Our King Sets Forth Seven Parables of His Kingdom
He same day went Jesus out of tie
for us, as well as for those who heard house, and sat by the sea side.
them! This parable of the sower is a mine of teaching concerning the kingdom; for the seed was ‘the word of the kingdom.” (See verse 19.)
“Behold”: every word is worthy of attention. May be, the preacher pointed to a farmer on the shore, who was beginning to sow one of the terraces. ‘A sower”, read “The Sower.” Jesus, our Lord, has taken up this business of the Sower at his Father’s bidding. The sower ‘ went forth.” See him leaving the Father’s house, with this one design upon his heart — ‘ to sow.”
He was not afraid of being seized by his family, but freely went abroad. How serene was his behaviour. He “sat by the sea side”: this must have been a great relief to him. He ceased from the controversy of the house and the street, and came into restful communion with nature. On the beach, in the open air, he gave greater play to his imagination, and quitted the didactic style for the parabolical.
2. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude
mndion the: shore 4. And when he sowed, some seeds fell
by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up.
When ILL sowed, some seeds fell by the ’ wayside; even when the Chief Sower is at work, some seed fails. We know he sows the best of seed, and in the best manner; but some of it falls on the trodden path, and so lies uncovered and unaccepted of the soil. That soil was hard, and beaten down with traffic. There, too, on the wayside, we meet with dust to blind, settlements of mud to foul, and birds to pilfer: it is not a good place for good seed. No wonder, as the seeds lay all exposed, that the fowls came and devoured them up. il
Great multitudes longed to hear his teaching, and see his miracles. These pressed upon him so eagerly that there was danger of his being pushed into the sea; and the more so because it was not a scattered crowd, but they were gathered together unto him — pressing about his person. The ship became his pulpit, and the little space between it and the shore gave him breathing-space, and enabled the more to hear him. The shelving beach and the blue sky would make a, grand auditorium, with room for ‘‘ the whole multitude”; a finely comprehensive expression. The teacher sat, and the people stood: we should have less sleeping in congregations if this arrangement still prevailed.
truth does not enter the heart, evil influences soon remove it.
5, 6. Some fell wpon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away,
3. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow.
He had much instruction to give, and he chose to convey it i parables. What wonderful pictures they were!
ote a world of meaning they have
Among the rocks, or on the shallow soil, with the unbroken rock-pan underneath, the seed fell; for if the sower had altogether avoided such places he
PaRaBLES OF THE Kincpom: Tur Sower.
might have missed some of the good ground, In these stony places the seed speedily sprang up, because the rock gave it all the heat that fell on it, and so hastened its germination. But, soon up, soon down. When the time came
- for the sun to put forth his force, the
Pm ied
- rootless plants instantly pined and
died. ‘‘ They had no deepness of earth,” and ‘‘no root’?; what could they do but wither quite away? Everything was hurried with them; the seeds had no time to root themselves, and so in hot haste the speedy growth met with speedy death. No trace remained.
7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung wp, and choked them.
The ground was originally a thorn-brake, and had been cleared by the
- thorns being cut down; but speedily
- They would not
the old roots sent out new shoots, and other weeds came up with them; and the tangled beds of thistles, thorns, nettles, and what not, strangled the feeble up-shootings of the wheat. The native plants choked the poor stranger. permit the intrusive corn to share the field with them: evil claims a monopoly of our nature.
Thus we have seen three sets of
seed come to an untimely end.
8. But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
This would repay all losses, especially at the highest rate of increase here quoted. To the bird, the weather, and the weeds, three sets of seeds have gone; yet, happily, one remains to increase and fill the barn. The sowing of good seed can never be a total failure: “other fell into good ground.”
The harvest was not equally great on every spot of fertile soil: it varied from an hundredfold to thirtyfold. Al good ground is not alike good; and, besides, the situation may differ. Harvests are not all alike in the same farm, in the same season, and under
the same farmer; and yet each field may yield a fairly good harvest. ae
Lord, if I cannot reach to a hundredfold, let me at least prove to be good ground by bearing thirtyfold.
9. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
It reminds one of the officer saying to his men, “Attention!” Hz speaks, who, as Lord of all, has a right to be heard. Kars are for hearing: use them most when Hz speaks who made the ear.
10. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou wnto them in parables 2
Perhaps the crowd had complained to the disciples that they could not see what their Master was driving at. The apostles may have felt unablo to reply. As the matter perplexed them, they did well to enquire of their infallible Teacher, rather than to invent an explanatory theory, which might have been altogether a mistake.
re 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 % 18 not given.
The usual reasons for the use of parable would be to make truth clear, - to arrest attention, and to impress teaching upon the memory. But in this instance our Lord was, by his parabolic speech, fulfilling the judicial sentence which had been long before pronounced upon the apostate nation among whom he received such unworthy treatment. They were doomed — to have the light and to remain wilfully in the dark. To his own disciples our Lord would explain the parable, but not to the outside unbelieving throng. If any one among the mul- — titude became sincerely anxious to know the Lord’s meaning, ho would become his disciple, and then he would be taught “the mysteries of the kingdom * of heaven”; but those who rejected —
THE Kincpomw. 99
the Messiah would, while listening to parables, hear and not hear, see and not perceive,
To hear the outward word is a common privilege: ‘ Zo know the mysterves” 1s a gift of sovereign grace. Our Lord speaks the truth with much boldness: “Jé 7s given unto you’’, ‘but to them vt is not given.” Solemn words. Humbling truths. Salvation, and the
knowledge by which it comes, are ’ given as the Lord wills. There is such a thing as distinguishing grace after all; let the moderns revile the doctrine as they may.
12. Lor 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.
Those who had some understanding of spiritual truth would come to yet clearer light; but those who lived wilfully in the dark, would, in the presence of light, become more and more bewildered, and would gain nothing but the discovery that they did not know what they thought they kney. An ignorant man going into a museum, or hearing a learned lecture, only feels himself a greater fool. He learns nothing, because he is not able to comprehend the elementary terms of the science. It is just so with carnal
men; spiritual truth rather blinds.
them than enlightens them.
13. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
- This was his) reason for speaking to them in parables; they could not understand spiritual things, and therefore he gave them no naked doctrine, for then they would not have listened at all. They did not really see what they saw, nor hear what they heard. The plainer the teaching, the more they were puzzled by it. They had become so morally and spiritually diseased, that the only thing they
would notice was the attractive dress of a truth: for the truth itself they had no liking and no perception. ‘To this day, marvels of creation, works of grace, deeds of providence, and ordinances of religion, are all as voiceless music, or painted suns, to carnal men: they hear not their teaching, they feel not their power.
14. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not wnderstand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive.
That wonderful sixth chapter of Isaiah is constantly being quoted in the New Testament. How clearly it sets forth the doom of guilty Israel! Those who refuse to see are punished by becoming unable to see. The penalty of sin is to be left in sin. The Jews of our Lord’s day would trifle with what they heard, and so they were left to hear without understanding. Even the Messenger of the Covenant would speak in vain to them.
15. For this peoples 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.
They had deadened their own faculties. Perversity in sin had made them heartless, and deaf, and blind to all spiritual things. Thus, they blocked up the way of salvation against themselves, and used their utmost diligence to prevent their own conversion. It was but just that the truth should reach them in a manner which would condemn rather than convert. If it had come in any other form but the parabolic, they would not even have deigned to listen to it. In that form truth would have been more clearly seen than in any other if they had been willing to see it; but,
as they were unwilling, the emblem became a dark lantern whutting the light from them, If men will wilful Close their eyes, the very light shall blind them. Thus, when the Lord nssos any by, it is duo to their sin; Put when he chooses any, it is not because they are hotter, Has that he may mike them better,
This passage teaches that the possowsion of faculties is a small thing unloss we fitly use thom, Men should “goo with their eyes, hear with their cura, and understand with their hearts”? VW thoy turn to Christ he will heal them, oven of gros hearts, and dull vars, and closed oyes. But, alas! there is a generation which will not be converted; for they are proud of their blindnoss and grossnoss,
16,17. Dut blessed are your eyes, for they bees and your vars, for they hear, For verily I say unto you, hat many prophets and righteous men have destred to wee those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Tlappy mon to be chosen to auch a priviloge! Grace has opened your eyos and ears, Llevsed are your eyes, Jor they see. What wonders, treasures, rovelations do thoy seo! Lyes are blessed which gazo wpon the mysteries of divine love, Blessed are your cara, Jor they hear; Near somothing sweeter than the song of angels, even the voice of overlasting love from the heart of Josus. You have loarned the great secret; the counsel of the Lord has boon revealed to you, and you are blessed, You under tho gospel are made to know what tho greatest and best of mon under the law could not discover. Tho shortest day of summer is longer than the longest day in winter; and you, yo humble onos, under the gospel disponsation see more of truth in Jesus than tho bost of saints could see before ho came, Thoro is no doubt about this, for Jesus sets the seal of — “Verily I say unto you” upon the statement, avoured above all othors
Pansurns ov rin Kisapom: Tan Sown.
