Matthew 13:3

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 13:3

And he spake many things. Of which but a few are here recorded (cf. Matthew 13:34 , Matthew 13:51 ). Unto them in parables. Taking the expression in the widest sense, "speaking in parables" began in the very earliest ages, when natural or spiritual truths were described under figures taken from everyday life, and continues until the present time, more especially among Eastern nations. Interesting examples of such a method of instruction are to be seen in the Haggadoth (which are... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Matthew 13:3-23

Parable of the sower. The object of this parable is to explain the causes of the failure and success of the gospel. It might have been supposed enough to proclaim the kingdom. Why does this fail? It fails, says our Lord, because of the nature of the soil. This soil is often impervious, often shallow, often dirty. I. " SOME SEEDS FELL BY THE WAYSIDE , AND THE FOWLS CAME AND DEVOURED THEM ." The spiritual analogue is said to be in him "who heareth the Word,... read more

Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible - Matthew 13:3-9

In parables - The word “parable” is derived from a Greek word signifying “to compare together,” and denotes a similitude taken from a natural object to illustrate a spiritual or moral subject. It is a narrative of some fictitious or real event, in order to illustrate more clearly some truth that the speaker wished to communicate. In early ages it was much used. Pagan writers, as Aesop, often employed it. In the time of Christ it was in common use. The prophets had used it, and Christ employed... read more

Joseph Benson

Joseph Benson's Commentary of the Old and New Testaments - Matthew 13:3

Matthew 13:3. And he spake many things unto them “Delivered many doctrines of the highest importance, wisely making choice of such for the subject of his sermons, when he had the greatest number of hearers, because on those occasions there was a probability of doing the most good by them.” In parables The word parable sometimes signifies a sublime discourse, elevated beyond the common forms of speech, as Numbers 23:7; Numbers 24:15; Job 27:1; Job 29:1, where see the notes: sometimes a... read more

Donald C. Fleming

Bridgeway Bible Commentary - Matthew 13:1-23

PARABLES54. The sower (Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-29; Luke 8:1-18)To visit all the towns of Galilee was a huge task. Jesus and his disciples were helped in this work by a group of women who went with them to look after their daily needs (Luke 8:1-3). Crowds of people came to see Jesus wherever he went, and were often a hindrance to the progress of the gospel. It seems that one reason Jesus began to teach extensively in parables was to separate those who were genuinely interested from those who... read more

E.W. Bullinger

E.W. Bullinger's Companion Bible Notes - Matthew 13:3

many things. Some of these parables were repeated (and varied) on other occasions. There are no "discrepancies". in = by. Greek. en . App-104 . parables. Here, eight (not "seven" as sometimes alleged) are selected for the special purpose of the Holy Spirit in this Gospel. See App-96 and App-145 . Behold. Figure of speech Asterismos. App-6 . a sower = the sower. As these eight parables relate to "the Kingdom of the Heavens" ( App-114 ), the sowing must relate to the proclamation of it... read more

James Burton Coffman

Coffman Commentaries on the Bible - Matthew 13:3

And he spake to them many things in parables, saying ...Here Christ began a new type of teaching, using PARABLES, partly for concealment, partly for illustration. His reasons for this methods will be noted more fully under Matthew 13:10, below. There are, to be sure, parables in the Old Testament, but Christ's use of this device exceeded any previous conception of it, and are still, some 2,000 years afterward, the marvel of all who study them.A parable is a story which is made the vehicle of a... read more

Thomas Coke

Thomas Coke Commentary on the Holy Bible - Matthew 13:3

Matthew 13:3. He spake many things unto them in parables— The word παραβολη, which we translate parable, signifies a comparison or simile; a transferring of the ideas or properties which are in one subject generally familiar and well known, to another less known and understood, in order to heighten and enliven that other the more to the mind. It is a putting of one thing for another, that the matter intended to be taught may not immediately appear from the bare letter, and the case put;but when... read more

Robert Jamieson; A. R. Fausset; David Brown

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible - Matthew 13:3

3. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, c.—These parables are SEVEN in number and it is not a little remarkable that while this is the sacred number, the first FOUR of them were spoken to the mixed multitude, while the remaining THREE were spoken to the Twelve in private—these divisions, four and three, being themselves notable in the symbolical arithmetic of Scripture. Another thing remarkable in the structure of these parables is, that while the first of the Seven—that of... read more

Thomas Constable

Expository Notes of Dr. Thomas Constable - Matthew 13:1-3

1. The setting 13:1-3a (cf. Mark 4:1-2; Luke 8:4)Matthew linked this parabolic teaching with the controversy in chapter 12 by using the phrase "on that day" (NASB) or "that same day" (NIV, Gr. en te hemera ekeine). These parables were a response to Israel’s rejection of her King.Jesus sat down by the Sea of Galilee to teach the people in typical rabbinic fashion (cf. Matthew 5:1-2). In response to the large crowd that assembled to listen to Him, Jesus sat in a boat where more people could hear... read more

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