[← Parable of the Tares]

The Prophetic Parables of Matthew Chapter 13

By Arthur W. Pink^[1]

Copyright: Public Domain

This is part of a commentary written by A.W. Pink on the prophetic parables contained in chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel.

The Mustard-Seed (Matthew 13:31-32)

“Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard-seed, which a man took, and sowed in His field: Which, indeed, is the least of all seeds; but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof” (Mat 13:31-32).

It should be evident to all, that our understanding of this parable hinges upon a correct interpretation of its three central figures: the mustard-seed, the great tree which sprang from it, and the “birds of the air” which came and lodged in its branches. What does each represent?

Now there are few passages of Scripture which have suffered more at the hands of commentators than the third and fourth parables of Matthew 13. They have been turned completely upside down; that is to say, they have been made to mean the very opposite of what the Lord Jesus taught. The main cause of this erroneous interpretation may be traced back to a wrong understanding of the expression “kingdom of heaven.” Those who have failed in their definition of this term are, necessarily, all at sea, when they come to the details of these parables.

The popular and current explanation of these parables is that they were meant to announce the glorious success of the Gospel. Thus, that of the mustard-seed is regarded as portraying the rapid extension of Christianity and the expansion of the Church of Christ. Beginning insignificantly and obscurely, its proportions have increased immensely, until ultimately it shall cover the earth. Let us first show how untenable and impossible this interpretation is:

First, it must be steadily borne in mind that these seven parables form part of one connected and complete discourse whose teaching must necessarily be consistent and harmonious throughout. Therefore, it is obvious that this third one cannot conflict with the teaching of the first two. In the first parable, instead of drawing a picture of a field in which the good Seed took root and flourished in every part of it, our Lord pointed out that most of its soil was unfavorable, and that only a fractional proportion bore an increase. Moreover, instead of promising that the good-ground section of the field would yield greater and greater returns, He announced that there would be a decreasing harvest—”some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.’’ In the second parable, our Lord revealed the field as over-sown with “tares,” and declared that these should continue until the harvest-time, which He defined as “the end of the age.” This fixes beyond all doubt the evil consequences of the Enemy’s work, and positively forbids the expectation of a world won to Christ during this present dispensation, Christ plainly warned us that the evil effects of the Devil’s labors at the beginning of the age would never be repaired. The crop as a whole is spoiled! Thus this third parable cannot teach that the failure of things in the hands of men will be removed and reversed.

Second, the figure here selected by Christ should at once expose the fallacy of the popular interpretation. Surely our Lord would never have taken a mustard-seed. which afterwards became a “tree,” ever rooting itself deeper and deeper in the earth, to portray that people whose calling, hope, citizenship, and destiny is heavenly. Again and again He affirmed that His people were “not of the world.” Again, a great tree with its towering branches speaks of prominence and loftiness, but lowliness and suffering, not prominence and exaltation, are the present portion of the New Testament saints. The more any church of Christ climbs the ladder of worldly fame the more it sinks spiritually. That which is represented by this “tree” is not a people who are “strangers and pilgrims” down here, but a system whose roots lie deeply in the earth and which aims at greatness and expansion in the world.

Third, that which Christ here describes is a monstrosity. We are aware that this is denied by some, but our Lord’s own words are final. He tells us that when this mustard-seed is grown it is the “greatest among herbs, and becomes a tree” (v. 32). “Herbs” are an entirely different specie from trees. That which distinguished them is that their stems never develop woody tissue, but live only long enough for the development of flowers and seeds. But this “herb” became a “tree;” that is to say, it developed into something entirely foreign to its very nature and constitution. How strange that sober men should have deemed this unnatural growth, this abnormal production, a fitting symbol of the saints of God in their corporate form!

Some tell us that the soil of Palestine is a most congenial one for the growth of mustard, and that it is quite common for it to develop into goodly-sized shrubs. But cannot the very ones who advance this as an objection to the pre-millennial interpretation of this parable see that it forms an argument against what they contend for? Clearly the “field,” all through Matthew 13, is the world. Is, then, “the world” a favorable place for the growth of that kingdom which Christ solemnly and expressly said was “not of this world” (John 18:36)? Is this world, where the flesh and the Devil unite in opposing all that concerns Christ and His interests, a congenial soil for Christianity? Either the world must cease to be what it is—”the enemy of God”—or the Seed must change its character, before the one will be favorable to the other. And this is just what our parable does teach: the “herb” becomes a “tree.”

