Matthew 25:24

Matthew 25:24. Lord, I knew thee that thou art a hard man. A common excuse: the master is hard and selfish. Men represent God as demanding from them what they cannot perform. In the parable, and in reality, the excuse is inconsistent and self-convicting.

Reaping where thou didst not sow. ‘ This is man's lie, to encourage himself in idleness' (Alford). Didst not scatter. A repetition of the former thought, the sowing being represented as a scattering to bring into contrast the gathering into the bam. A reference to ‘winnowing' is less satisfactory.