Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 13:1-9

"On that day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And there were gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and as he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the birds came and devoured them: and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell upon the thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked them: and others fell upon the good ground, and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He that hath ears, let him hear." — Matthew 13:1-9 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: After He had rebuked the one who told Him of His mother and His brothers, He then did as they requested. He departed from the house, but only after first correcting His brothers for their weak desire for vainglory. He then paid the honor due to His mother, as it is said, "The same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the seaside."

St. Augustine of Hippo: By the words, "The same day," he sufficiently shows that these things either followed immediately upon what had gone before, or that many things could not have intervened; unless, indeed, "day" here signifies a period in the manner of Scripture.¹

Rabanus Maurus: For not only the Lord's words and actions, but also His journeys and the places in which He works His mighty deeds and preaches, are full of heavenly mysteries.

After the discourse held in the house, in which He had been wickedly and blasphemously accused of having a demon, He went out and taught by the sea. This was to signify that, having left Judea because of their sinful unbelief, He would turn to the salvation of the Gentiles. For the hearts of the Gentiles, long proud and unbelieving, are rightly compared to the swelling and bitter waves of the sea. And who does not know that Judea was, by faith, the house of the Lord?

St. Jerome: For it must be considered that the multitude could not enter the house to be with Jesus, nor could they be where the Apostles heard mysteries. Therefore, the Lord, in mercy to them, departed from the house and sat near the sea of this world, so that great numbers might be gathered to Him, and so that they might hear on the seashore what they were not worthy to hear inside. And great multitudes were gathered unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat down; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

St. John Chrysostom: The Evangelist did not relate this without a purpose, but to show the Lord's will in it, who desired to place the people in such a way that He would have no one behind Him, but all would be before His face.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Moreover, there is a reason in the subject of His discourse for why the Lord sat in the ship and the multitude stood on the shore. For He was about to speak in parables, and by this action, He signifies that those who were outside the Church could have no understanding of the Divine Word.

The ship offers a type of the Church. Within it, the word of life is placed and is preached to those outside, who, being like barren sand, cannot understand it.

St. Jerome: Jesus is in the midst of the waves. He is beaten to and fro by them, yet secure in His majesty, He causes His vessel to come near the land, so that the people, not being in danger and not being surrounded by temptations they could not endure, might stand on the shore with a firm step to hear what was said.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, His going into a ship and sitting on the sea signifies that Christ would, by faith, enter the hearts of the Gentiles and would gather the Church in the sea—that is, in the midst of the nations that spoke against Him. And the crowd that stood on the seashore, being neither in the ship nor in the sea, offers a figure of those who receive the word of God and are by faith separated from the sea (that is, from the reprobate), but are not yet filled with heavenly mysteries.

It follows, And he spake many things unto them in parables.

St. John Chrysostom: He had not done this on the mount; He had not framed His discourse with parables. For there, it was only the multitudes and a mixed crowd; but here, it was the Scribes and Pharisees. He speaks in parables not only for this reason, but also to make His sayings clearer and to fix them more firmly in the memory by bringing things before their eyes.

St. Jerome: And it is to be noted that He did not speak all things to them in parables, but "many things," for if He had spoken all things in parables, the people would have departed without benefit. He mixes plain things with obscure things, so that by the things they understand, they may be motivated to gain knowledge of the things they do not understand.

The multitude is also not of one opinion, but has diverse wills in diverse matters, which is why He speaks to them in many parables, so that each, according to their individual dispositions, may receive some portion of His teaching.

St. John Chrysostom: He first puts forth a parable to make His hearers more attentive; and because He was about to speak enigmatically, He attracts their attention with this first parable, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow.

St. Jerome: This sower typifies the Son of God, who sows the word of the Father among the people.

St. John Chrysostom: From where, then, did He who is everywhere present go out, and how did He go out? Not in place, but by His incarnation, being brought nearer to us by the garment of the flesh. Since we, because of our sins, could not enter in to Him, He therefore came forth to us.

Rabanus Maurus: Or, He went forth when, having left Judea, He passed by the Apostles to the Gentiles.

St. Jerome: Or, He was inside while He was still in the house and spoke mysteries to His disciples. He therefore went forth from the house, so that He might sow seed among the multitudes.

St. John Chrysostom: When you hear the words, "the sower went out to sow," do not suppose that this is a tautology. For the sower often goes out for other ends, such as to break up the ground, to pull up noxious weeds, to uproot thorns, or to perform any other type of labor, but this man went forth to sow.

What then becomes of that seed? Three parts of it perish and one is preserved, but not all in the same way; there is a certain difference, as it follows, And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side.

St. Jerome: This parable Valentinus seizes upon to establish his heresy, introducing three different natures: the spiritual, the natural or animal, and the earthly. But there are four named here: one by the wayside, one on stony ground, one among thorns, and a fourth on good ground.

St. John Chrysostom: Next, how is it reasonable to sow seed among thorns, on stony ground, or by the wayside? Indeed, with the material seed and soil of this world, it would not be reasonable, for it is impossible that rock could become soil, that the path should not be a path, or that thorns should not be thorns.

But with minds and doctrines it is otherwise; there it is possible that the rock be made rich soil, that the path should be no more trodden upon, and that the thorns should be uprooted. That most of the seed perished, therefore, came not from the Sower but from the soil that received it—that is, the mind. For the Sower made no distinction between rich and poor, wise or foolish, but spoke to all alike, fulfilling His own part, even though He foresaw all that would happen, so that He might say, What more could have been done to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? (Isaiah 5:4).

He does not pronounce sentence on them openly and say, "This one the indolent received and lost; this one the rich received and choked; this one the careless received and lost," because He did not want to reprove them harshly, so that He might not alienate them altogether.

By this parable He also instructs His disciples that even though the greater part of those who heard them would perish, they should not therefore be negligent; for the Lord Himself, who foresaw all things, did not, for this reason, stop sowing.

St. Jerome: Note that this is the first parable given with its interpretation. We must be careful, where the Lord explains His own teaching, not to presume to understand anything more or less, or in any way different from how He explained it.

Rabanus Maurus: But those things which He silently left to our understanding should be briefly noted. The wayside is the mind, trodden and hardened by the continual passage of evil thoughts. The rock is the hardness of the self-willed mind. The good soil is the gentleness of the obedient mind. The sun is the heat of a raging persecution. The depth of the soil is the integrity of a mind trained by heavenly discipline. But in explaining them this way, we should add that the same things are not always given the same allegorical meaning.

St. Jerome: And we are prompted to understand His words by the advice that follows: He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Remigius of Auxerre: These "ears to hear" are the ears of the mind, for understanding and doing those things which are commanded.

1. De Cons. Ev., ii, 41