In every parable we should expect to find three things.
1. General hints in relation to the kingdom, common to many parables.
2. Special points of description necessary to the completion of the picture, but not to be unduly pressed to yield a meaning.
3. A particular aspect of truth, for the sake of which the parable is specially given.
I. THE SALIENT POINTS OF THIS PARABLE.
1. Our inability to form perfect judgment of individuals now.
2. The duty of accepting profession now, and leaving perfect judgment for God's future.
3. The distinction between good and evil is vital; there is really no possible confusion between them.
4. The distinction between good and bad persons will one day be clearly seen.
5. The temptation to use outward physical force to accomplish the objects of the Church must be steadfastly resisted.
II. THE ONE POINT CALLING FOR PARTICULAR ATTENTION. It is the fact of life that evil and good do now grow together. Illustrate weeds and flowers; poison and food; fierce and gentle animals; good and bad men in every association. This is true of Christian worship, and even of the Church. Illustrate Epistle to Corinthians, which deals with a wicked man in the Church. Our Lord assumes the fact when he says, "By their fruits ye shall know them." It would be an incomprehensible fact if this were our only life. We can a little understand it, if we see God's purpose to morally test every man. Everything in life is arranged for testing purposes. Disposition is tried at home. Character is tried in business. Principles are tried in society. Evil has everywhere the chance of mastering good if it can. Suppose evil people were now put all by themselves; there would be no hope of their deliverance from evil. Suppose the good people were put all by themselves; they would get conceited past bearing. As it is
(1) evil finds itself revealed as evil;
(2) evil gains space for repentance;
(3) evil has opportunity and incentive to repentance.
Evil put in close association with goodness
(1) tests goodness itself; makes it no easy thing to be good;
(2) finds spheres for goodness to work in; and so, by working, goodness is nourished.
Heaven is not to be thought of as the place for becoming good, but for being good. This life is the time for the training of man's character. We need have no fear concerning the issues of Divine training. As certainly as no tares will be spared from the burning, so certainly no true wheat will ever be lost. - R.T.
And He spake many things unto them in parables.
Jesus did not confine Himself to the mere announcement or proof of a doctrine. But by means of words, He often presented to His hearers a moral picture — flashed upon the mind's eye a whole scene of truth with such vividness and power that it could not be well perverted or forgotten. We should imitate His pointed, emotional preaching.
I. SOME REASONS FOR THE USE OF MORAL PAINTING IN SERMONS.
1. It imitates the style of Christ's painting, and is part of His gospel.
2. It meets a want in our nature. It appeals to man's perceptive facilities. God has met this want in the natural world.
3. It adds point and force to the argument. Reasoning and illustration are both essential.
4. Men who have deeply moved the human heart have used it. Poets, advocates, orators, etc. And shall the children of this world be wiser, etc.? Inspiration is full of it.
II. THE KIND OF MORAL PAINTING TO BE USED. Great condensation, is essential to a good picture of truth. Deep emotion. The vastness of our work is enough to make an angel weep.
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1. To convey truth in a more interesting manner to the mind. adding to the truth conveyed the beauty of a lively image or narrative.
2. To teach spiritual truth so as to arrest the attention of ignorant people, making an appeal to them through the senses.
3. To convey some offensive truth, some pointed personal rebuke, in such a way as to bring it home to the conscience (2 Samuel 12:1-7, and many of our Saviour's parables addressed to the Jews).
4. To conceal from one part of His audience truths which He intended others should understand (Mark 4:53; Matthew 13:15-16.)
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Christ's habit, therefore, was not so much to tell what things were, as to draw pictures of them and mention some familiar thing they were like; as a boy really knows more about the earth when told that it is shaped like a big cricket-ball, than when taught to say that it is an oblate spheroid with a polar diameter of 8,000 miles. Thus Christ was continually telling, in an easy way, what this and that was like (drawing pictures). which is to say that He taught by parables. "and without a parable spake He not unto them."... A truth felt is more than a truth stated. Christ was continually dropping hints that led His disciples forward into a new surmise; kept treading down their horizon; did not let their opinions go to seed. He knew how to talk with them in such a way as to make them feel that what He did not tell them was considerably more than what He did tell them.
