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<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width; initial-scale=1.0;"/><title>Matthew 13 Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/matthew/131.htm" /><link href='//fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Cardo&subset=greek-ext' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'><link rel="stylesheet" href="/5001com.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 4800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 4800px)" href="/4801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1550px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1550px)" href="/1551.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1250px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1250px)" href="/1251.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 1050px), only screen and (max-device-width: 1050px)" href="/1051.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 900px), only screen and (max-device-width: 900px)" href="/901.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 800px), only screen and (max-device-width: 800px)" href="/801.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-width: 575px), only screen and (max-device-width: 575px)" href="/501.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link media="handheld, only screen and (max-height: 450px), only screen and (max-device-height: 450px)" href="/h451.css" type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/print.css" type="text/css" media="Print" /><script type="application/javascript" src="https://scripts.webcontentassessor.com/scripts/8a2459b64f9cac8122fc7f2eac4409c8555fac9383016db59c4c26e3d5b8b157"></script><script src='https://qd.admetricspro.com/js/biblehub/biblehub-layout-loader-revcatch.js'></script><script id='HyDgbd_1s' src='https://prebidads.revcatch.com/ads.js' type='text/javascript' async></script><script>(function(w,d,b,s,i){var cts=d.createElement(s);cts.async=true;cts.id='catchscript'; cts.dataset.appid=i;cts.src='https://app.protectsubrev.com/catch_rp.js?cb='+Math.random(); document.head.appendChild(cts); }) (window,document,'head','script','rc-anksrH');</script></head><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/matthew/13.htm" align="left" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div><div id="blnk"></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable"><tr><td><div id="fx5"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx6"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="245" scrolling="no" src="//biblehu.com/bmcom/matthew/13-1.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" class="maintable3"><tr><td><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center" id="announce"><tr><td><div id="l1"><div id="breadcrumbs"><a href="//biblehub.com">Bible</a> > <a href="/commentaries/">Commentary</a> > <a href="../">Cambridge</a> > <a href="../matthew/">Matthew</a></div><div id="anc"><iframe src="/anc.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></div><div id="anc2"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><iframe src="/anc2.htm" width="100%" height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../matthew/12.htm" title="Matthew 12">◄</a> Matthew 13 <a href="../matthew/14.htm" title="Matthew 14">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges</div><div class="chap"> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-1.htm">Matthew 13:1</a></div><div class="verse">The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.</div>Ch. <a href="/context/matthew/13-1.htm" title="The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side....">Matthew 13:1-9</a>. Jesus teaches in Parables. The Parable of the Sower<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/context/mark/4-1.htm" title="And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered to him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land....">Mark 4:1-9</a>; <a href="/context/luke/8-4.htm" title="And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spoke by a parable:...">Luke 8:4-9</a>1. <span class="ital">sat</span>] The usual position of a Jewish teacher.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">by the sea side</span>] At the N. 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 shore on both sides of these narrow inlets is piled up with smooth boulders of basalt.” Thomson, <span class="ital">Land and Book</span>, p. 356.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="2"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-2.htm">Matthew 13:2</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">2</span>. <span class="ital">a ship</span>] According to the received Greek text, the ship or boat.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="3"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-3.htm">Matthew 13:3</a></div><div class="verse">And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;</div><span class="bld">3</span>. <span class="ital">in parables</span>] Up to this time Jesus had preached repentance, proclaiming the kingdom, and setting forth the laws of it in direct terms. He now indicates by parables the reception, growth, characteristics, and future of the kingdom. The reason for this manner of teaching is given below, <span class="ital"><a href="/context/matthew/13-10.htm" title="And the disciples came, and said to him, Why speak you to them in parables?...">Matthew 13:10-15</a></span>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>A parable (Hebr. <span class="ital">mashal</span>) = “a likeness” or “comparison.” Parables differ from fables in being pictures of possible occurrences—frequently of actual daily occurrences,—and in teaching <span class="ital">religious</span> truths rather than <span class="ital">moral</span> truths.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="4"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-4.htm">Matthew 13:4</a></div><div class="verse">And when he sowed, some <i>seeds</i> fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:</div><span class="bld">4</span>. <span class="ital">by the way side</span>] i. e. along the narrow footpath dividing one field from another.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">24–30</span>. The Parable of the Tares. Confined to St Matthew<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">25.