Interpretation of the parable of Matthew 13 44 46. New literal translation from IMBF

13:1-53 This collection of parables about the essence of the Kingdom of Heaven is the third of the main parts of the Gospel of Matthew.

13:3 parables. A parable is an allegory, an similitude containing wisdom. Most of Jesus' parables are illustrations that explain His main points, but they have an inner depth that only a right relationship with Jesus will help to comprehend. Only to His disciples did Jesus explain the meaning of the parables (about the sower - vv. 18-23 and about the tares - vv. 36-43).

13:11-17 Here it is difficult not to notice the doctrine of chosenness. Even the ability to understand the message of God, let alone follow it, is a gift from God. The ears that hear will be blessed by God.

13:13-15 seeing. Lit.: "to be seen." In Mark (4:12) this is expressed more strongly (lit.: "so that they can see"; cf. Luke 8:10). According to Mark, Jesus speaks in parables to hide the meaning and punish unbelief (Mark 4:11). Matthew has Jesus' parables - His response to unbelief and inability to understand. It is believed that Matthew softened Mark's remarks about the absolute will of God. Turnover "yes not" (lit.: "so as not") in Art. 15 (cf. Mark 4:12) indicates that the hardening of the heart is caused by God's sovereign will. What Mark says directly, here Jesus says in parables, for the prophecy of Isaiah must be fulfilled (6:9). Although in these verses Matthew more than Mark and Luke highlights the moral responsibility of those who rejected Christ, all three weather forecasters, as well as the OT passage quoted, show that the omnipotence of God is combined with human responsibility.

13:22 deception of wealth. Wealth is the favor of God, but it can be dangerous if it takes possession of the heart.

13:23 who hears the word and understands. Only hearing and understanding the word (thus obedience to it) bears fruit. Some hear the word but do not receive it because they are afraid of adversity and are too attached to the worldly things. In addition, fruits can be brought in different ways, there are, as it were, several levels. However, in the end, there are only two kinds of "earth": that which bears fruit, and that which does not.

13:24-30 Jesus Himself explains this parable in v. 36-43. The field is the whole world, not just Israel or the Church, and God does not judge it right there, immediately, for the sake of the elect that are in the world. The righteous must first live among the unrighteous.

13:31 mustard seed. What is from God may seem insignificant in the world, but its fruits are plentiful. Of course, the Kingdom of Heaven in such a comparison seems vanishingly small compared to mighty Rome, but it is essentially grandiose.

13:32 The tree on whose branches the birds build their nests is reminiscent of Ezek. 17:23 and 32:6 where the birds are pagan peoples taking refuge in the Messiah and enjoying the blessing of the covenant.

13:33 is like leaven. Although leaven or yeast is often symbolic of evil (16:11), the point here is that the Kingdom leavens the world. Both pictures, as well as the parable of the tares, show that Jesus is going to spread His message outside of Israel and all over the world.

13:34-35 Parables are both frank and secret. Jesus begins Ps. 77, which allegorically narrates how God rescued His people from slavery. The culmination of the story is the election of David "from the sheepfolds". The redemptive events themselves were not hidden, but their significance was not obvious to everyone. The psalmist reveals it himself.

13:37 Son of man. See com. by 8.20.

13:43 they will shine like the sun. Wed Dan. 12:3, which contains the promise of the coming resurrection.

13:44-46 Jesus in parables told the secret about the Kingdom (v. 35), but it remained hidden from very many, because they do not realize how priceless what He told: those who know the price of the Kingdom will give everything for it (cf. Phil. 3,8 ).

13:52 every scribe. Jesus frequently reproved teachers (23:13-32), not because they taught the Scriptures, but because of their hypocrisy.

taught the kingdom of heaven. These words can be translated as "became a disciple of the Kingdom." Since immediately before this Jesus asks the disciples if they understood "all this", it is clear that the disciples themselves will become teachers and, like a hospitable host, share with others the received treasure.

13:55 carpenters... son. The Greek word translated here as "carpenter" can be understood more broadly - "builder". It is possible that Joseph was a bricklayer.

13:58 Jesus did not perform many miracles in Nazareth, not because without the faith of people He lacks strength, but because miracles without faith are of little use.

1–9. The Parable of the Sower. - 10-17. Purpose of the parable - 18-23. Explanation of the parable of the sower. - 24-30. The parable of the tares. – 31–32. The Parable of the Mustard Seed. – 33. Parable about leaven. – 34–35. Prophecy about teaching in parables. – 36–43. Explanation of the parable of the tares. – 44. The parable of the treasure hidden in the field. – 45–46. A parable about a merchant looking for good pearls. – 47–50. The parable of the net. – 51–52. Conclusion of a figurative conversation. – 53–58. Stay in Nazareth.

Matthew 13:1. On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

(Compare Mark 4:1).

This verse pinpoints the exact location where Christ's first parables were spoken - Lake of Galilee, although it is not named. The very account of teaching in parables follows in Matthew in the same order as in Mark, and in the same connection. But Luke relates the parables of the sower (Lk. 8ff.), the mustard seed, and the leaven (Lk. 13:19-21) in a different connection. Christ left the house in Capernaum, went to the Lake of Galilee, entered the boat, sat down in it according to the custom of the then Jewish teachers and began to speak to the people in parables. A large crowd of people gathered on the shore, for whom it was convenient to fit here, because although the lake is surrounded by mountains, they only in places drop steeply directly into the water, leaving, especially on the western shore, more or less wide and sloping coastal spaces. The number of those who listened was so great that sometimes (Lk. 5:1) they crowded the Savior. It may be that in the present case He initially did not want to enter the boat and entered it only out of necessity. This is indicated by the expressions of Matthew and Mark that He first "sat by the sea" and only then passed into the boat. AT ancient world we do not know of any other examples of such preaching from a boat. But there is no doubt that this was very convenient both for Christ Himself and for the people who listened to Him. On the western shore of the lake, the mountains move away from it into the terrain for 7-10 versts, and thus a fairly flat place is obtained. The parables spoken by the Savior were the first. The Evangelist obviously introduces them first, and, according to Trench, the parable of the sower was, as it were, an introduction to this new method of teaching, which the Divine Teacher had not yet used. This is also clear from the question proposed later by the disciples: “Why do you speak to them in parables?” (verse 10), and from Christ's answer in which he justifies this new way teachings and the purpose that was meant by this.

Matthew 13:2. And a multitude of people gathered to Him, so that He got into the boat and sat down; and all the people stood on the shore.

(Compare Mark 4:1; Luke 8:4).

As stated above, the Savior apparently wanted to preach on the shore, because that is what the words of the previous verse indicate, “sat down by the sea.” Only when the people gathered to Him did He enter the boat and sit down in it. This explains why the verb "sat down" is used twice, once in the first two verses. Mark has the same sense of speech, who says that the Savior began to teach “by the sea”, but when the people gathered, He entered the boat and sat (sat?) on the sea. Matthew omits Mark's expression "by the sea".

Matthew 13:3. And he taught them many parables, saying: Behold, a sower went out to sow;;]

(Compare Mark 4:2; Luke 8:4).

The word "parable" in production from the Greek (παραβολή) means "estimating", "comparison", "similarity" (but hardly "example"). This term means such speech, where abstract truth, moral or spiritual, is explained with the help of various events and phenomena in nature or life. For example, the idea that a person should help his neighbor is expressed in the parable of the Good Samaritan, the idea of ​​God's love for the repentant sinner is expressed in the parable of the prodigal son. If these thoughts were not expressed with the help of vivid images, they would be common places and soon forgotten. But it is known that the same method of revealing general truths with the help of images and comparisons is also used in fables.

Are the parables of Christ like fables? And if not similar, then what is the difference? There is a similarity between fable and parable, but only superficially. As in a parable, so in a fable, not only people are taken for comparison, but also miscellaneous items nature (for example, tares, mustard seeds, etc.), and even animals (for example, sheep, pigs in the parable of the prodigal son, dogs in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, etc.). Therefore, some brought the parable closer to the fable and said that they are one and the same. But even a simple, cursory and general look at parables and fables can show that a parable is not at all like a fable. This general view can be confirmed by analyzing some details. In a fable, if animals act, for example, they always come to the fore, in the parables of Christ their role is always secondary. In a fable, in everything that animals or natural objects (for example, trees) say and do, one should always imply the speech and actions of people, because otherwise one would have to attribute to natural objects something that never happens in reality (for example, when animals speak or plants). In parables, similar images always remain quite natural, and the actions of animals or plants in the strict sense cannot be attributed to people, and the fact that animals or plants ever spoke is not mentioned in New Testament parables. Finally, a fable in general is a fiction, and, moreover, for the most part amusing; to clarify moral truths in parables, usually real events in nature and life are taken. We say "usually" because this is apparently not always the case. If we can still agree that in figurative speech, for example, about the Last Judgment, the separation of sheep from goats is an image that could correspond to reality, i.e. image is not fictional, it is difficult to think that in the parable of the lender and the ruthless debtor (Matt. 18:23-35) the amount of debt is ten thousand talents (60,000,000 denarii, a denarius is approximately 20 kopecks, i.e. 4 g per silver equivalent) that the king gave to one of his slaves was not fictitious in order to clarify the truth about the enormous debt of man to God. The parable of the evil vinedressers (Mt. 21:33-41) leads to similar doubts - is this story real or fictitious, if you do not pay attention to its application?