[Ohap, XITT, are those whose rogenorated Lacultios both see and hear the truth of God, Aro we among this blessed number? If so, let us praise the Lord for go great a boon. ‘I’ruly to hear the gospel and to see its blessings is a high favour. The love and gratitude which wo show in roturn should bo great indeed!
18, Lear ye therefore the parable of the
bower,
Because you soo behind the curtain, and have grace givon to discern the inner meaning through tho outer metaphor, come and hear the oxplanntion of the parable, of the sower.
19, When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and underatandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth awa that which was sown in his heart. Uhia da he which received seed by the wan aide,
The gospel is “the word of the kings dom”; it has royal authority in it; it proclaims and rovoals King Josus, and it loads men to obedience to his sways ‘’o hear but not to understand, is to leave the good goed on the outside of your nature, and not to take it into yourself, Nothing can come of such hearing to anyone. % dy
Satan is always on tho watch to hinder tho Word: ‘ Zhen cometh the wicked one”, oven at tho moment when tho seed fell. To is always afraid to leave the truth even in hard and d contact with a mind, and so he cateheth it away at once, and it is forgotten, or even disbelioved. It ia gone, at any rato; and wo have not in our hearor’s mind a corn-field, but a highway,” hard, and much frequented, The man was not an opposer, ho “recelved seed”; but ho received tho truth as he was, without tho soil of his nature being changed; and tho seed remained as it was, till the foul bird of hell took it off the place, and thore was an end of it, So far as the truth was
ol
sown in his heart, it was in his natural, a ie
Olinp. XITL,
=
unvonowed heart, and therefore it tool no living hold, Wow many such hearors wo have! ‘lo those wo preach in vain; for what they loarn thoy unloarn, ond what they recoive they rojoct almost as soon as it comes to thom.
Lord, suffer nono of us to be im porvious to thy royal word; but whonvyor tho smallest sood of truth falls on us, may we open our soul to ity
20, 21. But he that vecetved the seed into tony places, the same ia he that heareth the word, and anow with Joy vrecuiuth iby yeh hiith ha not voot in hime, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation on pergccwetion arivdh because of the word, by and by he do offended,
Tore the sood wan the same and the fower tho sume, but the result some what differont, In this ease there was oarth, enough to vover the seed, and hoat enough to make it grow quickly, Tho convert was abtontive, and pers y porsuaded; hoe seomed glad to accept the goupol at once, ho was oven oagor and onthusiastic, joyful and domonaivative, Le heareth tha word, and anon with joy receiveth it, Muroly this looked vory promising! But the soil was casontially evil, hard, barren, suporae The man had no living entrance nlo the mystery of tho gospel, no root in himself, no principle, no hold of the truth with a renowed heart; and so he flourished hurriedly and showily for souson, and only for a season, Ti in tersoly put, “Ho dureth for a while “hat “while” may bo longer ox phorter according to cireumetancos, When mattors grow hot with Christians, cithor through affliction from the Lord, or persecution from the world, the tomporary holiever in so suplons, #0 rootless, #0 deficient in moisture of grace, that he dries up, and his profession withers. Thus, again, the sower’s hopos are disappointed, and his labour in lost, Till stony hearts are changed it must always be so. Wo
‘moot with many who are soon hot
Pananins or vim IKunapom:
Ti Sowsnn, 101
and as soon cold, ‘They receive the — gospel “anon,” and leave it: “by-and-by.” Vivorything’ is on the surface, and therefore is hasty and unreal, May wo all have broken hearts and propared minds, that when truth comos fo ud it may take root in us and
abide,
Pie
22, Tu also that recetved seed among the thorns ta he that heareth the word 3 and the ware of Wis world, and the deceitfulnes of riches, chohe the word, and he becometh un fru ful,
This class of hearers wo know by person, acquaintance in this busy age. ‘hoy hear the word, they are affectod by the gospel, they tale it as jood into their minds, and it grows woll for a season; but the heart cannot bolong to two absorbing objects at the same time, and therefore these men cannot long yield themselves up to the world and Christ too, Care to got money, covetousness, trickery, and sing which come from hagting to he rich, or else pride, luxury, eppression, and other sins which comp of having obtained wealth, prevent the man from being useful in religious matters, or even sincere to himself: “le box comith unfruitful.” ‘Lo keeps his profesaion; he occupies his place; but his roligion docs not grow; in fact, it shows sad signa of being choked and checked by worldliness, ‘ho leaf of outward religiousness is there, but there is no dew on it; the ear of promised fruit is there, but there are nof fais in it, Tho weeds have outgrown the wheat, and smothered it. We cannot grow thorn and corn at the sume time: the attempt is fatal to w harvest for Jesus,
Seo how wealth is here associated with care, decottfulness, ond unfruitfulnes, Wb ig wo thing to be handled with care, Why are men so eager to make their thorn-brake more dense with briars?
