CHAPTER 13. JESUS TEACHING IN PARABLES. The transition from the sultry, sombre atmosphere of chap. 12 into the calm, clear air of Christ's parabolic wisdom would be as welcome to the evangelist as it is to us. Yet even here we do not altogether escape the shadow of unbelief or spiritual insusceptib... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῇ ἡμέρᾳ ἐκείνῃ. The parable stands in the same connection in Mark (not in Luke), but not as following in immediate temporal sequence. No stress should be laid on Matthew's phrase “on that day”. ἐξελθὼν τῆς οἰκίας : the house in which Jesus is supposed to have been when His friends sought for Him... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Parable of the Sower_ (Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὄχλοι πολλοί, great numbers of people in all the accounts, compelling the Teacher to withdraw from the shore into the sea, and, sitting in a boat, to address the people standing on the margin. Much interest, popularity of the Teacher still great, and even growing; yet He has formed a very sober esti... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν παραβολαῖς : this method of teaching was not peculiar to Jesus it was common among Easterns but His use of it was unique in felicity and in the importance of the lessons conveyed. bstract _a priori_ definitions of the word serve little purpose; we learn best what a parable is, in the mouth of Jes... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Parable_.... [ Continue Reading ]
παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν : not the highway, of which there were few, but the footpath, of which there were many through or between the fields.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπὶ τὰ πετρώδη, upon shallow ground, where the rock was near the surface (οὐκ εἶχεν γῆν πολλήν).... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκαυματίσθη, it was scorched (by the sun) (_cf._ Revelation 16:8), which had made it spring earliest: promptly quickened, soon killed.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐπὶ τὰς ἀκάνθας. Fritzsche prefers the reading ἐις because the seed fell not on thorns already sprung up, but on ground full of thorn seeds or roots. But the latter idea, which is the true one, can be expressed also by ἐπὶ. ἀνέβησαν : the thorns sprang up as well as the corn, and growing more vigoro... [ Continue Reading ]
καλὴν, genuinely good land free from all the faults of the other three: soft, deep, clean. ἐδίδου, yielded. In other texts (Matthew 3:8; Matthew 3:10; Matthew 7:17) ποιεῖν is used. ἑκατόν, ἑξήκοντα, τριάκοντα : all satisfactory; 30 good, 60 better, 100 best (Genesis 26:12).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ ἔχων ὦτα ἀκ. ἀκ. An invitation to think of the hidden meaning, or rather a hint that there was such a meaning. The description of the land in which the sower carried on his operations would present no difficulties to the hearers: the beaten paths, the rocky spots, the thorny patches were all famil... [ Continue Reading ]
διατί ἐν παραβολαῖς : Matthew makes the question refer to the method of teaching, Mark and Luke to the meaning of the parables spoken. The two questions were closely connected, and both doubtless in the minds of the disciples. A more serious difficulty arises in connection with Christ's answer to th... [ Continue Reading ]
_The disciples ask an explanation_. There is some difficulty in forming a clear idea of this interlude. Who asked? The Twelve only, or they and others with them, as Mark states (Matthew 4:10)? And when? Immediately after the parable was spoken, or, as was more likely, after the teaching of the day w... [ Continue Reading ]
his moral apothegm is here given only in Matt. It contains a great truth, whether spoken or not on this occasion. For the construction, _vide_ at Matthew 10:14. περισσευθήσεται : again in Matthew 25:29, where the saying is repeated. This use of the passive in a neuter sense belongs to late Greek.... [ Continue Reading ]
διὰ τοῦτο ὅτι. Mark and Luke have ἵνα, the former assigning a reason, the latter ascribing a purpose. In Matt. Jesus says: I speak in parables because seeing they do not see, etc.; which ought naturally to mean: they are dull of apprehension, therefore I do my best to enlighten them.... [ Continue Reading ]