The circumstance that some images in parables are predicted to be fictitious gave reason to define the word “parable” (in relation to the Gospel parables) as follows: “A parable is a form of speech in which, with the help of a fictional narrative, however plausible and borrowed from everyday life, abstract truths are presented , little known or of moral character". Alford defines a parable as follows: "It is a serious story, within the limits of probability, about some deed, pointing to some moral or spiritual truth." Some exegetes consider it futile to attempt to define exactly what a parable is and should be, as distinguished from all other modes of speech. Some people think that every parable is a kind of allegory. The parable speaks of some one object, which in itself has its own natural meaning, but on the other side of this natural meaning, partly covered by it, and partly revealed, another object is meant. All these definitions are suitable, however, perhaps only for explaining what a parable is in general, but not for the parables of the Savior.

We must firmly establish the truth that the Savior spoke no lie. When considering parables, this is evident not only from the fact that His parables are of great vital importance, but also from the fact that He was never reproached by anyone about His parables - that He preached fiction, fantasized or exaggerated something. This is absolutely necessary for understanding the parables of the Savior. They always take some real event, taken from human life or from nature, and even from the world of animals and plants. If any subdivision of parables is possible, they can only be divided into general and particular. In general parables, some real event is told, so frequent and ordinary that there can be no talk of fiction. Such, for example, are the parables of the sower or the mustard seed. In private parables, events are, so to speak, single, for the most part it can be assumed that they happened only once. Such, for example, is the parable of the Good Samaritan or the workers in the vineyard who receive the same wages for their labors. It is quite possible to assume that the lining of these parables were actual facts. It is more difficult, as we said, to assume them in such parables as, for example, about the evil vinedressers or about the ruthless debtor.

However, who can guarantee that there were no such cases in the then reality? And at that time there were people who owned colossal wealth. Thus, in all the parables, we can look for a completely corresponding to reality and non-fictional characteristic of the time, life, customs and customs. But it is remarkable that, speaking about real events, the Savior never mentions real persons and the time of real events, and only twice (in the parable of the Good Samaritan and the publican and Pharisee) indicates the place of their occurrence, moreover, in completely general terms. Thus, all the parables of Christ appear before us, so to speak, completely anonymous. If, for example, the parable is about a king, he is never called by name. From the parables, in any case, it is clear that Christ knew life perfectly and saw in it what others do not see.

The peculiarity of the higher and richly gifted people is that they see more than other people, and Christ possessed this ability in the highest degree. In stating real events, He applied them to the moral realm with such insight that is inaccessible and unusual for ordinary people. Perhaps the parable comes closest to a type, an image, or a prototype, with the only difference being that the type is usually the real expression of an idea, while the parable is verbal. But all that has been said does not in the least prevent the assertion that in different parables there is an artistic combination of various real events and circumstances, which serves as an expression of a special, artistic and ideal truth. When, for example, an artist paints a picture of a sunset, he combines in it observations made at different times, under different circumstances and in different places, and in this way he comes up with an ideal picture, true to reality in all particulars, but towering above it in principle. , which, of course, may not be borrowed from the real life of nature. This is not fiction, but an artistic combination of an idea with external images borrowed from reality itself, and such a combination is reality in itself, but only mental, ideal, higher, artistic.

The seven parables set forth in the chapter of Matthew under consideration constitute one whole and refer to one subject, the Kingdom of God and its development; verse 53 clearly indicates that they were spoken at the same time. The first four of these parables appear to have been spoken to the people from a boat (an explanation of the parable of the sower has been inserted here); the last three are for the students in the house. The first parables are connected by the formula “another parable”, and at the beginning of the last three it says: “still like”. According to the testimony of the evangelists Matthew and Mark, however, not everything was said in parables, but “much”. “Because,” Jerome notes, “if Christ spoke everything in parables, then the people would disperse without receiving any benefit for themselves. Christ mixes the clear with the heavenly, so that on the basis of what the people understood, draw their attention to what they did not understand.

Matthew 13:4. and while he was sowing, something else fell by the road, and birds came and ate it;

Matthew 13:5. some fell on stony places where there was little earth, and soon rose up, because the earth was not deep.

Matthew 13:6. When the sun rose, it withered, and, as it had no root, it dried up;

Matthew 13:7. some fell into thorns, and thorns grew up and choked him;

Matthew 13:8. some fell on good ground and brought forth fruit: one a hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty.

(Compare Mark 4:8; Luke 8:8).

At the present time, wheat in Palestine yields on its own 12-16, but barley often 50, and the crop of millet, on which the poorest classes are mostly fed, sometimes itself 150 or 200. But the harvests were, apparently, better at the time of Christ than now. “A hundredfold harvest in the east,” says Trench, “is not unheard of, although it is generally mentioned as something extraordinary.” In Luke (Luke 8:8) it is simple: “brought forth fruit a hundredfold”, and the sizes of smaller crops are omitted.

Matthew 13:9. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

(Compare Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8).

Just like in Matt. 11:15, Matthew omits (according to some readings) the "hear" found in Mark and Luke. Thus, the literal translation is "he who has ears, let him hear" (Tertullian: qui habet aures audiat).

Matthew 13:10. And having approached, the disciples said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?

(Compare Mark 4:10; Luke 8:9).

It is very difficult to decide when exactly the disciples came to Christ and asked Him this question. If it were in a boat, it would be difficult to explain προσελθόντες - having arrived, and not “starting”, as in the Russian translation. Further, Christ spoke only one parable, the first, which is set forth by the three evangelists. But the disciples ask: “Why do you speak to them in parables”, and they asked Him about parables (Mark 4:10; the Russian translation, where the singular “parable” is put, is incorrect). But Luke has a singular number: "what would this parable mean"? Thus, in order to understand how it really happened, the question would have to be rearranged, assuming that it was given after the utterance of other parables set out in chapter 13. Finally, Mark clearly states that the question was proposed by the disciples to Christ at a time when they were left alone (κατὰ μόνας; in Russian translation: “when was he left without a people”). The most likely assumption seems to be that the Savior's conversation with the disciples took place after the figurative speech was over and He left the boat with them or retired on it with them to some other place. Mark (Mk. 4 cf. Mk. 4:34) speaks of this somewhat more clearly. The disciples' question seems to indicate that the Savior has just begun this particular way of teaching, at least in its most fully developed form. The Evangelist Matthew, it is noted, did not intend at all to be careful here in his chronological order. According to Alford, the question about the parable of the sower was asked during the break in the Savior's teaching, not when He entered the house (verse 36).

Matthew 13:11. He said to them in response: because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them,

(Compare Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10).

That these words were here an answer to a question in the previous verse indicates "said to them in answer" (ἀποκριθείς). The words of Christ show that His teaching, set forth in parables, were "mysteries", that these mysteries were not accessible to a wide circle of Christ's listeners even after the explanations that He gave to the disciples; but they could be understood by the latter without explanation, although after them they became even clearer. The word "mysteries" does not mean that the parables were incomprehensible in themselves. It was used by the Greeks to designate certain secret teachings, rituals in religion and in what was connected with it. No one was admitted to these secrets, except for the initiates; the initiates, however, had to keep these secrets to themselves. Thus, while being mysteries to outsiders, they were not to the initiates.

Verses 10, 11 and 14 are explained in Irenaeus (Adversus haereses, IV, 29). “Why do you speak to them in parables? The Lord answers: because (quoniam) it has been given to you to know (cognoscere) the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven; I speak to them in parables, so that when they see, they don’t see, and when they hear, they don’t hear (understanding, they don’t understand), so that the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled on them, saying: The heart of this people has become coarse (harden) and deaf (deaf) their ears and closed (close) their eyes. But blessed are your eyes, for they see what you see, and your ears, which hear what you hear.”

Matthew 13:12. for whoever has, to him will be given and will be multiplied, but whoever does not have, what he has will be taken away from him;

(Compare Mark 4:25; Luke 8:18).

"Who has" - both in Russian and in Greek - subordinate clause, which does not have the main thing, although the speech is completely correct and understandable. This is nominativus absolutus (see comments on Matt. 12:36). Similar expressions are found in Matt. 25 in the parable of the talents. This, perhaps, was a proverb expressing a general truth in relation to worldly and spiritual goods. Examples of when what they have are taken away from the have-nots are common and well-known. Our Russian proverb “where it is thin, there it is torn” expresses the same idea. In the Gospels, of course, it is only about the spiritual. "What people had is taken from them because they don't have what they should have." The disciples had more ability and receptivity to the new teaching and therefore could gain more than the rest of the people. The expression "who has" Augustine interprets in the sense of utitur - uses, and applies it to preachers. The preacher who preaches the divine teaching to others does not feel a lack of teaching and the words that he speaks and preaches, but if someone does not use the teaching, then even the meaning of that is obscured and leaves him.