Would not a good husbandman root out the thorns and brambles? Should te? se
102 Parasies oF THE Kincpom: Tue Tapes. [Chap. XIII.
we not, as much as possible, keep
clear that only the wilfully blind
free from the care to get, to preserve, I should fail to see it, he brings forth
to increase, and to hoard worldly
another plain and pregnant similitude.
riches? Our heavenly Father will see We know right well that “man which that we have enough; why do we fret sowed good seed in his field.” Right. about earthly things? We cannot| well he sowed it; he sowed it in his give our minds to these things and fol own chosen ground, ‘his Jfield”; and the kingdom also. right good was the seed hesowed. He
is gone within his heavenly house, and
23. But he that received seed into the has left his field to the care of his sergood ground is he that heareth the word, and wants, Alas, that care is by no means understandeth it; which also beareth Sruit, what it should be!
and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
25. But while men slept, his enemy came
Here is the story of the Word’s ad sowed tares among the wheat, and went —
success. This fourth piece of land will repay all charges. Of course, no one parable teaches all truth, and therofore we have no mention here of the ploughing which always precedes a fruitful harvest. No heart of man is good by nature: the good Lord had made this plot into “good ground.” In this case, both thought and heart are engaged about the heavenly message, and the man ‘heareth the word and understandeth it.’ By being understood lovingly, the truth gets into the man, and then it roots, it ave it fruits, it rewards the sower.
e must aim at the inward apprehension and comprehension of the Word of God; for only in this way can we be made fruitful by it.
Be it ours to aim to be among those who bear fruit an hundredfold / Ah, we would give our Lord ten thousandfold if we could. For every sermon we hear we should endeavour to do a hundred gracious, charitable, or ‘self-denying acts. Our divine Sower, with such heavenly seed, deserves to be rewarded with a glorious harvest.
24. Another parable put he Forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is
his way.
The servants are all too apt to sleep. There is a season when nature requires them to do~so, and there are other times when sinful sloth persuades them to the same indulgence. Good, easy men, they cannot believe that anyone would do harm to their master’s — field; besides, watching and driving away trespassers is unpleasant work. “Heresy-hunting”’ is the nickname for watchfulness. “Rigid Puritanism” is the contemptuous title for’
careful discipline. “Bigotry” is the title by which faithfulness is described. “Whale men slept”? could any cultured person resist the spirit of the times, and keep awake? s “* His enemy came”: we know who the enemy is. His time for work is in the night. He sleeps not when watchmen are steeped in slumber; but then is he specially active. Quietly, cunningly, without observation, that malicious one sowed- the darnel, the bastard wheat; a something so like wheat that no one could tell the difference till they began to ripen. He brought in those who loved “modern
thought”, and worldly amusements,
likened unto a man which sowed good seed who were by their talk Christian, and in his field. by their boasts profoundly spiritual;
Still to give us often the key-note
and having introduced them cunningly, departed. He might have been
of this gospel, our Lord speaks of suspected had he lingered upon the “* the kingdom of heaven”; and to con-| scene of his craft; and so he “went his tinue his method of making truth so way”’ to do the like elsewhere. His
ParabLes oF THE Kiyepom: Tue Tarts. dear children all declared that he did not exist, but was a mere myth; and as he had gone away, many concluded that they were right. Satan is not omnipresent, but this he cunningly turns into an advantage, for he can often do more by his absence than by his presence. A known devil is only half a devil.
26. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.
Good seed grows, and, alas! evil seed is equally full. of the power to increase. Satan’s principles have a terrible vitality and vigour in them. Both seeds were for a while hidden; but when one “sprung up” the other “appeared also.”
