Mark 4:13 And he said unto them,; So he said--NEB; Then he continued--Phi; He resumed--Rieu; Know ye not this parable?; Do you not understand this parable--RSV; If you do not understand this parable--Ber; and how then will ye know all parables?; How then will you understand all the parables--RSV; how will you grasp...--Ber; How then are you to understand any parable-- NEB; And he saith unto them-- Know ye not /this\ parable? How then will ye get to know /all'the parables\? And he saith to them, 'Have ye not known this simile? and how shall ye know all the similes? TRNTyeagerV226 - Kai legei autois, Ouk oidate tAn parabolAn tautAn, kai pws pasas tas parabolas gnwsesthe; Kai (continuative conjunction). legei (3d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of legw, historical). autois (dat.pl.masc.of autos, indirect object of legei). Ouk (negative conjunction with the indicative in rhetorical question). oidate (3d.per.pl.aor.act.impv.of horaw, rhetorical question). tAn (acc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with parabolAn) parabolAn (acc.sing.fem.of parabolA, direct object of oidate). tautAn (acc.sing.fem.of outos, in agreement with parabolAn). kai (emphatic conjunction). pws (interrogative conjunction in direct question). pasas (acc.pl.fem.of pas, in agreement with parabolas). tas (acc.pl.fem.of the article in agreement with parabolas). parabolas (acc.pl.fem.of parabolA, direct object of gnwsesthe). gnwsesthe (2d.per.pl.fut.mid.ind.of ginwskw, deliberative). Translation: "And He said to them, 'You know this parable do you not? Otherwise how will you understand all the other parables?" COMMENT: A rhetorical question which expects an affirmative reply is followed by a question of credulity, with the deliberative future. In the light of what he had just said about the mysteries of the Kingdom of God being understood by the in-group and hidden only from the out-group, Jesus seems astonished that the disciples did not grasp the true and hidden import of His words. Cf. Mk.4:11. His second question implies that if they did not understand the parable of the sower it was doubtful that they would understand any of those which were to follow. Then He condescends to help them with the first one, in the hope that perhaps they would learn the technique and be able to understand them all. T200 - Pasas tas parabolas means "any parables," not "all the parables" (cf. BD275[3]). MARKitGNTwuest86,7 - The explanation of the parable of the sower, is preceded by a gentle reproach that explanation should be needed. Our Lord's question implies surprise at their dullness, even though initiated into the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. Their incapacity to understand this parable, raises a doubt as to whether they are able to understand all the others. The definite article before the word "parables" indicates that our Lord is pointing to the parables He has already given and those which He will give. The implication in the question of our Lord is that to understand the parable of the Sower, is to understand all the parables. The word "how" is pws, "how is it possible," declaring the impossibility of knowing all the parables, if one does not know the one about the Sower. Translation: "And He says to them, Do you not know this parable? And how is it possible that you will know all the parables?" NTC-MARKhendriksen154,5 - And he said to them, Do you not know what this parable means? How then are you going to understand all the parables? Mark has already told us that, having dismissed the crowds, Jesus was alone with The Twelve and some other constant followers, and that this combined group then asked him about the parables (4:10). Luke, more specifically, adds that these disciples asked Jesus what this particular parable, the one of The Sower, meant (8:9). This explains what we now read in Mark 4:13. If they have no insight into the parable of The Sower, how will they be able to sense the meaning of any parable? This implies that the Master wants them to listen carefully, so they may be able to catch the meaning of other parables also. Jesus then proceeds to explain the parable: TNICotNT-MARKlane160,1 - The parable of the sower has the first position in Mark, not merely as the first in a series, but because of its meaning. It furnishes the starting-poing and the ground for the understanding of the parables of growth which follow. This is indicated clearly in the question which Jesus addressed to the disciples, "Do you not know the meaning of this parable? How then will you know the meaning of any parables?"[38] The disciples' failure to grasp the meaning of this parable indicates that its point does not lie in generalities about the risks which attend the process of listening, but in a distinctly redemptive- historical element - the relationship between the events depicted in the parable and the revelation of the kingdom of God. This relationship had remained abscure to the disciples, even though they had been priveleged to understand the secret that in Jesus' person the Kingdom had entered into history. In Jesus' explanation of the parable the essential part is a clarification of this relationship. [Footnote 38] - pas can come very close to the meaning 'anyone, someone'; thus Mk. 4:13 pasas, tas, parabolas,`any parables.'" MARKj&d 13. Know ye not this parable? It is not a reproof, but means. "You find you cannot understand this without assistance." The next question, and how then will ye know all parables? extends the thought to all parables, but intimates further: "The first parable of the kingdom is the basis of all the rest. If they understand not this, they could not understand any that followed. If they had the explanation of this, they had the key for the understanding of all others." Hence our Lord gives, not rules of intepretation, but examples, one of which is here preserved to be our guide in interpretation. TCGTC-MARKcranfield158,9,60 - Many scholars regard the case against the authenticity of vs.14-20 (i.e. as coming from Jesus himself) as established beyond doubt. it is urged: (i) That the interpretation allegorizes the parable. Certainly A. Julicher's attach on the long established custom of treating the parables as allegories to be interpreted detail by detail marked a real step forward. It effected a liberation from much that was fantastic, for which we must be thankful. It is true, generally speaking, that in a parable of Jesus we have to look for the significant feature that is the point of comparison and that the other details are often put in simply to make the picture life-like. But it is a mistake to make this into a hard and fast rule. To maintain a rigid distinction between parable and allegory is quite impossible in dealing with material originating in Hebrew or Aramaic, languages which have only one word to denote both thing. It is true too that there was a strong tendency in the early Church toward allegorization (e..g. Mt.22:1-14 compared with Lk.14:16-24); but it is not safe to assume therefore that all allegorizing must be the work of the early Church. The interpretation cannot be pronounced unauthentic simply on this ground. (ii) That a parable is meant to illustrate and make plain and therefore cannot itself require an explanation. Jesus' parables, it is said, were all at the time clear enough, but later, partly because, when the original context was forgotten, the parables would seem difficult, partly because of the tendency to allegorize, and partly through the influence of Hellenistic religious ideas, there grew up the idea that they were 'mysteries' needing interpretation and that the interpretation was a matter of esoteric (intended for or understood by only a chosen few) teaching. But the assumption that all Jesus' parables must originally have been obvious takes account neither of the fact that masal/matla can mean a dark, perplexing saying that is meant to stimulate hard thinking; nor of the fact that his parables were not told as illustrations of general ethical principles, as Julicher imagined, but to point to the significance of the divine act of the kingdom of God, i.e. of his own person and ministry, and of men's situation in face of it. As the truth to which the parables were to bear witness was something that could only be recognized by faith, we should not be surprised to find that they were themselves perplexing even when first uttered. There is noting improbable in the suggestion that sometimes the disciples asked for, and Jesus gave, an explanation. As a matter of fact, there are only two parables which have an extended interpretation appended (this and the parable of the tares); but Jesus does indicate the interpretation on other occasions (e.g. 2:17; Mt.6:24; 7:9-11,24-27; 11:16-19). Actually Rabbinic parables also sometimes have explanations appended. (iii) That the interpretation is not consistent and does not fit the parable. It is true that there is a certain looseness of form. In vs.16,18,20, the seed is identified with the hearers, though v.14 says expressly that the seed is the word. Jeremias suggests that two distinct ideas--that God's Word is seed...and that men are seed sown by God...-- have been mixed together. But it is more likely that what we have here is simply a certain clumsiness or carelessness of expression, for which there are parallels in Rabbinic parables. ... (iv) That the concentration on the losses destroys the balance of the parable. It is true that a rather larger proportion of the interpretation than of the parable is given to the losses; but the harvest, being mentioned last, has still most emphasis. (v) That the interpretation reflects, not Jesus', but the early Church's experience. But the argument that during Jesus' ministry 'there had not yet been time to note the gradual effect of the choking of the seeds by weeds, or even the effect of the scorching sun' is not convincing: the weeds did not require such a long time: we hear in Jn of disciples who walked no more with Jesus and of those who loved the glory of men above the glory of God (Jn 6:66; 12:43). And Jesus seems elsewhere clearly to reckon with the probability of his followers having to face persecution (e.g. 8:34,38; Mt.5:10-12; 10:22f.). (vi) That the language is not that of Jesus, but of the early Church. Jeremias has an impressive list of words or uses of words which occur nowhere else in the Synoptic Gospels or nowhere in sayings of Jesus, but are common in the rest of the NT. But the metaphorical use of speirein, hriza, akarpos, karpophorein, is natural enough in an explanation of this parable; and it is doubtful whether much weight should be placed on the fact that the absolute use of logos for the gospel or Word of God is found in sayings of Jesus only here. ... (vii) That the interpretation misses the eschatological (dealing with last things i.e. death, resurrection, judgment, immortality) point of the parable and shifts the stress from the eschatological to the psychological and paraenetic. But this is surely to misunderstand vs.14-20; for the harvest of v.20 is eschatological, not psychological, and the implication of vs.14-20 as a whole is that the seriousness of the question how the Word is received derives from the fact that it is the Word of the kingdom of God that has come near to men in Jesus, and that their final destiny depends on their reception of it. In view of the above it would seem that, while it would be unwise to claim that the authenticity of vs.14-20 has been proved, it would be equally unwise to assume that the un-authenticity of these verse is an assured result of modern criticism. Ouk oidate tAn parabolAn tautAn may be either a statement or a question. ... kai pws: 'How then...?' suggests that the parable of the soils is in some sense the key to all the parables. Mark 4:14 The sower soweth the word.; What the sower sows is the word--Wey; What the sower sows is the message--Gspd; //The sower\\ soweth /the word\; He who is sowing doth sow the word; TRNTyeagerV226,7 - ho speirwn ton logon speirei. ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with speirwn). speirwn (pres.act.part.nom.sing.masc.of speirw, subject of speirei). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, direct object of speirei). speirei (3d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of speirw, customary). Translation: "The sower sows the word." COMMENT: Note that ton logon is emphasized ahead of the verb. Jesus did not spell out for the disciples all of the details. Since it is given to them as God's elect, to know the mysteries, they should be able to interpret some of this story for themselves. The seed is not literal seed, but the Word of God. Cf.#510 for other places where logos is so used. Thus the sower is not necessarily a farmer, but any witness of the Word of God. Witnessing for Christ is sowing the seed of the Word of God broadcast, without discrimination as to where it should be sowed. The preacher is not given the authority of selecting the seed bed. He must not think of this. He sows the seed everywhere and leaves the harvest up to God. It would be a mistake to avoid the stony places by the way side or those places infested with thorns. How can the preacher tell what is good ground in every case? Too much time would be wasted in trying to select the proper seed bed. Our commission (Mt.28:18-20; Acts 1:7,8) is to preach the Word - sow the seed - scatter it far and wide. We are sowers not the Lord of the harvest. Keep in mind that even the unproductive seed, which fell upon shallow or thorny soil, germinated. There was resurrection of life from the tiny seed, albeit destined to become unproductive due to hot sun, thin soil and thorns. Does the parable teach that germination of seed means salvation? "He that hat ears to hear, let him hear." NTC-MARKhendriksen155,6 - The sower sows the word. This is one of the key passages for the understanding of the story illustration. It should be borne in mind throughout. It fixes our attention upon two objects: the sower and the seed. As to the first, although in this parable he is nowhere identified - for the emphasis is on the kind of soil rather than on the sower -, in that of The Tares it is definitely stated that the sower is the Son of man (Matt. 13:37), that is, Jesus himself (Matt. 16:13-15). There is no good reason to believe that this identification does not also hold for the parable of The Sower. Jesus, therefore, points to himself as the sower. By a legitimate extension of the figure (see Matt. 10:40) we are justified in saying that the sower is not only Jesus but anyone - minister, missionary, evangelist, any genuine witness-bearer - who truly proclaims the Son of man's message. As to the second, we have already been told - and this is implied in the very term - that "the sower" sows the seed(Mark 4:3ff.). So, when Jesus now states, "The sower sows the word," the conclusion must be that the seed symbolizes the word, the message from God. See Also Matt. 13:19; Luke 8:11. To these two tenets the third can now be added: The "ground" or "soil" upon which the seed falls is clearly man's heart, or, if one prefers, man himself. This is definitely implied in Matt. 13:19a, "what was sown in his heart." In each of the four instances recorded in the parable the "ground" or "soil," that is, the "heart," hence the person, is different. One might speak of the unresponsive heart (Mk. 4:15),the impulsive heart(verses 16,17), the preoccupied heart(verses 18,19), and the good, responsive, or well-prepared heart(verse 20). Substitute the word "person" for "heart" and the meaning remains essentially the same. The "heart" indicates the "person" or "hearer" as he is in his inner being. Correct is therefore the following: "What, then, is the lesson? The Savior has given us the answer in his own interpretation of the story. The seed is the word of God, or the word of the kingdom; and the soil is human hearts: so that, reduced to a general law, the teaching of the parable is, that the result of the hearing of the gospel always and everywhere depends on the conditin of heart of those to whome it is addressed. The character of the hearer determines the effect of the word upon him." MARKj&d II. WAYSIDE AND STONY GROUND. - 14. The sower soweth the word. The great Sower is Christ; the seed sown is the Word of God, the Gospel, whether spoken by Christ, his apostles, preachers, Sunday-school teachers, any disciple, or written in the New Testament, or upon the printed page of the book, tract or newspaper. All spiritual life depends on a divine seed sown in the heart by the divine Sower. The life of the seed depends on, first, receiving it; second, rooting it; their, cultivating it. TCGTC-MARKcranfield161,2 - ton logon. Cf. 1:45; 2:2; 4:33. Only in this section is Jesus represented as using 'the Word' absolutely, and here he uses it eight times according to Mk. It is possible that Jesus used some other expression, e.g. 'the gospel' (cf. 1:15; 8:35) or 'my words' (cf. 8:38; Mt.7:24) or 'the Word of God' (cf. Lk.11:28), and that the early Church substituted the later familiar 'the Word'; or that the absolute use did originate with Jesus. Mark 4:15 And these are they by the way side, And these are the ones along the path--RSV; where the word is sown; in whom...--Wey; in whose hearts the message falls--Gspd; but when they have heard,; when they hear--RSV; as soon as they hear it--Phi; but no sooner have they heard it--NEB; Satan cometh immediately,; straightway cometh Satan--ASV; Satan comes at once-- Wey; and taketh away the word; and snatches away the message--Ber; and carries off the Word--Rieu; that was sown in their hearts.; that has been sown in them--ABUV; ...in their minds--Phi; And /these\ are they beside the pathway, where the word is sown,--and /as soon as they hear, straightway\ cometh Satan, and snatcheth away the word which hath been sown into them; and these are they by the way where the word is sown: and whenever they may hear, immediately cometh the Adversary, and he taketh away the word that hath been sown in their hearts. TRNTyeagerV227,8 - houtoi de eisin hoi para tAn hodon hopou speiretai ho logos, kai hotan akouswsin euthus erchetai ho Satanas kai airei ton logon ton esparmenon eis autous. houtoi (nom.pl.masc.of houtos, subject of eisin). de (explanatory conjunction). eisin (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of eimi, aoristic). hoi (nom.pl.masc.of the article, predicate nominative). para (preposition with the accusative of extent). tAn (acc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with hodon). hodon (acc.sing.fem.of hodos, extent, place). hopou (relative adverb of place). speiretai (3d.per.sing.pres.pass.ind.of speirw, aoristic). ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logos). logos (nom.sing.masc.of logos, subject of speiretai). kai (adversative conjunction). hotan (indefinite temporal adverb with the subjunctive). akouswsin (3d.per.pl.aor.act.subj.of akouw, in an indefinite temporal clause). euthus (adverbial). erchetai (3d.per.sing.pres.ind.of erchomai, aoristic). ho (nom.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with Satanas). Satanas (nom.sing.masc.of Satanas, subject of erchetai and airei). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining verbs). airei (3d.per.sing.pres.act.ind.of airw, aoristic). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, direct object of airei). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with esparmenon). esparmenon (perf.pass.part.acc.sing.masc.of speirw, adjectival, restrictive) eis (preposition with the accusative of extent). autous (acc.pl.masc.of autos, extent). Translation: "Now these are they by the side of the road, where the word is sown, but when they hear immediately Satan comes and catches up the seed which was sown among them" COMMENT: de is explanatory, as Jesus continues to explain the parable. The sower has positive ideas in vs.14, but Satan awaits to oppose. para tAn hodon, a prepositional phrase in the accusative case, is joined to hoi, the predicate nominative in agreement with houtoi. "These are they..." "Who?" The ones by the road. What road? hopou...ho logos - Where the seed was sown. Now that they are properly identified, what about them? hotan introduces the indefinite temporal clause with the subjunctive. "When they hear..." Jesus is not speaking of a specific sermon on a specific occasion. But when and if they hear, Satan comes and catches up the seed which was sown in their hearts. Satan is in a hurry to do this as euthus indicates. Mt.13:19 calls Satan "the evil one" - ho ponAros and Luke calls him ho diabolos (Lk.8:12). All three are correct since Satan, the Devil is also the Evil One. Satan is on the alert to combat the preaching of the gospel (II Cor.4:3,4) and comes as soon as the Word of God is preached to take it away. He must be fast because the seed is the supernatural Word of kGod and is sure to germinate quickly unless it is taken away. Cf. Mt.13:19 and Lk.8:12 for further comment. Note that the seed was sown eis autous (Mk.4:15), en tA kardia autou (Mt.13:19 but was taken apo tAs kardias autwn (Lk.8:12). Lest Matthew's phrase "in his heart" be misinterpreted as salvation, Luke adds hina mA pisteusantes swthwsin - "lest having believed, they might be saved." MARKitGNTwuest87,8 - "They by the wayside," that is, "those alongside the road." "Satan" is from a Hebrew word which means "adversary." The definite article precedes it, showing that a particular adversary is in the mind of the writer whom both the writer and the reader know. It is "The Satan." Matthew in the parallel passage (13:19), calls this terrible being "the evil one," the Greek word being ho ponAros, "the evil one." There are two words translated "evil" in the NT, kakos, "evil in the abstract," and ponAros, "evil in active opposition to the good." The kakos man is content to perish in his own corruption. The ponAros man wants to drag everybody else down with him into that corruption. The word "pernicious" is an excellent rendering. Luke in his parallel passage (8:12), calls him ho diabolos, in English "the Devil," the meaning in Greek being "the slanderer, the false accuser." "Taketh away." The verb is airw "to take away from another what is his or what is committed to him, to take by force." "That was sown." The verbal form is a perfect participle. This tense speaks of a completed work having present results. The act of sowing the seed of the Word had been a completed work, having a certain result. That is, the Word had found lodgment in the