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1. As a means of attracting attention.
2. To prevent His auditors from being repelled by a too sudden revelation, either of His purpose or of His message.
3. To stimulate inquiry.
4. To test the character of His hearers.
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Behold, a sower went forth to sow.
The Clergyman's Magazine.
Four kinds of soil:
1. The impenetrable.
2. The superficial.
3. The preoccupied.
4. The prepared.Observation:
1. The seed is the same in every case; the difference is in the kinds of soils.
2. The parable is Christ's answer to the objection, If the gospel be from God, why is it not more effective? The answer is, that, like any other remedy, much will depend on the way in which it is used.
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Where is the fault of failure?
1. It does not lie in God, the sower. God does not predestinate men to fail. He willeth not the death of a sinner.
2. The cause of failure is not in any impotency of truth. The old thinkers accounted for it by the depravity of matter. Once acknowledge freewill in man, and the origin of evil does not lie in God.
3. The fault might be solely in the soil of the heart.
I. THE CAUSES OF FAILURE.
1. The first of these is want of spiritual perception. There are persons whose religion is all outside, never penetrates beyond the intellect. Conceptions of religious life, which are only conceptions outward, having no lodgment in the heart, disappear. Fowls of the air devoured the seed. This is a picture of thought dissipated, and no man can tell when or how it went.
2. A second cause of failure is want of depth of character. This stony ground is the thin layer of earth upon a bed of rock. Shallow soft is like superficial character. There is easily-moved susceptibility. A pleasant, sunny religion would be the life to suit them. The superficial character is connected with the hard heart; beneath the thin surface lies the bed of rock. It is among those of light enjoyment we must look for stony heartlessness.
3. Once more impressions come to nothing when the mind is subjected to dissipating influences, and yieids to them — "Some fell among thorns." Two classes of dissipating influences distract such minds. The cares of this world. Martha was "cumbered with much serving." The deceitfulness of riches dissipate. Weeding work painful.
II. FOR THE PERMANENCE OF RELIGIOUS IMPRESSIONS THIS PARABLE SUGGESTS THREE REQUIREMENTS.
1. An holiest and good heart. Earnest sincerity.
2. Meditation is a second requisite for perseverance. They keep the Word which they have heard. Must not confuse reverie with meditation. Truth is dwelt on till it receives innumerable applications; it is done in silence.
3. The third requisite is endurance — "They bring forth fruit with patience." There is an active and passive endurance, bearing pain without complaining; and under persecution. It is also the opposite of that impatience which cannot wait. We are disappointed if the harvest does not come at once.
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1. The careless hearer.
2. The temporary hearer.
3. The worldly-minded hearer.
4. The sincere hearers of the Word.
(1)They understand it;(2)They receive it;(3)They retain it:(4)They practise it.()
St. Paul's Cathedral Sermons.
1. The unlimited method of the sower's work; the indiscriminate manner in which the seed is cast upon the ground. His care not limited to a single spot. The overflowing bounty, the merciful providence of God towards all classes.2. The impediments to growth are to be found not in natural defects or incapacities, but in self-induced hindrances and wilful indisposition to listen to the truth.In the gospel history these hearers are to be discovered:
1. The Sadducees, who denied the resurrection. Infidelity is a sad hardener of the heart.
2. Those of our Lord's disciples of whom mention is made that they went back, and walked no more with Him. The varieties of soil does not describe varieties of heart as formed by nature, but the condition which the heart and mind assume, as men either neglect or employ the means of grace. They represent, not the physical but the moral condition of the human mind. Human and Christian society is divided into various classes of every variety of feeling and conduct; but the motive of good or ill is in the heart.
