131 And in that day Jesus, having gone forth from the house, was sitting by the sea, 2 and gathered together unto him were many multitudes, so that he having gone into the boat did sit down, and all the multitude on the beach did stand, 3 and he spake to them many things in similes, saying: 'Lo, the sower went forth to sow, 4 and in his sowing, some indeed fell by the way, and the fowls did come and devour them, 5 and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth, and immediately they sprang forth, through not having depth of earth, 6 and the sun having risen they were scorched, and through not having root, they withered, 7 and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns did come up and choke them, 8 and others fell upon the good ground, and were giving fruit, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who is having ears to hear—let him hear.'
10 And the disciples having come near, said to him, 'Wherefore in similes dost thou speak to them?' 11 And he answering said to them that—'To you it hath been given to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, and to these it hath not been given, 12 for whoever hath, it shall be given to him, and he shall have overabundance, and whoever hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him. 13 'Because of this, in similes do I speak to them, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor understand, 14 and fulfilled on them is the prophecy of Isaiah, that saith, With hearing ye shall hear, and ye shall not understand, and seeing ye shall see, and ye shall not perceive, 15 for made gross was the heart of this people, and with the ears they heard heavily, and their eyes they did close, lest they might see with the eyes, and with the ears might hear, and with the heart understand, and turn back, and I might heal them. 16 'And happy are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear, 17 for verily I say to you, that many prophets and righteous men did desire to see that which ye look on, and they did not see, and to hear that which ye hear, and they did not hear.
18 'Ye, therefore, hear ye the simile of the sower: 19 Every one hearing the word of the reign, and not understanding—the evil one doth come, and doth catch that which hath been sown in his heart; this is that sown by the way. 20 'And that sown on the rocky places, this is he who is hearing the word, and immediately with joy is receiving it, 21 and he hath not root in himself, but is temporary, and persecution or tribulation having happened because of the word, immediately he is stumbled. 22 'And that sown toward the thorns, this is he who is hearing the word, and the anxiety of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, do choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. 23 'And that sown on the good ground: this is he who is hearing the word, and is understanding, who indeed doth bear fruit, and doth make, some indeed a hundredfold, and some sixty, and some thirty.'
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Matthew 13:1-23
Commentary on Matthew 13:1-23
(Read Matthew 13:1-23)
Jesus entered into a boat that he might be the less pressed, and be the better heard by the people. By this he teaches us in the outward circumstances of worship not to covet that which is stately, but to make the best of the conveniences God in his providence allots to us. Christ taught in parables. Thereby the things of God were made more plain and easy to those willing to be taught, and at the same time more difficult and obscure to those who were willingly ignorant. The parable of the sower is plain. The seed sown is the word of God. The sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, by himself, or by his ministers. Preaching to a multitude is sowing the corn; we know not where it will light. Some sort of ground, though we take ever so much pains with it, brings forth no fruit to purpose, while the good soil brings forth plentifully. So it is with the hearts of men, whose different characters are here described by four sorts of ground. Careless, trifling hearers, are an easy prey to Satan; who, as he is the great murderer of souls, so he is the great thief of sermons, and will be sure to rob us of the word, if we take not care to keep it. Hypocrites, like the stony ground, often get the start of true Christians in the shows of profession. Many are glad to hear a good sermon, who do not profit by it. They are told of free salvation, of the believer's privileges, and the happiness of heaven; and, without any change of heart, without any abiding conviction of their own depravity, their need of a Saviour, or the excellence of holiness, they soon profess an unwarranted assurance. But when some heavy trial threatens them, or some sinful advantage may be had, they give up or disguise their profession, or turn to some easier system. Worldly cares are fitly compared to thorns, for they came in with sin, and are a fruit of the curse; they are good in their place to stop a gap, but a man must be well armed that has much to do with them; they are entangling, vexing, scratching, and their end is to be burned, Hebrews 6:8. Worldly cares are great hinderances to our profiting by the word of God. The deceitfulness of riches does the mischief; they cannot be said to deceive us unless we put our trust in them, then they choke the good seed. What distinguished the good ground was fruitfulness. By this true Christians are distinguished from hypocrites. Christ does not say that this good ground has no stones in it, or no thorns; but none that could hinder its fruitfulness. All are not alike; we should aim at the highest, to bring forth most fruit. The sense of hearing cannot be better employed than in hearing God's word; and let us look to ourselves that we may know what sort of hearers we are.