heart of the individual, and was starting, like seed, to germinate. But Satan snatches it out by force before it has time to grow up into the plant. "In their hearts." The best texts have "in them." Translation: "And these are those alongside the road where the Word is being sown; and whenever they hear, immediately there comes Satan and snatches away by force the Word which has been sown in them." MATTHEWmcgarvey119 - "by the way-side." The disciples are now taught the meaning of the parable of the sower--to them more is given. They learn that the different places in which the seed fell represent different classes of persons who hear the "word of the kingdom." The peculiarity of him who is represented by the way-side consists in the two circumstances, that he does not understand the word, and that the wicked one catches away that which was sown in his heart. The word reaches his heart, which fact implies some favorable impressions on him; but his not understanding it, implies a want of proper attention to it. Failing of proper attention, he allows the devil, by taking it away, to deprive him of the little good which he had received, and of all that the might have received in the future. (Comp. Lk.8:12). Satan catches the word away by means of all those worldly allurements through which men are led to be inattentive to the word of God. The class of persons represented are those whose ideas of Scripture teaching are too crude for an intelligent faith, or who allow good impression made by the word to speedily pass away. NTC-MARKhendriksen156 - The ones along the path where the word is sown are the kind of people in whose case, whenever they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Jesus continues. Meaning: the people that are represented by seed sown along the path (see verse 4) are the kind that allow Satan, the great adversary (see above, on 1:13), to take away the message that had been sown in them. By no means does Jesus excuse these people, as if only Satan and not they themselves were responsible for what happened to the divine message that had been spoken to them. Verse 15 does not cancel verse 9! But here in verse 15 these frivolous hearers are being told that in treating the word of God so lightly they are co-operating with the prince of evil! These people do nothing with the message. They do not use it to good advantage. "Immediately" after they have heard it any favorable effect it might have had on them is annihilated. What accounts for their negative reaction? Perhaps it is ill-will toward the messenger. Or perhaps hostility with respect to this particular message. Or they do not wish to be inconvenienced (Acts 24:25). The spirit of indifference may have crept into them, perhaps little by little until it was total, their hearts having become as hard as the path on which the seed of the parable was scattered. The Lord, addressing Ezekiel, gave this description of the prophet's audience: "You are to them like a lovely song, sung with a beautiful voice, and played well on an instrument; for they hear your words, but refuse to practice them" (Ezek. 33:32). Cf. Matt. 7:26. The following lines may also be appropriate in this connection: "The Baptist found him far too deep, The Deist sighed with saving sorrow, And the lean Levite went to sleep, And dreamt of eating pork tomorrow." Praed-The Vicar MARKj&d - 15. These are they by the wayside. The fields of Palestine were not fenced and lay in the open country while the population lived in hamlets. The roads or paths were through the fields. Thomson, in the Land and the Book, says: "There are neither roads, nor thorns, nor stony places in such lots. They go forth into the open country, where the path passes grow in clumps all around, where rocks peep out in places through the scanty soil, and hard by all patches extremely fertile." Some of the seed fell on the hard-beaten paths where it would lie until picked up by the birds. This, said the Savior, represents the hardened, worldly hearts that never allow the seed of the kingdom to enter at all. These never allow the word to get under the surface of their thoughts. The way is the heart, beaten and dried by the passage of evil thoughts. Sin has so hardened the heart, worldliness has so deadened the feelings, sinful pleasures and desires have so dulled the conscience that God's truth makes no impression, more than a passing dream, or a pleasant song, to be heard and forgotten. Satan ... taketh away the word that was sown. The object of the preaching of the word is to save souls; the aim of Satan is to destroy souls. The word lies there ready for him. It has not pierced the soil of the heart. It has found no entrance. It is all on the surface. It lies quite naked and exposed. The word has been heard, and that is all. It is snatched away at once. Guthrie says: "Whereever there is a preacher in the pulpit, there is a devil among the pews, busy watching the words that fall from the preacher's lips to catch them away." Every preacher is familiar with this class. Upon their hard, flinty hearts the most searching appeals fail to make any impression. They come out of idle curiosity, or to cavil and to scoff and go away as they came. TCGTC-MARKcranfield162 - In vs.16,18,20, the hearers are identified with the seed clearly, while in v.14 the word is identified with the seed: here both identifications are present. outoi...eisin. Cf. the way in which the parable of Judg.9:8ff is explained in Tanhuma, wayyera' 29: The trees, these are Israel; the olive, this is Othniel,...' Mark 4:16 And these are they likewise; And these in like manner are they-- ASV; It is the same with those--NEB; which are sown on stony ground; that are sown on the rocky places--ABUV; who receive the seed on rocky ground--NEB; who, when they have heard the word,; who, when they hear the word--RSV; As soon as they hear the Word--Beck; Whenever they hear the Word--Mon; immediately receive it with gladness;; straightway receive it with joy--ASV; at once accept it joyfully--Wey; And /these\ are likewise they /upon the rocky places\ sown,--who /as soon as they hear the word, straightway, with joy\ receive it, And these are they, in like manner, who on the rocky ground are sown: who, whenever they may hear the word, immediately with joy do receive it, TRNTyeagerV228,9 - kai houtoi eisin hoi epi ta petrwdA speiromenoi, hoi hotan akouswsin ton logon euthus meta charas lambanousin auton, kai (continuative conjunction). houtoi (nom.pl.masc.of houtos, subject of eisin). eisin (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of eimi, aoristic). hoi (nom.pl.masc.of the article, in agreement with speiromenon). epi (preposition with the accusative of extent, place). ta (acc.pl.neut.of the article in agreement with petrwdA). metrwdA (acc.pl.neut.of petrwdAs, extent). speiromenon (pres.pass.part.nom.pl.masc.of speirw, pred.nominative). hoi (relative pronoun, nom.pl.masc.of hos, subject of akouswsin and lambanousin). hotan (indefinite temporal adverb with the subjunctive). akouswsin (3d.per.pl.aor.act.subj.of akouw, indefinite temporal clause). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, direct object of akouswsin). euthus (adverbial). meta (preposition with the genitive, adverbial). charas (gen.sing.fem.of chara, adverbial). lambanousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of lambanw, aoristic). auton (acc.sing.masc.of autos, direct object of lambanousin). Translation: "And these are the seeds sown upon the rocky soil, which, when they hear the word immediately with joy receive it." COMMENT: hoi epi ta petrwdA speiromenoi is the participial phrase used as the predicate nominative to agree with houtoi. The copula is eisin. "These are the ones sown..k.t.l." They are further defined by the relative clause with hotan and the subjunctive, indicating an indefinite time. They do hear the word but Jesus does not tell us definitely when. But when they hear it, immediately they receive it. Note, however, that it is lambanousin rather than suniwsin..of..verse 12. There is little intellectual depth in this case and hence there is no deep perceptive acceptance, which suniAmi implies. But there is germination and life as a result. Many shallow Christinas will not live consistently with their faith nor stoutly defend it because they have not enough depth to understand it. Christian theology, for the intellectual, who is deeply committed to it, joins issue with the philosophy of the God of this world. The shallow Christian is not even aware that there is a war going on. Others do know (vs.17) and see no reason for it and are thus offended by the controversy and withdraw from the fight. DM240,50 - Kai. This conjunction is by far the most common in the NT. Five pages selected at random from the WH text give us an average use of fourteen times to the page. It should be observed, however, that this average is raised especially by the fact that one of the pages was taken from Mark, where kai is uncommonly frequent, occurring on an average of more than once to the line. The casual Greek student has difficulty in understanding kai because it has so many diversified uses. For it is often used as a mere mechanical connective (a copulative), and it is left for the reader to determine which possible translation best suits the context. The ordinary Hellenist, as the papyrus reveal, had but few conjunctions in his vocabulary, and kai was the main one; but he, like the average American, knew how to make those few serve him in numerous ways. (1) Three generally accepted classifications and meanings for kai are: as transitional or cintinuative--and; as adjunctive--also; and as ascensive--even. ... (2) For its use as adversative we need but call attention to some passages where it is already translated as such in the RV by the words and yet (see Jn. 7:19; 16:32; 20:29). The words however and but are just as good if not better in several passages. ... see (here) and vs. 17, "Who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; but (kai) they have not root in themselves" ... MARKj&d - 16. They which are sown on stony ground. Under the figure of the stony ground, he depicts that lively but shallow susceptibility of spirit which grasps the truth eagerly, but receives no deep impressions, and yields as quickly to the reaction of worldly temptations as it had yielded to the divine word. Those whose feelings are touched, but not their conscience or their will. Immediately. The seed in such case "springs up" - all the quicker from the shallowness of the soil - "because it has no depth of earth." Receive it with gladness. The hearer described has not counted the cost; whatever was fair and beautiful in Christianity, as it first presents itself, had attracted him - its sweet and comfortable promises, the moral loveliness of its doctrines, but not its answer to the deepest needs of the human heart; as neither, when he received the word with gladness, had he comtemplated the having to endure hardness in his warfare with sin and Satan and the world. - Trench TCGTC-MARKcranfield162 - homoiws. 