Matthew XIII
1. The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea-side.
2. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
4. And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way-side, and the fowls came and devoured them up;
5. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
6. And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away:
7. And some fell among thorns: and the thorns sprung up and choked them;
8. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some sixty-fold, some thirty-fold.
9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
The work of Christ and the general preaching of the Gospel are represented in this simple illustration. From it we learn — 1. That a general proclamation is attended by particular results. This is notable, because one would have imagined that any declaration of God’s will would have elicited an instantaneous, universal, and satisfactory response. The only difference which could have been supposed would be that each would be striving to excel the other in prompt and reverent obedience. 2. We learn, secondly, that those particular results are not to be attributed to any special arrangement on the part of the sower. The sower went forth to sow the whole field, at the same time, with the same seed, and with the same purpose; with entire impartiality he moved along the courses of the field, and scattered the grain on the right hand and on the left. Looking at the case from his point of view, we might have expected that his labours would have been productive of the most satisfactory results. Sowers cannot control harvests. They may sow well, and be mocked by a lean and withered harvest. This marks not only a limitation of power on the part of man, but on the part of God also in moral operations. No man can be compelled to bring forth fruit unto God. Ajrmn may receive the.Jip.st seed, and-J^t-4^-jQl4-JiejDiay-4ive under the most. fertilising influences, and yet be barren of all holy fruits.
The startling practical reflection suggested by this circumstance is, that men are not saved by having opportunities? but by improving them. It is no light consideration that with God Himself for a sower we may be disappointed in the fruitfulness and quality of the harvest. This refutes the sophism, that if the Gospel were properly proclaimed, men would yield to it. The fault is not in the instrumentality. The ministry of Jesus Christ was in certain aspects a failure; there were vast breadths of the field which He sowed with a liberal hand, which bore no trace of His service. The world>isnot perishing for lack .of ....good preaching. Never was preaching so excellent and so abundant as it is to-dayyet hardly one token of harvest can be seen. We may learn — 3. That hearers must themselves supply the conditions of spiritual success. Look at the particulars for illustration: The wayside hearer listens to the word, but understandeth (regardeth) it not, and from want of attention the enemy is suffered to “catch away that which was sown in heart.” The condition which this hearer should have brought with him is meditation. The word touched him only by the outside; he gave it no lodgment in his heart, never watered the seed, never protected the fences, never opened his spirit to its power. The seed was good, the soil was bad; the sower was God, the enemy the devil. See how the case stands: the sower is God, the field is the heart, the destroyer is the devil; and in order to disappoint the enemy, the heart must co-operate with God. Take the stony-ground hearer. He listens [tQ the word with gladness. He thinks it a pleasant sound, and while the music is in his ear, he resolves to profit by the] Holy Word. What condition is wanting in his case? It is well named “root in himself;” no reality and depth of nature; empty, trifling, unreflecting; easily moved, self-indulgent, pliable; all right in sunshine, but cowardly in darkness; loving the Gospel sound, but lacking courage to endure anything for the Gospel’s sake. Such a hearer brings much disappointment to his minister. The starting tear, the responsive gleam, the ready assent, are mistaken by being over-valued by the zealous preacher. No man can live to much purpose who has “no root in himself,” nothing upon which even God can work. Mark the possibility of exhausting one’s manhood; throwing away, or allowing to die out, the germ which was given to be cultured and expanded into fruitfulness towards God! Think of a man being dead at the roots! The thorny-ground hearer is represented in all congregations: the seed is good, the soil itself even may not be of the worst quality; the man is simply preoccupied; his idea is that life depends entirely upon his own exertions, and he consequently works as if he had no spiritual sources to draw upon. Give him a perpetual Sabbath, and he will be attentive, and perhaps partly religious; but as the working-week begins, the old tyrannous mammon spirit masters him. There is an influence which seems to be born, or at least revived, every Monday morning, which overpowers the partial religiousness of the Sabbath. It is not to be understood that religious men are exempt from the cares of this world, or even the deceitfulness of riches; they have them all, but the spirit that is in them is greater than the spirit that is in the world, and they thereby overcome.