Fourth, the “birds” lodging in the branches of this tree makes altogether against the current interpretation. If Scripture be compared with Scripture it will be found that these “birds” symbolize Satan and his agents. Let not the reader be turned aside by the fact that the “dove,” and in some passages the “eagle,” represents that which is good. That which we must now attempt to define is the actual word “birds,” or better, “fowls “as the Greek word is rendered in verse 4. In Gen 15:11 we are told that the “fowls came down upon the carcasses” (the bodies of the sacrifices) and that “Abram drove them away.” Here, beyond doubt, they prefigure the efforts of Satan to render null and void the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus; but this, the Father (foreshadowed in Abraham) has prevented.

Again, in Deuteronomy 28, where we have the curses which were to come upon Israel for their disobedience, we are told, “And thy carcass shall be meat unto all fowls of the air” (v. 26). The last time the term occurs in Scripture is in Rev 18:2, where we are told that fallen Babylon becomes the “habitation of demons, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.”

But we do not have to go outside of Matthew 13 itself to discover what Christ referred to under the figure of these “birds.” The Greek word in verse 32 is precisely the same as that which is rendered “fowls” in verse 4, which are explained in verse 19 as “the wicked.” How, then, can this great “tree” represent the true Church of Christ, while its branches afford shelter for the Devil and his emissaries?

Coming now to the positive side, if we let Scripture interpret Scripture, the great “tree” is easily identified. in Dan 4:10-12 we read, “I saw, and behold a tree was in the midst of the earth, and the height thereof was great. The tree grew, and was strong, and the height thereof reached unto heaven, and the sight thereof to the ends of all the earth: The leaves thereof were fair, and the fruit thereof much, and in it was meat for all: the beasts of the field had shadow under it, and the fowls of the heavens dwelt in the boughs thereof, and all flesh was fed of it.” Who cannot fail to see that we have in this vision of Nebuchadnezzar the key to our parable? In Dan 4:20-22 we have the inspired interpretation of the vision: “The tree that thou sawest, which grew, and was strong . . . it is thou, O king, that art grown and become strong, for thy greatness is grown, and reaches unto heaven, and thy dominion to the ends of the earth.” Thus, the “tree” was a figure of a mighty earthly kingdom or empire.

Again, in Ezekiel 31 we have the same figure used: “Behold the Assyrian was a cedar in Lebanon with fair branches, and with a shadowing shroud, and of an high stature; and his top was among the thick boughs. The waters made him great, the deep set him up on high with her rivers running round about his plants, and sent out her little rivers unto all the trees of the field. Therefore, his height was exalted above all the trees of the field, and his boughs were multiplied, and his branches became long because of the multitude of waters, when he shot forth. All the fowls of heaven made their nests in his boughs, and under his branches did all the beasts of the field bring forth their young, and under his shadow dwelt all great nations” (Ezek 31:3-6). Thus a “tree,” whose wide-spreading branches afforded lodgment for birds, was a familiar Old Testament figure for a mighty kingdom which gave shelter to the nations. So it is in our parable. The “tree” symbolizes earthly greatness, worldly prominence, giving shelter to the nations.

The history of Christendom clearly confirms this. At the beginning, those who bore the name of Christ were but a despised handful. Judged by worldly standards, Christianity was unimportant and unworthy of serious consideration. Speaking generally, its adherents were not men of renown, culture, or worldly influence. There were few among the Lord’s “little flock” of outstanding genius or social prominence; for the most part, they were unlettered, obscure, and poor. For, “God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, has God chosen, and things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are; that no flesh should glory in His presence” (1Cor 1:27-29).

Nevertheless, though at first the cause of Christ on earth was so un-influential and insignificant, it was an object of intense hatred to Satan. Against Christianity he vented the full force of his fiendish malignity. Every weapon in his arsenal was employed in the effort to exterminate it. He stirred up men in authority and moved emperors to issue cruel edicts. Property was confiscated, Christians captured, imprisoned, fined, tortured, slain. Mercilessly and ceaselessly did the Devil seek to blot out the name of Christ from the earth. But the more it was persecuted, the more Christianity flourished. As one of the early “fathers” put it, “The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church.”

Finding that force was of no avail, the Enemy changed his tactics. Failing to intimidate as the roaring lion, he now sought to insinuate as the subtle serpent. Ceasing to attack from without, he now worked from within. In the first parable the assault was from without—the fowls of the air catching away the Seed. In the second parable his activities were from within—he sowed his tares among the wheat. In the third parable we are shown the effects of this. Satan now moved worldly men to seek membership in the churches of God. These soon caused the Truth to be watered down, discipline to be relaxed, that which repelled the world to be kept in the background, and what would appeal to the carnal mind to be made prominent. Instead of affections being set upon things above, they were fixed on things below. Soon Christianity ceased to be hated by the unregenerate: the gulf between the world and the “Church” was bridged.

