John Gill

For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

“For whosoever shall do the will of my Father,.... This is not to be understood of a perfect obedience to the will of God, revealed in his righteous law; for since this cannot be performed by any mere man, no one could be in such…”

Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.

“Some fell upon stony places,.... Such a place as the Jews call חולסית, a barren, stony place, a place from whence, they say, they take stones, and בית סלע, and which אינו ראוי לזריעה, "is not fit for sowing" (d); and such were those places…”

He who has ears, let him hear.”

“Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Not externally only, but internally; he that has ears given him to hear, so as to understand, let him make use of them, and seriously consider of, and diligently attend to the use and importance of this…”

Consider, then, the parable of the sower:

“Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. That is, the interpretation of the parable; for they had heard the parable before, and had desired an explanation of it; which, though not mentioned by Matthew, is, by the other evangelists, Mar 4:10, Luk 8:9 and…”

When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.

“When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom,.... Hence it appears, that by the "seed" in the parable is meant the Gospel, called the "word of the kingdom": because it treats of the king Messiah, of his person, office, and grace; and of his kingdom…”

Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

“Another parable put he forth unto them, saying,.... Somewhat like the former, but with a different view: for whereas the design of the former was to show the different sorts of hearers that attend upon the ministry of the word, three parts in four being…”

The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

“So the servants of the householder came,.... Christ is the "householder"; the house of which he is master is the church, called the household of God, the household of faith, the family in heaven, and in earth; in which house he bears and sustains many…”

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

“He said unto them, an enemy has done this,.... This is the answer of the householder to the question of his servants.”

Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the…

“Let both grow together until the harvest,.... By "the harvest", is meant "the end of the world", Mat 13:39 either of the Jewish world, the dissolution of their church and state, which was near; or of a man's life, which is the end of the…”

Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and…

“Which indeed is the least of all seeds,.... So mustard with the Jews (u), is called מין זרעים, "a kind of seeds"; and being very small, hence כחרדל, "as a grain of mustard", is often used, proverbially (w), for the least thing, as it is…”

So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,.... Not Isaiah, as some copies in the times of Jerom read, but Asaph, who is called Asaph the seer, 2Ch 29:30 which is all one as a prophet; vision is one sort of prophecy…”

As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

“As therefore the tares are gathered,.... As it is represented in the parable, that in the time of harvest, the tares shall be gathered out from the wheat first; and being bound in bundles, shall burnt in the fire, prepared for that purpose, so shall…”

Have you understood all these things?” “Yes,” they answered.

“Jesus saith unto them,.... This is left out in the Vulgate Latin, and Ethiopic versions, and in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and in some Greek exemplars; though it is necessary to the connection and sense of the words: have ye understood all these things?”

When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place.

“And it came to pass that, when Jesus had finished these parables,.... Which he spoke both to the multitude from the ship, and to his disciples in the house, he departed thence; from the house in which he was, and the city of Capernaum, where…”

Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked.

“And when he was come into his own country,.... Not where he was born, Bethlehem, for it is never observed, that he went thither; but where he was educated, and where his parents and near relations, according to the flesh, lived; who had been some…”

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

“Is not this the carpenter's son?.... Meaning Joseph, who was by trade a carpenter, and whose son Jesus was supposed to be; and who very probably was now dead, which may be the reason he is not mentioned by name.”

Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?”

“And his sisters,.... Whose names, according to Epiphanius (b), were Mary and Salome; whom he supposes were the daughters of Joseph, by a former wife; but rather of Alphaeus or Cleophas, Are they not all with us?”

Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

“For Herod had laid hold on John,.... By his servants, whom he sent to apprehend him: and bound him; laid him in chains, as if he was a malefactor; and put him in prison, in the castle of Machaerus (d), for Herodias's sake; who was…”

On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod

“But when Herod's birthday was kept,.... The birthdays of princes, both of their coming into the world, and accession to the throne of government, were kept by the Gentiles; as by the Egyptians, Gen 40:20 and by the (n) Persians, and Romans (o), and other…”

and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.

“And he sent,.... "An executioner", as in Mar 6:27 where the Latin word "speculator", or as it is sometimes written "spiculator", is used; and is the name of an officer concerned in executions, and particularly in beheading of persons; and so is used by Latin…”

Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

“And his disciples came,.... To the prison where his body was left, and to which they had liberty of recourse before; see Mat 11:2 and very probably, upon hearing what was done, might apply to Herod, as Joseph of Arimathea did to Pilate, for the…”

When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late.

“And when it was evening,.... Mark says, "when the day was now far spent"; and Luke, "when the day began to wear away"; it was upon the decline of the day.”

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over.

“And they did all eat,.... Christ and his twelve disciples, and the five thousand men, with the women and children, of the five loaves and two fishes; everyone had their portion, and were filled; they were satisfied, they had a full meal, they had enough…”

About five thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.

“And they that had eaten were about five thousand men,.... The word "about", is omitted in the Vulgate Latin, in Munster's Hebrew Gospel, and in the Syriac, Arabic, and Persic versions, which expressly say there were so many.”

After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

“And when he had sent the multitudes away,.... Had ordered them at least to go away; for, it seems, according to Joh 6:22 that they did not in general disperse: there was a large body of them that continued upon the spot all night, expecting…”