'Similarly'--i.e. by the same principle of interpretation. This is better than the suggestion that it is to be taken like hws in 4:31. Mark 4:17 And have no root in themselves,; But they have no real roots-- Phi; but it takes no real root in them--Gspd; but it strikes no root in them--NEB; and so endure but for a time:; but endure for a while--ASV; they have no staying-power--NEB; and they last only a little while--Gspd; they cannot hold out long--Rieu; afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth; then, when tribulation or...--ASV; when there is trouble or persecution--NEB; then, when suffering or persecution comes--Wey; for the word's sake,; because of the word--ASV; on account of the Word--Rieu; immediately they are offended.; straightway they stumble--ASV; immediately they fall away--RSV; they stumble and fall--Wey; they give it up at once--Gspd; and have no root in themselves, but /only for a season\ are,-- /afterwards\ /straightway\ they find cause of stumbling; and have not root in themselves, but are temporary; afterward tribulation or persecution having come because of the word, immediately they are stumbled. TRNTyeagerV229,30 - kai ouk echousin hrizan en heautois alla proskairoi eisin, eita genomenAs thliphews A diwgmou dia ton logon euthus skandalizontai. kai (adversative conjunction). ouk (adversative conjunction). echousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of echw, aoristic). hrizan (acc.sing.fem.of hriza, direct object of echousin). en (preposition with the locative, with plural nouns and pronouns). heautois (loc.pl.masc.of heautos, place where). alla (alternative conjunction). proskairoi (nom.pl.masc.of proskairos, predicate adjective). eisin (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of eimi, progressive). eita (an adverb of time). after that - Mk.4:28; 8:25; Jn.13:5. afterward - Mk.4:17. furthermore - Heb.12:9. then - Mk.4:28; Lk.8:12; Jn.19:27; 20:27; I Cor.15:5,7,24; I Tim.2:13; 3:10; James 1:15. Meaning: An adverb of time. Then, after that, next, etc., etc. Cf. epeita (#2566). In a sequence, showing chronological arrangement as in Mk.4:28,29 which has eiten before prwton. In the sequence eita...epeita - I Cor.15:5; in reverse order as epeita..eita in I Cor.15:7. With prwton, both in logical and chronological order - I Tim.3:10. Following proskairos in Mk.4:17. Joined by a verb of action or command, in which cases eita moves the action of the story as in Jn.13:5 - "He girded Himself...eita he poured water..k.t.l." in this sense also in Mk.8:25; Lk.8:12; Jn.19:27; 20:27; I Tim.2:13; Jam.1:15. Showing the logical order of the resurrection - I Cor.15:24. Once in a sense foreign to all other NT usage - as a pivot word in an argument as in Heb.12:9, following the statement of vs.8 - "Furthermore...k.t.l." genomenAs (aor.part.gen.sing.fem.of ginomai, genitive absolute). thliphews (gen.sing.masc.of diwgmos, genitive absolute). A (disjunctive) diwgmou (gen.sing.masc.of diwgmos, genitive absolute). dia (preposition with the accusative of cause). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, cause). euthus (adverbial). skandalizontai (3d.per.pl.pres.pass.ind.of skandalizw, ingressive). Translation: "...but they have no root in themselves, but they are there only a short time after which, when social pressure and persecution begin because of the word, they quickly begin to take offense." COMMENT: The shallow earth did not provide plant food for the development of a viable root system. All of the strength of the plant was devoted to germination and sudden growth upward. No root in themselves. Cf. Col.2:7. Run the references under #293 on roots for valuable sermon material. Christ is the hriza (Rom.15:12; Rev.5:5). Roots provide stability and nourishment. No plant can live long without them. These people, though genuinely born again were only temporary insofar as an effective Christian witness is concerned. Note proskairos in II Cor.4:18 - temporal. eita i.e. following a temporary flowering - genomenAs...ton logon - a genitive absolute with the aorist tense--after pressure and persecution developed, immediately they were offended. They had received the Word euthus with joy. Now they are just as quick to be offended. These people are quick reactors. They yield readily to environmental circumstances. Surround them with gospel seed and immediately they receive it joyously. Surround them with pressure and persecution and immediately they are offended. Why? No root system. Shallow people. The world is full of them. Run the references on #1046 to see how deep rooted Christians react to pressure. Cf.also #1047 and note the difference between thliphsis and diwgmos. Cf. also #434 for the word diwkw. Pressure (thiphsis) and persecution always accompany true Christianity. It is how we react to them that determines whether we shall be victorious Christians. Note I Thess.1:6, where the saints received the seed of the word with thliphis and chara. Pressure from the unsaved world and joy from the Holy Spirit. How tragic that pressure should bring offence! The Christian who gets bitter when pressure hits him had better look to his root system. R880 Skandalizontai is used as a conative present, referring to an act just beginning (cf. T63). Ear126 - Are Offended. The Greek verb is scandalizw, from which we get "scandalize." It comes from the noun scandalon, which meant the bait stick in a trap or snare, and then the trap or snare itself. So the verb means "to trap." Jesus is talking about superficial converts whose faith is so feeble that they are quickly trapped by the hard realities of life and "fall away" (NASB, NIV) from the faith. "Offended" is too weak a translation. [Mt.5:29-30: A-S agrees with ASV (1901) in translating scandalizw as "cause to stumble". But A&G refer "cause to sin". Gustav Staehlin says that in this passage Jesus evidently meant "entice to sin" (TDNT). MARKitGNTwuest88 - vs.16,17 - "Likewise" is the translation of homoiws, "equally, in the same way." The meaning here is, "on the same method of interpretation." "Stony ground" is ta petrwdA, a plural article and noun, "the ground full of rocks." "Have no root in themselves." Thayer says this is "spoken of one who has but a superficial experience of divine truth, has not permitted it to make its way into the utmost recesses of his soul." The word "offended" is the translation of skandalizw, "to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way upon which one may trip or fall." Thus, to be offended in someone is to find occasion of stumbling in him, to see in another what one disapproves of and what hinders one from acknowledging his authority. Here, those who are like seed sown on ground full of rocks, are offended at the afflictions and persecutions in the sense that they find occasion of stumbling in them since they disapprove of them. Translation: "And these are on the same principle of interpretation, those who are being sown on ground full of rocks, who, whenever they hear the Word, immediately with joy receive it; and they do not have rootage in themselves, but last only for a time; after that, affliction or persecution having come because of the Word, immediately they are displeased, indignant, resentful." MATTHEWmcgarvey119 - The fault of the stony ground hearer consists in allowing trouble or persecution on account of the word to make him stumble and fall away from the word which he had previously received with joy. In the statement, "he hath no root in himself," there is a metaphor drawn from the shallow roots of the grain which grows on stony ground, and it means that he is deficient in tenacity of purpose. Sometimes very slight opposition from friends or relatives turns a person back into partial or total apostasy. The class represented are those who are turned back by opposition, whether slight or severe. MATTHEWmcgarvey120 - The term here rendered is offended (skandalizetai) means, is made to stumble. There is nothing in tribulations and persecutions to make one feel "offended" at the word; but there is, to cause him to stumble, as when his foot is caught in a snare. NTC-MARKhendriksen156,7,8 - And the ones sown on rocky ground are the kind of people who, whenever they hear the word, immediately accept it with joy. However, they have no root in themselves and last but for a short while. Then, when affliction or persecution arises on account of the word, they immediately fall away. The description of unresponsive hearts or hearers is followed by that of impulsive ones. Note how in this particular case both Mark and Matthew twice make use of the word "immediately." These people act "on the spur of the moment." Immediatelhy they accept the word, with joy even! And then immediately they fall away. They get caught, are ensnared, by affliction and persecution. It is this that induces them to give up what at first they had so enthusiastically embraced. Had they been genuine believers they would not have been to the end thus ensnared. In the midst of affliction, that is, all kinds of pressure mostly from the outside in a non-Christian environment, and persecution,actual suffering deliberately brought about by the enemy, all of this on account of the message, perseveranceis the mark of the true believer. This perseverance, which by implication is here commended, must however be genuine. It must take place for the sake not of self but of Christ. It must be a willingness to suffer out of love for the Lord, his word, his people, and his cause. When such love is absent, the endurance is futile (see I Cor. 13:3b). When it is present, it produces gladness of heart, assurance of salvation. See Matt. 5:11,12: John 16:33; Acts 5:41; Rom. 8:18, 31-39; Phil. 1:27-30; I Peter 4:14; Rev. 2:9,10. But the people symbolized by the seed that had fallen on rocky soil (see on verses 5,6) lacked such stick-to- itiveness. They never took to heart the examples of Ruth, Jonathan, Stephen, and Paul. The word "loyalty" was not in their vocabulary. As to examples of such fair-weather "friends," is it not reasonable to suppose that among the many Hosanna shouters (Mark 11:9,10 and parallels) there were also some who a few days later screamed, "Crucify, crucify"? It must be borne in mind that not only after Christ's resurrection (Acts 4:3; 5:18; 6:11,12; 7:54-60; 8:1; etc.) but even earlier (as is definitely extablished by John 9:22,34, and may well be implied also in Matt. 5:10-12; 10:23,25,28; Luke 6:22; 12:4) Christ's followers were being persecuted. Not everyone affected by such persecution stood the test. To some the words of I John 2:19 applied: "They went out from us, but they never actually belonged to us." As to genuine believers, see John 10:28, "My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them everlasting life, and they shall certainly never perish, and no one shall snatch them out of my hand." The erstwhile outward adherants, never genuine followers at all, for their confessions did not spring from inner conviction (they had "no root"),failed to consider that true discipleship implies self-surrender, self-denial, sacrifice, service, and suffering. They ignored the fact that it is the way of the cross that leads home. MARKj&d 17. Have no root in themselves. They make profession and begin, but do not hold out, because the good seed has not rooted deeply. These are they who are moved by emotion, not by a deep sense of conviction. When affliction or persecution. As the heat scorches the blade which has no deepness of earth, so the