The darnel is up as soon as the wheat, and it looks so like it that it appears to be the selfsame thing. The field is ruined; its yield is poisoned by the mixture of a pernicious plant. What had the enemy gained for himself? Nothing: it was enough for him that he had injured the man he hated.
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 7 tares?
Now they wake up: it had been better to have kept awake. They see the evil growth, though they did not see the evil sowing. Overwhelmed with the sight of the spoiled field, they hastened to tell their lord, wondering much how such a state of things could have come about, What a question to ask of their master: ‘‘ Whence hath it tares?”? They were sure that he sowed “good seed’’, and nothing else; and they evidently thought that he
would know who sowed the bastard
wheat. We, too, wonder how so much evil can have entered into a region wherein Christ has set his ministers, and we cry out in astonishment, ‘(rom whence then hath i tares?” The
question is best left with the Master; but the asking it is a confession that we have been asleep.
28. He saidéwnto them, An enemy huth done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thow then that we go and gather them up?
The householder had not slept. He knew who had done the cruel wrong. He who is the enemy of God and man, and he only, had perpetrated this piece of malice. It may have seemed to be a learned doctor, or a clever poet, or a treacherous orator, who scattered doubt among the.people, and introduced sceptics into the church; but the worker behind the scenes, the real author of the mischief, is always the devil himself.
The servants were eager to undo the mischief at once in the first way that suggested itself. Out with the false wheat, and let the true wheat grow! A thing more easy to propose than to do; but one which would naturally occur to all true servants who were sorry for their neglect, and eager to set matters right. Had there been weeds in the corn, the hoe could have removed them; but this darnel rew on the wheat, and wus like the wheat, and thus was the true picture of those in the church and in the world, who are nominal Christians, and fair moralists, but who know nothing of the life of God. We cannot get rid of these, and yet how often we wish we could!
29. But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
The darnel was so plentiful, had become so intermixed with the corn, and was so much like it, that it would not be possible to cut up the one without pulling up the other also. In fact, there was a false wheat which grew upon the true corn, and to part these would be perilous to the crop. Hasty disciplinarians have often cast out the best and retained the worst. Where evil is clear and open, we may not hesitate to deal with it; but where it is questionable, we had better hold our hand till we have fuller guidance.
80. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time-of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye toyether first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
Suffer the two seeds to remain together for a season, that they may be the more effectually separated later on. It is true the evil will hinder and hamper the good; but even this will be better than that you should cast out the good by mistake. A separation time will come, and that will be “in the time of harvest”? when both will be fully developed. That will be a fit season, when the division can be made and no harm done thereby. Lhe reapers then employed will do the work correctly, efficiently, universally, and finally. For the false wheat there will be burning in bundles; for the true, ingathering into the Lord’s own storehouse. This will be a perfect separation, and we are bidden to wait for it. Our Lord’s “I will say to the reapers’? may very well keep us from making any hasty speeches to the elders of the churches, or to the magistrates of the land, so as to excite them to hurried and ungenerous discipline. Thorns and thistles they can root up, but the darnel is another matter. Magistrates and churches may remove the openly wicked from their society; the outwardly good who are inwardly worthless they must leave; for the judging of hearts is beyond their sphere.
Our Lord declares that the doom of the false wheat, the bastard professors, is terrible. Bind them in bundles; put like with like, sinner with like sinner. To burn them. No words can be more suggestive of terrible destruction. After this what a quiet, peaceful tone
PARABLES OF THE Kincpom: Musrarp Serp.
we hear in the words, ‘‘ Gather the wheat into my barn.” All gathered, all recognized as the Lord’s own, all housed in his storehouse.
31, 32. 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: which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, tt is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof.
Mustard seed is the least of all seeds in proportion to that which comes of it; but it has a peculiar life in it, and therefore it produces so great a growth. The man in the parable we know: his — field is the church, or the heart; he takes the seed which, perhaps, others neglect because they think it so small; he sows the living»seed in his own field, and watches over it. It grows and grows, till at length it becomes the greatest among herbs, and is like to a tree. The results of the divine life in the soul are by no means little; but great graces, great projects, and great deeds are produced by it. The ’ work of grace in the church and in the individual, is so apparent, that persons who know as little about heavenly things as linnets and sparrows, come and find shelter beneath the holy and beneficent influences and institutions which are its outgrowth.