</span> <span class="ital">while men slept</span>] i. e. during the night. The expression is not introduced into the Lord’s explanation of the parable.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">sowed tares</span>] Travellers mention similar instances of spiteful conduct in the East, and elsewhere, in modern times.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">tares</span>] Probably the English “darnel;” Latin, <span class="ital">lolium</span>; in the earlier stages of its growth this weed very closely resembles wheat, indeed can scarcely be distinguished from it. This resemblance gives an obvious point to the parable. The good and the evil are often undistinguishable in the visible Church. The Day of Judgment will separate. Men have tried in every age to make the separation beforehand, but have failed. For proof of this read the history of the Essenes or the Donatists. The Lollards—as the followers of Wyckliffe were called—were sometimes by a play on the word <span class="ital">lolium</span> identified by their opponents with the tares of this parable. A friend suggests the reflection: “How strange it was that the very men who applied the word ‘Lollard’ from this parable, acted in direct opposition to the great lesson which it taught, by being persecutors.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>The parable of the Tares has a sequence in thought on the parable of the Sower. The latter shews that the kingdom of God will not be co-extensive with the world; all men have not the capacity to receive the word. This indicates that the kingdom of God—the true Church—is not co-extensive with the visible Church. Some who seem to be subjects of the Kingdom are not really subjects.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="5"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-5.htm">Matthew 13:5</a></div><div class="verse">Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:</div><span class="bld">5</span>. <span class="ital">stony places</span>] Places where the underlying rock was barely covered with earth. The hot sun striking on the thin soil and warming the rock beneath would cause the corn to spring up rapidly and then as swiftly to wither.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="6"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-6.htm">Matthew 13:6</a></div><div class="verse">And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.</div><A name="7"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-7.htm">Matthew 13:7</a></div><div class="verse">And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:</div><span class="bld">7</span>. <span class="ital">thorns sprung up</span>] The scholar will remember that Vergil mentions among the “plagues” of the wheat,<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>“Ut mala culmos<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Esset robigo segnisque horreret in<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>arvis Carduus.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">Georg.</span> i:150–153.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="8"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-8.htm">Matthew 13:8</a></div><div class="verse">But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.</div><span class="bld">8</span>. <span class="ital">some an hundredfold</span>, &c.] The different kinds of fertility may be ascribed to different kinds of grain; barley yields more than wheat, and “white maize sown in the neighbourhood often yields several hundredfold.” See Thomson’s <span class="ital">Land and Book</span>, p. 83.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="9"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-9.htm">Matthew 13:9</a></div><div class="verse">Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.</div><A name="10"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-10.htm">Matthew 13:10</a></div><div class="verse">And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?</div><span class="bld">10–17</span>. The Reason why Jesus teaches in Parables<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/context/mark/4-10.htm" title="And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable....">Mark 4:10-12</a>; <a href="/luke/8-10.htm" title="And he said, To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.">Luke 8:10</a>10. <span class="ital">parables</span>] The parable is suited (1) to the uninstructed, as being attractive in form and as revealing spiritual truth exactly in proportion to the capacity of the hearer; and (2) to the divinely wise as wrapping up a secret which he can penetrate by his spiritual insight. In this it resembles the Platonic myth; it was the form in which many philosophers clothed their deepest thoughts. (3) It fulfils the condition of all true knowledge. He alone who seeks finds. In relation to Nature, Art, God Himself, it may be said the dull “seeing see not.” The commonest and most obvious things hide the greatest truths. (4) The divine Wisdom has been justified in respect to this mode of teaching. The parables have struck deep into the thought and language of men (not of Christians only), as no other teaching could have done; in proof of which it is sufficient to name such words and expressions as “talents,” “dispensation,” “leaven,” “prodigal son,” “light under a bushel,” “building on sand.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="11"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-11.htm">Matthew 13:11</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">11</span>. <span class="ital">the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven</span>] Secrets known only to the initiated—the inner teaching of the gospel. St Paul regards as “mysteries,” the spread of the gospel to the Gentiles, <a href="/context/ephesians/3-3.htm" title="How that by revelation he made known to me the mystery; (as I wrote before in few words,...">Ephesians 3:3-4</a>; <a href="/ephesians/3-9.htm" title="And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world has been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:">Ephesians 3:9</a>; the doctrine of the resurrection, <a href="/1_corinthians/15-51.htm" title="Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed,">1 Corinthians 15:51</a>, the conversion of the Jews, <a href="/romans/11-25.htm" title="For I would not, brothers, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in.">Romans 11:25</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="12"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-12.htm">Matthew 13:12</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">12</span>. Cp. ch. <a href="/matthew/25-29.htm" title="For to every one that has shall be given, and he shall have abundance: but from him that has not shall be taken away even that which he has.">Matthew 25:29</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="13"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-13.htm">Matthew 13:13</a></div><div class="verse">Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.