[The expression — “the deceitfulness of riches” is an excellent text for a sermon to the busy. It may also be the foundation of a discourse to young merchants. The deceitfulness is shown in several ways, such, for example, as — “I am laying up for a rainy day;” “I care nothing for wealth, except to do good with it;” “when I have realised a sufficient sum, I shall spend the remainder in works of benevolence.” All these are sophisms. The rainy day may never come; the rich man seldom does as much good as he did when he was not half so rich; money likes money, and the difficulty is to know when a man has “sufficient.” The subject might then be viewed in a graver aspect, viz.: — the power of riches to choke the Divine word in man. Think of a man selling his aspirations, his faculties, his capacities, selling his soul for gold! This love of money does not come upon a man all at once, but “deceitfully,” until a nature which might have been open and generous, becomes shrivelled and impenetrable.]
In the course of the parable Christ uses language which has often been perverted, by being made to support a theology which is anything but Christian. This language is as follows: —
10. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakestthou unto them in parables?
11. He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing, see not; and hearing, they hear not; neither do they understand.
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive;
15. For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
From this language it has been inferred that Christ simply mocked His hearers, knowing that they could not apprehend His meaning or follow His counsel. The heart instantly rebels against so diabolic a doctrine. Christ had great disclosures to make; so great that even towards the last He felt that He could not make them without straining the capacity of His own disciples: — “I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot hear them now.” This was the case after He had been with the disciples a considerable time; how much greater, then, was His difficulty of revelation at an earlier period, and to a promiscuous auditory? His words may be thus paraphrased: You are my disciples, and as such you know the principles and purposes of my kingdom, but at present these mysteries are not generally understood; as you have been called to this discipleship you shall be led more and more into an understanding of the mysteries of my kingdom, but those who are afar off shall be afterward instructed, and according as they supply the right conditions of progress will be their destiny; if they prove to be wayside or thorny ground, or stony-place hearers, they shall suffer accordingly, for from him that hath not shall be taken away even that he hath; therefore speak I unto them in parables, because they seeing with their natural eyes will not see with their spiritual eyes, and though they hear the word, yet they will not regard it in their heart, and in them is once more fulfilled the words of the prophet Esaias. That this shutting-up of the faculties was not a Divine act may be seen from the expression — “Their eyes they have closed,” showing that the act was entirely their own. This view of the doctrine is corroborated by the kind of hindrances which Christ specifies, viz., Satanic temptation, no root in himself, the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches. Here is nothing extraordinary; we have here only the common class of difficulties and hindrances, so that the contemporaries of Christ were just as we ourselves are, and therefore the suggestion of judicial blindness and Divine fate is inappropriate and untenable. The most of the thoughts suggested by the parable of the sower might be comprehended in a discourse upon the history of the Divine Word among men, and the outline might stand thus — 1. The general distribution of the word — wayside, stones, thorns, good ground, all climates, temperaments, races, &c.; 2. The great purpose of the word fruitfulness — thought, action, family, business, nation, &c.; 3. The difficulties of the word — care, riches, superficiality, devil, &c.; 4. The results of the word — thirty, sixty, hundredfold; difference according to capacity, earnestness, opportunity, &c. The text suggests a cautionary word, viz., let not the thirty-fold producers imagine that they are hundredfold producers. There must be gradation in character, in position, in influence. The text suggests a word of encouragement, viz., the reward is not given for the mere quantity brought forth, but for the fact that there is a bringing forth. The same principle is illustrated in the parable of the talents; the reward was not in the ten and the four, but in the doubling of the original endowment.
24. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:
25. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.
26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
27. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?
28. He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
30. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Around this parable many curious interpretations have been gathered, in direct contradiction to Christ’s own exposition as given in verses 36 — 43. From that exposition we learn — 1. That all good men are placed on the earth by the Son of man (” the good seed are the children of the kingdom”).