he prophetic citation, given as such by Matthew only, may be due to him, though put into the mouth of Jesus. It is conceivable, however, that Jesus might use Isaiah's words in Isaiah's spirit, _i.e._, ironically, expressing the bitter feeling of one conscious that his best efforts to teach his count... [ Continue Reading ]
In Mk. (Mark 4:13) Jesus reproaches the disciples for their ignorance; here He congratulates them on their faculty of seeing and hearing (spiritually). ὑμῶν : in emphatic position, suggesting contrast between disciples and the multitude. μακάριοι, _vide_ on chap. Matthew 5:3. ὅτι βλ., because, not f... [ Continue Reading ]
ὑμεῖς, emphatic, ye privileged ones. οὖν referring to the happiness on which they have been congratulated. Matthew 13:18. ἀκούσατε τ. π.: not, hear it over again, but, what it means. σπείραντος, aorist, of the man who sowed in the story just told.... [ Continue Reading ]
_Interpretation of the Sower_ (Mark 4:14-20; Luke 8:11-15).... [ Continue Reading ]
παντὸς ἀκούοντος, in the case of any one who hears, “for the classical ἐάν τις ἀκούσῃ ” (Camb. G. T.). It may be a case of interrupted construction, the sentence beginning with the intention to make the genitive dependent on an ἐκ τῆς καρδίας before ἁρπάζει (so Weiss). τὸν λόγον τῆς βασιλείας : the... [ Continue Reading ]
μετὰ χαρᾶς λ.: this is the new feature in the second type added to the hearing of the first; hearing and receiving with joy characteristic of quick emotional shallow natures, but not of them only. Deep earnest natures also have joy in truth found, but with a difference.... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐκ ἔχει : instead of the participle ἔχων under the influence of Mk.'s text (Weiss). πρόσκαιρος. temporary, _cf._ 2 Corinthians 4:18.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀκούων, hearing alone predicated of the third type, but receiving both intellectually and emotionally implied; everything necessary present except purity of heart, singleness of mind. Hearing is to be taken here in a pregnant sense as distinct from the hearing that is no hearing (Matthew 13:13). μέρ... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀκούων καὶ συνιείς. The specific feature of the fourth and alone satisfactory type is not brought out either in Mt. or in Mk. but only in Lk. by his happy phrase: ἐν καρδίᾳ καλῇ καὶ ἀγαθῇ. The third type understands (Mt.) and receives into the heart (Mk.), but the fourth in addition receives into a... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Tares_. This parable has some elements in common with that in Mark 4:26-29, whence the notion of many critics that one of the two has been formed from the other. As to which is the original, opinion is much divided. (_vide_ Holtz., H. C.) _Both_, I should say. The resemblance is superficial, th... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῳ καθεύδειν = during the night. α. ὁ ἐχθρὸς, his enemy. Weiss (Matt.-Evang., 347) thinks this feature no part of the original parable, but introduced to correspond with the interpretation (Matthew 13:39), no enemy being needed to account for the appearance of the “tares,” which might grow then a... [ Continue Reading ]
τότε ἐφάνη : not distinguishable in the blade, not till it reached the ear, then easily so by the form, the ear branching out with grains on each twig (Koetsveld, _De Gelijk._, p. 25).... [ Continue Reading ]
οὐχὶ κ. σ. ἔσπειρας, etc.: the surprise of the work-people arises from the extent of the wild growth, which could not be explained by bad seed (with so careful a master) or natural growth out of an unclean soil. The tares were all over the field.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐχθρὸς ἄν.: an inference from the state of the field fact not otherwise or previously known. θέλεις … συλλέξωμεν, deliberative subjunctive in 1st person with θέλεις, 2nd person; no ἵνα used in such case (Burton, M. and T., § 171). The servants propose to do what was ordinarily done, and is done stil... [ Continue Reading ]