Matthew 13:13. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, and they do not understand;

(Compare Mark 4:11-12; Luke 8:10).

Preliminary reference to Is. 6 will be dealt with in the next verse. The meaning of the verse outside seems clear, because everywhere and everywhere there are many people who, seeing, do not see and, hearing, do not hear. But the question is, how does this prove the necessity of speaking in parables? One might think that the thought of Christ was as follows. An abstract truth, but having importance for the Kingdom of Heaven, is inaccessible to the people's mind. Therefore, the embodiment of this abstract truth in well-known images is required, which would make it closer to the people, open their eyes and open their ears, interest them and induce them, thus, to strive for understanding and further truths, symbolically and figuratively presented in the parable. In this, apparently, the words of Christ differ from the words of the prophet Isaiah. The parallel expressions of Mark and Luke indicate the purpose (ἵνα), "why everything happens in parables." The best way to explain this verse is to mean here the reference of Christ to His former teaching, which not only was not correctly understood by many people from the people (which is quite possible, since many of the truths He preached, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount, and now not yet all understandable), but also by more developed people - the scribes, and the latter especially, as can be seen from the previous chapter. These people, who did not understand the teachings of Christ, are called by Mark (Mk. 4:11) ἐκεῖνοι οἱ ἔξω - external, and by Luke (Lk. 8:10) - οἱ λοιποί, the rest. They are told in parables because "they see not see, and hear they do not hear", but according to Mark and Luke - so that, seeing, they do not see, etc. This speech of Christ is full of deep meaning. Such people, who, seeing, do not see, and, hearing, do not hear, it would be possible not to say anything, because speeches are useless for them, due to their lack of understanding. But He speaks to them, too, in parables. Briefly, the meaning can be expressed as follows: if they do not want to understand, then they will not understand the parables either. But if they want to understand at all, they will at least understand the parable. If they want to understand more, then under the cover of the parable they will see that the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven are revealed in it.

Matthew 13:14. And the prophecy of Isaiah comes true over them, which says: You will hear with your ears and you will not understand, and you will look with your eyes and you will not see,

(Compare Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10).

Is. 6:9-10 literally translated from the Hebrew: “Go and tell this people: You hear and hear, and do not understand; and you look and look, and do not know. Make the heart of this people hard and heavy (hard of hearing) his ears and close his eyes so that he does not see with his own eyes, and does not hear with his ears, and his heart does not understand, and there is no healing for him. God here gives Isaiah, at his call, the commission to preach to a people who are hard of sight and hard of hearing. The speech of the prophet was supposed to make the heart of this people even more rough, their eyes even more blind and their ears deaf, so that this people would not be converted and not receive healing, and this is because, due to their sinfulness, they do not want to see and hear anything. The people are like a hopeless criminal who is not touched by any speeches, he does not yield to any persuasion. Therefore, inattention to the speech of the prophet serves for the people in itself as one of the punishments. This speech will not be saving for the people, but will serve as a means for their judgment and denunciation. In justification of their own people cannot refer to the fact that nothing was said to them. This is the meaning of the authentic speech of Isaiah, now applied by the Savior to the Jewish people. And this is understandable if we pay attention to the former denunciations of Christ, especially in Matt. 11:16-24 and Matt. 12:25–37 where the Savior spoke without parables. For inattention to His words and unwillingness to actually fulfill them, He now proclaims judgment to people whose hearts have become callous and hardened.

Matthew 13:15. For the heart of these people is hardened, and they can hardly hear with their ears, and they close their eyes, so that they will not see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and they will not understand with their hearts, and they will not turn so that I heal them.

(Compare Mark 4 - the text is very abbreviated).

The literal translation of this verse from Greek (according to some readings) may be as follows: “for the heart of this people has grown coarse (fat), and with their ears it was hard to hear, and they closed their eyes so as not to see with their eyes and not to hear with their ears and not to listen with their heart and not turn and I will heal them." Heart, ears and eyes - these three words are found in the future in reverse order. "Heart" at the beginning is placed first, at the end - last. From the heart, corruption spreads to the ears and eyes; through the eyes and ears, health returns to the heart.

Matthew 13:16. Blessed are your eyes that see, and your ears that hear,

(Compare Luke 10 - in a different connection and a modified form of expression).

This saying was probably repeated. Members of the body are here instead of faces, i.e. instead of "you are blessed that you see", etc.

Matthew 13:17. for I tell you truly that many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see and did not see, and to hear what you hear and did not hear.

(Compare Luke 10:24).

Here we have in mind the prophets in general, who announced the Coming Redeemer and, of course, wished to see Him themselves. Jerome has a good explanation of this verse: “Here seems to be the opposite of what is said elsewhere. Abraham your father was glad to see my day; and saw, and rejoiced. But Jesus Christ did not say that they wanted to see what you see, all the righteous and the prophets, but many. It could happen among many that some saw and others did not see, although it is dangerous to interpret this passage in the sense that there is, as it were, some difference between the merits of the saints. So Abraham saw conjecturally, but did not see face to face. But you see and have your Lord close at hand.” Wed Heb. 11:13, 39.

Matthew 13:18. But listen to the meaning of the parable of the sower:

(Compare Mark 4:13; Luke 8:11).

Literally: "So you hear the parable of the sower." The original does not contain the word "meaning", and in the Russian translation it is underlined. From the insertion of this word, the real meaning of the verse does not change.

Matthew 13:19. to everyone who hears the word about the Kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart - this is what is meant by what was sown along the way.

(Compare Mark 4:15; Luke 8:12).

Matthew omits what is said in Mk. 4:14; OK. 8 (second half of the verse). The presentation of the Savior's speech is different for all weather forecasters. Literally in Matthew: “everyone who hears the word of the Kingdom and does not understand, comes ...” Such speech is called anacoluf (inconsistent), and it is used here for the sake of greater expressiveness. The speech without Anacoluf would be as follows: the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart of everyone who hears the word about the Kingdom and does not understand. Further in the Russian translation: “this is who the sown by the road means.” This is a departure from the image, because not a person, but a seed is sown. The Russian translation, however, accurately expresses the meaning of Greek speech: οὖτός ἐστιν ὁ παρὰ τὴν ὁδὸν σπαρείς. But instead of the words, “this one is sown by the road,” it should have been, “this is what was sown by the road,” or “such is the land by the road on which it was sown.” It is the same in the following verses. But such phenomena are common in Eastern speech. They tried to avoid the difficulty by referring the word οὖτος to λόγος. But such an explanation does not agree with verses 20, 22, 23. The meaning of the speech, however, is clear. The seed is the same everywhere and for everyone, but the seed does not grow without the earth, and the earth does not give birth without the seed; the growth or destruction of the seed is due to the convenience or inconvenience of the earth. It should be noted that throughout this explanation of Christ's parable, the former parable is repeated everywhere with explanatory additions.

Matthew 13:20. And that which is sown on rocky places signifies the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;

Matthew 13:21. but it has no root in itself and is impermanent: when tribulation or persecution comes for the sake of the word, it is immediately offended.

Matthew 13:22. And what is sown among thorns signifies the one who hears the word, but the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.

(Compare Mark 4:18; Luke 8:14).

According to John Chrysostom, “The Savior did not say: age, but: “but the care of this age”; did not say: wealth, but: "the deception of wealth." So, let us not blame the things themselves, but the corrupted will. One can also have wealth and not be deceived by it - and live in this age and not be overwhelmed by worries. Under the "care of this world" should be understood the usual human worries and concerns in their struggle for existence, which are of a different nature and are carried out with the help of various means in different ages. For ἀπάτη cf. 2 Thess. 2:10; Heb. 3:13.

Matthew 13:23. But that which is sown on good ground signifies the one who hears the word and understands, and who is also fruitful, so that one bears fruit a hundredfold, another sixty, and another thirty.

(Compare Mark 4:20; Luke 8:15).

Some, including Augustine, understanding martyrdom by “a hundredfold fruit,” said that “sixtyfold fruit” refers to the state of evangelical poverty, and “thirtyfold” refers to the observance of the commandments in general. The best interpretation of this place belongs, among the ancient interpreters, to Euthymius Zigavin, who correctly understands the words of Christ in a general sense. Under the fruit a hundredfold, the Savior meant, according to Zigavin, the perfect fruitfulness of virtue; at sixty - medium, and at thirty - weak. That this interpretation is the best is evident from the fact that in the same general sense the Savior's explanation of His parable is also stated by the Evangelist Luke: fruit in patience” (Luke 8:15).