</div><A name="14"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-14.htm">Matthew 13:14</a></div><div class="verse">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:</div><span class="bld">14</span>. <a href="/context/isaiah/6-9.htm" title="And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear you indeed, but understand not; and see you indeed, but perceive not....">Isaiah 6:9-10</a>. The words form part of the mission of Isaiah.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="15"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-15.htm">Matthew 13:15</a></div><div class="verse">For this people's heart is waxed gross, and <i>their</i> ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with <i>their</i> eyes, and hear with <i>their</i> ears, and should understand with <i>their</i> heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.</div><span class="bld">15</span>. <span class="ital">this people’s heart is waxed gross</span>] The heart was regarded as the seat of intelligence. <span class="ital">Gross</span>, literally, <span class="bld">fat</span>, so <span class="bld">stolid, dull</span>, like <span class="ital">pinguis</span> in Latin.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="16"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-16.htm">Matthew 13:16</a></div><div class="verse">But blessed <i>are</i> your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.</div><span class="bld">16</span>. <span class="ital">blessed are your eyes</span>] The disciples have discernment to understand the explanation which would be thrown away on the uninstructed multitude.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="17"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-17.htm">Matthew 13:17</a></div><div class="verse">For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous <i>men</i> have desired to see <i>those things</i> which ye see, and have not seen <i>them</i>; and to hear <i>those things</i> which ye hear, and have not heard <i>them</i>.</div><span class="bld">18–23</span>. The Parable of the Sower is explained<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><a href="/context/mark/4-14.htm" title="The sower sows the word....">Mark 4:14-20</a>; <a href="/context/luke/8-11.htm" title="Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God....">Luke 8:11-15</a><span class="bld">19</span>. On some the word of God makes no <span class="ital">impression</span>, as we say; some hearts are quite unsusceptible of good.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="18"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-18.htm">Matthew 13:18</a></div><div class="verse">Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.</div><A name="19"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-19.htm">Matthew 13:19</a></div><div class="verse">When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth <i>it</i> not, then cometh the wicked <i>one</i>, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.</div><A name="20"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-20.htm">Matthew 13:20</a></div><div class="verse">But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;</div><span class="bld">20</span>. <span class="ital">anon</span>] = <span class="ital">immediately;</span> the same Greek word is translated <span class="ital">by and by</span> in the next verse. Cp. “Then I will come to my mother by and by.” Shaksp. <span class="ital">Hamlet</span>, Act iii. sc. 2.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="21"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-21.htm">Matthew 13:21</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">21</span>. <span class="ital">when tribulation or persecution ariseth</span>] Jesus forecasts the persecution of Christians, and the time when “the love of many shall wax cold,” ch. <a href="/matthew/24-12.htm" title="And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.">Matthew 24:12</a>.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">is offended</span>] See note, ch. <a href="/matthew/5-29.htm" title="And if your right eye offend you, pluck it out, and cast it from you: for it is profitable for you that one of your members should perish, and not that your whole body should be cast into hell.">Matthew 5:29</a>. All things are not so smooth as he expected. The prospect of the cross took all enthusiasm away from Judas. Perhaps even Mark was “offended” for the moment at Perga.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="22"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-22.htm">Matthew 13:22</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">22</span>. <span class="ital">the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches</span>] St Mark adds “the lusts of other things,” St Luke, “the pleasures of this life.” These things destroy the “singleness” of the Christian life. Compare with this the threefold employment of the world as described by Christ, at the time of the Flood, at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and at the coming of the Son of man. (<a href="/context/luke/17-26.htm" title="And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man....">Luke 17:26-30</a>.)<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="23"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-23.htm">Matthew 13:23</a></div><div class="verse">But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth <i>it</i>; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.</div><A name="24"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-24.htm">Matthew 13:24</a></div><div class="verse">Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:</div><A name="25"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-25.htm">Matthew 13:25</a></div><div class="verse">But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.