We continue with the Parable of the Sower:
Gregory Palamas writes about what is required on our part so that the seed sown by the Lord may bear fruit: “Let us pay attention, brethren, I beseech you, first of all to this: the Lord did not say that He went out to plough the rational fields, nor that He ploughed two or three times, uprooting weeds or loosening the soil—that is, He did not say that He went out to prepare our hearts and thoughts. Rather, Jesus says that He went out immediately to sow. Why is this so? Because before Christ’s sowing, we ourselves must prepare and adorn our soul for it. Therefore, the Forerunner of the Gospel of grace also exhorted with a mighty voice, saying: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord; make straight His paths’ (Matt. 3:3).”
St. Anthony the Great connects Christ’s words about the seed that falls by the wayside with His declaration that He Himself is the Way (John 14:6): “The sower went out to sow—not wheat from which bread is made, but life-giving faith. Yet the seed did not bear fruit in all: some fell by the wayside, not upon the Way itself. Such are not perfect in Christ, for they do not believe in Him rightly. Jesus Himself said: ‘I am the Way of life.’ By the wayside are the Arians, the pagans, and the Jews; yet they are not on the Way, but beside it—that is, outside Christ. What they confess concerning Christ brings them near the Way, but that by which they blaspheme Him—namely, that He is not equal to the Father—casts them away from the living Way. Thus the birds of the air—that is, the demons—descend and devour the divine seeds from the hearts of the unlearned. For the Lord Himself commanded that we act as He said: ‘Do not give what is holy to dogs, nor cast your pearls before swine.’ And again: ‘Take therefore the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents’—for to everyone who has the right faith, there shall be given and added even from him who lacks perfect faith, hope, and love for God. ‘From him shall be taken even what he thinks he has,’ said the Lord. That is, there will be no benefit from good works performed if one serves God without true faith. For the Lord Himself said: ‘He who believes and is baptized shall be saved, but he who does not believe shall be condemned.’ I think that impious heretics are in no way better than unbelievers.
‘And others fell on good soil and yielded fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.’ The good soil is likened to a right and understanding heart, cleansed of the thorns of heresy, which first produces the grass of faith, then the ear of hope, and finally the ripe fruit of perfected love. This is also indicated by the divine Paul, who affirms that above all are faith, hope, and love. Thus, the one who believes brings forth thirtyfold, the one who hopes sixtyfold, and the one who has been perfected through love brings forth a hundredfold, gathering from one seed a threefold harvest. Honouring God, who is glorified in the Church, we grasp the Truth with the spirit, mature in the soul, and endure in the body. On earth we glorify Him, from the dead we rise, and in the heavens we find rest. The perfect man in the Trinity is faithful, meek, beloved by all, humble, merciful, compassionate, and righteous… Those who live among men bear fruit thirtyfold, those who serve as men together with the angels sixtyfold, and those who commune with God a hundredfold.”
St. Cyril of Alexandria warns us not to leave our faith and our life in the Church on the surface: “What does the seed that fell on rocky ground signify? There are Christians who possess within themselves a simple faith without reflection, who have not immersed their mind in the contemplation of the Mysteries. Their worship is empty and lacks root. And if the deeds of such Christians are driven by the wind, they will scarcely preserve their faith within themselves; and when persecution arises, their soul will prove unprepared for the struggle.”
Thus we see that it is necessary to explore the meaning of Scripture, to know our faith, for this will preserve us in times of trial.
We Continue Further, from Verses 10 to 13:
And the disciples came and said to Him: “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
He answered and said to them: “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even 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, nor do they understand.”
Nikolai Velimirovich explains in this place why the Lord Jesus interprets things to the apostles, while to the people He speaks only in parables: “The Lord makes a distinction between His disciples as hearers and the other hearers. Although the disciples were simple men, the grace of God was with them; and although at that time they were not yet perfect, nevertheless their spiritual sight was sufficiently opened to perceive the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. To them it could at times be spoken directly, without parables; but to others it could not be spoken without parables. And that even to the apostles it could not always be spoken without parables is evident from Christ’s final discourse to them: ‘These things I have spoken to you in parables; but the time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in parables’ (John 16:25).
And why does He speak to the people in parables? ‘That seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ That is to say: if He were to speak to them plainly and without parables, they would look with bodily eyes and see nothing, and hear with bodily ears and understand nothing. For spiritual things are not seen with bodily eyes, nor heard with bodily ears… That is, when the Lord speaks to them spiritual truths naked, without the garment of parables and without comparison to things and events of this sensible world, they neither see, nor hear, nor understand these truths. All spiritual truths are from that world—the spiritual, heavenly world—and can be perceived and understood only by spiritual sight, hearing, and understanding. Yet these spiritual truths are presented in this world under the garment of things and events. In many people the sight, hearing, and understanding for spiritual truths have been lost. Many look only at the garment, hear only the outward voice, and understand only the external properties, forms, and nature of things and events. This is bodily sight, bodily hearing, and bodily understanding. The Lord Jesus recognized the blindness of men, and therefore, as the all-wise Teacher, He leads people from material objects to spiritual realities, and from physical facts to spiritual truths. For this reason He speaks to them in parables—that is, in the form accessible to their sight, hearing, and understanding.”