Persecution ceased, and the professed cause of the despised and rejected Savior became popular. The distinctive truths of Christianity were abandoned, the Gospel was adulterated, the pilgrim character of professing saints ceased. More and more the wise and great of this world were attracted. By the fourth century the heads of the Roman Empire, instead of hating Christianity, perceived that it was a power for moral good in the governing of men, and so espoused it. In the days of Constantine the so-called Church and the State united, and became a vast political-religious system. Mind you, the courts of Caesar had not changed their character, nor become like the little “upper room” in Jerusalem, where the lowly church of Christ, small as a grain of mustard, first assembled. It was professing Christianity which had changed. The lowly upper room had long been forsaken, and the honors of kings’ courts coveted. And God granted their fleshly desire—just as long before He had given Saul to apostate Israel when they forsook the path of separation and wished to be like the surrounding nations.

Under these changed circumstances professing Christianity soon became great in the earth. Caves and caverns as places of worship gave place to costly church-houses and ornate cathedrals. The ritual was celebrated with a corresponding pomp. Its gorgeous vestments, its imposing ceremonies, its pompous priesthood, all lured the unregenerate; and multitudes applied for baptism. More and more the leaders sought after temporal power, and more and more were their longings gratified. In consequence, worldly-minded men were the ones who sought after and secured the highest offices. Hence we find the “birds,” the agents of Satan, lodging in the branches of the “tree;” they secured the positions of power and directed the activities of Christendom.

Thus we may discern in the first three parables of Matthew 13 a striking and sad forecast of the development of evil. In the first, the Devil caught away part of the good Seed. In the second, he is seen engaged in the work of imitation. Here, in the third, we are shown a corrupted Christianity affording him shelter.

N.B. Several thoughts and expressions in this chapter have been borrowed from one by the late F.W. Grant.

[Parable of the Leaven →]

[1] AW Pink was a Dispensationalist when he wrote this volume early in his life. It should be noted that Pink later rejected dispensational pre-millennialism. His work “The Application of Scriptures” is an example of this change. The reader needs to be careful to note the specific date that Pink wrote a specific work in order to evaluate it accordingly.

[← Parable of the Sower]

The Prophetic Parables of Matthew Chapter 13

By Arthur W. Pink^[1]

Copyright: Public Domain

This is part of a commentary written by A.W. Pink on the prophetic parables contained in chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel.

The Tares (Matthew 13:24-30)

This parable forms the second of the series, and its substance corresponds with the meaning of this numeral. One is the number of unity, for it stands alone, excluding all difference. But with two there is a difference, another. This other may be either for good or evil. In its evil sense two stands for difference, contrast, and so, enmity. Two is the first number which may be divided, and hence it stands for division, conflict. If we refer back to the opening chapter of Scripture we find that it was on the second day’s work that God “divided the light from the darkness, and the waters under the firmament from the waters above it.” The second in any number of things generally has evil and enmity stamped upon it. Take the second statement in the Bible: the first one is “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” but the second statement tells us “and the earth became without form and void.” Thus it is with the seven parables of Matthew 13: the first one describes the work of Christ; the second the work of Satan!

The Parable of the Tares supplies an explanation of Christendom as it has existed all through these nineteen centuries, and as it is today; a mixed state of affairs; the true and the false side by side; Rome and her daughters masquerading under the guise of Christianity. The “field” represents the religious world, in which the wheat and the tares “grow together’’. This mixed state of affairs has resulted from the work of the enemy at the beginning of this dispensation, the effects of which are with us till this day.

This parable, like the former, also supplies a most conclusive refutation of the un-scriptural dreams of post-millenniarians. They believe that, through the preaching of the Gospel (under the blessing of God), the cause of Christ will extend, until the whole earth is filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. But Christ here explicitly declared that the wheat and the tares should “grow together until the harvest,” which He defined as “the end of the age.” He gave no hint that the “tares” would gradually die out, or that they would decrease in numbers; but announced that, at the end, they would be found in such quantity as to need binding “in bundles.”

The connection between this parable and the former one is most marked. The Sower of the good seed is the same, “the Son of Man;” the “field” is the same, “the world” (v. 38), i.e. the religious world. But there is one thing said about the “seed” here which is very striking. In verse 19 it is called “the word of the kingdom,” while in verse 38 we read “the good seed are the children of the kingdom.” Like produces like: the word of the kingdom produces sons of the kingdom: the fruit is according to the Seed!

The prominent thing in this second parable of the series is the Enemy and his work. Let us consider:

1. The Time when he worked.

This was “while men slept” (v. 25); that is, at nighttime. In other words, it was under cover of the darkness that the Devil sowed his tares! This is characteristic of Satan, for he hates the light: secrecy, stealth, dishonesty, are his favorite tactics. But mark you, the Sower Himself did not sleep: He slumbers not, neither is weary. Nor does Satan. He is ever on the alert, going about, “seeking whom he may devour.” He is the personification of perpetual motion.

