“But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.”
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root — the sun is not an enemy in normal agricultural conditions; it is necessary for growth. But the sun that drives healthy plants deeper (as roots follow moisture downward) destroys the shallow-rooted plant because there is no moisture to follow, no depth to sustain the root system. The withering because they had no root identifies the absence of root as the decisive factor, not the presence of sun. Verse 17 interprets: when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The trouble is the sun; the rootlessness is the problem the trouble exposes.
Church Fathers on Mark 4:6
Although the Lord appears in the transactions mentioned above to neglect His mother, nevertheless He honours her; since on her account He goes forth about the borders of the sea.
For if we look into the Gospel of Matthew, it appears that this same teaching of the Lord at the sea, was delivered on the same day as the former. For after the conclusion of the first sermon, Matthew immediately subjoins, saying, 'The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea-side.'
But He began to teach at the sea, that the place of His teaching might point out the bitter feelings and instability of His hearers.
Read all 22 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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