St. John Chrysostom demonstrates the virtue of the apostles and their discernment in recognizing the proper moment to seek an explanation from the Lord Jesus. Chrysostom interprets this passage as follows: “It is worthy of admiration that the disciples, despite their strong desire to learn why Jesus speaks to the people in parables, carefully consider the appropriate moment to ask Him this question. They do not do so publicly, as the Evangelist Matthew indicates by saying: ‘and coming to Him.’ That my explanation is not conjecture is also shown by Mark, who says that the disciples approached Jesus when He was alone (Mark 4:10). Thus His brethren and His Mother ought likewise to have acted: not calling Him out of the house nor putting themselves forward. Observe also the great love of the disciples—how deeply they are concerned for others, seeking first the benefit of others and only then their own. They said to Him: ‘Why do You speak to them in parables?’ They did not say: ‘Why do You speak to us in parables?’ In other instances also they often show their love, for example when they say: ‘Send the multitude away’ (Luke 9:12), and again: ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ (Matt. 15:12).
Lest some should fall into despair and others into negligence upon hearing that it has been given to them to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom, observe how Jesus shows both groups that this depends above all on us: ‘For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.’ Although these words are somewhat obscure, they contain an undeniable truth. They mean that to the person who himself desires and strives to acquire the gifts of grace, God grants everything; but in the one in whom such desire and effort are lacking, even what he has will not benefit him, and God will not entrust him with His gifts. ‘It will be taken away from him’—this does not mean that God removes something from him, but that He does not deem him worthy of His gifts. We act in the same way: when we see that someone listens to us inattentively and remains negligent despite all our persuasion, we eventually cease speaking, for if we persist, the negligence will only increase. Conversely, the one who listens zealously, we draw into conversation and speak to him at length. And rightly it is said: ‘even what he has,’ for such a person does not truly possess even that.”
From the thought of Saint John it is clearly seen that God has entrusted everything to us and to our free will. If we desire and show that we desire the gifts of God and salvation, the Lord will grant them to us. Everything depends on us.
A great saint of our Church from the previous century, Luke Voyno-Yasenetsky, points to the inner disposition of those who listened to the Lord and explains why Jesus chose parables as the means to reach their hearts: “‘For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.’ These words may trouble worldly people who do not at all understand Christ’s teaching: how is it that the rich receive even more, while from the poor even what they have is taken away? In the mouth of Christ these words have an entirely different meaning. To the person who opens his heart to the words of Christ, who resolves to follow Him—God will multiply grace, granting him the wisdom to understand Christ’s words, a will directed towards the good, and the power and strength to purify his heart. And the spiritual treasures that such a person possesses, God will continually increase.
Why the Lord Jesus Christ spoke in parables He Himself explains: because those whose hearts have grown coarse, seeing do not see, and hearing do not hear, nor do they understand. … Worldly people, those who are far from the spiritual life, reject any spiritual interest, any concern for religion; they never remember God and do not wish to listen to anything that reminds them of Him. They are not inclined to receive spiritual wisdom; their hearts have grown hardened, thickened, covered with fat, overgrown with daily cares—cares only for the body, only to live as comfortably as possible. Their eyes and ears are closed to everything that reminds them of God. They cannot endure a word about God, about holiness, about purity; they cannot endure reproof for their sins; they do not wish to leave the lowest realm of the spirit, but choose to remain in it and do not wish anyone to tell them that they live a base life. They cannot bear to hear preaching about God, the preaching of the Gospel: seeing, they do not see, and they turn away their eyes; they close their ears. What is to be done with such people? To reveal to them the mysteries of the Kingdom of God is the same as casting pearls before swine; they will not receive holy words. Such worldly people, with hardened hearts, do not desire these words at all. It is useless to preach to them directly; it is necessary to arouse their interest, to attract their attention. The Lord Jesus found such a means—He spoke in a veiled manner, in parables. These parables interested those with hardened hearts; they listened to these narratives and reflected upon them. If they themselves did not understand what they heard, they sought those who did understand—they asked the apostles and received an explanation. Christ’s teaching, presented in parables, in a form capable of penetrating, reached them and touched their hearts, which had lost the capacity to ascend towards God…
The Lord said that the heart must perceive what is exalted. People receive truth not only with the mind, but above all with the heart—a pure heart. Truth is revealed to those whose hearts are open and long to receive it. Therefore, you also open your hearts before God; be filled with the desire to hear the word of God, with a strong longing to understand all His words. And if you thus dispose your hearts, then the words of Christ will be fulfilled in you: ‘For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance.’”
Thus, we see that God reveals Himself only to those who sincerely desire to know the truth; this is the sole criterion by which a person comes to know God and to be united with Him.
Based on patristic interpretations and adapted for the contemporary reader by Stanoje Stanković.
