Matthew 13:23 — Community Reflections

MATTHEW 13:23 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty. The good-soil explanation: hearing and understanding together produce fruit. The understanding — the comprehension that the path-soil lacked — is the condition that enables the fruit-bearing. The three grades of harvest communicate the diversity of fruitfulness within the genuinely good-soil reception: all three are genuine, all three are extraordinary by first-century agricultural standards, and none is disqualified.

Church Fathers on Matthew 13:23

He had said above, that it was not given to Jews to know the kingdom of God, but to the Apostles, and therefore He now concludes, saying, 'Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower, ye to whom are committed the mysteries of heaven.'
Gloss (Glossa Ordinaria) · medieval compilation · ap. Anselm

It is certain that the Lord spoke the things which the Evangelist has recorded; but what the Lord spake was a parable, in which it is never required that the things contained should have actually taken place.
Augustine · 4th century · De Gen. ad lit., viii, 4

In these words the Lord explains what the seed is, to wit, the word of the kingdom, that is of the Gospel teaching. For there are some that receive the word of the Lord with no devotion of heart, and so that seed of God’s word which is sown in their heart, is by demons straightway carried off, as it were the seed dropped by the way side. It follows, 'That which is sown upon the rock, is he that heareth the word, &c.' For the seed or word of God, which is sown in the rock,…
Remigius · 9th century

Read all 14 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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