</div><A name="26"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-26.htm">Matthew 13:26</a></div><div class="verse">But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.</div><A name="27"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-27.htm">Matthew 13:27</a></div><div class="verse">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?</div><A name="28"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-28.htm">Matthew 13:28</a></div><div class="verse">He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?</div><A name="29"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-29.htm">Matthew 13:29</a></div><div class="verse">But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.</div><A name="30"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-30.htm">Matthew 13:30</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><A name="31"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-31.htm">Matthew 13:31</a></div><div class="verse">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:</div><span class="bld">31</span>. <span class="ital">which a man took, and sowed</span>] “Which when it is sown,” St Mark, who thus does not name an agent, the planter of the seed.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">in his field</span>] “into his (own) garden,” St Luke, with special reference to the land of Israel.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">31–33</span>. (1) The Parable of the Mustard Seed. (2) The Parable of the Leaven which leavened the Meal.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>-1<a href="/context/mark/4-30.htm" title="And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it?...">Mark 4:30-32</a>. (1) and (2) <a href="/context/luke/13-18.htm" title="Then said he, To what is the kingdom of God like? and whereunto shall I resemble it?...">Luke 13:18-21</a>The “mystery” or secret of the future contained in these two parables has reference to the growth of the Church; the first regards the growth in its external aspect, the second in its inner working.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="32"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-32.htm">Matthew 13:32</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">32</span>. <span class="ital">the least of all seeds</span>] Not absolutely the least, but least in proportion to the plant that springs from the seed. Moreover the mustard seed was used proverbially of anything excessively minute.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">lodge in the branches</span>] i. e. settle for the purpose of rest or shelter or to eat the seeds of which goldfinches and linnets are very fond (Tristram, <span class="ital">Nat. Hist. of Bible</span>, p. 473). <span class="ital">Lodge</span>, literally <span class="bld">dwell in tents</span>. If we think of the leafy huts constructed for the feast of tabernacles the propriety of the word will be seen. The mustard plant does not grow to a very great height, so that St Luke’s expression “waxed a great tree” must not be pressed. Dr Thomson (<span class="ital">Land and Book</span>) mentions as an exceptional instance that he found it on the plain of Akkar as tall as a horse and its rider.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="33"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-33.htm">Matthew 13:33</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">33</span>. <span class="ital">leaven</span>] Except in this one parable, leaven is used of the working of evil; cp. “A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump,” <a href="/galatians/5-9.htm" title="A little leaven leavens the whole lump.">Galatians 5:9</a>; <a href="/1_corinthians/5-6.htm" title="Your glorying is not good. Know you not that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?">1 Corinthians 5:6</a>; and “purge out therefore the old leaven,” <a href="/1_corinthians/5-7.htm" title="Purge out therefore the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, as you are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:">1 Corinthians 5:7</a>. So, too, in the Rabbinical writings. This thought probably arose from the prohibition of leaven during the paschal season. But the secrecy and the all-pervading character of leaven aptly symbolize the growth of Christianity, (1) as a society penetrating everywhere by a subtle and mysterious operation until in this light—as a secret brotherhood—it appeared dangerous to the Roman empire; (2) as an influence unfelt at <span class="ital">first</span> growing up within the human soul.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Compare Sir Bartle Frere on <span class="ital">Indian Missions</span>, p. 9; speaking of the gradual change wrought by Christianity in India, he says, in regard to religious innovations in general: “They are always subtle in operation, and generally little noticeable at the outset in comparison with the power of their ultimate operation.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">three measures</span>] Literally, <span class="ital">three</span> <span class="bld">seahs</span>. In <a href="/genesis/18-6.htm" title="And Abraham hastened into the tent to Sarah, and said, Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes on the hearth.">Genesis 18:6</a>, Abraham bids Sarah “make ready three ‘seahs’ of fine meal, knead it and make cakes upon the hearth.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="34"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-34.htm">Matthew 13:34</a></div><div class="verse">All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:</div><A name="35"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-35.htm">Matthew 13:35</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">35</span>. <a href="/psalms/78-2.htm" title="I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:">Psalm 78:2</a>. The quotation does not agree verbally with the LXX. It is a direct translation of the Hebrew. The psalm which follows these words is a review of the history of Israel from the Exodus to the reign of David. This indicates the somewhat wide sense given to “parables” and “dark sayings.