The Columbus journal., 1906-05-02
PARABLE OF
THE SOWER

Ol GOO. Luke S:l1.
TlME.-Autumn A. d. q. at close Of
Christs second tour of Galilee. soon after
events Of our last lesson.
PLACE.-On shore of Lake Of Galilee.
probably near Capernaum.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCES.-Paral
passages on parable: Matt. 1918 and
Luke S:4-15. Word parable as used in
Scripture: Eek. 3O:49: Mum. 23:7; Psa.
sS:2; Mark 1928. Six occasions Of the use
Of the words. he that hath ears to hear"
etc. as spoken by Christ: Matt. HIS:
1s:4s: Mark 40: 4:2s: ZIG (Auth. Ver.): Luke
14:a5 See also Rev. 2:7. II. II. .: 3:6. Is. p:
1873. Compare also Matt 1872: 25:29: Luke
Sis: 1925. References to thOrns. thistles.
and briers. lsa 55:lS: Eek. 2S:2i; Hos. los:
Psa- llS:l2: Prov. 2a:sl; Eccl. &c: Jer. 4:s:
1918: Matt. 7:lS; 2:2S; 2 Cor. 1871
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
V. I. Again :. by the sea-" jesus
frequently taught by the Sea of Galilee.
"Very great multitude" Out of every
city" luke. Entered into a snip
(bOat) sea-" Seated himself. as a
Jewish rabbi would have done. at the
PROV of the boat, nearest the shore.
v. 2. MANY things by parallels" !"
Matthew records seven parallels spoken
on this occasion. and Mark adds one
more. All related to aspects Of
Christ's kingdom. or its growth.
v. 3. Behold" An exclamation to
attract attention: quite possibly, also.
Jesus pointed to the adjoining hillside.
where that of which he told was being
enacted. "A sower to SOW" His
basket Of seed slung under his left
arm. with steady. measured pace he
marched up and down his portion of
the open field. jerking his handful of
corn before him at every step."-Tris-
tram
v. 4. BY the wayside." Upon the
trodden pathway running through or
by the side of the field THE fowls
came and devOured it." Great fiocks of
rock-pigeons and crows dwell in the
hills and valleys surrounding the Sea
of Galilee.
v. S. s. STONY grounds" Places
where a thin layer of earth covered an
underlying slab of rock. This rock.
becoming warm by the sun, causes The
seeds which fall upon it to sprout
quickly. tut also prevents their roots
from striking downward and finding
sustenance In the soil.
v. Z. Among thorns" Thorn-bcar-
ing plants. of which there are many
varieties in Palestine. "Choked it."
The thorns. being stronger. soon over
top the grain and rob it of the sun
light: their roots also rob the gain
roots of moisture, and perhaps twine
around and actually choke" it.
w. g. Read this according to the Re
vised rendering. "Thirtyfold. sixty
fold an hundredfOld." 1t is not
uncommon that. from one grain of
wheat sown upon the fertile soil OF
Palestine, heads bearing 30. GO or even
100 grains are produced.
v. 9. He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear" Jesus call to all His
hearers. inviting them to pay earnest
heed that they might understand and
truly profit from what they had heard.
v. 10! When alone the twelve"
When the crowd had dispersed after
all the parallels spoken on this Occa-
sion had been given, little company
truly desirous of understanding. gath
cred about Jesus, and asked Him to
interpret them.
v. IL. Unto you is given" Be
cause yon are sincere in heart and re-
ceptive in mind. The mystery of the
kingdom of God" The secret religious
rites OF the Greeks were called "mys-
teries." Tue Gospel of Christ is a mvs-
terry in that it can be clearly under
stood only by those whose hearts re-
ceive 1t.
v. II. Seeing .. not perceive" etc.
A free quotation from Isa. 6: 8. 10, bet
ter rendered in Matt. Is: 13; where 1t is
clearly shown that the failure to see
is because of willfully shutting the
eyes-tha. is. hardening the heart.
". IA. ''The sOwer soweth the word"
Jesus knows that His hearers will from |
this understand that He. at the
time of speaking. is the SOwer. The |
seed Is the Word of God" the proc |
lamation of Gods love which He was |
teaching by gracious words |
and kindly deeds. The field. as a sub
sequent parable tells. is the world"
v. Is. They by the wayside." Tney
whose hearts. like the wayside. have
been hardened by being made "a COM
mon road for every evil influence.
v. Is. The second class of hearers |
''hear the Word. Immediately receive |
1t with gladness." Their emotions are |
stirred: they are pleased. exhilarated,
made happy. and without any deep
thought, decide hastily that they will |
be followers of Jesus. Prompt decision |
is not condemned. but the lack of sin
cerity and deep purpose.
v. II. Have no root in themselves"
Their hearts do not really take hold of |
Jesus. They think themselves Chris
tians, because, at the moment, that
seems to be the most attractive life
when tribulatiOn or persecution
ariseth." The rock-bed of selfishness
lies under these emotions.
Practical Points.
v. 3. 1t becomes us to hearken at
to every message of God
Hab. 2:1.
v. 3. We are without excuse II the
Gospel message which comes to our
ears is no: permitted to find lodgmea:
In our hearts.-ROm. 1: 90. q
v. II Jesus representatives UPON
earth to-day are commissioned to SOW