We could not have guessed that our Lord and his twelve apostles would produce the myriad churches of Christendom. We cannot even now tell whereto a humble effort to do good may grow. We know not to what our own inner life will come. It has an expanding power within it, and it will burst every bond, and grow to a thing which will cast shadow, yield fruit, and lend shelter. If the Lord has planted the incorruptible seed within, its destiny is a great one.
Good Master, hasten this blessed development. We have seen nearly enough of the mustard seed; now let us see the tree,
PARABLES OF THE Kinepom: LeAven, &o.
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.
Many expositors argue that this relates to the power of evil in the church, or in the heart. On this interpretation we see why ‘a woman took” the leaven, and why she was so secret about it, that it is said she hed tt. According to the rule which is observed in the use of this symbol, leaven must be taken as the type of evil; and if the rule must be applied in this case, the teaching is obvious and valuable. The leayen soon began its corrupting influence in the church, and it continues, in one form or other, working still.
But the connection does not lead us so to interpret. The parable begins with the same words as the other, “The kingdom of heaven is like’?; and there is not a word to warn us that the theme is changed, and that our Lord is not now speaking of the kingdom itself, but of evil in the kingdom. Moreover, our Lord does not say, “shall be like”, but ‘“‘7s dike”, referring, therefore, to something then in operation; and we really fail to see that the woman had then hidden the leaven, much less hidden it ‘2 three measures of meal”, that is to say, in a large church. Is not leaven here used simply as another picture of an influence which appears feeble, but turns out to be active, conquering, and at length all-pervading? ‘This, though hidden in obscurity, in the midst of nations comparable to ‘three measures of meal”, wrought with a mysterious rapidity, and will still continue to work in the whole mass of the world, and subdue the nations to itself. Let our friends take their choice of the two interpretations, and learn a good lesson from either or both. From evil leayen, the Lord preserve us; by holy influences may we all be wrought upon!
34, 35. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: thut i might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have ote secret from the foundation of the world,
That prophet was David, or Asaph. The Psalm (lxxviii.) begins, ‘‘ Give ear, O my people, to my law.” By whom could this be spoken but by God? and yet in the third verse this same person speaks of ‘‘our fathers”’; and therefore he must be a man. Here, then, in this seventy-eighth psalm, is the sacred person who is both God and man, and to our Lord Jesus Christ the language is most fitly applied by the evangelist. Our Lord speaks hidden things, and sets forth secret things in an open parable, which is understood by those who have had the eyes of their understanding opened, while those who are self-blinded perceive not his meaning. ‘These parables contain ancient secrets and deep mysteries; and, may be, there|is more of prophecy in them than we have yet perceived.
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.
Possibly, they had made out the mustard seed and the leaven, but the tares remained a puzzle to them. We are not sorry for this, since, through their ignorance, we obtain our Lord’s own interpretation. We should certainly have missed our way without it.
37. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man.
He came to this world on purpose to sow the kingdom of heaven in it. All the grace, and truth, and spiritual life among us is of his sowing.
PARABLES OF THE Kinapom: Tar Tansy.
38. The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares ure the children of the wicked one.
The field is the world, including the church; but the field is not the church exclusively: for ‘the good seed”, or “the children of the kingdom”, is much the same as the church; and the evil seed are persons who mingle with the people of God, and live together with them in necessary association in the great field of the world. Church-fellowship is not particularly aimed at, though it is encompassed by the terms used. Bigots have tried to extirpate heretics, and national churches have even forbidden unsound thinkers to remain in the country; but all attempts at securing any region from having infidels or heretics residing in it have soured into persecution. Nowhere on earth can we maintain a settlement of saints alone. In many cases, the cruel treatment of the-very best of men has been produced by the notion that they were erroneous teachers, and therefore ought not to be tolerated. To contend earnestly against error by spiritual means is right and needful, but to use carnal weapons, and other remedies of force, is absolute folly and wickedness. This world is now a field of mingled growths, and so it must be till the end come.
39. The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.
The devil is the sower of evil men. There were none such till he came into Paradise; but now they are everywhere, not only in the field of the world, but in the garden of the church. Now is the time of growing: the harvest hastens on, and the reapers are already chosen by the great householder. We may rejoice that angels, and not men, are the reapers. At what hour the consummation of the age (R. V.) shall come we do not know, but it is surely drawing nigh,
40 — 42. As therefore the tures are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall ut be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of fire: nae shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
What a description! The outgathering of ‘‘all things that offend”’, and of all persons who cause others to stumble, and who work evil, will be a consummation devoutly to be wished. Not only the outwardly wicked, but the false pretenders, the mock wheat, shall be removed. This will be the purging not of the church, but of the kingdom, which at that time will include the whole field of the world. We could not effect this clearance, but
the Lord’s own angels can, and will.