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I. THE SOWER. Jesus Christ Himself; through all the dispensations of dreams, angels, prophets: at last He came Himself with the seed of the kingdom.II. THE SEED.
1. Ordinary seed is covered with an outward coat. The life principle is hidden away from observation. So we find Christ in appearance like a man. The words you hear are but the outward covering; there is an inward life. There are those who split hairs about Christianity; they know the outward form, but not the vital principle. Others ignore the outward form, and say Christianity is wholly spiritual. Both necessary.
2. The life-giving property is not in the soil, but in the seed. You may enrich the soil as you will, but without seed you can have no life. Scientists have given up the idea of spontaneous generation. There is no salvation apart from the indwelling Christ.
3. Where life is there is power. Sow pebbles, but they have no power to reach a harvest. The Word powerful because living.
4. Every seed brings forth after its kind. You cannot sow wickedness and reap religion.
III. THE SOIL.
1. The wayside hearer.
2. The stony-ground hearer. The emotional hearer.
3. Among the thorns — the double-minded hearer.
4. Good soil — the man who hears aright.
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I. THE SOWER.1. Our Lord first of all means Himself. His work chiefly was sowing the seeds of Divine truth in the minds of men. The reaping began on the day of Pentecost.
2. Then by the sower is meant our Lord's apostles and the seventy disciples whom He sent cut to preach the gospel, and all ministers of His Word.
3. All Christian people are sowers. By our words and actions we are sowing some kind of principle in the minds of others; we cannot help it.
II. THE SEED. God's Word.
1. It is sometimes rather more the word of man than the Word of God — the Word of God mingled with the Word of man.
2. It may be one part of the Word of God to the exclusion of another, grace to the exclusion of works.
3. Christ is in an emphatic sense the Word of God; so we are to sow the Word concerning Christ.
III. THE GROUND. What does the ground mean? — the heart rather than the head, the affections rather than the intellect. A cold, feelingless man cannot effect much as regards religious truth.
IV. THE RESULT OF THE SOWING.
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Why, there was a time, I suppose, when the very fruitfullest fields of England were something like either the stony places or the thorny places in this parable. I have recently seen in the distant parts of these islands, and in one of the most rugged parts of the West of Scotland, ground which I saw four or five years ago, when the present proprietor came into possession of it; and that ground — well, I cannot say there was anything on it like a wayside, for there was not a wayside within miles of it — but still, it was chiefly stones, and gorse, and heather, and all sorts of stuff; but the application of culture, skill, some capital, and so on, has made it very decent land indeed, and it is yielding something now for the support of man and beast. There is nothing fatalistic in this parable, nothing to drive to despair the man who feels he is bad, and wishes to be a true Christian, and nothing to encourage in sin the man who has no desire after good things. God's grace can do for the heart, be what it may, what man's skill has done a thousand times for the land that he cultivates.()
I. THE AGENT. The hearts of men and women are Christ's spiritual husbandry.1. Christ is the principal sower, the master sower; ministers are His servants (2 Corinthians 6:1).
2. Christ sows His own by creation. Ministers have no seed of their own; their doctrine and word belong to Christ.
3. Christ is a most wise and skilful sower; He hath a perfect knowledge of all sorts of ground.
4. Christ is a universal sower.
5. Jesus Christ is an efficacious sower. He can cause the seed to take root; but so cannot a minister.
II. His ACTION. Jesus Christ may be said to go forth in three ways:
1. In His own person.
2. In the ministry of His servants.
3. To sow His seed by the Spirit.
III. His DESIGN.
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1. They, like seedsmen, must sow the seed in its proper season (2 Corinthians 6:2),2. They must sow their seed, let it be what weather it will, a time of peace, or a time of persecution.
3. They must sow no seed of their own, but Christ's doctrine (Deuteronomy 22:9).
4. They must sow all Christ's seed.
5. Constantly, as long as seed-time lasteth (Ecclesiastes 11:6).
6. They sow, but the whole success is of God.
1. Seed springs not out of the ground naturally; it must first be sown. The heart must first have the seed of grace infused.2. Seed, let it be of wheat or barley, is the choice, st of each sort respectively. True grace is of an excellent nature.
