Matthew 13:21

Yet hath he not root in himself

(ουκ εχε δε ριζαν εν εαυτω). Cf. Colossians 2:7 and Ephesians 3:18 ερριζωμεμο. Stability like a tree. Here the man has a mushroom growth and "endureth for a while" (προσκαιρος), temporary, quick to sprout, quick to stumble (σκανδαλιζετα). What a picture of some converts in our modern revivals. They drop away overnight because they did not have the root of the matter in them. This man does not last or hold out. Tribulation

(θλιψεως). From θλιβω, to press, to oppress, to squeeze (cf. Matthew 7:14). The English word is from the Latin tribulum, the roller used by the Romans for pressing wheat. Cf. our "steam roller" Trench (Synonyms of the N.T., pp. 202-4): "When, according to the ancient law of England, those who wilfully refused to plead, had heavy weights placed on their breasts, and were pressed and crushed to death, this was literally θλιψις." The iron cage was στενοχωρια.