choked it. And some fell upon good ground, and being sprung up, yielded fruit a hundred-fold. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”[1]
And His disciples asked Him what this parable might be. To whom He said: “To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. And they by the wayside are they that hear; then the devil cometh, and taketh the word of God out of their heart, lest believing they should be saved. Now they upon the rock[2] are they who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no roots; who believe for awhile, and in time of temptation fall away[3]. And that which fell among thorns are they who have heard, and going their way are choked with the cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and yield no fruit. But that on the good ground are they who in a good and perfect heart, hearing the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit in patience.”
COMMENTARY.
The different ways of receiving the word of God. The sower is our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, through the apostles and their successors, proclaims the word of God. The field is the heart of man, for which the divine seed is destined. The chief lesson contained in the parable is that the effect of God’s word upon the soul depends entirely on the preparation and disposition of him who hears it, just as the fruitfulness of the natural seed depends on the cultivation and quality of the earth in which it is sown. The three cases mentioned in which the seed brought forth no fruit, point out the chief hindrances which man puts in the way of the efficacy of God’s word.
The first class are those in whom there is wanting a good will to receive God’s word with faith. They hear it indeed, but they will not open their hearts to it, because the devil and his human agents have succeeded by scorn, prejudice and false explanations in so setting them against everything supernatural, that they utterly refuse to believe. Take, for instance, the Pharisees in our Lord’s time, and also the so-called “enlightened” men of the present day.
- ↑ Let him hear. By these words our Lord shows that he treats in this parable of truths which ought to be taken very seriously to heart.
- ↑ They upon the rock. Those in whose case the seed of the divine word falls on stony ground, which does not allow the seed to take root.
- ↑ Fall away. From faith in the doctrines of Christianity.