3. Until seed is sown there will be no increase. So the heart must take in the Word by faith.
4. Seed sometimes which is sown lies a considerable time in the ground before it springs up, or visibly appears; it must have time to take root.
5. Clods of earth, being not broken, oftentimes obstruct the springing up of the seed, or it is from thence it appears not to have taken root so soon as in some other ground; so likewise, through the power of Satan's temptations and corruption of the heart, the Word is for a time hindered.
6. A husbandman observes the proper time and season of sowing his seed.
7. Men are not sparing in sowing their seed, but scatter it plentifully, though they expect not all to take root.
8. A husbandman soweth his seed on what ground he pleaseth; some he lets lie barren. There are nations to whom the gospel is not sent.
9. That the earlier seed is sown the better it is rooted; so with the Word sown in the hearts of young people.
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People
Esaias, Isaiah, James, Jesus, Joseph, Joses, Judas, Mary, SimonPlaces
Nazareth, Sea of GalileeTopics
Allow, Barn, Bind, Bring, Bundles, Burn, Burned, Burning, Collect, Darnel, Direct, Evil, Gather, Getting, Grain, Granary, Grow, Harvest, Harvesters, Harvestmen, Harvest-time, Leave, Plants, Reapers, Storehouse, Store-house, Suffer, Tares, Tie, Till, Weeds, Wheat, WorkersOutline
1. The parable of the sower and the seed;
18. the explanation of it.
24. The parable of the weeds;
31. of the mustard seed;
33. of the leaven;
36. explanation of the parable of the weeds.
44. The parable of the hidden treasure;
45. of the pearl;
47. of the drag net cast into the sea.
53. Jesus is a prophet without honor in his own country.
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Matthew 13:30 4412 binding corn
4464 harvest
4508 sickle
Matthew 13:1-32
4506 seed
Matthew 13:1-52
2345 Christ, kingdom of
Matthew 13:3-43
4007 creation, and God
Matthew 13:18-30
4406 agriculture
4510 sowing and reaping
Matthew 13:18-33
5438 parables
Matthew 13:24-30
2309 Christ, as judge
4542 wheat
Matthew 13:24-39
4121 Satan, enemy of God
Matthew 13:29-30
1670 symbols
Library
Toleration
(Preached at Christ Church, Marylebone, 1867, for the Bishop of London's Fund.) MATTHEW xiii. 24-30. The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the household came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons 'To Him that Hath Shall be Given'
'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.'-- MATT. xiii. 12. There are several instances in the Gospels of our Lord's repetition of sayings which seem to have been, if we may use the expression, favourites with Him; as, for instance, 'There are first which shall be last, and there are last which shall be first'; or, again, 'The servant is not greater than his master, nor the disciple than his lord.' …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Leaven
'The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and bid to three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened.'--MATT. xiii. 33. How lovingly and meditatively Jesus looked upon homely life, knowing nothing of the differences, the vulgar differences, between the small and great! A poor woman, with her morsel of barm, kneading it up among three measures of meal, in some coarse earthenware pan, stands to Him as representing the whole process of His work in the world. Matthew brings …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Ears and no Ears
'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.--MATT. xiii. 8. This saying was frequently on our Lord's lips, and that in very various connections. He sometimes, as in the instance before us, appended it to teaching which, from its parabolic form, required attention to disentangle the spiritual truth implied. He sometimes used it to commend some strange, new revolutionary teaching to men's investigation--as, for instance, after that great declaration of the nullity of ceremonial worship, how that nothing …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Seeing and Blind
'They seeing, see not.'--MATT. xiii, 13. This is true about all the senses of the word 'seeing'; there is not one man in ten thousand who sees the things before his eyes. Is not this the distinction, for instance, of the poet or painter, and man of science--just that they do see? How true is this about the eye of the mind, what a small number really understand what they know! But these illustrations are of less moment than the saddest example--religious indifference. I wish to speak about this now, …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Four Sowings and one Ripening
'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. 8. 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: 6. Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Mingled in Growth, Separated in Maturity
'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. …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
Treasure and Pearl
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. 45. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchantman, seeking goodly pearls: 46. Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it.'--MATT. xiii. 44-46. In this couple of parables, which are twins, and must be taken together, our Lord utilises two very familiar facts …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture
On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xiii. 19, Etc. , Where the Lord Jesus Explaineth the Parables of the Sower.