“While men slept.” The reference is to the unwatchful condition which soon developed among the Lord’s people. The presence of the “tares” among the wheat was evidenced at a very early date. To the Thessalonians the apostle declared, “The mystery of iniquity does already work”(2Thes 2:7). John had to say, “You have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists” (1Jn 2:18). Jude wrote, “There are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness” (v. 4). To the Church at Pergamos Christ said, “I have a few things against thee, because thou hast there them that hold the doctrine of Balaam . . . . so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans which thing I hate” (Rev 2:14-15).

2. The Method he employed.

First, we are told that the Son of Man sowed good seed in His field (vv. 24, 37)- Then we are informed that the Devil turned farmer (v. 25). Satan is no originating genius, but is ever an imitator. He produces counterfeits of the works of God. It is important for Christians to know this, so that they may be on their guard. If we study Scripture we shall not be ignorant of his devices (2Cor 2:11). It is to be carefully noticed that as the Enemy mimicked Christ he sowed neither thorns nor thistles—had he done so his work had been easily detected, and there had been no difficulty in distinguishing the false from the true. No, he sowed “tares,” or better, “darnel.” This is a degenerate wheat, and so closely resembles the genuine article that the one cannot be distinguished from the other until harvest-time. That the “servants of the householder” recognized the tares as soon as they sprang up does not conflict with our last statement, for it is the apostles who are here in view, and they were specially endowed with the Holy Spirit, and so had a greater measure of discernment than any since.

These “tares” are spurious Christians. When the “servants” first discovered what the enemy had done, they wanted to root out the tares (v. 28). But the Master forbade them, saying, “Nay; lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them” (v. 29). It is only when they are both fully ripe that the farmer can with safety separate them, for it is not until then that it is seen there is no grain in the ears of the tares. Until the harvest time the tares present a fair picture to the eye. As these imitation blades, green and flourishing, grow side by side with the real wheat, there is every prospect of a bountiful yield. But appearances are deceptive, and much of the product will prove only a disappointment and mockery to those who have spent so much time and labor on their cultivation. “All is not gold that glitters.” At the Harvest-time there is going to be a great disillusionment. Then it will appear that Christ’s flock is a “little” one.

This parable, then, gives a remarkable expose of the methods employed by Satan. He seeks to destroy God’s testimony on earth by introducing a spurious Christianity, a clever imitation of the real thing. And this parable reveals that he works from within: he sowed the “tares” among the wheat! Satan has an imitation Gospel. This is clearly implied in the solemn warning given in Gal 1:7-9. It is more plainly intimated in 2 Corinthians 11, where we are told “false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness (vv. 13-15). The principal agents of Satan are to be found, not in the drinking-houses or race-courses, etc., but in our seminaries and in the pulpits! These are not advocating lawlessness, but are preaching “righteousness;” but “being ignorant of God’s righteousness” they are “going about to establish their own righteousness” (Rom 10:3). It is a mingling of Law and Gospel, and multitudes are deceived thereby.

Satan has an imitation Church. Christ is now building His Church, a Church which will include all the saved of this present dispensation, and none who are not members thereof will be saved. The Devil has caricatured this also. Romanism professes itself to be the “spouse of Christ,” and her ministers insist there is no salvation to be found outside of their pale. They profess the name of Christ, and hold some of the great fundamentals of His teaching. But artfully mingled with these are the deadly errors of Paganism. But so clever is the imitation, so subtly are the Scriptures appealed to in support of their pretentions, that millions are deluded by their soul-destroying system. “There is a way that seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death” (Prov 14:12).

Satan will yet be permitted to bring forth an imitation Christ. This will be his masterpiece. Much is said in Scripture concerning him. He is the great antichrist. He will have power to work miracles; he will at first claim to be the true Christ come back to earth. Multitudes will be deceived by him so that all the world will wander after him (Rev 13:4). Yes, the Devil sows “tares,” imitation wheat—not thorns and thistles.

3. The Enemy’s Success.

It is to be observed that in this parable we do not read of any opposition or hindrances to the growth of the tares, like we did in the first parable concerning the wheat. No mention is here made of any soil uncongenial to the Devil’s seed. There is no “wayside” ground, too hard for them to penetrate. There are no “thorns” to choke them, for they will thrive anywhere. There is no mention made of “fowls of the air” coming to catch them away. All external conditions and circumstances are favorable to the growth of this seed. No cultivation is needed; they will grow of themselves.