Good men come from the good Man; there is no germ of goodness, no hint or promise of good harvest that may not be traced directly to Jesus Christ. This fact is of great value as illustrative of His divinity. Nothing bad comes from Him; all good springs from His undefiled, His essentially holy soul. 2. They are so placed as not to be beyond evil association. They stand side by side with “the children of the wicked one.” Proximity does not involve identity. Good men and bad men grow, so to speak, on the same earth, yet there is a difference of nature which cannot be mistaken. Time can never make the tares wheat, nor can time ever make the wheat tares. Time moulds the blossom into fruit, but time never brings figs out of thistles. The difference between good men and bad men is not a difference of position, a difference of circumstances, or a difference of opportunities, but a difference of nature. This fact must lie at the basis of all ameliorative schemes. We learn — 3. That physical force must never be used in uprooting vicious humanity. The servants would have laid violent hands on the tares, but the master said, “Nay, lest while ye gather up the tares ye root up also the wheat with them.” This circumstance explains the continuance of the present apparently anomalous economy of life; that is to say, all things are governed with a view to the development and the full ripening of good men: they are God’s first consideration, and in caring for them many collateral, so to speak overflowing, advantages fall to the lot of bad men. The dew falls upon all plants, the light shines upon all fields. From this fact might be wrought out a powerful practical appeal respecting the indebtedness of bad men to good men. Take the doctrine into the family; the bad parent may be spared for the sake of the good child, or contrariwise: take it into the nation; five righteous men may be saving the land: take it into business; one true heart may be protecting an incompetent firm, &c. The great principle is that the present economy is upheld for the sake of the righteous, and that though it might appear to “servants” well to uproot the evil by violent means, yet the “master” says, Not so, lest ye injure the good. 4. That difference of nature determines difference of destiny. “The tares are gathered and burned in the fire, — the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” 1. Forcible separations are not to be effected by man; 2. Temporary associations are not to be mistaken for permanent fellowship; 3. Forbearance is not to be confounded with complacency.
There are two solemn considerations suggested by this parable respecting bad men. 1. They are the children of the devil; 2. They shall be cast into a furnace of fire, there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Interpret these awful words as we may, we are driven to the conclusion that the wicked man’s fate is one of inexpressible horror.
There is a peculiarity of expression in the 28th verse which cannot be seen apart from the original — ‘E^Opo? avdpwiros tovto eiroLrjcrev. Literally, “A hostile man hath done this,” — not merely “an enemy,” as it is rendered in the 28th verse, but a “hostile man,” an enemy-man. The point to be noted is that suggested by the word “man.” In the 39th verse this ‘-E%#po? is declared to be jdid/3olo<;. Bad men may hence learn how Christ identified them not only with the devil’s service, but really with the devil himself.
A collation of the 38th and 41st verse suggests that Christ’s kingdom is co-extensive with the world, and that in this wide acceptation of the term bad men may be in the good kingdom. This is no argument, however, for knowingly admitting bad men into the visible Church, or allowing them to remain when their characters have been disclosed. Apostolic authority is entirely in favour of marking them which cause divisions and offences, and avoiding them- (See particularly 2 Cor. vi. 14 — 18.) Still it must be remembered that the “things that offend and them which do iniquity” are said to be in “his kingdom” (t% ftaaikeia? avTov), — not only in “the world “generally, but in” his kingdom “particularly. It is worth while starting the inquiry how far the language of the 41st verse may be held to apply to the weaknesses and errors which attach even to good men in the present sphere — weaknesses and errors which sustain the same relation to virtue that the chaff may sustain to the wheat. The grammatical construction of the original would seem to favour this suggestion. The angels are to gather out iravra ra crKavhaka real toi>9 “rroiovvras rrjv uvotlav. Literally, “all the scandals and the working the iniquity.” Taken in this view we should have the idea of the entire purification of believers, rather than of the destruction of bad men. Both interpretations are correct; all men shall be tried, either in the winnowing fan or the furnace, — the chaff shall be taken from the wheat, and the dross shall be purged from the gold.
31. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field:
32. Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
The remarks of Olshausen on this parable are simple and decisive: “The idea which this parable is obviously designed to set forth is simply this — that in the manifestation of what is Divine, the beginning and the end of its development stand related to each other in an inverse ratio. Springing from invisible beginnings, it spreads itself abroad over an all-embracing field of operations.” There have been a good many fanciful interpretations of this parable: such as that some men have mistaken a large shrub for a great tree, and that the fowls of the air represent the lodgment of worldly spirits in the Church. These seem to be entirely beside the mark. The simple purpose of Christ is to show that the day of small things may end in great glory. Homiletically, the idea suggests the following points: — I. That great movements may have small beginnings; 2. That the development of important purposes depends less on demonstration than upon a principle of vitality; 3. That the ideas of God often depend upon men for full evolution and consolidation: the mustard-seed must be sown, so the word of the kingdom must take effect in the heart; 4. The power upon which the Gospel depends is the power of Life. Stier well says: “Trust not to anything great in this world which was not small in its beginning; for then it grows not from the kernel, — then in all probability the tree began from the branches before it had roots.”
The parable may be used as an encouragement to those who are young in the Christian life, or to those who are feeling their first desires towards Christ. The law of growth in nature has its counterpart in the growth of the Divine word in the soul of man.
33. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.
Having examined many interpretations of this parable, I have come to the conclusion that the common opinion is correct, viz., that it is intended to represent the penetrating power of Divine truth. It may be true that “leaven” is never referred to in the sacred writings except as a bad or forbidden thing, yet the action of leaven on meal may fittingly represent the penetrating energy of the Gospel in the individual heart, or in the world at large. Heubner, as quoted by
Lange, puts the idea most concisely: “If the former parable presents the extensive power of Christianity, this exhibits its intensive force.” Lange himself says: “One of the main points in the parable is the ’ hiding ’ or the mixing of the leaven in three measures of meal. This refers to the great outward Church, in which the living Gospel seems, as it were, hidden and lost. It appears as if the Gospel were engulphed in the world, but under the regenerating power of Christianity it will at last be seen that the whole world shall be included in the Church.” By an unstrained accommodation the parable may yield the following homiletic reflections: — i. There is a vast mass of human nature to be brought under the influence of truth. 2. The relation between the means and the end is apparently disproportionate. “The expression, three measures, is not accidental, but intended to denote the large quantity which the leaven has to pervade. Three is the symbolical number for spiritual things.” 3. The energy is in the truth, not in the nature on which it operates; yet 4. There is a similarity between the truth and the heart, — here is the Divine descent, the moral grandeur of man! The leaven would not operate upon stones, or upon any substance entirely foreign to itself; so the very fact that Divine truth operates upon human nature, with a view to its sanctification, is an illustration of man’s high origin and sublime destiny.
34. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:
35. That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.
Great revelations must be made with special regard to the capacity of the hearers: — 1. Children are taught as children. Sometimes the elders of the house speak to one another in the presence of their children in a parabolical manner, so as to avoid being understood except by one another. 2. The gradual and reserved revelation of truth saves society from confusion, and deepens the attention of the world. It is so in ordinary intellectual development. The scholar does not learn all at once, &c. Reserved revelation is itself an excellent discipline, when reverently accepted. 3. Society gains much by the relation of teacher and learner. (a) The necessities of different mental forces are provided for; (b) men learn to esteem men; (c) a deep common sympathy is engendered and sustained.
All that the ancient prophets had foretold of Christ had been dictated by Christ Himself; hence the ease and naturalness with which He took up their words and fulfilled their meaning. He was Himself a fulfilled prophecy. The ages were gathered up in Him, so that though He was young according to the flesh, yet according to the spirit He was “the ancient of days.” All the ages had themselves been mysterious parabolic signs, and Christ was the answer of their enigma; yet the answer itself was a parable, as if the world could not be educated but by riddles and pictures. His parabolic method of teaching is not to be regarded as an attempt to bewilder and mislead His hearers; it was a continuance of the Divine method from the beginning, — a collateral and most invincible argument on behalf of His deity. We are now, individually and nationally, in the very midst of a parable. “We know in part and we prophecy in part.” We are not without light, yet we see through a glass darkly. The Divine Parabolist is proceeding with His mysterious, half-explained utterances, and we shall have to follow Him, as did the disciples, into “the house,” which in our case means into the heavens, in order to know the meaning of His solemn and far-reaching words.
36. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him. saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.
This should be turned to practical account. In this verse we have two points: — 1. Men anxious for the interpretation of Divine words; and 2. Such men making appeal to the Divine Interpreter. No object should awaken such deep solicitude as the attainment of a right idea of Christ’s utterances, for they were “the words of eternal life;” and this object can be realised only by communion with Christ, — this union suggests the following subject: — Prayer in its relation to a right understanding of the Scriptures. The reasonableness and consequent profitableness of such prayer may be maintained on the following grounds: — 1. He who wrote the Scriptures is the object of prayer. 2. The Scriptures are addressed to the human mind and heart. 3. He who wrote the Scriptures bestowed also the faculty of interpretation. 4. He who bestowed this faculty has promised to renew and enrich it in answer to prayer. “If any man lack wisdom,” &c, “If ye being evil,” &c, “Ask, and it shall be given you,” &c.
As we have already referred to Christ’s exposition of the parable of the tares (37 — 43), we may proceed to the next parable: —
44. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof, goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.
i. The kingdom of heaven is precious. 2. What is precious must be sought for. 3. All other possessions must be appropriated to the securing of the kingdom of heaven. Or thus: — 1. All men value treasure. 2. Treasures are of different value. 3. The treasures which are most valuable are spiritual. 4. The highest of spiritual treasures is the Gospel of Christ. 5. The attainment of this treasure should be a secret joy, and should necessitate a continual surrendering of inferior possessions.
But how is the kingdom of heaven like unto treasure hid in a field? i. Because it is in the world as an unknown thing. 2. Because when discovered it attracts and absorbs the deepest attention of the world.
But why should the finder of this treasure-field hide it as if to keep other persons from it? Is it not the nature of the Gospel to expand and liberalise the heart? Truly, and the “hiding” of the treasure is referred to simply to show the eagerness, the intensity, and determination of the finder; if it is pressed farther it is pressed entirely out of its meaning.
45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls:
46. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
The same idea is contained in this parable as in the foregoing. 1. Here is a man seeking, — all men seek. 2. Here is a man seeking good things, — he is not merely an accumulator, but an accumulator of valuable possessions. 3. Here is a man finding unexpected treasures. 4. Here is a man who decides that one may be more than many, — quality is better than quantity. The great object of life should be much not many.
47. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48. Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50. And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
I. The visible kingdom of heaven is not secure from the intrusion of unworthy men. 2. A period of discrimination will supervene in the history of God’s kingdom on the earth. 3. In that period nothing will avail but the highest excellence of character.
51. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
52. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old.
Understanding should express itself not merely in sentiment, but in persevering and generous service. 1. Christ’s ministers should be instructed; 2. Their instruction should not be enjoyed for selfish purposes; 3. Their instruction should express itself in divers methods and ranges, according to the capacities of the hearers. The material will be old, the illustration may be new. Truth is venerable as eternity; its phases may bloom with the freshness of summer. Christ himself uttered no new truth; He only “uttered things which had been kept secret from the foundation of the world,” yet every parable was a new aspect of the eternal truth, adapted to the state of contemporary thought. The fifty-second verse gives the teacher his range of liberty, and that range includes both “old and new.” Can any liberty be greater? Civilization, in which term I include all the higher life as well as all that is refined and elevated in material progress, is continually being set at different angles, and the wise scribe is commanded to watch all such variations that he may adopt the presentation of the truth accordingly. The age that would reject a dogma might accept a parable. The entire history of Religious Thought might be written under the twofold division of Dogma and Parable. This is emphatically the Parabolic Era, taking its tone, and order of development, from the transitional state of the intellectual world, as represented by Science and Philosophy. In periods of intellectual quiescence we find that the religious world is settled firmly upon its theological Dogmas, but in periods of great intellectual excitement the religious world passes into what may be termed its Parabolic phase. Not that Dogma is destroyed, any more than mountains are annihilated by the luminous