1. Both yesterday and to-day ye have heard the parables of the sower, in the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Do ye who were present yesterday, recollect to-day. Yesterday we read of that sower, who when he scattered seed, "some fell by the way side," [2507] which the birds picked up; "some in stony places," which dried up from the heat; "some among thorns, which were choked," and could not bring forth fruit; and "other some into good ground, and it brought forth fruit, a hundred, sixty, thirty fold." …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament
On the Words of the Gospel, Matt. xiii. 52, "Therefore Every Scribe who Hath Been Made a Disciple to the Kingdom of Heaven," Etc.
1. The lesson of the Gospel reminds me to seek out, and to explain to you, Beloved, as the Lord shall give me power, who is "that Scribe instructed in the kingdom of God, who is "like unto an householder bringing out of his treasure things new and old." [2524] For here the lesson ended. "What are the new and old things of an instructed Scribe?" Now it is well known who they were, whom the ancients, after the custom of our Scriptures, called Scribes, those, namely, who professed the knowledge of the …
Saint Augustine—sermons on selected lessons of the new testament
Sown among Thorns
WHEN that which comes of his sowing is unfruitful, the sower's work is wasted: he has spent his strength for nothing. Without fruit the sower's work would even seem to be insane, for he takes good wheat, throws it away, and loses it in the ground. Preaching is the most idle of occupations if the Word is not adapted to enter the heart, and produce good results. O my hearers, if you are not converted, I waste time and energy in standing here! People might well think it madness that one whole day in …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888
The Parable of the Tares, by Bishop Latimer, Preached on the 7Th of February, 1553.
MATTHEW XIII.--The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way, &c. This is a parable or similitude wherein our Saviour compared the kingdom of God, that is, the preaching of his word, wherein consisteth the salvation of mankind, unto a husbandman who sowed good seed in his field. But before we come unto the matter, you shall first learn to understand what this word parable, which …
John Knox—The Pulpit Of The Reformation, Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
A Man Reaps More than He Sows.
A MAN REAPS MORE THAN HE SOWS. "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold."--Matt. xiii: 8. If I sow a bushel, I expect to reap ten or twenty bushels. I can sow in one day what will take ten men to reap. The Spaniards have this proverb: "Sow a thought and reap an act. Sow an act, and reap a habit. Sow a habit, and reap a character. Sow a character and reap a destiny." And it takes a longer time to reap than to sow. I have heard …
Dwight L. Moody—Sowing and Reaping
The Christian Society
Scripture references: Matthew 13:31-33; 5:21-24; Mark 8:1-9; John 2:1-11; Luke 5:29; 14:13; 1 Peter 2:17; Galatians 6:9; Matthew 11:28-30; 12:50; Luke 15:5,6,8-10; John 17:11-15; Luke 5:29,30; Mark 1:28-33; Matthew 6:33; Luke 12:13-15. THE SOCIAL CIRCLE The Word Society is used to designate the set of people with whom we are on more intimate terms of acquaintanceship--whom we call friends--and those whom we do not know so well, and whom we call acquaintances. The term society may also have other …
Henry T. Sell—Studies in the Life of the Christian
The First Great Group of Parables.