troubles and afflictions, which would have strengthened a true faith, cause a faith which was merely temporary to fail. The image has a peculiar fitness and beauty, for as the roots of a tree are out of sight, yet from them it derives its firmness and stability; so upon the hidden life of the Christian his firmness and stability depend. - Trench A sneer from some leading spirit in a literary society, or a laugh raised by some gay circle of pleasure-seekers in a fashionable drawing-room, or the rude jests of scoffing artisans in a workshop, may do as much as the fagot and the stake to make a fair but false disciple deny his Lord. TCGTC-MARKcranfield162,3 - dia ton logon is to be taken with genomenAs. skandalizontai. The verb skandalizein occurs only in biblical Greek and literature influenced by it. It is derived from skandalon, a later form of skandalAthron = 'the stick of a trap on which the bait is set'. The verb occurs only once in LXX in the canonical books (Dan.11:41) and there represents the passive (Niph.) of kasal 'to stumble', 'stagger'. The noun skandalon in LXX sometimes represents the Hebrew noun miksol derived from kasal--so 'stumbling- block'; but more frequently mokes (= 'bait', 'lure', and so 'snare'). Skandalizein is only used metaphorically, and nearly always means 'to cause to sin', 'lead astray to sin'; occasionally 'to anger', 'provoke'. Here the meaning will be that they allow themselves to be led astray into sin when persecution comes to them on account of the gospel. Mark 4:18 And these are they which are sown among thorns;; And others are they that are sown among the thorns--ASV; Others again receive the seed among thistles--NEB; It is different with those sown among the thorns--Gspd; such as hear the word,; these are they that have heard the word--ASV; These are people who have listened to the Word--Rieu; They are people who listen to the message--Gspd; And /others\ are they who /among thorns\ are sown,--/these\ are they /who hear the word\, And these are they who toward the thorns are sown: these are they who are hearing the word, TRNTyeagerV231,2 - kai alloi eisin hoi eis tas akanthas speiromenoi, houtoi eisin hoi ton logon akousantes,... kai (continuative conjunction). alloi (nom.pl.masc.of allos, subject of eisin). eisin (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of eimi, aoristic). hoi (nom.pl.masc.of the article in agreement with speiromenoi). eis (preposition with the accusative of extent). tas (acc.pl.fem.of the article in agreement with akanthas). akanthas (acc.pl.fem.of akantha, extent). speiromenoi (pres.pass.part.nom.pl.masc.of speirw, predicate nominative). houtoi (nom.pl.masc.of houtos, subject of eisin). eisin (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of eimi, aoristic). hoi (nom.pl.masc.of the article in agreement with akousantes). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, direct object of akousantes). akousantes (aor.act.part.nom.pl.masc.of akouw, predicate nominative). Translation: "And there are others which are sown among thorns; these are they who heard the word..." COMMENT: Our Lord moves on to the third category of seed. alloi to distinguish from houtoi in vs.16. The predicate nominative in agreement with alloi is hoi...speiromenoi. Note the locative use of eis with the accusative. Cf.#140. The houtoi refers to alloi and is identified by another predicate nominative hoi ton logon akousantes. The sentence is finished in vs.19. Note in Mt.27:29 that akantha were still fighting the living Word of God as He died on the cross, just as they fight the new Christian who happens to germinate and grow among them. MARKitGNTwuest88 - "These are they." The word "these" is not in the best texts. alloi "others" is given by Nestle. Expositors says that "it fixes attention on the third type of hearers as calling for special notice. They are such as, lacking the thoughtlessness of the first and the shallowness of the second class, and having some depth and earnestness, might be expected to be fruitful; a less common type and much more interesting." Translation: "And others are those who are being sown in the midst of thorns. These are those who heard the Word,..." MATTHEWmcgarvey120 - "among the thorns." --Those represented by the thorny ground, do not, like the first class, allow Satan to catch away the word, nor do they, like the second, allow persecutions to cause them to stumble; but while retaining the word, they allow care about worldly matters, and the deceitfulness of riches--that is, the deception which love of riches causes men to practice on themselves--or both these combined, to render the word unfruitful. Men who are engaged in the eager pursuit of wealth, as well as those already in possession of it, are in danger from the deceitfulness of riches; while those engaged in a hard struggle for a mere livelihood, or in buffeting the waves of misfortune, are most in danger from the care of this world. The great majority of the disciples of every age and country have been more or less chargeable with the sin of this class. We need constant and earnest exhortations on the subject from our religious teachers. ("evil companionship corrupts good morals.") MARKj&d III. THORNS AND GOOD GROUND - 18. Sown among thorns.. The seed which takes root, but is stifled by the thorns that shoot up with it, figures the mind in which the elements of worldly desire develop themselves along with the higher life, and at last become strong enough to crush it, so that the received truth it utterly lost. The evil here is neither a hard or a shallow soil - there is softness enough, and depth enough; but it is the existence in it of what draws all the moisture and richness of the soil away to itself, and so starves the plant. Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world,; and the anxieties of the age--ABUV; but worldly cares--NEB; but the worries of the time--Gspd; the anxieites of life--Mon; and the deceitfulness of riches,; the lure of riches--Rieu; and the false glamour of wealth--NEB; the deceiving pleasures of being rich--Wms; and the lusts of other things entering in,; and the desires about other things, entering in--ABUV; and the desires for other things enter in--NASB; and cravings for many other things come in--TCNT; choke the word,; and choke the word-- NASB; and completely choke the Message--TCNT; to smother the word--Knox; and it becometh unfruitful.; and it proves...-- RSV; ...barren--NEB; and it yields nothing--Gspd; and it produces no crop in their lives--Phi; and //the anxieties of the age, and the deceit of wealth, and the covetings about the remaining' things\\ /entering in\ choke up the word, and /unfruitful\ it becometh; and the anxieties of this age, and the deceitfulness of the riches, and the desires concerning the other things, entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. TRNTyeagerV232,3,4 - kai hai merimnai tou aiwnos kai hA apatA tou ploutou kai hai peri ta loipa epithumiai eisporeuomenai sumpnigousin ton logon, kai akarpos ginetai. kai (adversative conjunction). hai (nom.pl.fem.of the article in agreement with merimnai). merimnai (nom.pl.fem.of merimna, subject of sumpnigousin). tou (gen.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with aiwnos). aiwnos (gen.sing.masc.of aiwn, definition). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining nouns). hA (nom.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with apatA). apatA (nom.sing.fem.of apatA, subject of sumpnigousin). tou (gen.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with ploutou). ploutou (gen.sing.masc.of ploutos, definition). kai (adjunctive conjunction, joining nouns). hai (nom.pl.fem.of the article in agreement with epithumiai). peri (preposition with the accusative of reference). ta (acc.pl.neut.of the article in agreement with loipa). loipa (acc.pl.neut.of loipos, reference). epithumiai (nom.pl.fem.of epithumia, subject of sumpnigousin). desire - Lk.22:15; Phil.1:23; I Thess.2:17. concupiscence - Rom.7:8; I Thess.4:5; Col.3:5. lust - Rev.18:14; Mk.4:19; Rom.7:7; Jam.1:14,15; II Pet.1:4; Gal.5:24; I Tim.6:9; II Tim.2:22; 4:3; I Pet.1:14; 4:2; II Pet.2:10; Rom.1:24; I Jn.2:17; Rom.6:12; 13:14; Eph.4:22; I Jn2:16,16; II Pet.2:18; Gal.5:16; I Pet.2:11; Tit.2:12; Rom.13:14; Jn.8:44; Tit.3:3; II Tim.3:6; I Pet.4:3; Jude 16,18; II Pet.3:3; Eph.2:3. Meaning: Related to epithumew (#500), which is made up of epi (#47) and thumos (#2034), which is made up of thuw plus ma (result suffix) hence the result of passion, which is thumos. When one keeps thumos concentrated upon (epi) a desire it becomes intense. Hence, epithumia means intense desire. There is nothing in the word itself, from a etymological point of view, to denote evil desire. The evil in epithumia is not in the word but in the adjuncts of the context. It is associated in the NT most often with evil - hence the English word "lust" has been most often used. Intense desires of a godly sort are found in Lk.22:15, of our Lord's desire to eat the Passover with His disciples, and Phil.1:23, of Paul's desire to die and go to heaven. Also in a good sense in I Thess.2:17. In all other passages the context makes clear that epithumia is a fierce and compelling drive to commit sin. eisporeuomenai (pres.part.nom.pl.fem.of eisporeuomai, adverbial, temporal). sumpnigousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of sumpnigw, aoristic). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, direct object of sumpnigousin). kai (continuative conjunction). akarpos (nom.sing.masc.of akarpos, predicate adjective). ginetai (3d.per.sing.pres.ind.of ginomai, aoristic). Translation: "...and the conflicting pressures of the age and the deceitfulness of wealth and the intense desire for the other things, having entered in, choke the word and it becomes unfruitful." COMMENT: Here is a formula for the defeated Christian life. Three subjects of the same verb show that hai merimnai, hA apatA and hai epithumiai join together to choke the seed and render it unfruitful. Frustrations, deceitfulness of riches and evil desires combine to bring defeat to the Christian. Study carefully each word in the verse by number. "The cares of the age..." Society is becoming increasingly complex and life in modern society is more difficult, even for non-Christians. The word merimna (#1048) means the result of being pulled in opposite directions. Hence we have translated "conflicting pressures." "Dilemmas" will serve as well. "Cares" of the KJV is too general - not specific enough. "Frustrations" tends to carry the idea. Note #1002 for toher passages where aiwn is used to denote the present church age. A check of all of these passages will reveal characteristics of the age which impose pressures upon the saints. There is much valuable preaching material here. Jesus warned us against them (Lk.21:34); Peter tells us what to do with them (I Pet.5:7). Cf.#1049 for programs of deceit. How many ways does Satan have to deceive us? Riches (ploutou) is one of them. Here it has reference to material wealth as also in Mt.13:22; Lk.8:14 (the parallel accounts) and II Cor.8:2; I Tim.6:17; Jam.5:2; Rev.18:17. They are uncertain (I Tim.6:17); they are subject to corruption (Jam.5:2) and they come to nothing (Rev.18:17). But there are heavenly riches. Cf.