Matthew 13:24. He offered them another parable, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

When and to whom was this parable told? Is it only to the disciples, or to the people? The most likely assumption is that there was a break in teaching to the people while the Savior spoke to the disciples, explaining to them the parable of the sower. And then he spoke to the people again.

“Like a man”, i.e. similar to those circumstances that are further set out in detail; "like what happens to a man" and so on. This construction is found in Matt. 18and in other parables in Matthew. Ὡμοιώθη is a common introduction to parables in later Jewish literature: “A parable – what does it look like? For something." All parables in Matthew that are not found in Mark begin with the formula ὡμοιώθη or ὁμοῖα ἐστί, with the exception of Mt. 25:14–30, where the parable begins with a simple ὥσπερ, a beginning also used in Jewish parables.

Matthew 13:25. while the people were asleep, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and left;

Concerning the meaning of ζιζάνια (tares), many opinions have been expressed. According to Tsang, this seems to be a Semitic word for a wheat-like weed. Tsang finds confirmation of his words in the words of John Chrysostom ὃ καὶ κατὰ τὴν ὄψιν ἔοικε πῶς τῷ σίτῳ (apparently, it looks like wheat). But a reliable botanical definition of this word has not yet been made. It is probably lolium temutentum (an intoxicating cocklehead) or some kind of ergot (claviceps purpurea), which appears not only in rye, but also on many other plants, among other things, on wheat. Jerome, who lived in Palestine, says that lolium is referred to in the Gospels. The fruit of this plant is "more bitter," says Thomson, "and when eaten alone, or even mixed with ordinary bread, it causes vertigo and often acts as a strong emetic. Briefly, it is a strong hypnotic poison, and must be carefully winnowed and separated from the wheat, grain by grain. Before it matures, this plant resembles wheat so much that it is often left until it is ripe.

Matthew 13:26. when the grass sprang up and the fruit appeared, then the tares also appeared.

Matthew 13:27. And when the servants of the householder came, they said to him: Master! Have you not sown good seed in your field? where are the tares on it?

Matthew 13:28. He said to them, The enemy of man has done this. And the servants said to him: Do you want us to go and choose them?

Matthew 13:29. But he said, No, so that when you pick up the tares, you do not uproot the wheat along with them,

Matthew 13:30. let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather first the tares and bind them in sheaves to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

Even the ancient interpreters discussed how to fulfill this commandment of the Savior regarding the weeds in human life. Never, says Jerome, should you have fellowship with those who are called brothers, but in fact adulterers and fornicators. If plucking is forbidden until harvest time, must some of our midst be spewed out? Augustine partly answers this question: if any of the Christians living in the bosom of the Church is convicted of any sin that brings an anathema on him, then let it be pronounced only when there is no danger of a schism. If the sinner does not repent and is not corrected by repentance, then he himself, perhaps, will come out and, by his own desire, refrain from the communion of the Church.

Matthew 13:31. He offered them another parable, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field,

Matthew 13:32. which, although smaller than all seeds, yet when it has grown, is larger than all herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and take refuge in its branches.

Black mustard, both wild and cultivated, often reaches a height of 8 to 12 feet, this plant is often perched by various small birds that flutter along its thin branches, plucking out the seed they love.

Matthew 13:33. He told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and put into three measures of meal until it was all leavened.

(Compare Luke 13:20-21).

It is commonly thought - and this opinion is correct - that in the previous parables the external growth of the Kingdom of Heaven is depicted under the images of the seed and the obstacles to its spread under the image of the tares. In the parable of this verse and the following ones, the internal strength and influence on the people of the Kingdom, its internal growth, are depicted. First of all, this is depicted as leaven, which a woman, in order to bake bread, put in three measures of flour. The image is so ordinary and familiar to everyone that it does not need an explanation. "Three measures" - three sats (σάτα τρία). Sata is a Jewish measure (otherwise "sea"), which is one Jewish efu, equal to one and a half Roman modia - about 13 liters, according to the old Talmudic definition, such a measure in which 432 eggs could be put.

Matthew 13:34. All these things Jesus spoke to the people in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them,

(Compare Mark 4:33-34).

Mark puts it this way: “And with many such parables he preached the word to them, as far as they could hear. He did not speak to them without a parable, but he explained everything to his disciples in private. Instead of "did not tell them", as in the Russian translation (οὐκ ἐλαλει), some, based mainly on the Codex Sinaiticus and Vatican, read: "did not say anything to them" (οὐδὲν ἐλάλει). Even if we accept this last reading, then even in this case the denial can be considered not absolute, but relative, and it means that at that time or usually Jesus Christ did not say anything without a parable, but not always. If anyone would like to accept this negation in an absolute sense, then he would have to understand by παραβολή, in a broader sense, generally mysterious, enigmatic speech. To the crowd, impervious to higher truths, Jesus Christ always spoke enigmatically. He was never completely clear to her.

Matthew 13:35. let it be fulfilled which was spoken through the prophet, who says: I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter the secret from the foundation of the world.

In the inscription of the 77th psalm, from which this testimony is taken, the name of Asaph appears. Both Asaph and others, along with David, were called prophets. In 2 Chr.29, Asaph is called “ha-hozeh” in Hebrew, and the Seventy translate this word through ὁ προφήτης: according to some readings, in the original, instead of “prophet” - “prophet Isaiah” (erroneously?).

Matthew 13:36. Then Jesus dismissed the people and went into the house. And coming to Him, His disciples said: Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.

Matthew 13:37. He answered and said to them, He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;

Despite all the apparent simplicity, the verse presents insurmountable difficulties, which are caused precisely by this simplicity. The question arises: if the explanation given to the disciples is so simple and clear, then why was it not given to the common people? We do not know the real reasons for this. It is most likely to assume that the explanation is eschatological in nature, here the Son of Man is mentioned as the future Judge, and all this would be incomprehensible to ordinary people. There are no explanations of any parable to the people in the Gospels. As in other cases, there are many allegorical interpretations, belonging mainly to ancient interpreters. Under the people who sleep (verse 25), they understood church teachers and said that let not the one who is placed at the head of the Church sleep, so that, due to his negligence, the enemy man does not sow tares, i.e. heretical dogmas. Or they thought that it was talking about heresies that would continue until the end of the age. But such interpretations, of course, do not apply to verse 37. Beneath the good seed one can clearly see the preaching and teaching that belong to the Son of Man.

Matthew 13:38. the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the evil one;

The interpretation seems to be simple words"the field is the world," gave rise, says Trench, to the most bitter disputes, which did not occur in any other text, except perhaps where it speaks of the Sacrament of Communion. This expression was quoted in antiquity in Donatist disputes. The Donatists insisted that the Savior meant here by the field not the Church, but the world, and they said that ungodly people could be tolerated in the world, but not in the Church. Augustine insisted otherwise, arguing that the Lord did not consider the current state of the Church to be completely free from evil. That Christ called the field the world (the field is the subject, and the world is the predicate), it is hardly possible to doubt it, but further on He speaks of the Church, in which both the good seed and the tares exist. He does not have a single word about the fact that the tares should be destroyed and destroyed by people who consider themselves holy. The words "leave both to grow until the harvest" (verse 30) show that the tares will exist until the end of the world and the foundation of the new kingdom, although they are from τοῦ πονηροῦ - from the evil one. Here the masculine gender is τοῦ πονηροῦ.

Matthew 13:39. the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

John Chrysostom remarks: “When he sows, he sows himself; when he punishes, he punishes through others, namely through the Angels.” The expression "the end of the age" in the Gospels is found only in Matthew and also in the Epistle to the Hebrews (Heb. 9 centuries). But it is found in Jewish, especially apocalyptic, literature. Reapers are different from slaves who reported to the owner of the field what the human enemy had done. If the slaves are people, then the reapers are Angels.

Matthew 13:40. Therefore, as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age:

The thought here expressed is explained in greater detail in the following verses. The images are taken from the usual harvesting of bread.

Matthew 13:41. The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who do iniquity,

The expression "out of his kingdom" should be interpreted in the sense that when the Son of Man comes, then his kingdom will also come. During this future advent, the tares will be finally removed from His Kingdom. Verses 41 and 43 distinguish between the Kingdom of the Son of Man and the Kingdom of the Father. There is no need to assume that the Kingdom of the Son of Man comes only at the end of the world (cf. Col. 1:13), although before that it may be considered incomplete (cf. Matt. 25:34, 46). On the contrary, both here and in 1 Cor. 15:24 expresses the idea that the Son will at the end "commit his kingdom to God and the Father." Then the righteous will "shine like the sun."

