John Gill Commentary Matthew 13

The same day Jesus went out of the house
Where he had been preaching, and working miracles: where this house was, is not certain; it seems to have been in one of the cities of Galilee, probably Capernaum, since that was by the sea coast: the reason of his going out of the house was, either to converse with his mother and brethren, as they desired; or to withdraw himself from company, and take some refreshment by the sea side; or because it would not hold the people, and therefore he quitted it for a more convenient place.

The time he went out of it, was the same day he had cast the devil out of the man blind and dumb, and had delivered himself so freely concerning the Scribes and Pharisees, who had blasphemously ascribed that miracle to the assistance of Satan; and the same day his mother and brethren came to see him, and speak to him.

And sat by the sea side ;
either as weary, and for his refreshment, or in order to preach to the people; for, Mark says, "he began again to teach by the sea side", (Mark 4:1) . This was the sea of Galilee, sometimes called the sea of Tiberias.

And great multitudes were gathered unto him Some on one account, and some on another; some to see his person, others his miracles; some healing for their bodies, and others for their souls; some for the loaves, and others to hear him preach; and of these there were several sorts, as the following parable shows.

So that he went into a ship : both for his own advantage, that he might not be crowded, and pressed by the people, and have more room, and a freer air to speak in, and for theirs, that they might both see and hear him better.

And sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore ; as was the then custom of the Jewish doctors and hearers, the one to sit, and the other to stand. (See Gill on Matthew 5:1). Christ sat upon the deck of the ship; or perhaps this ship was no other than an open boat, which was put to sea, some little distance from the shore; upon which the people stood in great numbers, with much convenience and attention.

And he spoke many things to them in parables
For the parables of the sower, and the different sorts of ground the seed fell in, of the wheat and tares, of the grain of mustard seed, of the leaven in three measures of meal, of the treasure hid in a field, of the pearl of great price, of the net cast into the sea, and of the householder, were all delivered at this time. This way of speaking by parables was much in use among the eastern nations, and particularly the Jews. R. Meir was very famous among them for this way of teaching: they say ^F1 , ``that when R. Meir died, (Mylvm ylvwm wljb), "they that were skilled in, and used parables, ceased".'' The commentators <sup>F2</sup> on this passage say, ``that he preached a third part tradition, and a third part mystical discourse, (yltm atlytw), "and a third part parables":'' which method of discoursing was judged both pleasant and profitable, serving to raise the attention of the hearer, and to fix what was delivered more firmly in their minds: what was our Lord's reason for using them, may be seen in (Matthew 13:13).

He begins with the parable of the sower. The design of which is to set forth the nature of the word of God, the work and business of the ministers of it, the different success of the preaching of it, and the fruitfulness of it; and to show when it is truly received, and the various degrees of fruit it produces; that the efficacy of it depends on the grace of God, which makes the heart good, and fit to receive it; and how few they are who hear the word to any spiritual advantage and benefit; and how far persons may go in hearing, and yet fall short of the grace of God; and therefore no dependence is to be had on the external hearing of the word.

Behold, a sower went forth to sow ;
Luke adds, "his seed"; as does Munster's Hebrew Gospel here; and Mark introduces the parable thus, "hearken, behold!" it being a matter of great importance and concern expressed by this parable, it deserves the most diligent attention. By "the sower" is meant "the son of man", as may be learnt from the explanation of another parable, (Matthew 13:37) which is Jesus Christ himself, who is often so called on account of his human nature; and may rather be thought to be intended here, since the seed he sowed is called "his seed"; meaning the Gospel, of which he is the author, publisher, sum and substance; and since he is, by way of eminency, called (o speirwn), "the sower"; which must be understood of him as a prophet, or preacher of the word, who was eminently sent of God, richly qualified for such an office, and most diligent in it, yet his success was but small. Indeed, every minister of the Gospel may be called a sower, who bears precious seed, sows spiritual things, and though in tears, shall not return empty, but shall reap in joy, and bring his sheaves with him. This sower "went forth" from his own house to his field.

As applied to Christ, it may intend his incarnation, his coming into this world by the assumption of human nature, his appearance in the public ministry in the land of Judea, and his going forth still in his ministers and by his Spirit in the preaching of the Gospel. As applied to the preachers of the word, it may be explained of their commission, their being sent, and their going forth into the field of the world, preaching the Gospel everywhere.

The end of the sower's going forth is to "sow his seed": by "his seed" is meant the word, the word of God; see (Mark 4:14) (Luke 8:11) so called because of its choiceness and excellency in itself (that grain which is reserved for seed being usually the best of the kind); because of its smallness (it being mean and contemptible in the eyes of those who know not its nature); and because of the generative virtue it has, though not without a divine influence. Nor does it bring forth fruit, unless it is sown in the heart, as seed in the earth, where its operation is secret, its growth and increase gradual, and its fruitfulness different.