The enemy’s success is plainly intimated by the prominence given to the “tares” in this parable. This comes out very clearly and most solemnly in verse 36. When Jesus had sent the multitude away, and had gone into the house with His disciples, they said, “Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field,” not “the parable of the good seed and the tares” (see vv. 24, 25). It is the tares and not the wheat which predominate and occupy the larger portion of the field. The mention of “bundles” in verse 30 bears out the same thought.

The Owner of the field forbade any interference with the tares. This is a point which has perplexed many. Why did the Lord permit the Enemy to sow his “tares”? And why has He permitted them for so long, to occupy the principal part of the field? In other words, Why has God allowed the Devil such long-continued freedom? This is not so difficult to answer as many may suppose. They overlook the fact that the leaders of this world rejected its rightful Sovereign; that the Jews preferred Barabbas. Having chosen a murderer in preference to the Lord of Life, both Jews and Gentiles have reaped what they sowed. The Devil was “a murderer from the beginning” (John 8:14), and having refused the Savior, this great soul-destroyer has ruled over them ever since!

The time for this to be “the end of the world” (v. 39)—There is no difficulty in this expression if we bear in mind that there is a world of time, as well as a world of matter. But if we understand it to signify the “end of the earth,” or “world-system,” then it is manifestly erroneous. Personally, we much prefer the marginal rendering of the R. V.—”consummation of the age.” The Greek word is not “kosmos,” as in John 1:10, but “aion.” To show that we are not altering the translation in order to suit our own views, turn to Heb 9:26: “But now once in the end of the world “has He appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” What can be made of that? If by “world” be understood the earth, or the world-system, then it is a manifest absurdity, for that certainly did not “end” at the crucifixion of Christ. But if “aion” be rendered “age,” there is no difficulty. Thus Matk 13:39 should read, “The harvest is the end of the age;” there is another Age to follow this, namely, the Millennium. Further proof that the “harvest” referred to in Matk 13:39 takes place at the end of this age, rather than at the end of time, is found in Rev 14:14-15, which synchronizes. After Revelation 14 is fulfilled comes Rev 20:1-6, which treats of the Millennium.

Let us note now the order of its procedure. “Inthe time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into My barn” (v. 30). The tares are gathered into “bundles” before the wheat is actually garnered. In spite of their promising and attractive appearance, everything which has not sprung from the Seed sown by the Son of man is ultimately to be consigned to the everlasting burnings: as He Himself declared, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted, shall be rooted up”(Matk 15:13). But what we would particularly direct attention to is the “gathering together” of the tares into bundles. There is no actual casting of them into the fire at this preliminary stage, no removal of them from the field. It is the separation of the tares in the field, so as to leave the “wheat” distinct, and ready for garnering. The wheat is gathered into the Barn before the tares are “burned”—sure proof of the removal of the saints from this scene prior to the descent of God’s judgment of the world. The gathering of the wheat corresponds with 1Thes 4:16-17.

As we survey current events in the light of Matt 13:30 it is abundantly clear that the process of binding the tares into bundles is proceeding in various directions, and proceeding with amazing rapidity. In fact it is one of the most prominent of the “signs of the times.”

Take the commercial world. The individual is fast becoming a non-entity, as most business men know to their sorrow. Co-operation, organization, amalgamation, are the order of the day. Trusts, combines, syndicates, unions, are the “bundles” into which the interests of industry are now being bound. “Gather the tares into bundles;” the Divine command has already gone forth!

Take the social world. Clubs, guilds, fraternities, are multiplied on every side. “Class distinctions” are more and more resented by the masses. Social barriers which have existed for centuries are rapidly being broken down; whilst in many countries, socialism and Bolshevism—which aim at the destruction of individual enterprise—are seeking to gather all into one great State “bundle.” Yes, the word “gather” the tares into bundles has already gone forth!

In the ecclesiastical sphere the same thing is equally noticeable and prominent. Interdenominational efforts and movements are multiplying. Only last week in this city, on what is known as “good Friday,” members and preachers from churches of four or five denominations met together, and held what they term the celebration of “the Lord’s Supper”—and this in a church whose pastor is a pronounced modernist. What a farce! If some noted Evangelist comes to the city a “combined” meeting must be held. The unification of Christendom is the ideal of many, and the goal for which her leaders are aiming. Protestantism is virtually a spent force, and the hindrances and obstacles against the Papacy yet gathering all Christendom under her wings are rapidly disappearing. Those who understand prophecy know well that it will not be long ere she attains that ambition for which she has so long worked, and that one huge ecclesiastical “bundle” will be formed. Yes, the command to “gather” the tares has gone forth!

The same principle is more and more regulating the diplomatic affairs of the earth. The leading “Powers” are working increasingly in conjunction and co-operation. Witness the demands for concerted action in connection with the ultimatum to China. The League of Nations is another movement in the direction of forming one more great “bundle.” Yes, my readers, unless we are blind—and blind we certainly are, if we cannot see it—the binding of the tares into “bundles” is already going on before our very eyes: it has not only commenced, but is far advanced. Prophecy is daily becoming history. The next thing will be the removal of the wheat!