Matthew 13:42. and cast them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth;

The expression "furnace of fire" occurs only twice in Matthew, here and in verse 50 (cf. Rev. 1:15, 9:2). All these and similar expressions undoubtedly point to a sentence so heavy that the Lord descended from heaven and tasted all the torments of death in order to save people from the very knowledge of the mystery of suffering, which is expressed in the words: “there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Matthew 13:43. then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

Explaining this place, Theophylact says: "Since the sun of righteousness is Christ, the righteous will then be enlightened like Christ, for they will be like gods." Some heretics drew strange conclusions from the words of Christ and thought that in the resurrection our body will be transformed into a ball and will look like a solar body. This opinion was shared by Origen. But here it is not said that the righteous will become suns, but only that they will shine like the sun. This refers, of course, to spiritual light. The prophecy refers to the future, and therefore it would be premature to interpret it in any precisely defined form.

Matthew 13:44. The Kingdom of Heaven is also like a treasure hidden in a field, which, having found, a man hid, and out of joy over it, he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

The translation is accurate, but not grammatical enough, because one can guess more from the meaning that "which" refers to the treasure, and not to the nearest word "field". The same goes for "him". In this verse, a person is deduced who, without intention and labor, finds a treasure hidden in the ground in a foreign field. This and the following parable reveal more the nature of the Kingdom doctrine than indicate its expansion, as in the preceding parables. The gospel messages about the Kingdom are so attractive that a person will give everything he has to hear them. The parable of the treasure hidden in the field is found only in Matthew.

Matthew 13:45. Still like the Kingdom of Heaven to a merchant looking for good pearls,

Matthew 13:46. who, finding one pearl of great value, went and sold everything he had and bought it.

Verse 45 is plural (pearls), verse 46 is singular (one pearl). The merchant goes in search of many pearls and finds them; among them comes across one, which is more expensive than all. Jerome notes that here in other words is stated what was said in the previous parable. The good pearls that the merchant is looking for, according to Jerome, are the law and the prophets, and the most precious pearl is the knowledge of the Savior and the Mysteries of His suffering and resurrection.

Matthew 13:47. Still the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea and seizing every kind of fish,

Matthew 13:48. which, when it was full, they dragged it ashore, and sat down, and gathered the good things into vessels, and threw the bad things out.

In thought and form, the parable is a variant of the second parable of the tares (verses 30, 40-43). The fishermen who cast their nets into the sea are hardly different from those who drag the nets to the ground and separate the good from the bad. "Good" is by no means a superlative and does not equal optimos. The parable of the net is found only in Matthew.

Matthew 13:49. So it will be at the end of the age: angels will come out and separate the wicked from the midst of the righteous,

Matthew 13:50. and cast them into the fiery furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Grammatically, both in the Greek text and in the Russian translation, the word "them" refers to the word "righteous", but in terms of meaning, "them" should, of course, be referred to as evil. Only the third parable of the second series is partly explained.

Matthew 13:51. And Jesus asked them: Have you understood all this? They say to Him: Yes, Lord!

Jesus Christ was also ready to explain the rest of the parables to his disciples. But they understood them, if not perfectly, then correctly.

Matthew 13:52. He said to them: Therefore, every scribe who has been taught the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master who brings out of his treasury both new and old.

The word “therefore” (διὰ τοῦτο) is attributed by some to the previous teaching in parables in general: “since I have told you how parables should be understood, you must know that every scribe,” etc. Others relate διὰ τοῦτο to the previous question of the Savior: "Therefore I asked every scribe," and so on. According to Augustine, διὰ τοῦτο refers only to the parable of the treasure (verse 44). But it is most natural, like most interpreters, to refer διὰ τοῦτο to the immediately preceding answer of the disciples. The meaning of this whole speech can be understood from the following paraphrase: “since you say that you have understood all this, therefore I will inform you that not only I alone, but also every person who has assimilated the truths of the Kingdom of Heaven for himself, can become like his own. owner, i.e. Me, and use both the old and the new to explain new truths. This idea is explained by the way where the spiritual master, i.e. a spiritual teacher is compared to an ordinary owner who, when necessary, takes both old and new things in his pantry and uses them as needed.

In the parables of Christ one can distinguish between the new and the old. The old are those familiar images that He used: the sower, the seed, the tares, the treasure, the pearls, and so on. The new belonged to Him and was still clear only to the disciples - these are new moral truths explained in parables. He points here therefore simply to new method His teaching, which should be assimilated by every scribe who has been taught the Kingdom of Heaven, to build the new on the basis of the old, well understood and known to everyone.

Matthew 13:53. And when Jesus finished these parables, he went from there.

(Compare Mark 6:1).

The next verse shows that Jesus Christ went to His own homeland, by the word "fatherland" is usually understood Nazareth. John Chrysostom and many others think so. The further story in Matthew and Mark is similar to the story of Luke (Luke 4:16-30), but many of the details reported by Luke are omitted from the first two evangelists. The Evangelist, as Augustine notes, does not present his story here in sequential order. The identity of the stories of Matthew and Mark with Luke (Luke 4:16-30) is denied by some, recognized by others; in the latter case, it is said that the exact chronological sequence is observed only in Luke. It is extremely difficult to figure out in what order the actual events followed. Behind the inflowing speech, Mark tells about the journey to the eastern shore of the lake and the healing of the daughter of Jairus. But Matthew has already told about this in chapters 8 and 9, now he omits the account of these events and continues with Mk. 6:1-6.

Matthew 13:54. And when he came into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did he get such wisdom and strength?

Matthew 13:55. is he not the carpenters' son? Is not His Mother called Mary, and His brothers James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

(Compare Mark 6:3).

For the brothers and sisters of the Savior, see Jn. 2:12; Matt. 12 and parallel places; Matthew 13:55-56 and parallel passages; In. 7sl.; Acts. 1:14, 12:17, 15:13, 21:18; Gal. 1:18-19, 2:9, 12; 1 Cor. 9:5.

James (not Alpheus and not Zebedee) was after the bishop of the Jerusalem church, and after him his third brother Simeon (see Eusebius of Caesarea. "Church History", III, 11). He, according to Egesippus in Eusebius (III, 32), suffered under Trajan and the consul of Attica, ending his life "almost the same death that the Lord suffered" 120 years old. This was in the ninth year of the reign of Trajan, i.e. in 107 A.D. If so, then Simeon was 11 years older than the Savior. The grandchildren of the fourth brother Judas were brought to Domitian and released by him. About the second brother of the Savior, Josiah (so in the Russian translation), nothing is known, except for one name, unless you take into account general information about the brothers of the Savior (see the above quotes about them). The name Josiah itself is spelled differently: Ἰωσήφ, Ἰωάννης, Ἰωσῆ (ς), will give birth. Ἰωσῆτος, as in Mark (Mark 6:3). The most reliable reading in Matthew is Ἰωσήφ, and in Mark it is Ἰωσῆτος (genitive).

Even less is known from the Gospel about the sisters of the Savior. They are mentioned only in Matt. 13:56; Mk. 3:32, 6:3, where they are not called by name.

There is not much difference between the expressions "son of the carpenter" (Matthew) and "carpenter" (Mark), and it can hardly be said that the former is "more respectful." Mark's expression "carpenter" found an echo in later writers; cf. Celsus in Origen: ἦν τέκτων τὴν τέχνην. Origen denies that Jesus Christ is called the "carpenter" (τέκτων) anywhere in the Gospels. Justin (Dialogus cum Tryphone, 88): τὰ τεκτονικὰ ἔργα εἰργάζετο, ἐν ἀνθρώποις ὤν, ἄροτρα καὶ ζυγά (Christ “did the works of the carpenter while being among the people – yarnichma”). "Joseph" is added to the word "carpenter" in some manuscripts. Mark's correct reading seems to be ὁ τἔκτων ὁ υἱὸς τῆς Μαρίας.

Matthew 13:56. and His sisters are not all among us? where did he get all this?

According to Theophylact, the Savior had two sisters, who were called Mary and Salome, according to other sources - Esther and Tamar. The expression πρός ἡμᾶς εἰσίν means: "they live here with us."

Matthew 13:57. And they were offended by Him. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.

(Compare Mark 6:3-4).

This is a proverb, then used by the people and generally true, although not always. John the Baptist, also Isaiah, Elisha, Daniel and others were held in high esteem. But in general in life common occurrence when we "love the stranger, despise the neighbor." Matthew's speech is similar to Mark's, but somewhat abbreviated.

Matthew 13:58. And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

(Compare Mark 6:5).

This shows that few miracles were performed by the Savior in Nazareth. John Chrysostom asks: why did few perform miracles? Lest they say, "Physician, heal thyself" (Luke 4:23); lest they say: He is hostile to us and a stranger, and despises his own; lest they say that if he had performed miracles, then we would have believed in him.

From this point in Matthew the grouping of material becomes closer to Mark.

On that day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.And a multitude of people gathered to Him, so that He got into the boat and sat down; and all the people stood on the shore.And he taught them many parables, saying:

Behold, a sower went out to sow;and while he was sowing, something else fell by the road, and birds came and ate it;some fell on stony places where there was little earth, and soon rose up, because the earth was not deep.When the sun rose, it withered, and, as it had no root, it dried up;some fell into thorns, and thorns grew up and choked him;some fell on good ground and brought forth fruit: one a hundredfold, and another sixty, and another thirty.

Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

And having approached, the disciples said to him, Why do you speak to them in parables?

He said to them in reply: because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them,for whoever has, to him will be given and will be multiplied, but whoever does not have, what he has will be taken away from him;Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, and they do not understand;And the prophecy of Isaiah comes true over them, which says: “Hear with your ears and you will not understand, and you will look with your eyes and you will not see,For the heart of these people is hardened, and they can hardly hear with their ears, and they close their eyes, so that they will not see with their eyes, and they will not hear with their ears, and they will not understand with their hearts, and they will not turn so that I heal them.

Blessed are your eyes that see, and your ears that hear,for I tell you truly that many prophets and righteous people desired to see what you see and did not see, and to hear what you hear and did not hear.

Do you listen meaning parables of the sower:to everyone who hears the word about the Kingdom and does not understand, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart - this is what is meant by what was sown along the way.And that which is sown on rocky places signifies the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;but it has no root in itself and is impermanent: when tribulation or persecution comes for the sake of the word, it is immediately offended.And what is sown among thorns signifies the one who hears the word, but the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.But that which is sown on good ground signifies the one who hears the word and understands, and who is also fruitful, so that one bears fruit a hundredfold, another sixty, and another thirty.

He offered them another parable, saying: The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sows good seed in his field;while the people were asleep, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and left;when the grass sprang up and the fruit appeared, then the tares also appeared.And when the servants of the householder came, they said to him: “Sir! Have you not sown good seed in your field? where are the tares on it?”He said to them, "The enemy man has done this." And the servants said to him: “Do you want us to go and choose them?”But he said: “No, so that when you pick up the tares, you do not uproot the wheat along with them,let both grow together until the harvest; and at harvest time I will say to the reapers, Gather first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.”

He offered them another parable, saying: The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field,which, although smaller than all seeds, yet when it has grown, is larger than all herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and take refuge in its branches.

He told them another parable: The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman takes and puts into three measures of meal until it is all leavened.

All this Jesus spoke to the people in parables, and without a parable he did not speak to them,May it be fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet, who says: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what is hidden from the foundation of the world.”

Then Jesus dismissed the people and went into the house. And coming to Him, His disciples said: Explain to us the parable of the tares in the field.

He said to them in reply: the one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man;the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the evil one;the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.Therefore, as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so it will be at the end of this age:The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who do iniquity,and cast them into the fiery furnace; there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth;then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear!

Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which, having found, a man hid, and out of joy over it, he goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls,who, finding one pearl of great value, went and sold everything he had and bought it.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea and capturing every kind of fish,which, when it was full, they dragged it ashore, and sat down, and gathered the good things into vessels, and threw the bad things out.So it will be at the end of the age: angels will come out and separate the wicked from the midst of the righteous,and cast them into the fiery furnace: there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

And Jesus asked them: did you understand all this?

They say to Him: Yes, Lord!

He said to them: therefore, every scribe who has been instructed in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a master who brings out of his treasury the new and the old.

And when Jesus finished these parables, he went from there.And when he came into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did he get such wisdom and strength?Is he not the carpenters' son? Is not His Mother called Mary, and His brothers James and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?And are not His sisters all among us? where did he get all this?And they were offended by Him.

Jesus said to them: There is no prophet without honor, except in his own country and in his own house.And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

The Parable of the Sower and the Seeds.

Matthew 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.

Mt.13:2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so that He got into the boat and sat down, and all the people stood on the shore.

Matthew 13:3 And he began to teach them many parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.

Mt.13:4 And when He sowed, alone seeds fell by the road, and the birds came and ate them.

Mt.13:5 Others fell on rocky places where there was little earth, and immediately rose up, because there was little earth.

Matthew 13:6 But when the sun rose, they withered, and because they had no root, they dried up.

Matthew 13:7 Others fell into the thorn bush, and the thorn bush grew and choked them.

Matthew 13:8 Others fell on good ground and brought forth fruit: one in one hundred multiple, other - in sixty, third - in thirty.

Matthew 13:9 “He who has ears will hear!”

On the reason for teaching the people in parables.

Matthew 13:10 And the disciples came up and asked Him: “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

Matthew 13:11 Answering them, He said: “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but it has not been given to them.

Matthew 13:12 For whoever has, to him it will be given and it will be multiplied; and whoever does not have, what he has will be taken away.

Mt.13:13 I speak to them in parables because they look and do not see, they listen and do not hear and do not understand.

Mt.13:14 And the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled on them, who says: “You will hear with your ears, and you will not understand, and you will look with your eyes, and you will not see. »

Mt.13:15 For the heart of this people is hardened: and it is hard for them to hear with their ears, and they close their eyes, so as not to see with their eyes, and not to hear with their ears, and not to understand with their hearts, and not to turn so that I heal them.

Matthew 13:16 Blessed are your eyes that they see, and your ears that they hear.

Matthew 13:17 For I tell you the truth! Many prophets and righteous have desired to see then what you see but not see and hear then that you hear but have not heard.

Explanation of the parable of the sower.

Matthew 13:18 So listen to the parable of the sower.

Matthew 13:19 To everyone who hears the word of the Kingdom and does not understand, an evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. it what sown along the road.

Matthew 13:20 That which is sown on rocky places is that who hears the word and immediately accepts it with joy,

Matthew 13:21 but it has no root, it is not permanent, and when oppression or persecution comes for the Word, he immediately tempted.

Matthew 13:22 What is sown in thorns is that who hears the word, but the cares of the age and the seduction of riches choke the word, and it becomes infertile.

Matthew 13:23 But what is sown on good ground is that who listens to the word and understands his and bears fruit, and brings forth one in one hundred once, another - in sixty-third - in thirty.

Parable about wheat and weeds.

Matthew 13:24 He offered them another parable, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

Mt.13:25 And when the people fell asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and left.

Matthew 13:26 When the grass sprouted and the fruit appeared, then the weeds appeared.

Matthew 13:27 The servants of the owner of the house came up and said to him: “Sir, have you not sown good seed in your field? Where are the weeds from?

Mt.13:28 He answered them: "The enemy - the man did it." Then the slaves say to him: “If you wish, we will go and shall we collect them?"

Matthew 13:29 He answered: “No! Lest you pick up the weeds and uproot and wheat.

Matthew 13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest. And at harvest time I will say to the reapers: Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to burn them, a bring the wheat into my storehouse."

The Parable of the Mustard Seed.

Mt.13:31 He offered another parable He them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

Matthew 13:32 It is smaller than all seeds, but when it grows, happens more garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and live in its branches.”

Parable about leaven.

Matthew 13:33 He told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman put into three measures of flour until everything is leavened.”

Mt.13:34 All this Jesus spoke to the people in parables, and without parables he did not say anything to them,

Matthew 13:35 to fulfill what was said through the prophet, who says: "I will open my mouth in parables, I will speak things hidden from the foundation of the world."

On the explanation of the parable of the wheat and the weeds.

Matthew 13:36 Then, having dismissed the people, He came into the house. And coming up to Him, His disciples said: "Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field."

Matthew 13:37 He answered them, “The one who sows good seed is the Son of Man;

Matthew 13:38 the field is the world; the good seed are the sons of the kingdom, but the weeds are the sons of the evil one;

Matthew 13:39 the enemy who sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.

Matthew 13:40 Thus, as the weeds are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age:

Matthew 13:41 The Son of Man will send His angels, and they will gather from His Kingdom all stumbling blocks and those who do iniquity

Matthew 13:42 and they will throw them into the fiery furnace - there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Matthew 13:43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears will hear!”

About the Kingdom of Heaven in the parables of the Lord.

Matthew 13:44 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man, when he found it, hid it. And for joy he goes and sells everything he has, and buys that field.

Mt.13:45 The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man - a merchant who is looking for good pearls.

Mt.13:46 Finding one pearl of great price, he went and sold everything he had and bought it.

Matthew 13:47 Still the kingdom of heaven is like a net thrown into the sea and gathered from every kind.

Matthew 13:48 When it was full, they pulled it out her on the shore, and sitting down, they took away the good into vessels, and threw the bad out.

Matthew 13:49 So it will be at the end of the age: angels will come out and separate the wicked from among the righteous,

Matthew 13:50 and throw them into the fiery furnace - there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!

Matthew 13:51 Do you understand all this?” They answer him: "Yes!"

Matthew 13:52 Then He said to them: “Because of this, every scribe who has been taught the Kingdom of Heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasury both new and old.”

Matthew 13:53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he left the place.

About the unbelief of the inhabitants of Nazareth.

Matthew 13:54 And he came into his own country and taught them in their synagogue so that they marveled and said: “Where did he get such wisdom and strength?

Matthew 13:55 Is this Human not the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and are not His brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?

Matthew 13:56 And are not all His sisters among us? Where did he get all this from?

