidly, but here, of the good and gracious influence of the gospel. Which a woman. Some have seen in “a woman” the symbol of the church (see Revelation 12:1), but I suppose that the reason for the use of the term is that the women were the bread-bakers of Palestine. A man is the actor in the parable of the Sower, etc., because men sow the seed. Three measures of meal. The usual amount for one baking, an ephah (see Genesis 18:6; Judges 6:19; 1 Samuel 1:24). The leaven is taken from without and “hid” in the meal, or flour. The hidden leaven, though only a small quantity, imparts its qualities to the large mass, till all was leavened. The Parable teaches that the Gospel is the leavening influence of the world. It does its work silently; it leavens first that in immediate contact, then quietly extends its influence; it, lodged in the heart, leavens the whole life. It will keep working on until it leavens the whole earth.

Matthew 13:44

II. THE VALUE OF THE KINGDOM.— 44. The kingdom of heaven is like unto a treasure hidden in the field. Of inestimable value, though that value is lost sight of by the world. The people of Palestine, even now, have a strange passion for treasure-seeking, and not a few spend their last farthing in ruinous efforts. Valuables which, with us, are entrusted to bankers, are in the East buried in fields and gardens to save them from robbers and accidents.–Schaff. For joy thereof. The man who finds it is elated over the discovery, and expends all that he has to buy the field in order to become the owner of the treasure. This parable teaches the immense value, priceless, of the gospel; and that one who finds out that value will give up everything else in order to possess himself of the privileges, and hopes of the kingdom.

Matthew 13:45

45. A merchant man seeking goodly pearls. Pearls were then esteemed as the most valuable ornaments and were sought by merchants on distant shores, the most valuable being brought from the Indian Ocean.

Matthew 13:46

46. Having found one pearl of great price. He was willing to invest everything he had in this pearl of surpassing beauty and worth. We are all pearl-hunters. We want to find the pearl of happiness and blessing. We are willing to give everything else we have for it. If we think pleasure, or wealth, or fame, or power is the pearl, all else has to give way in order that we may secure it. Often we fancy that we see the pearl before us, but when we get it it is only an imitation. The real pearl is the kingdom in our hearts. He who finds out about it will part with all else to secure it, for we Will “count all else loss so we may win Christ.”

Matthew 13:47

III. THE WICKED SEVERED FROM THE JUST.— 47. The kingdom of heaven is like a net. The Savior’s illustrations all come home to his audience. Many were husbandmen; many were women familiar with the culinary art; some were merchants; many were fishermen. A drag net or seine is meant. Gathered every kind. Here again, as in the parable of the Tares, it is taught that, at the end-of the world, the angels shall sever the wicked from the just; in the parable of the Tares the reference is to the wicked generally; here to those who are found in the church. It would be found in all experience that some of these would be found in the earthly kingdom and that no effort could keep them out. The Lord teaches that they will not enter the New Jerusalem, but shall, at the end of the world, suffer the same fate as the rest of the wicked. The sea is a scriptural symbol for “the nations” (Revelation 17:15; Isaiah 8:7; Psalms 65:7).

Matthew 13:48

48. When it was filled. The fishermen cannot stop to sort while they are drawing the net. Nor can the preachers of the gospel always distinguish. They drew to shore. The shores of time in the application. Then the separation takes place.

Matthew 13:49

49. So shall it be at the end of the world. Then, not men, but the angels, under the direction of the Son of Man, shall sever the wicked from the just. The fate of the wicked drawn in the gospel net is described in similar language to that of the wicked sown by the enemy in the field of the world.

Matthew 13:50

50. Shall cast them into the furnace of fire. Here is repeated, word for word, the language of verse 42. The tares, the chaff, the corrupt trees, the barren tree, are all represented as burned, and here also the wicked are cast into a furnace. While I suppose that the language is a figure it can only be understood as indicating that the sufferings of Gehenna, the abode of the wicked, are intense. See Matthew 8:12. AND . Never despise humble and feeble beginnings. A spark has burned up a city; snowflakes stopped every railroad train in a State. Religion is the most important thing in the soul, and brings all faculties and powers under its influence. The growth of the kingdom in the world is mighty, from a seed at Pentecost to a tree shadowing all the earth. The difference between a grain of mustard seed and a great tree is nothing to that between a young convert on earth and a glorified saint in heaven. See John 12:24.-M. Henry.The difference between the kingdom on the first Pentecost of the church and in this Nineteenth Century is greater than that between a mustard seed and a great tree. MUSTARD SEED.–Incidentally it is worthy of notice that the mustard seed is pungent, penetrating, searching, and must be bruised before it will give out its virtues, and when it is grown gives shelter and house-room to the birds. So the seeds of truth must be pungent, penetrating, searching; so Christ, who is the seed, because he is the living and life-giving truth, must needs be bruised before he could save; so the Church of Christ, as an organization, and the Christian, in his individual life, gives shade and shelter to the oppressed and the tempted. Compare Ezekiel 31:6.–Abbott.WILL LEAVEN THE EARTH.–We believe it because God has been preparing the world for something glorious. The last fifty years have accomplished wonders. On the American Continent, what a wonderful amalgamation of races we have witnessed, how wonderfully they have been fused into that one American people!–type and earnest of a larger fusion which Christianity will yet accomplish, when, by its blessed power, all tribes and tongues and races shall become one holy family. The present popularity of beneficences promises well for the missionary cause in the future.

Men’s hearts are undergoing a process of enlargement. Their sympathies are taking a wider scope.

The world is getting closer, smaller,–quite a compact affair. The world for Christ will yet be realized.–Dr. Livingstone.POINTS FOR . 1. Bring out the familiar illustration. The growth of the mustard seed; what it implies. A prophecy and how fulfilled. 2. Let the nature of leaven be pointed out, how it works, and how the gospel is like leaven, and how doing its work still. 3. Show in what parables and how the Lord sets forth the priceless value of the kingdom, the hidden treasure, and the pearl.

Show how all are pearl-seekers, but all do not find, what is the true pearl and what we are to be willing to give for it. 4. Illustrate the work of the fishermen, the net cast into the sea, gathering the fishes that come within its folds, good and bad, the work of separation at shore, and what all this means. 5. Bring out the great thought of this lesson. It is the GROWTH OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD, BOTH IN THE SOUL AND IN THE WORLD. (1) There are first given some of the laws of religious growth, variously illustrated; growth by shining, by right hearing, by giving, by right using; with the loss from misuse. (2) Secret progress, with the limits of human agency in the progress. (3) Orderly development, and the harvest that follows. (4) From small beginnings, both in the soul and in the world; but resulting (5) in complete success, filling and controlling the soul, completely triumphing in the world. (6) Nor will those gain who have places nominally in the kingdom, but are not of it. At the end of the world they will be gathered out. To be saved our souls and lives must be wholly leavened.