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="36"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-36.htm">Matthew 13:36</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">36–43</span>. Explanation of the Parable of the Tares, in St Matthew only<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">39</span>. <span class="ital">the end of the world</span>] Literally, <span class="bld">the completion of this æon</span>, “the point where one æon ends and another begins.” The expression is found also in <span class="ital"><a href="/matthew/13-40.htm" title="As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.">Matthew 13:40</a>; <a href="/matthew/13-49.htm" title="So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,">Matthew 13:49</a></span> of this chapter, and in ch. <a href="/matthew/24-3.htm" title="And as he sat on the mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the world?">Matthew 24:3</a>, <a href="/matthew/28-20.htm" title="Teaching them to observe all things whatever I have commanded you: and, see, I am with you always, even to the end of the world. Amen.">Matthew 28:20</a>, and in <a href="/hebrews/9-26.htm" title="For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world has he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.">Hebrews 9:26</a>, “the completion of the æons,” not elsewhere in N. T.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="37"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-37.htm">Matthew 13:37</a></div><div class="verse">He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;</div><A name="38"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-38.htm">Matthew 13:38</a></div><div class="verse">The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked <i>one</i>;</div><A name="39"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-39.htm">Matthew 13:39</a></div><div class="verse">The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.</div><A name="40"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-40.htm">Matthew 13:40</a></div><div class="verse">As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.</div><A name="41"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-41.htm">Matthew 13:41</a></div><div class="verse">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;</div><A name="42"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-42.htm">Matthew 13:42</a></div><div class="verse">And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.</div><A name="43"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-43.htm">Matthew 13:43</a></div><div class="verse">Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.</div><span class="bld">43</span>. <span class="ital">Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun</span>] Cp. <a href="/daniel/12-3.htm" title="And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.">Daniel 12:3</a>, “Then they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament.”<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="44"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-44.htm">Matthew 13:44</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><span class="bld">44</span>. The Parable of the Hid Treasure, in this Gospel only<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>In ancient times, and in an unsettled country like Palestine, where there were no banks, in the modern sense, it was a common practice to conceal treasures in the ground. Even at this day the Arabs are keenly alive to the chance of finding such buried stores. The dishonesty of the purchaser must be excluded from the <span class="ital">thought</span> of the parable. The <span class="ital">unexpected</span> discovery, the consequent excitement and joy, and the eagerness to buy at any sacrifice, are the points to be observed in the interpretation.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">when a man hath found</span>] Here the kingdom of heaven presents itself unexpectedly, “Christ is found of one who sought Him not.” The woman of Samaria, the jailer at Philippi, the centurion by the Cross.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">selleth all that he hath</span>] This is the renunciation which is always needed for the winning of the kingdom, cp. ch. <a href="/matthew/10-38.htm" title="And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of me.">Matthew 10:38</a>. Thus Paul gave up position, Matthew wealth, Barnabas lands.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">buyeth that field</span>] Puts himself in a position to attain the kingdom.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="45"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-45.htm">Matthew 13:45</a></div><div class="verse">Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:</div><span class="bld">45, 46</span>. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Price, in St Matthew only<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Here the story is of one who succeeds in getting what he strives to obtain. The Jewish or the Greek “seekers after God,” possessing many pearls, but still dissatisfied, sought others yet more choice, and finding one, true to the simplicity in Christ, renounce all for that; the one his legalism, the other his philosophy.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="46"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-46.htm">Matthew 13:46</a></div><div class="verse">Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.</div><A name="47"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-47.htm">Matthew 13:47</a></div><div class="verse">Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:</div><span class="bld">47–50</span>. The Parable of the Net, in St Matthew only<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">47</span>. <span class="ital">a net, that was cast into the sea</span>] The reference is to the large drag-net or <span class="ital">seine</span> [Greek <span class="greekheb">σαγήνη</span>—the word in the text—hence <span class="ital">sagena</span> (Vulgate) and English <span class="ital">sean</span> or <span class="ital">seine</span>]. One end of the <span class="ital">seine</span> is held on the shore, the other is hauled off by a boat and then returned to the land. In this way a large number of fishes of all kinds is enclosed. Seine-fishing is still practised on the coasts of Devonshire and Cornwall.