#1050 for a list of God's riches for the saints. I Tim.6:17 sets the two types of riches against each other. Material wealth will deceive the Christian if we let it, but it need not do so. Many deeply dedicated Christians are affluent, because they do not trust in riches, but in the living God. When we worship material wealth, we have been victimized by "the deceitfulness of riches." We can rise above the dilemmas of the age; we can escape the deceit of riches. What about the intense desire for the other things? Cf.#2186 - "Intense desire, passion, lust, overwhelming drive, compulsion, concentrated craving. This is what the word means. It is not evil except when it is directed toward evil. In this passage, it is evil desire. The point here is the intensity of it. Modern psychology has taught us that epithumia is irresistible - that men must yield to it, because they have no choice. Hence there is no moral responsibility for acts committed under its spell. The M'Naughton doctine (that if a criminal knows the difference between right and wrong at the time of the crime, he may not plead innocence on grounds of insanity) has been overthrown in a United States Circuit Court of Appeals. Psychologists convinced the judges that mere knowledge of right and wrong in itself is not enough. Insane people know, but they cannot escape the compulsion to act. The epithumia is too strong for them. The Christian should not allow thumos to concentrate (epi) upon the thing desired. "Whatsoever things are pure. ...think on these things" (Phil.4:8). Desire earnestly the best gifts (I Cor.12:31). The stronger the drive in epithumia, the more enslaved the Christian among the thorns. Note that the thorns cannot choke the Word until they enter in. Christians should not allow them to enter. But since they spring up simultaneously with germination, it is a problem that confronts the infant Christian, who cannot be expected, in his days of spiritual infancey, to discern the danger. This is why pastors should devote extra time to the babes in Christ. The verse states clearly the problem which the new Christian faces. To analyze it properly is to know how to combat it. A formula for the defeated Christian life suggests a counter-formula for the victorious Christian life. Ear127 - Lusts. The noun epithumia means "desire, longing, craving" (AG). It is even used in a good sense sometimes in the NT (Lk.22:15; Phil.1:23; I Thess.2:17). Today "lust" has negative connotations and is usually related to sex. Here the meaning is "desires for other things" not in God's will. MARKitGNTwuest88,9 - "The cares of this world." "Cares" is merimna, which is derived from a root which means "to be drawn in different directions," thus, "to be distracted." The word means "care," in the sense of "anxiety." The word is closely akin to a Greek word for "worry." It is used in a second century manuscript in the sentence, "I am writing in haste to prevent your being anxious, for I will see that you are not worried." It is therefore a synonym for the Greek word meaning "worry." "World" is the translation of aiwn, referring to the course of life as it is lived currently on this earth by those who do not know God. Our Lord is referring to the worries of the people of this age who live apart from God. "The lusts of other things." The Greek word translated "lusts" means in itself "a craving or passionate desire," the character of which, either evil or good, is determined by the context in which the word is found in each instance. The word today is obsolete, having changed its meaning to that of an immoral desire. "Other things" is ta loipa, literally, "the rest of the things that are not of a specified class or number." Translation: "...and the anxieties of the present age and the deceitfulness of wealth, and the passionate desires of the rest of the things not in these categories entering in, choke the Word, and it becomes unfruitful." NTC-MARKhendriksen158,9 - And some, the ones sown among the thorns, are the kind of people who hear the word, and then the cares of this present world, and deceitful glamor of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the words, and it becomes unfruitful. - This passage describes the case of people whose hearts resemble soil infested with roots and runners of thorns. Such "dirty" soil is a serious threat to the growth of any desirable plant. Similarly hearts filled with worry with respect to the workaday world, beclouded by dreams about riches, and (Mark adds) the desire for other things, thwart any influence for good that might otherwise proceed from the entrance of the kingdom message. Such hearts are preoccupied. They have no room for calm and earnest meditation on the word or message of the Lord. Should any such serious study and reflection nevertheless attempt to gain entrance, it would immediately be choked off. Cares, that is, constant anxiety about worldly affairs - namely, about matters pertaining to the age in which they are living - fill such minds and hearts with dark foreboding. When these persons are poor they deceive themselves into thinking that if they were only rich they would be happy. When they are rich they delude themselves into imagining that if they were only still richer they would be satisfied, as if material riches could under any circumstances guarantee contentment. In fact, the glamor that pertains to riches is deceitful glamor. To the two thorns already mentioned Jesus, as reported by Mark, adds a third, namely, the desire for other (or: for the remaining) things. No doubt he includes all other wrong desires under this heading. Such desires or cravings are wrong either a. because the object for which these people yearn is wrong; for example, a desire for dangerous drugs, or for intimate relations with another man's wife; or b. because, even though the thing which one desires to have or to do is perfectly legitimate, the desire itself may be inordinate; for example, to play baseball or chess to the neglect of everything else. That Jesus was especially thinking of sinful pleasures would seem to follow from Luke's brief summary: "cares and riches and pleasures of life" (8:14). So interpreted, we notice that Luke's enumeration runs parallel with that of Mark. Doubtlessly when Jesus mentioned the thorns that choked the sprouting seed, he left out nothing that could be placed in this general category. Anythng at all in the entire realm of Possessions, Power - or if one prefers Prestige -, and Pleasure, that destroys the effect of the good seed of the word is included. "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the vainglory of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world" (I John 2:16 A.R.V.). In the days of Amos outwardly religious men would ask, "When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale (or: that we may open the wheat market), making the bushelbasket small and the shekel large, and dealing deceitfully with false balances?" The deceptive glamor or riches was the thorn that choked to death whatever good the message from God might have done. Other examples, both from Scripture and daily life, abound. The people here indicated cannot be richly blessed nor can they be a blessing. The word as it afects them cannot be frutful. There is nothing wrong with the sower. Also, there is nothing wrong with the seed. With these people, however, everything is wrong. They should ask the Lord to deliver them from corroding cares and dream-world delusions, so that the kingdom message may begin to have free course in their hearts and lives. Then their minds, rescued from gnawing anxieties and delusory fantasies, will be able to reflect meaningfully on such precious passages as Prov. 30:7-9; Isa. 26:3; Matt. 6:19-34; 19:23,24; Luke 12:6, 7, 13-34; I Tim, f6:6-10; and Heb. 13:5,6. MARKj&d 19. Cares of this world. What are these thorns? First, the cares of this world - anxious, unrelaxing attention to the business of his present life; second, the deceitfulness of riches - of those riches which are the fruit of this worldly care; third, the pleasures of this life - the enjoyments, in themselves it may be innocent, in which worldly prosperity enables one to indulge. These "choke" or "smother" the word; drawing off so much of one's attention, absorbing so much of one's interest, and using up so much of one's time, that only the dregs of these remain for spiritual things, and a fagged, hurried and heartless formalism is at length all the religion of such persons. - J.F. and B. Our Savior here places riches in the midst between cares and pleasures; for cares generally precede the gaining of riches and, when gained, they draw men into pleasures and indulgence. - Dodd Mark 4:20 And these are they which are sown on good ground;; And there are those who receive the word in good soil--NEB; The last are those that received the seed on rich soil--Rieu; such as hear the word, and receive it,; ...and accept it--ASV; who listen to the word and take it in--Mof; they hear the word and welcome it--NEB; the people who hear the Word and embrace it--Rieu; and bring forth fruit,; and bear fruit--ASV; and yield a return--Gspd; some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.; thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold--ASV; thirty, sixty, and a hundred times as much as was sown--Beck; And /those yonder\ are they who /on the good ground\ are sown,-- who, indeed, hear the word, and accept it, and bear fruit-- thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold. And these are they who on the good ground have been sown: who do hear the word, and receive, and do bear fruit, one thirty- fold, and one sixty, and one an hundred.' TRNTyeagerV234,5 - kai ekeinoi eisin hoi epi tAn gAn tAn kalAn sparentes, hoitines akouousin ton logon kai paradechontai kai karpophorousin hen triakonta kai hen exAkonta kai hen ekaton. kai (continuative conjunction). ekeinoi (nom.pl.masc.of ekeinos, subject of eisin). eisin (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of eimi, aoristic). hoi (nom.pl.masc.of the article in agreement with sparentes). epi (preposition with the accusative of extent). tAn (acc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with gAn). gAn (acc.sing.fem.of gA, extent). tAn (acc.sing.fem.of the article in agreement with gAn). kalAn (acc.sing.fem.of kalos, in agreement with gAn). sparentes (2d.aor.pass.part.nom.pl.masc.of speirw, predicate nominative). hoitines (nom.pl.masc.of hostis, subject of akouousin, paradechontai and karpophorousin). akouousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of akouw, aoristic). ton (acc.sing.masc.of the article in agreement with logon). logon (acc.sing.masc.of logos, direct object of akouousin). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining verbs). paradechontai (3d.per.pl.pres.ind.of paradechomai, aoristic). receive - Mk.4:20; Acts 15:4; 16:21; 22:18; I Tim.5:19; Heb.12:6. Meaning: A combination of para (#154) and dechomai (#867). Hence to receive along side. To receive, accept, claim as one's own. With reference to intellectual and spiritual acceptance of the truth of the gospel of Christ - Mk.4:20; Acts 16:21; 22:18; of believing a rumor against an elder - I Tim.4:19; with reference to God's acceptance of believers as His children - Heb.12:6. To receive visitors - Acts 15:4. kai (adjunctive conjunction joining verbs). karpophorousin (3d.per.pl.pres.act.ind.of karpophorew, progressive). hen (nom.sing.neut.of heis, nominative absolute). triakonta (numeral). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining substantives). hen (nom.sing.neut.of heis, nominative absolute). exAkonta (numeral). kai (adjunctive conjunction joining substantives). hen (nom.sing.neut.of heis, nominative absolute). hekaton (numeral). Translation: "And these are they who were sown upon the good soil, who hear the word and receive (it) and continue to bear fruit - one thirty fold and one sixty and one an hundred." COMMENT: Note the emphatic attributive position of tAn kalAn. Cf.#2187. paradechomai means to receive favourably. They heard, they accepted and they bore fruit in varying amounts. Why the varying amounts? Were there no thorns for the saints? In the parable, the distinction is in the place of sowing, not the sower, nor the seed. Wayside, stony ground, thorny ground, good ground. We are not told whether the thorny ground was deep, although it was deep enough to support thorns. It is dangerous to push a parable too far. Cf.Lk.8:15. MARKitGNTwuest89 - Translation: "And those are they which were sown on ground that is good, which are of such a nature as hear the Word and receive it, and bear fruit, some thirty- fold, some sixty, and some one hundered." MATTHEWmcgarvey120,1 - "into the good ground."--The man represented by the good ground differs from the wayside man in that he "understands" the word, and does not allow Satan to take it from him. His understanding it is the result, not of some natural superiority, but of the superior attention which he gives to it. He differs from the stony ground character, in that, though assailed by tribulation and persecution because of the word, and often more violently assailed than his vacillating neighbor, he overcomes them instead of allowing them to overcome him. He differs from the thorny ground character, in that he endures the cares of life so patiently, and resists the deceitful influences of riches so successfully, that the word of God in him triumphs over both. Finally, he differs from all, in that he alonge "beareth fruit." Some of this class bear more fruit than others, "some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty;" but the characteristic of the class is that they bear fruit. The fruit is the course of life which the word requires; therefore, dropping the figure, the fourth class continue to obey the word of God, while the others either never begin, or, beginning, sooner or later discontinue their obedience. The parable is a prediction of the manner in which the word of God would be dealt with by those who would hear it; and it warns us against the examples of the first three characters, while it stimulates us to imitate the fourth. MARKmcgarvey285 - We have lready commented on the Savior's explanation of this parable, in the parallel place in Matthew; and to this we refer the reader, remarking only, that the use of the singular instead of the plural in speaking of the parties represented, and a slightly different arrangement of the matter, constitute the differences between the two reports. These differences, occurring as they do in almost every synoptical passage in the four gospels, show that in reporting the speeches of the kSavior the apostles were not always restricted to his exact language, but were led by the Spirit to reproduce his words only to the extent necessary for a correct report of his thoughts. NTC-MARKhendriksen159,60 - And those sown on the good soil are the kind of people who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit, some of them (yielding) thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. With these people the message of the kingdom falls into good soil, the kind of soil that, negatively speaking, is neither hard nor shallow nor preoccupied; positively speaking, is receptive and fertile. These people hear because they want to hear. They reflect on what they hear, for they have faith in the speaker. So they reach a measure of true understanding. They put the message into practice and bear fruit: conversion, faith, love, joy, peace, longsuffering, etc. The importance of spititual fruitbearing, as the mark of the true believer, is stressed even in the Old Testament (Ps. 1:1-3; 92:14; 104:13). This line of thought is continued in the Gospels (Matt. 3:10; 7:17-20; 12:33-35; Luke 3:8; John ch. 15) and in the rest of the New Testament (Acts 2:38; 16:31; Rom. 7:4; Gal. 5:22; Eph. 5:9; Phil. 4:17; Col. 1:6; Heb. 12:11; 13:15; James 3:17,18). There is, however a difference in the degree of fruitfulness. Not all are equally penitent, trustful, loyal, courageous, meek, etc., hence also not all are equally productive in bringing other lives to Christ. In the case of some believers the seed, the message, yields thirtyfold, that is, thirty times as much as was sown; in some sixty, and in some a hundred. Matthew has the opposite order (100,60,30). In faithfully reproducing Christ's message, each evangelist employs his own style. There is no essential difference. Consider Timothy, Titus, and Paul: three eminent men of God, men in whom the seed of the gospel had sprouted and had brought forth fruit. After their conversion the three have in common unwavering loyalty to the cause of the gospel, willingness to perform difficult kingdom tasks, love for souls, a love that sprang from love for God, the very God who had first loved them. Yet, there was a difference between the three. Timothy - a wonderful Christian indeed! (Phil. 2:19-23) - needed a little prodding. He was the timid type. The Corinthians were told to see to it that when Timothy arrived, he would be with them "without fear" (I Cor. 16:10). And see also II Tim. 2:22a. Titus, on the other hand, is the man who is able not only to take orders but also to go ahead of his own accord (II Cor. 8:16,17). He is resourceful, a man of initiative in a good cause. One finds in him something of the aggressiveness of Paul. Neither Timothy nor Titus, however, can compare with Paul. Anyone who reads II Cor. 11:23-28 should be convinced of that. Without exaggeration he was able to write the words of I Cor. 15:10, ascribing all the glory to God alone. The comparison here made between Timothy, Titus, and Paul is not intended to convey the idea that Timothy produced only thirtyfold, Titus exactly sixty, and Paul a hundred. It is intended only as evidence for the basic truth, which this concluding part of the parable establishes, namely, that even among those whose lives are spiritually fruitful there are differences. Let everyone do his best to produce much fruit (John 15:5), always remembering however that even though the parable emphasizes that the result of the hearing of the gospel depends on the condition of the hearts of those to whom it is addressed, so that human responsibility is stressed, in the final analysis every good thought, disposition, word, deed, character has its source in God and his sovereign grace (Rom. 11:36; I Cor. 4:7). See also the explanation of the parable of The Seed Growing in Secret (Mark 4:26-29). TNICotNT-MARKlane161,2,3 - The parable of the sower reflected in comprehensive terms upon the coming of the Kingdom of God. The interpretation corresponds in complexity to the organic situation presented in the parable. The interpretation of details withing the parable [41] must be understood in terms of their appropriateness to the historical situation in which the parable was spoken. With the initial statement, "the sower sows the word," attention is focused on the word of proclamation containing the secret of the kingdom of God. the word in view is Jesus' word as he proclaims the Kingdom; it is the decisive messianic word of power through which the Kingdom is disclosed and is demonstrated as having come. [42] What this implies concerning the meaning and manifestation of the Kingdom of God is elaborated in terms of the diversity of response to the word proclaimed. In keeping with the contemporary situation which Mark has reported in Chs. 2 and 3, Jesus calls attention to the negative response to the word. This response is contemplated in terms of the diversity of its various motives. While the unfruitfulness of the word is traced to a variety of circumstances, the interpretation does not force the details. The activity of Satan is not introduced artificially, but is a reflection on Satan's opposition consistent with Mark's prior presentation. Similarly, the reference to superficial adherence to the word, and to the scandal and offense which the word occasions, is appropriate to the historical situation as Mark has set this forth. An unwillingness to endure tribulation and persecution, a desire for security in the world, an unwillingness to suffer characterize those to whom the word is presented. These elements indicate the way of the world; this is what men are like when confronted with the word of the Kingdom. Therefore the secret contained in the word remains veiled to them. Jesus' determination to submit to the judgment of God, to accept suffering and death, makes his word and his act an enigma which men cannot penetrate. The event of revelation itself is what causes men to be offended and to turn away. Jesus also reflects upon a positive response to the word, indicated as a receiving and understanding of the word on the part of genuine disciples. This feature has been in view as early as the contrast between unbelief set forth in Ch. 3:20-34, where Jesus' true family is contrasted with his parental family; it is basic to the contrast set forth in Ch. 4:11-12. it is appropriate, therefore, that Jesus should call attention to the present, subjective response to the proclamation of the Kingdom of God. The assurance is given that those who have responded with an affirmtion of faith shall be found bearing fruit according to the law of a wonderful multiplication at the time of harvest, that is, in the judgment that comes with the consummation. This is the eschatological note within the parable, and it is sustained in the interpretation as well. Accordingly in the parable Jesus draws attention both to the veiled manifestation of the Kingdom, hindered by many obstacles and Satanic opposition. To those who deny the authenticity of the interpretation given in Ch. 4:14-20, an answer may be given: when the total organic situation of the parable is recognized, the congruity of the interpretation with the parable and the historical situation is undeniable. The emphasis in this parable falls upon the central act of sowing; the emphasis in the interpretation falls upon the kind of reception which the proclamation of the Kingdom experienced. The succession of vivid images describing this reception is appropriae and significant. By way of summary it may be said that in this parable Jesus gives a fundamental insight into the coming of the Kingdom of God. The eschatological coming of God into the world goes the way of seed which is sown. In the appropriate time there will come the harvest, the consummation. Whoever knows this understands that salvation has come with Jesus; he also knows that, in spite of his veiledness and the opposition encountered, the