Matthew 13:57 And they disbelieved in Him. Jesus said to them: “A prophet is not neglected, except in his own country and in his own house.”

Matthew 13:58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

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I. THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER (13:1-23)

Matt. 13:1-9(Mark 4:1-9; Luke 8:4-8). In continuing his ministry to the people, Jesus resorted to what he had not resorted to before. For the first time in the Gospel of Matthew we read that He spoke in parables. In Greek, "parable" corresponds to two words that can be translated as "to walk side by side." Like an example, a parable makes it possible to compare a known truth with an unknown one, that is, it puts them "side by side".

In the first of the seven parables spoken by Jesus and recorded in this chapter, He speaks of a sower who went out to sow in his field. At the same time, the emphasis is on the result of sowing by the Savior, for the seeds thrown by the sower fell on four types of soil: along the road (3:4), on stony places (verse 5), among thorns (verse 7) and on good ground (verse 8). ). That is why he got four different results.

Matt. 13:10-17(Mark 4:10-12; Luke 8:9-10). The disciples immediately noticed the change in Jesus' method, and so they asked Him, Why do you speak to them in parables? The Lord gave several reasons for this. First, He spoke in parables in order to continue to reveal the truth to His disciples - those who have already been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. In the New Testament, "mystery" refers to truths that were not revealed in Old Testament, but now, i.e., in the time of the New Testament, they are revealed to the elect.

This begs the question, why does Matthew so often use the term "Kingdom of Heaven" while Mark, Luke, and John only speak of the "Kingdom of God" and never of the "Kingdom of Heaven"? Some theologians explain this by the fact that when they said "heaven", the Jews meant God, but they avoided pronouncing the word "God" (out of a sense of reverence for the Creator). (We recall that Matthew was guided in his Scripture by the Jews.) And yet, at least occasionally, Matthew also has the "Kingdom of God" (12:28; 19:24; 21:31,43), and the word "God" he uses about 50 times.

One way or another, the use of these various "terms" is apparently not accidental with him, for when he writes about the "Kingdom of God", he has in mind only the saved; the concept of the "Kingdom of Heaven" is used by him when, along with the saved, people who call themselves Christians are also meant, but in reality they are not. This is evident from the parable of the wheat and the tares (interpretation on 13:24-30,36-43), from the parable of the mustard seed (interpretation of verses 31-35), and from the parable of the net (interpretation of verses 47-52).

It is noteworthy that Jesus did not say anything about the "mysteries" of the Kingdom of Heaven until the people as a whole had made a decision regarding Him. This decision was preordained by the leaders of the people when they attributed His divine power to Satan (9:34; 12:22-37). After that, Jesus began to reveal some additional things not revealed in the Old Testament regarding His reign on earth. Many Old Testament prophets predicted that the Messiah would deliver the people of Israel and establish His Kingdom.

And so Jesus came to offer it to the Jews (4:17). But they rejected the Messiah in the person of Jesus (12:24). What, in the light of this rejection, was now to happen to the Kingdom of God? From the "mysteries of the Kingdom" revealed by Christ, it followed that between the rejection of the Tsar and the subsequent acceptance of Him by Israel, an indefinitely long time, a whole Age, would pass.

The second reason Jesus began to speak in parables was His desire to hide the meaning of what He revealed from unbelievers. The "secrets" of the Kingdom of God were designed for His disciples, and not for the scribes and Pharisees who rejected Him (11b: ... but it was not given to them). In essence, even what they knew before was "taken away" from them (verse 12), while the knowledge of the disciples was "multiplyed" (verse 12). That is, the teaching of Jesus in parables, as it were, contained an element of punishment. Jesus spoke to a large gathering of people, but what the disciples did not fully understand, he could explain to them in private.

Editor's note: There is also such an understanding of the words of Christ recorded by Matthew in verse 13. The lofty but "abstract" truths that the Kingdom of Heaven conceals in itself were not available to people in their mass. But embodied in images familiar to them, they nevertheless became "closer" to them: their eyes opened, their ears opened, and their minds "became interested"; thus arose an impulse to comprehend further truths, which in the parables were presented in symbols and images. In essence, for those who "seeing do not see, and hearing do not hear," it is generally useless to speak. But Jesus also spoke to them in parables. At the same time, he could mean the following: if they do not want to understand, then they will not understand in any form, but with the slightest desire to understand - a parable with its familiar images, perhaps they will understand it sooner, and if they want to understand deeper, maybe they will learn discern the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven under the cover of the parable.

Thirdly, when the Lord spoke in parables, Isaiah's prophecy came true over the people (Isaiah 6:9-10). This Old Testament prophet, upon entering his ministry, God said that people would not understand his words. The same thing happened with Jesus. He preached the word of God, and many listened to Him, but did not understand (Matt. 13:13-15).

Unlike "many", the disciples were blessed, because their eyes were given the privilege of seeing (understanding), and their ears were given the privilege of hearing those truths (verse 16), which the Old Testament prophets and righteous people would have been happy to know (verse 17; compare 1- Pet. 1:10-12).

The disciples of Jesus heard the same thing as the leaders of the people, and the people themselves, confused by them, but their attitude to what they heard was different: the first answered it with faith, the second rejected what they heard. But God did not want to give additional light to those who turned away from the light.

Matt. 13:18-23(Mark 4:13-20; Luke 8:11-15). In explaining the parable of the sower, Jesus compared the four results of sowing with the four reactions to the Kingdom preaching. The news about him was the word preached by John the Baptist, Jesus, and later the apostles.

So, to a person who listens to a sermon, but does not understand it, the evil one comes (Matt. 13:38-39; 1 John 5:19) and steals the word sown in him. It means sown along the way. The following two results correspond to one sown on stony soil and having no root, and also one sown in thorns (a symbol of the worries of this age and the seduction of wealth): "thorns" drown out the word. In both cases, we are talking about people who at first listen with interest to the sermon, but in whom it does not find a deep response.

What was sown in a "rocky place" corresponds to a person who listens to the word of God and accepts it with joy, but then is offended (Mat. 13:57; 15:12), i.e., falls away if sorrow and persecution come upon him for the word. And only what is sown on good land brings a bountiful harvest - a hundred times ... sixty times or thirty times. In other words, what is sown in the believer's heart brings forth spiritual fruit many times over. The one who believes the words of Christ (hearing ... and understanding) is fruitful. He is "fruitful" in the sense that he will more and more "absorb" God's truth into himself and understand it more and more.

Differences are thus not due to the "seed" but to the "condition of the soil" on which the seed has fallen. Ever since the Good News of the Kingdom has been preached, this message has not changed. However, the people who listen to it are different. The Lord did not mean, of course, that only 25% of those who listen to the word of God will receive it by faith. He wanted to say that the majority of those listening to the word will not find the proper response.

The parable of the sower explains in this way also why the scribes and Pharisees rejected the message with which Jesus came. The "soil" of their heart was not "prepared" to receive it. This was the "secret" about the Kingdom revealed by Christ in the first sermon: most people will reject the Good News they heard. This truth was not revealed in the Old Testament.

2. THE PARABLE OF THE WHEAT AND THE TARES (13:24-30; 36-43)

Matt. 13:24-30. In the second parable, Christ again resorts to the image of the sower, but gives the parable a different twist. After the owner of the field had sown wheat, his enemy came in the night and sowed tares on the same land. As a result, both the wheat and the tares had to be allowed to grow together until the harvest, because by pulling out the tares earlier, it was possible to accidentally pull out the wheat along with them (verses 28-29). At harvest time, the tares will be gathered first and thrown into the fire. And then the wheat will be gathered into the barn.

Matt. 13:31-35. These verses are dealt with later, after verse 43.

Matt. 13:36-43. When Christ, having sent the people away, entered the house, and His disciples were with Him, they asked to explain to them the parable of the wheat and the tares. And this is what the Lord said to them, who sowed the good seed. This moment is fundamentally important for understanding all the parables, as it testifies that they "cover" the period of time beginning with the coming of the Lord to earth and the preaching of the Good News. Further: the field is the world in which the Good News is preached. The good seed are the sons of the Kingdom.

In other words, the good seed in this parable corresponds to the seed sown in the "good ground" of the first parable, the one that brings forth a bountiful harvest. The weeds are the sons of the evil one (compare verse 19), who were "sown" among the wheat by the enemy of human souls, i.e. the devil. Nothing was said about the Kingdom of Heaven from this side in the Old Testament; there it appears only as the Kingdom of righteousness, in which evil is defeated.

Finally, Jesus reveals that the harvest is the end of the age and the reapers are the angels (verse 49). This revelation indicates the end of the period of time presented in the parables. The “end of the age” is the end of our Age, which will be replaced by the Messianic Kingdom of Christ. Thus, the parables retold by Matthew in chapter 13 cover the period of time from the first coming of Christ to earth until His return to it in order to judge the world.