This shall be “7 the end of this world”,
the finis and climax of this dispen —
sation. The fate of these ungodly ones will be jire, the most terrible of punishments; but this will not annihilate them; for they shall exhibit the
surest tokens of a living woe — ‘‘waiting”
and gnashing of teeth.” Sooner or later, this- is what must come of evil men. Though in this world they flourish in the same field with believers, and can hardly be discerned from them, they
shall be removed from such honour-
able association, and be cast, with the rubbish of the universe, into that great ‘furnace of fire” whose smoke goeth up for ever and ever. Son of man will do. with authority; the angels are simply the executioners of the wrath of the Lamb.
43. Then shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Relieved of the cloud created by compulsory association with mere pretenders, the righteous shall shine forth. The kingdom always was their Father’s, and now shall they be seen
to be his heirs, and, in consequence, —
This the.
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.
Still the theme is ‘“‘the kingdom of
heaven.” The man lighted upon hid treasure; perhaps while he was ploughing or digging. He was not
looking for it, yet he found it. Is it not written, ‘‘I am found of them that sought me not”? ‘To obtain a right to the treasure-trove, the finder must buy the field; and to do this he parts with ‘all that he hath.” So do men act when they discover the riches of the gospel. So did Jesus himself, at the utmost cost, buy the world to gain his church, which was the treasure which he desired. The special application of the parable we leave to the reader. Practically he will do well to become the chief actor in a similar incident. Gladly may he part with all that he has to make sure of the kingdom of heaven.
45, 46. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.
Observe that in this instance the precious thing was not met with by accident, but discovered after an intelligent search for it. The first parable is descriptive of the ordinary man, to
whom the gospel comes when he is following his calling, and by no means earnest after spiritual things. He turns up a crock of gold while ploughing, and having enough sense to prefer gold to clods, he buys the field and the treasure. In the present parable the actor is not a ploughman, but a merchant, dealing in precious things. This man is a superior person, aware of the value of jewels, and seeking them as the business of his life. He is a thoughtful, earnest individual, anxious after the best things; and therefore he reads, he hears, he considers and searches, even as a jeweller would do who is seeking goodly pearls. He discovers the gospel, and rightly judges ‘the kingdom of heaven” to be the pearl of pearls, and therefore sacrifices all things else that he may have it in his own possession. In both cases all was sold to win the prize; and so in any case, however our conversion takes place, we must give up all for Christ; not of compulsion, but willingly. It must be a’pleasure to us to make sacrifices; indéed, we must consider them to be no sacrifices, just as these two men were eager and anxious to sell all their property to get possession of the one treasure which would make them rich for life.
47, 48. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: which, when tt was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
Here, among men, the ‘‘ kingdom of heaven” is ag a seine or draw-net. It encompasses a great area of water, and entangles within it all kinds of creatures that move in the sea. The net-casting is a success, for the net gathers, and is full. Yet the success may not be so great as it seems; for the contents of the net are varied; it gathered of every kind. So long as it is — in the water, it contains bad and good, of necessity. It cannot be otherwise;
PARABLES OF THE Kincpom: THE Hovsrnorper. [Chap. XIII.
and it would be idle to set about sorting the things which it encompasses while yet in the sea. On the shore will be the place for separation: the worthless, useless, and corrupt will be castaways, even though they were once in the net; but the truly precious will be taken from the net and presented to their Lord. We must now stand and fish, casting the net, and waiting for a haul; not till the end shall we s¢¢ down and sort out our takings. Many are trying to do the last thing first.
49, 50. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of tecth,
The separation between “the wicked” and “the gust”, who are in the kingdom, will be at the close of the dispensation. It will be accomplished by the messengers of God, the appointed angels: it will be done infallibly, readily, fully, and finally. The doom of the wicked is described in terms which are terrible to the last degree. Those who would have us think lightly of the punishment of the ungodly have no countenance in the teachings of the Lord Jesus. Neither does the idea that fire causes annihilation find any support from the metaphor here employed; for in the Surnace of fire “there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” S
él.
understood all these things 2
unto him, Yea, Lord.