Let us now draw a few practical conclusions from this parable. First, see here the worthlessness of “refrom” movements and efforts. It is an idle dream that we can improve the world by gathering out noxious weeds—banish drunkenness and immorality, purify politics, etc. Men might as well attempt to purify the waters of the Dead Sea! The Lord has said, “Let both grow together till the harvest.” Then do not waste your time on the cultivation of the tares. “Preach the Gospel” is our marching orders.

Second, whata solemn warning is here against unwatchfulness! It was “while men slept” that the Enemy came and sowed his tares. Beware of sloth and the relaxation of vigilance. Remember the words of Christ to His disciples, “What I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch” (Mark 13:37). Heed the warning of Rom 13:11-12,—it is high time to awake out of sleep!

Third, mark Christ’s love for His own. When forbidding the servants to root up the tares, He said, “Nay, lest while you gather up the tares, you root up also the wheat with them” (v. 29). How much He must think of the “wheat”: he had rather the “tares” grow, than that a single blade of the wheat be injured!

Fourth, how terrible is our Lord’s description of the ultimate doom of the wicked! “And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth” (v. 42). The “Furnace of Fire” is no mere superstition of the “dark ages,” but a dread reality, as multitudes now living will yet discover to their eternal misery, it is the certain portion of all who continue to reject the Lord Jesus Christ. It is unspeakably solemn to note that the most awe-inspiring descriptions of Hell, to be found anywhere in the Bible, came from the lips of Love incarnate! It is to be carefully noted that whilst Christ interpreted every figure in this parable, see verses 38-40, the “fire” He did not explain. It is literal! O my reader, if you have not already done so, “Flee from the wrath to come” ere it be too late. Flee to Christ for refuge.

[Parable of the Mustard Seed →]

[1] AW Pink was a Dispensationalist when he wrote this volume early in his life. It should be noted that Pink later rejected dispensational pre-millennialism. His work “The Application of Scriptures” is an example of this change. The reader needs to be careful to note the specific date that Pink wrote a specific work in order to evaluate it accordingly.

The Prophetic Parables of Matthew Chapter 13

By Arthur W. Pink^[1]

Copyright: Public Domain

This is part of a commentary written by A.W. Pink on the prophetic parables contained in chapter 13 of Matthew’s Gospel.

The Sower – Matthew 13:3-23

“And He spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow.” The careful reader will notice an omission here, namely, that this parable does not begin with the words “the kingdom of heaven is like unto.” This cannot be without some good reason, for that which is omitted from Holy Writ is oftentimes as meaningful as what is recorded. Each of the six parables which follow do begin with this clause. The reason why it is left out at the beginning of the first is not difficult to account for. As we have shown in a previous article, “the kingdom of heaven” is an expression which, in the present dispensation, has reference to Christendom—the sphere of Christian profession, that circle where the sovereignty of Christ is publicly owned. But the “kingdom of heaven” did not assume this form until after Christ had returned to the Father. Thus, because this first parable contemplates the period of time covered by our Lord’s earthly ministry these words are appropriately omitted. The first parable forms an introduction to those which follow: it describes the work of Christ preparatory to the establishment of His kingdom among the Gentiles, though the principle of it is of wider application.

“Behold, a sower went forth to sow.” In Mark 4:3 we find that this same parable is introduced by the words, “Hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow.” This word “hearken” indicated that the Savior was about to communicate something of unusual importance. The figure He was using was so simple as to be almost unimpressive, so that there was a danger of His hearers regarding it as of little account; therefore the “Hearken!” “Behold” was also designed to arrest attention; it was a word bidding us to carefully ponder what follows.

The action of Christ at the beginning of this parable was both tragic and blessed. Speaking from the human side, it ought to have been, “A Reaper went forth to reap,” or “An Husbandman went forth to gather fruit.” For fifteen hundred years there had been a liberal sowing of the Seed in Israel, by Moses, David, the prophets, and last of all John the Baptist. But harvest for Jehovah there was not. Touchingly is this brought out in Isaiah 5: “My well-beloved has a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and He looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes” (Isaiah 5:1-2).

The blessedness of Christ’s action here is to be seen in His wondrous condescension and grace in stooping so low as to take the humble place of a “Sower,” hence the “Behold.” The words “went forth to sow,” or as Mark’s Gospel puts it “went out“ were indicative of the great dispensational change which was soon to be introduced. There was no longer to be a planting of vines or fig-trees in Israel, but a going out of the mercy of God unto the Gentiles; therefore what we have here is the broadcast sowing of the Seed in the field at large, for as verse 38 tells us “the field is the world.”