οὔ, emphatic; laconic “no,” for good reason. μήποτε : the risk is that wheat and “tares” may be uprooted together. ἅμα, with dative (αὐτοῖς) but not a preposition, the full phrase is ἅμα σὺν : “at the same time with,” as in 1 Thessalonians 4:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:10. On this word _vide_ Bos, _Ellip.... [ Continue Reading ]
Συλλέξατε πρῶτον : before or after cutting down the crop? Not said which; order of procedure immaterial, for now the wheat is _ripe_. δήσατε εἰς δέσμας; the εἰς, omitted in some MSS., is not necessary before a noun of same meaning with the verb. Fritzsche thinks the expression without preposition mo... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Mustard Seed and the Leaven_ (Luke 13:18-21 (both); Mark 4:30-32 (Mustard Seed)). A couplet of brief parables of brighter tone than the two already considered, predicting great extensive and intensive development of the Kingdom of God; from Luke's narrative (Matthew 13:10), apparently part of a... [ Continue Reading ]
σινάπεως : from σίναπι, late for νάπν in Attic, which Phryn. recommends to be used instead (Lobeck, 288).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὃ, neuter, by attraction of σπερμάτων, instead of ὃν in agreement with κόκκῳ, masculine. μικρότερον, not less perhaps than all the seeds in the world. An American correspondent sent me a sample of the seeds of the _cotton tree_, which he thinks Christ would have made the basis of His parable had He... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁμοία … ζύμῃ, like in respect of pervasive influence. In Rabbinical theology leaven was used as an emblem of evil desire (Weber, p. 221). Jesus had the courage to use it as an emblem of the best thing in the world, the Kingdom of God coming into the heart of the individual and the community. ἐνέκρυψ... [ Continue Reading ]
χωρὶς παραβολῆς, etc.: if this remark apply to Christ's popular preaching generally, then the parables reported, like the healing narratives, are only a small selection from a large number, a fragrant posy culled from the flower garden of Christ's parabolic wisdom. ἐλάλει : imperfect, pointing to a... [ Continue Reading ]
Matthew 13:34-35 contain a reflection more suitable for the close of the collection of parables in this chapter, brought in here apparently because the evangelist has under his eye Mark's narrative, in which a similar reflection is attached to the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:33-34).... [ Continue Reading ]
rophetic citation from Psalms 78:2, suggested by παραβολαῖς in Sept [83], second clause, free translation from Hebrew. ἐρεύξομαι in Sept [84] for הּבִּיעַ in Psalms 19:2, etc. (not in Psalms 78:2), a poetic word in Ionic form, bearing strong, coarse meaning; used in softened sense in Hellenistic Gre... [ Continue Reading ]
φράσον (διασάφησον) [85] [86]) again in Matthew 15:15 : observe the unceremonious style of the request, indicative of intimate familiar relations. Hesychius gives as equivalents for φράζει, δεικνύει, σημαίνει, λέγει, etc. διασάφ. in Deuteronomy 1:5 = make clear, a stronger expression. [85] Codex Si... [ Continue Reading ]
_Interpretation of the Tares_. Not in Apostolic Document; style that of evangelist; misses the point of the parable so Weiss (Matt.-Evang., p. 351). But if there was _any_ private talk between Jesus and the Twelve as to the meaning of His parables, this one was sure to be the subject of conversation... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ σπείρων : identified here with the _Son of man_ (not so in interpretation of _Sower_).... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ κόσμος, the wide world; universalism. σπέρμα, not the word this time, but the children of the kingdom. ζιζάνια, the sons of the wicked one (τοῦ πονηροῦ, the devil).... [ Continue Reading ]
συντέλεια αἰνῶνος, the end of the world; phrase peculiar to this Gospel. θερισταὶ ἄγγελοι. Weiss thinks this borrowed from Matthew 24:31, and certainly not original. Perhaps not as a dogmatic interpretation, but quite possibly as a poetic suggestion.... [ Continue Reading ]