Jesus said unto them, Have ye
They say
This is a very important question. To understand truth is essential; to understand it all is desirable. The mere letter or parable, without a sense of the meaning, will neither quicken nor sanctify. As food must be eaten, digested, and assimilated, so must truth be taken up and taken in
by the mind, Could we say, “Yea, Lord”, if he were to enquire of us? Do we even understand the seven parables which he has here given us? Did those who said ‘“Yea, Lord”, comprehend the Master’s teaching as they might have done? Probably their view of their own understanding — was not so lowly as it might have been.
52, Then. said he unto them, There=
fore 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 treaswre things new and old.
Our first desire should be that we- ourselves may be ‘‘cnstructed unto the kingdom of heaven”: a remarkable phrase. This done, we are each one appointed to be like a householder, and are made responsible for using our knowledge as food for allin our house. What we understand we must teach. What we have received into our treasure we must bring forth. If the Lord has instructed us unto his kingdom, it is for the sake of others. Toward these we must act as one who keeps house, and brings out provisions for the family. Some things have been laid up to ripen, and these the steward fetches out in due season; others are the better for being fresh from the garden; and these he serves up at once. He keeps back nothing; but he does not confine his provision to one single thing. He is not weary of the old; he is not afraid of the new. Old truth is made new by a living experience: new views of truth, if indeed it be truth, are only the old in a fresh - light. We must in our instruction of others cultivate variety, but we must not aim at it by poisoning the children with deadly drugs for the sake of giving them novel dishes. Only things worth putting into a treasury are worth bringing forth to the household. That seribe had need be well instructed who has to keep on handing out a variety of precious truth through- — out a long life.
Tun Kine in nis own Country.
Lord, make us sufficient for these things. Instruct as, that we may instruct our household. May we make no reserve for self, but bring out for thy people all that which thou hast put in our charge. Oh, to be accepted of thee in the day of thy return, because found faithful to our trust!
53. And it came to pass, that when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence.
He stayed “not to overdo what had been so well done. When he had “finished” he left off. When he had completed his ministry in a place “he departed thence.”
CHAPTER XIII. 54 — 58.
[Tun Kine iv urs own Country. ]
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?
With what emotion did our Lord return to his native place! How ready he was to associate with former friends, for “he taught them in their synagogue.” How eagerly they came together to hear their young countryman, who had made so great a stir! How amazed they were at the masterly way in which he touched great subjects, and wrought great deeds! Astonishment led to enquiry. They began to ask how it could be. ‘The question, “[Whence hath this man this wisdom, and these mighty works?”” might have been brought forward reverently, and have led to their obtaining a most instructive reply; but some flavoured their question with impertinent unbelief, and this cost them dear.
Lord, grant that my questions may never savour of incredulity. Give me to be astonished at what thou dost, and yet not to be astonished that tov shouldst be able to do such mighty works.
55, 56. Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?
His pedigree seermed to them to be of the lowliest. He had sprung from
among themselves: his reputed father was a village artisan; his mother was plain Mary, and his relations commonplace parties enough. This ought to have gratified and encouraged them; but it did not. They grew sarcastic, and harped upon the family names of James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas. They hinted that he could not have learned much wisdom in a carpenter’s shop; and as he had not been among the rabbis to obtain a superior education, he could not really know much. How could he have attained to such eminence? He was a mere nobody. Why, they knew him when his parents lost him when they went up to the feast at Jerusalem! They could not listen to the talk of the carpenter’s son.
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.
They stumbled at that which should have been a stepping-stone for them. Poor souls! How like to many in these days, who must have glitter and pretence, or they think nothing of the profoundest wisdom! If they can understand a sermon, they conceive that it cannot be a good one; if a man acts simply and naturally, he cannot in their eyes be worthy of much notice. Still is it commonly the case that, where a man is known, his neighbours find it hard to think that he can be
Tor Kine’s Hnratp sna.
really great. Distance lends enchantment: a cloud increases the apparent size. This is folly.
58. And he did not many mighty works there because of their wnbelief.
Unbelief bound his hands. Why should he spend his sacred energy among a people who would not be
profited thereby? Where he would have chosen to do most, he was forced to do least, because he saw that all he did would be wasted on them. The Lord save us from such a state of mind!
Give us, O Lord, faith to the full; that for us, and in us, and by us, thou mayest be able to do many mighty works of grace!