1.
The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.
2.
And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3.
And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4.
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
5.
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6.
And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
7.
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
8.
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
9.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
10.
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11.
He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12.
For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13.
Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14.
And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15.
For this people's heart is waxed gross, 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.
16.
But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17.
For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
18.
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
19.
When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
20.
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
21.
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
22.
He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
23.
But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
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:
25.
But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26.
But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27.
So 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?
28.
He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29.
But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30.
Let 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: but gather the wheat into my barn.
31.
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32.
Which 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; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
The kingdom of heaven - The meaning here is the same as in the last parable; perhaps, however, intending to denote more properly the secret and hidden nature of piety in the soul. The other parable declared the “fact” that the gospel would greatly spread, and that piety in the heart would greatly increase. This states the “way” or “mode” in which it would be done. It is secret, silent, steady; pervading all the faculties of the soul and all the kingdoms of the world, as leaven, or yeast, though hidden in the flour, and though deposited only in one place, works silently until all the mass is brought under its influence.
Three measures - These were small measures (see the margin); but the particular amount is of no consequence to the story; nor is anything to be inferred from the fact that three are mentioned. That number is mentioned as a circumstance giving interest to the parable, but designed to convey no spiritual instruction. The measure mentioned here probably contained about a peck and a half.
34.
All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35.
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
36.
Then 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.
37.
He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
38.
The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one;
39.
The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
40.
As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41.
The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity;
42.
And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43.
Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
44.
Again, 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 goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
The kingdom of heaven - The gospel. The new dispensation. The offer of eternal life. See the notes at Matthew 3:2. The Saviour in this parable compares that kingdom to treasure hid in a field; that is, to money concealed; or more likely to a mine of silver or gold that was unknown to the owner of the field.
He hideth - That is, he conceals the fact that he has found it; he does not tell of it. With a view of obtaining this, Jesus says that a man would go and sell his property and buy the field. The conduct of the man would be dishonest. It would be his duty to inform the owner of the field of the discovery. He would be really endeavoring to gain property belonging to another at far less than its real value, and the principle of real integrity would require him to inform the owner of the discovery. But Christ does not intend to vindicate his conduct. He merely states the way in which people do “actually” manage to obtain wealth. He states a case where a man would actually “sacrifice his property,” and practice diligence and watchfulness to obtain the wealth which he had discovered. The point of the parable lies in his “earnestness,” his anxiety, his care, and his actually obtaining it. The gospel is more valuable than such a treasure, Psalms 19:10; Proverbs 3:13-15. It is hidden from most people. When a person sees it and hears it, it is his duty to sacrifice all that hinders his obtaining it, and to seek it with the earnestness with which other people seek for gold. The truth often lies buried: it is like rich veins of ore in the sacred Scriptures; it must be searched out with diligence, and its discovery will repay a man for all his sacrifices, Luke 14:33; Philippians 3:8.
45.
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46.
Who, 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:
48.
Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49.
So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50.
And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51.
Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52.
Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
53.
And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54.
And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
Into his own country - That is, into Nazareth. Mark, who has also recorded this Mark 6:1-6, says that it took place on the Sabbath. It was common for our Saviour to speak in the synagogues. Any Jew had a fight to address the people, if called on by the minister; and our Saviour often availed himself of the right to instruct the people and declare his doctrines. See Matthew 4:23.
55.
Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56.
And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57.
And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
And they were offended in him - That is, they took offence at his humble birth, and at the indigent circumstances of his family. They were too proud to be taught by one who, in family connections, they took to be their equal or inferior. People always look with envy on those of their own rank who advance pretensions to uncommon wisdom or superior power.
A prophet is not without honour ... - This seems to be a proverbial expression. Jesus advances it as a general truth. There might be some exceptions to it, but He was not an exception. Everywhere else he had been more honored than at home. There they knew his family. They had seen his humble life. They had been his companions. They were envious of his wisdom, and were too proud to be taught by him. A case remarkably similar to this occurs in the history of the discovery of America. Columbus, a native of Genoa, had by patient study conceived the idea that there was a vast continent which might be reached by sailing to the west. Of this his countrymen had no belief. Learned people had long studied the science of geography, and they had never imagined that such a continent could exist; and they were indignant that He, an obscure man, should suppose that he “possessed wisdom superior to all the rest of mankind united.” It was accordingly a fact that he was obliged to seek for patrons of his undertaking out of his own country; that there he received his first honors; and to other kingdoms the discoveries of the obscure Genoese gave their chief wealth and highest splendor.
58.
And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
Did not many mighty works - Miracles. This implies that he performed some miracles. Mark tells us what they were: “He laid his hands upon a few sick folk and healed them,” Mark 6:5.
Because of their unbelief - That is, it would have been useless to the great purposes of his mission to have worked miracles there. We are not to suppose that his power was limited by the belief or unbelief of people; but they were so “prejudiced,” so set against him, that they were not in a condition to “judge of evidence” and to be convinced. They would have charged it to derangement, or sorcery, or the agency of the devil. Compare John 10:20. It would have been of no use, therefore, in proving to them that he was from God, to have worked miracles. He did, therefore, only those things which were the proper work of benevolence, and which could not easily be charged on the devil. He gave “sufficient” proof of his mission, and left them in their chosen unbelief without excuse. It is also true, in spiritual things, that the unbelief of a people prevents the influences of the Holy Spirit from being sent down to bless them. God requires faith. He hears only the prayers of faith. And when there is little true belief, and prayer is cold and formal, there the people sleep in spiritual death and are unblessed.