mists which are often seen upon them on autumnal mornings. The true power of religious teaching is best shown in following the order which Christ Himself followed in the ministry. He gave Doctrine, and He gave Parable; the first met the positive want of the religious nature, and the second encouraged all that was best on the speculative side of the intellectual nature. Thus Christ avoided the cold and stern finality which is characteristic of formal Dogma. There was always something beyond; some opening in the golden clouds of the horizon which invited the spectator to go in and behold yet brighter visions: the Dogma was decisive, but the Parable set the heart longing for closer intercourse with the Parabolist; hence we find the disciples following Christ and pressing for further explanation. The Dogma marked the distance that had been travelled; the Parable pointed to the distance which lay far ahead: Dogma was finished like Yesterday, Parable had about it all haze, yet all the promise and allurement, of Morrow. It was thus that in an unequalled, or rather unique, degree, the teaching of this Scribe “instructed unto the kingdom of heaven,” combined “things new and old,” and thus that He has maintained His hold upon the ages, filling and satisfying their entire capacity of vision and desire. The Parable takes the enquirer farther along the line of truth than Dogma does; it stands in relation to Dogma as poetry to prose. Even the arithmetician calls in the aid of the algebraist at a certain point of the science of numbers, and thus gets upon what may be called the Parabolic side of truth. When he says “let x represent the unknown quantity,” he means, in his particular l6o HOMILETIC ANALYSIS.
sphere of enquiry, what Christ meant when He said, “the kingdom of heaven is like — .” Dogma is the known; Parable the unknown: hence there is not a little reality in the bold saying of the ancient Sophists that “probabilities were more to be valued than truths.”
53. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
54. And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?
55. Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?
56. And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
57. And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, save in his own country, and in his own house.
58. And he did many mighty works there because of their unbelief.
The Truth subject to the evil influences of prejudice, is the topic suggested by this paragraph. The attention is not so much fixed upon “this wisdom, and these mighty works” as upon the low origin of the man. The subject suggests: — 1. A possibility, — that of being overcome by prejudice even in the most momentous pursuits. 2. An admonition, — that truth is independent of accidental circumstances. 3. A warning, — that unbelief may deprive us of the presence and service of Christ.
Among the general remarks which may be made on this paragraph are such as: — 1. Foolish notions about ancestry. 2. Forgetting that the trade does not make the man. 3. Keeping men down because their parents were not eminent. 4. The fate of great souls is to be misunderstood. 5. If nothing can be brought against a man himself, he may be reproached with the obscurity of his parentage. On the other side, Christ’s, it may be seen: — 1. That man has more fair play to expect from strangers than from so-called friends. 2. That blessings are not to be forced upon un-MATTHEW XIII. l6l
willing hearers. 3. That discouragement in one direction need not terminate the purposes and labours of a good man.
GENERAL NOTE.
This chapter is largely occupied with parabolic illustrations of “the kingdom of heaven.” By that expression is to be understood the Theocracy, — including all the purposes and providences of God in relation to the human world. Whenever anything is found that is truly loving, beautiful, valuable, or exalting, there is an aspect of God’s kingdom upon the earth. There is a contention between two kingdoms, — the kingdom of heaven and the kingdom of hell; the latter is “like unto” death, corruption, darkness, tumult and kindred terrors; the former is like unto life, progress, light, peace, and all that goes to make up heaven. Whenever man feels lifted up towards better life, or enkindled by pure and elevating hope, he is under the influence of the heavenly kingdom; and whenever his lower nature dominates over his soul, beclouding his intellect, and rousing into flames his vilest passions, he is under the power of the kingdom of darkness. A wide and fertile field of illustration is opened by a contrastive statement between the parables of Christ in regard to the kingdom of heaven, and what is known of the Satanic kingdom. For example, “the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man which sowed good seed in his field;” the contrast of this would be, “the kingdom of hell is like unto a man which sowed bad seed in his field:” again, “The kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field;” the contrast would be, “the kingdom of hell is like a deceitful and worthless bubble floating in the air.” Thus, as the light gives the shadow, so the parable, which represents the kingdom of heaven, also sets forth the spirit and features of the kingdom of darkness.