(Beside the Sea of Galilee.) Subdivision A. Introduction. ^A Matt. XIII. 1-3; ^B Mark IV. 1, 2; ^C Luke VIII. 4. ^a 1 On that day went Jesus out of the house [It is possible that Matthew here refers to the house mentioned at Mark iii. 19. If so, the events in Sections XLVIII.-LVI. all occurred on the same day. There are several indications in the gospel narratives that this is so], and sat by the sea side. ^b 1 And again he began again to teach by the sea side. [By the Sea of Galilee.] And there …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
Jesus visits Nazareth and is Rejected.
^A Matt. XIII. 54-58; ^B Mark VI. 1-6; ^C Luke IV. 16-31. ^b 1 And he went out from thence [from Capernaum] ; and he cometh { ^a And coming} ^b into his own country; and his disciples follow him. ^c 16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up [As to this city, see pages 14 and 55. As to the early years of Jesus at Nazareth, see page 60]: ^b 2 And when the sabbath was come ^c he entered, as his custom was, into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up to read. [This does not mean …
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel
New Teaching in Parables' - the Parables to the People by the Lake of Galilee, and those to the Disciples in Capernaum
We are once more with Jesus and His disciples by the Lake of Galilee. We love to think that it was in the early morning, when the light laid its golden shadows on the still waters, and the fresh air, untainted by man, was fragrant of earth's morning sacrifice, when no voice of human discord marred the restfulness of holy silence, nor broke the Psalm of Nature's praise. It was a spring morning too, and of such spring-time as only the East, and chiefly the Galilean Lake, knows - nor of mingled sunshine …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
Second visit to Nazareth - the Mission of the Twelve.
It almost seems, as if the departure of Jesus from Capernaum marked a crisis in the history of that town. From henceforth it ceases to be the center of His activity, and is only occasionally, and in passing, visited. Indeed, the concentration and growing power of Pharisaic opposition, and the proximity of Herod's residence at Tiberias [3013] would have rendered a permanent stay there impossible at this stage in our Lord's history. Henceforth, His Life is, indeed, not purely missionary, but He has …
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah
Infancy and Youth of Jesus --His First Impressions.
Jesus was born at Nazareth,[1] a small town of Galilee, which before his time had no celebrity.[2] All his life he was designated by the name of "the Nazarene,"[3] and it is only by a rather embarrassed and round-about way,[4] that, in the legends respecting him, he is made to be born at Bethlehem. We shall see later[5] the motive for this supposition, and how it was the necessary consequence of the Messianic character attributed to Jesus.[6] The precise date of his birth is unknown. It took place …
Ernest Renan—The Life of Jesus
The Leaven.
"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."--MATT. xiii. 33. In the mustard-seed we saw the kingdom growing great by its inherent vitality; in the leaven we see it growing great by a contagious influence. There, the increase was attained by development from within; here, by acquisitions from without. It is not that there are two distinct ways in which the Gospel may gain complete …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord
The Hidden Treasure.
"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."--MATT. xiii. 44. These two parables, the hidden treasure and the costly pearl, are even more closely allied to each other than the two which precede them. Generically they teach the same truth; but they teach it with distinct specific differences. It will be most convenient to notice in connection with the first, …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord
The Lost Sheep, the Lost Coin, and the Prodigal Son.
LUKE xv. The three parables of this chapter, like the seven in Matt. xiii., constitute a connected series. As soon as we begin to look into their contents and relations, it becomes obvious that they have been arranged according to a logical scheme, and that the group so framed is not fragmentary but complete. We cannot indeed fully comprehend the reciprocal relations of all until we shall have examined in detail the actual contents of each; and yet, on the other hand, a preliminary survey of the …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord
The Group in Matt. xiii.
"The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 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. And he spake many things unto them in parables."--MATT. xiii. 1-3. In Matthew's narrative, the first specimen of that peculiar pictorial method which characterized the teaching of our Lord, is not an isolated parable occurring in the midst of a miscellaneous discourse, but a group of seven presented …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord
The Sower.
"The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. 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. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness …
William Arnot—The Parables of Our Lord
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