his and the following verses enlarge on the final separation.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἀποστελεῖ : _cf._ chap. Matthew 24:31. συλλέξουσιν, collect, and so separate. τὰ σκάνδαλα : abstract for concrete; those who create stumbling blocks for others. καὶ, epexegetical, not introducing a distinct class, but explaining how the class already referred to cause others to stumble. ποιοῦντας τ.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκεῖ ἔσται. etc.: held to be inappropriate here, because the gnashing of teeth is caused by _cold_, not by fire (Holtz., H. C.); appropriate in Matthew 8:12, where the doom is rejection into the outer darkness.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐκλάμψουσι : _vide_ Daniel 12:2, which seems to be in view; an expressive word suggestive of the sun emerging from behind a cloud. The mixture of good and evil men in this world hides the characters of both.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐν τῷ ἀγρῷ : the article may be generic, indicating the field as the locality, as distinct from other places where treasures were deposited. ἔκρυψε, he hid once more what some one had previously hidden; the occurrence common, the occasions various. χαρᾶς αὐτοῦ, in his joy rather than through joy ove... [ Continue Reading ]
_Three other parables: the Treasure, the Pearl, the Net_.... [ Continue Reading ]
ἐμπόρῳ ζ. κ. μ. A pearl merchant who went to the pearl fisheries to purchase from the divers, of course selecting the best; a connoisseur in valuables.... [ Continue Reading ]
πολύτιμον : precious because exceptionally large, well-shaped, and pure; such rare, but met with now and then. ἀπελθὼν : he is taken by surprise, has not as much with him as will purchase it on the spot, sees it is worth his whole stock, agrees to buy and promises to return with the price. πέπρακε,... [ Continue Reading ]
_The Net_. σαγήνῃ, _vide_ on Matthew 4:21. ἐκ παντὸς γένους συν.: a matter of course, not intended but inevitable; large movements influence all sorts of people.... [ Continue Reading ]
καθίσαντες συνέλεξαν : equally a matter of course; a thing to be done deliberately, of which the sitting attitude is an emblem. There is a time for everything; the time for sorting is at the end of the fishing. σαπρὰ, _vide_ on Matthew 7:17; Matthew 13:49-50 contain the interpretation in much the sa... [ Continue Reading ]
_Conclusion of the parabolic collection_.... [ Continue Reading ]
contains an important logion of Jesus preserved by Matthew only, nd connected by him with the parabolic teaching of Jesus. In this connection καινὰ καὶ παλαιά of course points to the use of the old familiar facts of nature to illustrate newly revealed truths of the kingdom. But we should not bind ou... [ Continue Reading ]
μετῆρεν : in classics to transfer something from one place to another. Hellenistic, intransitive = to remove oneself; one of Matthew's words (Matthew 19:1).... [ Continue Reading ]
_Visit to Nazareth_ (Mark 6:1-6, _cf._ Luke 4:16-30). In Mk. this is the next section after the parables, deducting what had previously been reported in Mt. (chaps. 8 and 9), a pretty sure sign that our evangelist has Mk. under his eye. We can here see how he handles his source substantial reproduct... [ Continue Reading ]
πατρίδα, in classics fatherland. Here and in parallels evidently = native town, home. _Vide_ Matthew 13:56 and Luke 4:16. συναγωγῇ, singular, not plural, as in Vulgate. One syn. index of size of town (Grotius). ὤστε, with infinitive: tendency and actual result. They were astonished and said: πόθεν …... [ Continue Reading ]
ὁ τ. τέκτονος υἱός : Mk. has ὁ τέκτων, which our evangelist avoids; the son of _the carpenter_, one only in the town, well known to all. Μαριὰμ … Ιάκωβος, etc., names given of mother and brothers, to show how well they know the whole family. And this other man just come back is simply another of the... [ Continue Reading ]
roverb, not Jewish merely, but common property of mankind; examples from Greek and Roman authors in Pricaeus and Wetstein, including one from Pindar about fame fading at the family hearth (Olymp. Ode, xii. 3).... [ Continue Reading ]
ere also editorial discretion is at work. Mark states that Jesus was not able to work miracles in Nazareth, and that He marvelled at their unbelief. Matthew changes this into a statement that He did few miracles there because of their unbelief, and passes over the marvelling in silence.... [ Continue Reading ]