One great design of this opening parable is to teach us the measure of success which the Gospel would receive among the Gentiles. In other words, we are shown what the results of this broadcast sowing of the Seed would be. First of all, most of the ground upon which it fell would prove unfavorable: the hard, shallow, and thorny soils were uncongenial to productiveness. Second, external opposition would be encountered: the birds of the air would come and catch it away. Third, the sun would scorch, and that which was lacking in moisture at its roots would wither away. Only a fractional part of the Seed sown would yield any increase, and thus all expectations for the ultimate universal triumph of the Gospel were removed.

The plain teaching of our present parable should at once dissipate the optimistic but vain dreams of post-millenarians. It answers clearly and conclusively the following questions: What is to be the result of the broadcast sowing of the seed? Will all the world receive it and every part of the field produce fruit? Will the seed spring up and bear a universal harvest, so that not a single grain of it is lost? Our Savior explicitly tells us that the greater part of the seed produces no fruit, so that no world-wide conquests by the Gospel, in the Christianizing of the race, are to be looked for. Nor was there any hint that, as the age progressed, there would be any change, and that later sowers would meet with greater success, so that the wayside, stony, and thorny ground hearers would cease to exist or would rarely be found. Instead of that, the Lord Himself has plainly warned us that instead of the fruitage from the Gospel showing an increase, there would be a marked decrease; for when speaking of the fruit borne He said, “which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty” (v. 23). These words are too plain to be misunderstood. We believe that the “hundred fold” had reference to the yield borne in the days of the apostles; the “sixty” at the time of the Reformation; the “thirty” the days in which we are now living. The history of the last nineteen centuries has witnessed the fulfillment of Christ’s prediction; only a fractional percentage in any land, city or village has responded to the Gospel!

Most of the details of this parable are concerned not with the Sower or the Seed, but with the various soils in which the Seed fell. In His interpretation the Lord Jesus explained the different soils as representing various classes of those who hear the Word. They are four in number, and may be classified as hard-hearted, shallow-hearted, half-hearted, and whole-hearted. It is important to see that in the parable Christ is speaking not from the standpoint of the divine counsels—for there can be no failure there—but from that of human accountability. What we have here is the Word of the kingdom addressed to man’s responsibility, the effect it has on him, and his response. Let us now look briefly at each class separately:

1. The wayside hearers. “And when He sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up . . . when any one hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received Seed by the wayside” (vv. 4, 19). Here, the heart which receives the Seed is un-receptive and unresponsive. It is like the public highway, hardened by the constant traffic of the world. Though the Word is said to be “sown in his heart” it finds no real lodgement in it, and this is what makes it so solemn. The “engrafted word” is that which is received “with meekness,” and for this there must be a laying aside of “all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness” (James 1:21). It is at this point that the individual’s accountability comes in, the responsibility of the one who hears the Word.

It is to be noted that it is “when anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then comes the wicked one and catches away that which was sown in his heart.” Those who hear the Word are responsible to “understand” it. It is true that the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, but he ought to; and that they are “foolishness unto him,” but it ought not so to be. As we are told in 1Cor 8:2, “if any man think that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know.” Understanding of the Word is obtained from God alone, and it is the responsibility of all who bear and read His Word to cry unto Him, “That which I see not, teach Thou me” (Job 34:32). His promise is “the meek will He teach His way” (Psalm 25:9). But if there is no humbling of the heart before God, no seeking wisdom from above, then will there be no “understanding” of the Word; and the Devil will “catch away” that which we have heard or read: but we shall have only ourselves to blame!

2. The stony-ground hearers. “Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away . . . He that received the seed into stony places, the same is he which hears the Word, and anon with joy receives it; yet has he not root in himself, but endures for awhile: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, by and by he is offended” (Matt 13:5-6, Matt 13:20-21). The type of ground that is here referred to, is that where the bed is of rock, with only a thin layer of earth over it. In this shallow soil the seed is received, but the growth is but superficial. Our Lord’s interpretation at once identifies the particular class of hearers which are here in view. At first they promise well, but later prove very disappointing. What we have here is lack of depth. The emotions have been moved, but the conscience has not been searched; there is a natural “joy” but no deep conviction or true repentance. When a Divine work of grace is wrought in a soul, the first effects of the Word upon it are not to produce peace and joy, but contrition, humility and sorrow.