By "sowing", is meant preaching; which, like sowing, requires knowledge and skill, and an open and liberal hand; keeping back nothing that is profitable, declaring the same doctrine in one place as another; and involves a constant ministration of it, notwithstanding all discouragements, and a patient waiting for success.

FOOTNOTES:

• F1: Misn. Sota, c. 9. sect. 15.
• F2: Jarchi & Bartenora in ib. e Talmud. Bab. Sanhedrim, fol. 38. 2.

And when he sowed
Or, "as he sowed", as the other evangelists; that is, "while he was sowing",

some seeds fell ;
either out of his hand, or out of the cart drawn by oxen; hence the ^F3 Talmudists distinguishbetween (dy tlwpm) , "the falling of the hand", or what falls out of the hand;and (Myrwwv) (tlwpm) , "the falling of the oxen",or what falls from them; where the gloss is,

``in some places they sow the grain with the hand; and in other places they put the seed on a cart full of holes, and oxen draw the cart on the ploughed land, and it falls upon it.''

By the wayside ;
by the common road, or private paths, which led through corn fields, in which Christ and his disciples walked (Matthew 12:1). Being beaten and trodden hard, the seed must lie open on it, and so be liable to be trampled upon by men, or devoured by the fowls of the air. This designs such hearers as are careless, negligent, and inattentive, who hear without understanding, judgment, and affection .

and the fowls came and devoured them ;
The other evangelists say, "the fowls of the air"; and so the Vulgate Latin, and Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and some copies. These mean the devils, so called because their habitation is in the air; hence they are said to be "the power of the air".

They are also called this because of their ravenous and devouring nature, their swiftness to do mischief, and their flocking in multitudes where the word is preached to hinder its usefulness, as fowls do where seed is sowing.

Satan, and his principalities and powers, rove about in the air, come down on earth, and seek whom they may devour, and often mix themselves in religious assemblies to do what mischief they can (see Job 1:6, Job 1:7).

FOOTNOTES:

• F3: T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 105. 2.

Some fell upon stony places
Such a place as the Jews call (tyolwx) , a barren, stony place, a place from which, they say they take stones, and (elo tyb) , and which (heyrzl ywar wnya) , "is not fit for sowing" ^F4 ; and such were those places and spots of ground, that some of these seeds fell upon; and design such hearers, in whom the natural hardness of their hearts continues, and who remain unbroken by the word, and are without any true sense of sin, and repentance for it.

Where they had not much earth ,
to cover them and take root in: this is expressive of such persons who have slight convictions of sin, and awakenings of the natural conscience; some little, light, and speculative notions of the word, in the understanding and judgment; some flashes of natural affection for it, and outward expressions of delight and pleasure in it; some show of grace, and a form of godliness, but no real heart work.

And forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth ;
to strike their roots downwards: and through the reflection of the heat, upon the rocks and stones, they quickly broke through the thin surface of the earth over them, and appeared above ground before the usual time of the springing up of seed: which may not only denote the immediate reception of the word by these hearers, and their quick assent to it; but their sudden and hasty profession of it, without taking due time to consider the nature and importance thereof; and the seeming cheerfulness in which they did both receive and profess it; though it was only outward and hypocritical, and more on account of the manner of preaching it, than the word itself, and through a selfish principle in them; and did not arise from any real experience of the power of it on their souls, or true spiritual pleasure in it.

Nor could it be otherwise, since their stony hearts were not taken away, nor hearts of flesh given them; wherefore the word had no place in them, and made no real impression on them; they remained dead in trespasses and sins; the word was not the savour of life unto life unto them, or the Spirit that giveth life; they did not become living and lively stones; they continued as insensible as ever of their state and condition by nature, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, of the danger they were in, and of their need of Christ, and salvation by him; they were as hard, and obdurate, and as inflexible, as ever, without any real contrition for sin, or meltings of soul through the influence of the love and grace of God; and as backward as ever to submit to the righteousness of Christ, being stout hearted, and far from it; and being no more cordially willing to be subject to the sceptre of his kingdom, or to serve him in righteousness and holiness, than they ever were; for the word falling upon them, made no change in them; their hearts were as hard as ever, notwithstanding the seeming and hasty reception of it; though they did not refuse to hearken to the word externally, did not put away the shoulder, or stop their ears, yet their hearts were still like an adamant stone: nothing but the mighty power of God, and his efficacious grace, can break the rocky heart in pieces; or give an heart of flesh, a sensible, soft, and flexible one, with which a man truly repents of sin, believes in Christ, and becomes subject to him.

FOOTNOTES:

• F4: T. Bab. Erachin, fol. 32. 1. & Gloss. in ib. & Bava Bathra, fol. 156. 2. & Gloss. in ib.