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>The teaching of this parable partly coincides with that of the parable of the Tares (<span class="ital"><a href="/context/matthew/13-24.htm" title="Another parable put he forth to them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened to a man which sowed good seed in his field:...">Matthew 13:24-30</a></span>). In both are exhibited the mixture of good and evil in the visible Church, and the final separation of them. But here the thought is specially directed to the ingathering of the Church. The ministers of Christ will of necessity draw converts of diverse character, good and evil, and actuated by different motives. From the parable of the Tares we learn not to reject any from within the Church, in the hope of expelling the element of evil. It is a parable of the settled Church. This is a missionary parable. It teaches that as a matter of history or of fact, no barrier or external test will serve to exclude the unworthy convert.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="48"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-48.htm">Matthew 13:48</a></div><div class="verse">Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.</div><A name="49"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-49.htm">Matthew 13:49</a></div><div class="verse">So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,</div><A name="50"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-50.htm">Matthew 13:50</a></div><div class="verse">And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.</div><A name="51"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-51.htm">Matthew 13:51</a></div><div class="verse">Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.</div><span class="bld">51, 52</span>. The Scribes of the Kingdom of Heaven<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="bld">52</span>. <span class="ital">instructed unto the kingdom of heaven</span>] The new law requires a new order of Scribes who shall be instructed unto the kingdom of heaven—instructed in its mysteries, its laws, its future—as the Jewish Scribes are instructed in the observances of the Mosaic law.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">things new and old</span>] (1) Just as the householder brings from his stores or treasury precious things which have been heir-looms for generations, as well as newly acquired treasures; the disciples following their Master’s example will exhibit the true teaching of the old law, and add thereto the new lessons of Christianity. (2) Another interpretation finds a reference to Jewish sacrificial usage by which sometimes the newly-gathered fruit or corn, sometimes the produce of a former year furnished the offering. The wise householder was ready for all emergencies. So the Christian teacher will have an apt lesson on each occasion.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="52"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-52.htm">Matthew 13:52</a></div><div class="verse">Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe <i>which is</i> instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man <i>that is</i> an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure <i>things</i> new and old.</div><A name="53"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-53.htm">Matthew 13:53</a></div><div class="verse">And it came to pass, <i>that</i> when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.</div><span class="bld">53–58</span>. The Prophet in his own Country. <a href="/context/mark/6-1.htm" title="And he went out from there, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him....">Mark 6:1-6</a>where the incident is placed between the cure of Jairus’ daughter and the mission of the Twelve, <a href="/context/luke/4-16.htm" title="And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read....">Luke 4:16-30</a>, where our Lord’s discourse in the synagogue is given at length. But many commentators hold with great probability that St Luke’s narrative refers to a different and earlier visit to Nazareth.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="54"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-54.htm">Matthew 13:54</a></div><div class="verse">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 <i>man</i> this wisdom, and <i>these</i> mighty works?</div><span class="bld">54</span>. <span class="ital">his own country</span>] Nazareth and the neighbourhood.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="55"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-55.htm">Matthew 13:55</a></div><div class="verse">Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?</div><span class="bld">55</span>. <span class="ital">the carpenter’s son</span>] “Is not this the carpenter?” (Mark). As every Jew was taught a trade there would be no improbability in the carpenter’s son becoming a scribe. But it was known that Jesus had not had the ordinary education of a scribe.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><span class="ital">his brethren</span>] Probably the sons of Joseph and Mary. It is certain that no other view would ever have been propounded except for the assumption that the blessed Virgin remained ever-virgin.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Two theories have been mooted in support of this assumption. (1) The “brethren of the Lord” were His cousins, being sons of Cleophas (or Alphæus), and Mary, a sister of the Virgin Mary. (2) They were sons of Joseph by a former marriage.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span>Neither of these theories derives any support from the direct words of Scripture, and some facts tend to disprove either. The second theory is the least open to objection on the ground of language, and of the facts of the gospel.<span class="p"><br /><br /></span><A name="56"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-56.htm">Matthew 13:56</a></div><div class="verse">And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this <i>man</i> all these things?</div><A name="57"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-57.htm">Matthew 13:57</a></div><div class="verse">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.</div><A name="58"></a> <div class="versenum"><a href="/matthew/13-58.htm">Matthew 13:58</a></div><div class="verse">And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.</div><div id="botbox"><div class="padbot"><div align="center">The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges<br /><br />Text Courtesy of <a href="//biblesupport.com" target="_top">BibleSupport.com</a>. 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