The sad thing is, that today almost everything connected with modern evangelistic (?) effort is calculated to produce just this very type of hearer. The “bright singing,” the sentimentality of the hymns (?), the preacher’s appeals to the emotions, the demand of the churches for visible and quick “results,” produce nothing but superficial returns. Sinners are urged to make a prompt “decision,” are rushed to the “penitent form,” and then assured that all is well with them; and the poor deluded soul leaves with a false and evanescent “joy.” And the deplorable thing is that many of the Lord’s own people are supporting and fellow-shipping this Christ-dishonoring and soul-deceiving burlesque of true Gospel ministry.

“But endures for awhile.” “This is the flesh at its fairest; capable of coming so near to the kingdom of God, and all the more manifesting its hopeless nature. There is the unbroken rock behind that never yields to the Word, and gives it no lodgement; and the class of hearers pictured here are born of the flesh only. Let things be outwardly favorable to profession, it is plain that the number of these may multiply largely, and may stick like dead leaves to a tree that has had no rough blast to shake them off. But life is none the more in them” (The Numerical Bible).

3. The thorny-ground hearers. “And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them… He also that received seed among the thorns is he that hears the Word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful” (vv. 7, 22, Matt 13:7, Matt 13:22). In Mark 4:9 the “lusts of other things entering in” and in Luke 8:14 the “pleasures of this life” are named as additional hindrances represented by the “thorns.” Here it is not so much inward causes as it is external snares that render the third class of hearers unfruitful.

Thus the Lord has here made known what it is that, from the human side, makes so much of the Seed sown, unproductive. The reasons why the preaching of the Word does not produce a spiritual harvest in all who hear it are, first, the natural hardness of man’s heart and the resultant opposition of Satan; second, the superficiality of the flesh; third, the attractions and distractions of the world. These e the things which produce barrenness, and they are recorded for the Christian’s learning and warning. Thus too are the servants of Christ instructed what to expect, and informed what it is which will oppose their labors—the Devil, the flesh and the world.

4. The good-ground hearers. “But other fell into good ground and brought forth fruit… He that received seed into the good ground is he that hears the Word, and understands it; which also bears fruit, and brings forth, some an hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty” (vv. 8,23). It is to be carefully noted that when He was defining the good-ground hearer, Christ did not say “this is he in whom a Divine work of grace has been wrought,” or “whose heart has been made receptive by the operation of the Holy Spirit.” True it is that this must precede any sinner’s receiving the Word so that he becomes fruitful, yet, this is not the particular aspect of the Truth with which Christ is here dealing. As already stated, He is speaking here not of the accomplishment of God’s counsels, but from the standpoint of human responsibility.

What the Lord is here making known is, that which the hearer of the Word must himself seek grace to do, if he is to be fruitful. The supplementary accounts given of this parable by Mark and Luke must be carefully compared. In Luk 8:15 we are told, first, that that Word must be received “in an honest and good heart.” Second, that they “keep it.” And third, “bring forth fruit with patience.” Such are the conditions of fruitfulness: an unprejudiced mind and an open heart; understanding the Word received; holding it fast, perseverance.

In closing let us call attention to one or two practical lessons inculcated by this parable.

First, the preciousness of the Seed. If there were only one grain of wheat left in the world today, and it was lost, all the efforts of man could not reproduce it. Thus it is with the Word: were it taken from us all the wit and wisdom of man could not replace it. Then let us value, love, and. study it more.

Second, the inconspicuousness of the Sower. Scarcely anything at all is told us in the parable about Him, beyond the simple fact that He actually sowed the Seed. The emphasis is upon the Seed, the various kinds of soil and the obstacles to and conditions of fruitfulness. Why is this? Because the personality of the sower and the method of sowing are of secondary importance. A little child may drop a seed as effectively as a man; the wind may carry it, and accomplish as much as though an angel had planted it! All—not merely preachers only—may be “sowers.”

Third, the conditions of fruitfulness. There is much “rocky ground” in the garden of each of our souls: then despise not God’s hammer and plough share. There are many “thorns” in each of our lives which must be plucked up if there is to be more room for fruit! Finally, there needs to be much prayer for “understanding,” “patience,” and hiding of the Word in our hearts so that we shall “keep” it.

Fourth, the fullness of the parable. There are some who decry the idea that we should seek for a meaning to every detail in our Lord’s parables, and tell us we should be content with discovering its general significance. But such a loose conception is manifestly condemned by Christ’s own example. In His interpretation He gave a meaning to every detail; not only so, but by comparing the three accounts of this parable, we learn that the “thorns” represent at least four distinct things! How this shows us the need of carefully studying and prayerfully meditating upon every jot and tittle of Holy Writ!

[Parable of the Tares →]

[1] AW Pink was a Dispensationalist when he wrote this volume early in his life. It should be noted that Pink later rejected dispensational pre-millennialism. His work “The Application of Scriptures” is an example of this change. The reader needs to be careful to note the specific date that Pink wrote a specific work in order to evaluate it accordingly.