At the second coming of Christ, the angels will gather all the wicked and cast them into the fiery furnace (compare verses 40-42 with verses 49-50; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Rev. 19:15). There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Matthew repeatedly speaks precisely in such words about the reaction of the wicked to the punishment that befell them (Matt. 8:12; 13:42,50; 22:13; 24:51; 25:30). In Luke they occur only once (Luke 13:28).

Each time these words mean "judgment" over sinners before the establishment of the Millennium Kingdom. "Weeping" speaks of soul-rending sadness, that is, of the emotional state of those who will go to hell, and "gnashing of teeth" speaks of the physical torment they experience. In contrast, the righteous are said to shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father (Matt. 13:43; compare Dan. 12:3).

In the indicated period of time, between the rejection of Jesus and His return in the future, the Kingdom will remain without a King, but will "continue" in the form that is revealed here, suggesting the "coexistence" of "good seeds" and "tares." This period or "Age" is more than the "Age of the Church", although it includes it. After all, the beginning of the Church was laid on the day of Pentecost, and her "age" will end with her rapture - at least seven years before the end of the indicated period of time (interpretation on the book of Revelation). This entire period is associated with the "mystery" revealed by Christ in parables.

Its meaning is that the confession of faith during this period will be accompanied by its distortion and rejection, and one cannot be separated from the other until the day of judgment. The "period of mystery" will not be the period of the victory of the Gospel on a global scale, as post-millennialists hoped for (interpretation of the book of Revelation), and Christ will not come to earth until it ends. It is only the time between His two comings, after which He will return to establish on earth the Kingdom promised by God to David.

3. PARABLE OF THE MUSTARD SEED (13:31-32) (MARK 4:30-32; LUKE 13:18-19)

Matt. 13:31-32. In the next parable, Christ compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a mustard seed. Of the known seeds, it is one of the smallest. And for this reason, it even became a proverb: "Small as a mustard seed" (compare with the words of Christ in 17:20 - "if you have faith the size of a mustard seed ...").

Despite such a small seed, black mustard (not only cultivated, but also wild) reaches 4-5 (!) meters in height in one season, and heavenly birds nest in its branches.

Jesus did not give a direct interpretation of this parable. However, the meaning of it, perhaps, is that the Christian movement, starting small, quickly grows. By "birds", perhaps, unbelievers are understood, striving for one reason or another or for one purpose or another to "nest" in Christianity. This is the opinion of some interpreters. Others, however, believe that the birds do not symbolize evil here, but rather the prosperity and abundance (spiritual) that are inherent in Christianity.

4. THE PARABLE OF THE LEVEL (13:33-35) (MARK 4:33-34; LUKE 13:20)

Matt. 13:33-35. In this fourth parable, Christ compared the kingdom of heaven to leaven in a large number of flour - until everything is sour.

Many theologians believe that leaven represents evil, the presence of which is inevitable in the period of time between the two comings of Christ. In the Bible, leaven often symbolizes evil (for example, Exodus 12:15; Lev. 2:11; 6:17; 10:12; Matt. 16:6,11-12; Mark 8:15; Luke 12: 1; 1 Corinthians 5:7-8; Galatians 5:8-9). However, if here too she was a symbol of him, would not the idea of ​​evil be overemphasized in parables? After all, it has already been eloquently spoken about in the second parable ("tares"). On this basis, many theologians believe that in this case Jesus meant active action leaven.

Its property is such that the fermentation process caused by it cannot be stopped. Thus, Jesus could mean that the number of those seeking to enter His Kingdom will constantly grow, and no one and nothing will stop this process. It is precisely this, and not another interpretation, that more, apparently, turns out to be in the general "stream" of parables. (On the one hand, most people reject the Good News, but on the other hand, there are more and more Christians in the world, and life itself convinces us that one does not contradict the other. Ed.).

Matthew's addition (13:34-35) corresponds to what the Savior Himself said earlier (verses 11-12). He spoke in parables in fulfillment of the Scriptures (Ps. 77:2) and at the same time revealed to his disciples truths not previously revealed.

Matt. 13:36-43. Comment on these verses in the section entitled "The Parable of the Wheat and the Tares" (13:24-30,36-43).

5. PARABLE OF THE HIDDEN TREASURE (13:44)

Matt. 13:44. In the fifth parable, Jesus compared the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field. The person who learned about this treasure bought a field to take possession of the treasure. Since Jesus did not explain this parable either, several interpretations are offered for it. Based on the general meaning of chapter 13, we can assume that this parable is about Israel, God's "hidden treasure" (Ex. 19:5; Ps. 134:4). One of the reasons why Christ came to earth was to redeem Israel, and therefore one can think that it is He who sold all that he had (i.e., refused the glory of heaven; John 17:5 ; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Phil. 2:5-8) to acquire this treasure.

6. PARABLE OF THE PEARL (13:45-46)

Matt. 13:45-46. This parable was not explained by the Lord; it seems to be related in meaning to the previous one. The precious pearl, perhaps, personifies the Church - the bride of Christ. It is known how unusual pearls are formed. “The reason for their formation is the painful irritation of the delicate tissue of the mollusk,” writes J. F. Walvoord. “In a certain sense, the formation of the Church “from the wounds of Christ” can be compared with this, which would not have arisen if not for His death on the cross.

In this comparison, the merchant who went and sold everything he had in order to buy a precious pearl is Jesus Christ, who by His death redeemed those who would believe in Him. And here is the close semantic connection of this and the previous parable: "treasure in the field" and "precious pearl" indicate that in the period between the first and second comings of the King, Israel will exist, the Church will grow.

7. THE PARABLE OF THE NET (13:47-52)

Matt. 13:47-50. In the seventh parable spoken by Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven is compared to a net thrown into the sea, into which many fish were caught. The fishermen, having stretched out the net to the shore, collected the good in vessels, and threw the bad out. This Jesus directly likens to what will happen at the end of the age, when the angels ... will separate the wicked from the righteous (verse 48; compare verses 37-43). This will happen when Christ returns to earth to establish His Kingdom (25:30).

Matt. 13:51-52. Jesus asked the disciples if they understood everything He said. Their answer "yes" may seem strange - after all, they hardly fully understood the meaning of these parables. This is evidenced by their subsequent questions and actions. Nevertheless, Jesus, as if summing up the parables, speaks of Himself as a scribe who knows the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, and as a master of the house, bringing both new and old out of his storerooms. (The word "everyone" before "scribe" apparently means that Jesus also likened the disciples - potentially for the future - to a "master", who, if necessary, will be able to use both the "new" and "old" from his "treasury ". From ed.) The fact is that in these seven parables the Lord set forth, along with the truths well known to the disciples, and those that were completely new to them.

Thus, they knew about the kingdom that the Messiah would rule, but they did not know that this kingdom, being offered to Israel, would be rejected by them. Or they knew that righteousness would be inherent in the kingdom of the Messiah, but that evil too, they did not know. Jesus pointed out (and this was new to His listeners) that in the period between His rejection and the second coming, there would be both righteous and wicked people among His "disciples". The beginning of the process as a whole will be subtle, but, gaining momentum, it will lead to the emergence of a great "kingdom" of the followers of Christ.

Once started, this process cannot be stopped by anything (the parable of the leaven), and "within" it, God will preserve His people Israel and at the same time form His Church. This "intermediate" period will end with God's judgment, at which God will separate the wicked from the righteous and lead the latter into the earthly Kingdom of Christ. The parables of Christ thus contain the answer to the question: What will happen to His Kingdom? Here it is: the Kingdom of God will be established on earth at the second coming of Christ, and until that time, evil and good will coexist on it.

E. Challenge to the King - as seen from various events (13:53 - 16:12)

1. THE REJECT OF THE KING IN THE CITY OF NAZARETH (13:53-58) (MARK 6:1-6)

Matt. 13:53-58. Having finished His instructions with parables, Jesus returned to Nazareth, the city where He spent His childhood and youth (Luke 1:26-27; Matt. 2:23; 21:11; John 1:45), and there began to teach the people about the synagogue them. During His previous visit, the inhabitants of Nazareth rejected His teaching, and they wanted to throw Him off the cliff (Luke 4:16-29). This time the people were impressed by the wisdom and power of Jesus, and yet again they rejected Him, whom they knew as Carpenter's…son (Matt. 13:55). Discussing Him among themselves, they mentioned Him...

Mother ... Mary and His mother brothers, children of Mary and Joseph (two of them - Simon and Judas - should not be confused with the apostles, who bore the same names). So, the inhabitants of Nazareth not only refused to believe in Jesus Christ, but also interfered in every possible way with His ministry in this city. The complexity of their problem was that they saw in Jesus only that young man who grew up before their eyes.

And the idea that such an "ordinary" person is the promised Messiah did not fit into their minds. These feelings of theirs were conveyed by the evangelist in words and were tempted about Him. Jesus was not surprised by this, but only said to His fellow citizens the words that have become a well-known saying: There is no prophet without honor, except in his own country.

And he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.