Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 13:35

"that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden from the foundation of the world." — Matthew 13:35 (ASV)

I will open my mouth in parables — This quotation illustrates Saint Matthew’s distinctive way of handling the prophetic language of the Old Testament, much like the examples in Matthew 8:17 and Matthew 12:17. He found the word "parable" at the beginning of a psalm (Psalms 78:2). The psalm itself was not predictive in any way; instead, it was simply a historical survey of God’s dealings with Israel from the time of the Exodus to the days of David.

However, the presence of the word "parable" was enough for Matthew. In Jesus, he saw someone whose teaching method corresponded to what the psalmist had described, one who could claim the psalmist’s words as His own. Believing that such parallels were not coincidental, Matthew felt justified in using the familiar formula, "that it might be fulfilled."

A noteworthy variant reading says, "by Isaiah the prophet." This reading is found in the Sinaitic manuscript and was used before the time of Jerome by the pagan writer Porphyry as proof of Saint Matthew’s ignorance. However, despite its age, there is no reason to accept it as the original reading. The error was likely made by a scribe who was misled by the word "prophet" and wrote the name "Isaiah" following the pattern of Matthew 8:17 and Matthew 12:17. If the mistake had been Saint Matthew’s, it would be similar to the substitution of Jeremiah for Zechariah in Matthew 27:9. The psalm's superscription attributes its authorship to Asaph.