harvest is prepared by the sovereign word and act of God in Jesus the Christ. The interpretation, like the parable, thus stresses the comprehensive character of the Kingdom as both present in an incipient way in the person and mission of Jesus and future with a glory yet undisclosed. It is natural that the Church, in reflecting on the parable and its interpretation, should find in it an exhortation to true hearing and appropriation of the word of proclamation. In the presence of persecution and affliction, the peril to discipleship could be appreciated in terms of the exposition Jesus had given. But Mark indicates by the placement of verses 11-12 before the explanation of the parable that the Church of his day had not forgotten that the parable concerned the coming of the Kingdom of God. [Footnote 41] - The interpretation of details within the parable has caused interpreters like Dodd, Jeremias and Hauck to regard the interpretation as a whole as early church allegorization. The elements of allegory in the interpretation should not prove surprising when consideration is given to the organic situation presented in the parable itself. Dodd himself had commented that "if the parable is drawn out to any length, it is likely that details will be inserted which are suggested by their special appropriateness to the application intended, and if the application intended by the speaker is correctly made by the hearer, he will then see a secondary significance in these details" This statement is appropriate to the situation in Mk. 4:14-20. The chief emphasis in the interpretation falls upon the sowing of the seed. Interest in the diversity of response is also present, but it is not central. It should be further noted that no attempt is made to identify the sower nor to interpret the threefold harvest, yet these are elements which would have invited attention in early church allegorization. [Footnote 42] - G. Kittel, TWNT IV (1942), pp. 124, 127 comments "what the explanation of the parable of the seed with its application of the terms `the word' tries to assert about Jesus is nothing but that which constitutes the ultimate background to the entire tradition about Jesus"; "the explanation of the parable of the seed...derives its meaning and point from the conviction that the `seed' which is explained as the `word' is the Christ-event (das Christus-Geschehen) which has come to pass in Jesus." MARKbarclay91,2,3,4 - Every detail of this parable would be real to the hearers of Jesus, because every detail of it came from everyday life. In it four kinds of ground are mentioned. (1) There is the hard ground at the side of the road. The seed might fall on this kind of ground in two ways. The fields in Palestine were in the form of long, narrow strips; these strips were divided by little grass paths; these paths were rights of way; the result was that they became beaten as hard as the pavement by the feet of those who used them. As the sower scattered his seed some might well fall there; and there it had not a chance to grow. But in Palestine there was another way of sowing. Sometimes a sack of seed was put on the back of an ass; a hole was cut in the corner of the sack; and then the beast was led up and down as the seed flowed out. Inevitably as the ass was brought along the road to the field some of the seed fell on the road; and just as inevitably the birds swooped on it and gobbled it up. There are some people into whose hearts Christian truth can find no entry. its failure to find an entry is due to the hearer's lack of interest; and that lack of interest comes from a failure to realize how important the Christian decision is. Christianity fails to make an impact on so many people, not because they are hostile to it, but because they are indifferent to it. They think that it is irrelevant to life and that they can get on well enough without it. That might be true if life was always an easy way where there were neither tensions nor tears; but in point of fact there comes to every man in life a time when he needs a power not his own. It is the tragedy of life that so many people discover that too late. (2) There was the rocky ground. This was not ground full of stones; it was a narrow skin of earth over a shelf of limestone rock. Much of Galilee was like that. In Many fields the outcrop of the rock through the shallow soil could be seen. seed which fell there germinated all right; but because the soil was so shallow and held so little nourishment and moisture, the heat of the sun soon withered the sprouting seed so that it died. It is always easier to begin a thing than it is to finish it. A certain famous evangelist is quoted as saying: "We have learned that it takes about five per cent effort to win a man to Christ, and ninety-five per cent to keep him in Christ and growing into maturity in the Church." Many a man begins the Christian way; and of that many, many fall out by the wayside. There are two troubles which cause this collapse. the one is the failure to think the thing out and to think it through, the failure to realize what it means and what it costs before we start. The other is the fact that there are thousands of people who are attracted by Christianity but who never let it get beyond the surface and the circumference of their lives. The fact is that with Christianity it is a case of all or nothing. A man is only safe when he has given himself in total yieldedness to Christ: "Is there a thing beneath the sun, That strives with Thee my heart to share? Ah! tear it thence, and reign alone, The Lord of every motion there." (3) The third kind of ground was the ground that was full of thorns. The Palestinian farmer was lazy. He cut off the top of the fibrous rooted weeds; he even burned off the top; and the field might look clean; but in below the surface the roots were still there; and in due time the weeds revived in all their strength. The weeds grew with such rapidity and such virulence that they choked the life out of the seed. It is easy to pack life with such a multiplicity of interests that there is no time left for Christ. As the poet said, the cares of life can be like the clogging dust until "we forget because we must and not because we will." The more complicated life becomes, the more necessity there is to see that our priorities are right, for there are many things which seek to shoulder Christ from out the topmost niche. (4) Finally there was the good, clean, deep soil in which to seed might flourish. If we are really to benefit by the Christian message the parable tells us that we must do three things. (a) We must hear it. We cannot hear unless we listen. It is characteristic of the life of so many of us that we are so busy talking that we have no time to hear, so engaged in arguing that we have no time to listen, so occupied in advancing our own opinions and our own views that we have no time to listen to the views of Christ, so much on the move that we have no time for the essential stillness. (b) We must receive it. When we hear the Christian message we must really take it into our minds. The human mind is an odd and a dangerous machine. We are so contructed, in the wise providence of creation, that, whenever a foreign body threatens to enter the eye, the eye automatically closes. That is an instinctive, relfex action. Whenever the mind hears something that it does not want to hear it automatically closes its door and forgets. There are times when truth can hurt; but sometimes a distasteful drug or an unpleasant treatment must be accepted if health is to be preserved. To shut the mind to truth we do not want to hear is the straight road to disaster and to tragedy. (c) We must put it into action. The yield in the parable was thirty, sixty and a hundredfold. That is a large yield but the volcanic soil of Galilee was famous for its crops. Christian truth must always emerge in action. In the last analysis the Christian is challenged, not to speculate, but to act. Now all that is the meaning of this parable when we sit down and study it at leisure. But we are reading it with time to think. It is quite impossible that all that would flash upon men's minds as they heard it for the first time and, we must remember, as we have already seen, that originally the parable was spoken to a crowd. What would be the one thing which flashed out on a crowd who heard it for the first time? Surely this - that, although part of the seed never grew, the fact remained that at the end of the day there was a splendid harvest. This is the parable to end despair. It may seem that much of our effort achieves no result; it may seem that much of our labour is wasted. That is what the disciples were feeling, when they saw Jesus banished from the Synagogue and regarded with suspicion. In many places His message seemed to have failed, and they were discouraged and down-hearted. But this parable said to them, and says to us, "Patience! Do your work. Sow the seed. Leave the rest to God. The harvest is sure." MARKj&d 20. Sown on good ground, etc. A heart soft and tender, stirred to its depths on the great things of eternity, and jealously guarded from worldly engrossments, such only is the "honest and good heart" (Luke 8:15), which "keeps" i.e., "retains" the seed of the word, and bears fruit just in proportion as it is such a heart. Such "bring forth fruit and patience" (vs. 15), or continuance, "enduring to the end;" in contrast with those in whom the word is "choked," and brings no fruit to perfection. The "thirty- fold" is designed to express the lowest degree of fruitfulness; the "hundred-fold," the highest, and the "sixty-fold" the intermediate degrees of fruitfulness. As a "hundred- fold," though not unexampled (Gen. 26:12), is a rare return in the natural husbandry, so the highest degrees of spiritual fruitfulness are, too, seldom witnessed. - J.F. and B. Some thirty-fold, some sixty and some a hundred. Thirty- fold is now a first-rate crop, even for such plains as Esdraelon, just below Nazareth. But in the time of Christ there might be realized, in favorable circumstances, a hundred-fold. Intelligent gentlemen (in the plain of Esdraelon) maiantain that they have themselves reaped more than an hundred-fold. Moreover, the different kinds of fertility may be ascribed to different kinds of grain: Barley yields more than wheat; and white maize, sown in the neighborhood, often yields several hundred-fold. An extraordinary number of stalks do actually spring from a single root. Here, on this plain of Sidon, I have seen more than a hundred, and each with a head bowing gracefully beneath the load of well- formed grains. The yield was more than a thousand-fold. - Land and Book. Observe the four kinds of seed: The first did not spring up at all; the second sprang up, but soon withered away; the third sprang up and grew, but yielded no fruit; the fourth sprang up, grew, and brought forth fruit. And as there are three causes of unfaithfulness, so there are three degrees of fruitfulness, but only one cause of fruitfulness. - Maclear TCGTC-MARKcranfield163 - paradechontai. Perhaps rather stronger than lambanein, used above in vs.16. Those who are good soil welcome the message and, instead of keeping it on the surface, allow it right into their hearts and lives. ...