Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

“Each of these has his agents among men themselves; and Christ's agents in the sowing of the good seed are the preachers of the word. Thus, as in all the cases about to be described, the sower is the same, and the seed is the same; while the result is entirely …”

“And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown; but, when they have heard, &c.--or, more fully (Mt 13:19), "When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown i…”

“The great truth here taught is that hearts superficially impressed are apt to receive the truth with readiness, and even with joy (Lu 8:13); but the heat of tribulation or persecution because of the word, or the trials which their new profession brings upon …”

“What a vivid picture is this of the mournful condition of many, especially in great commercial countries, who once promised much fruit! "They bring no fruit to perfection" (Lu 8:14); indicating how much growth there may be, in the early stages of such a case…”

“The "thirtyfold" is designed to express the lowest degree of fruitfulness; the "hundredfold" the highest; and the "sixtyfold" the intermediate degrees of fruitfulness. As a "hundredfold," though not unexampled (Ge 26:12), is a rare return in the natural husb…”

“And he said unto them, Is a candle--or "lamp" brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick?--"that they which enter in may see the light" (Lu 8:16). See on Mt 5:15, of which this is nearly a repetition.”

“And he saith unto them, Take heed what ye hear--In Luke (Lu 8:18) it is, "Take heed how ye hear." The one implies the other, but both precepts are very weighty. with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you--See on Mt 7:2. and unto you that hear-…”

“So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should sleep, and rise night and day--go about his other ordinary occupations, leaving it to the well-known laws of vegetation under the genial influences of heaven. This is the sense …”

“For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear--beautiful allusion to the succession of similar stages, though not definitely marked periods, in the Christian life, and generally in the kingdom…”

“But when the fruit is brought forth--to maturity immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come--This charmingly points to the transition from the earthly to the heavenly condition of the Christian and the Church.”

“But Matthew (Mt 13:34) says, "All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables"; and as Mark records only some of the parables which Matthew gives, we are warranted to infer that the "many such parables" alluded to here mean no more than the full …”

“And when they had sent away the multitude, they took him even as he was in the ship--that is, without any preparation, and without so much as leaving the vessel, out of which He had been all day teaching.”

“It should be, "so that the ship was getting covered by the waves." So we must translate the word used in Luke (Lu 8:23) --not as in our version--"And there came down a storm on the lake, and they were filled [with water]"--but "they were getting filled," tha…”

“Matthew (Mt 8:25) has it, "Lord, save us, we perish." When those accustomed to fish upon that deep thus spake, the danger must have been imminent. They say nothing of what would become of Him, if they perished; nor think, whether, if He could not perish, it …”

“And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm--The sudden hushing of the wind would not at once have calmed the sea, whose commotion would have settled only after a considerable time. But the word of command was given to both elements at once.”

“In Matthew (Mt 8:26) it is, "Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith?" Faith they had, for they applied to Christ for relief: but little, for they were afraid, though Christ was in the ship.”

“And when he was come out of the ship, immediately--(see Mr 5:6). there met him a man with an unclean spirit--"which had devils [demons] long time" (Lu 8:27).”

“But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him--not with the spontaneous alacrity which says to Jesus, "Draw me, we will run after thee," but inwardly compelled, with terrific rapidity, before the Judge, to receive sentence of expulsion.”

“I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not--or, as in Mt 8:29, "Art Thou come to torment us before the time?" (See on Mr 1:24). Behold the tormentor anticipating, dreading, and entreating exemption from torment! In Christ they discern their destined Tor…”

“For he said unto him--that is, before the unclean spirit cried out. Come out of the man, unclean spirit!--Ordinarily, obedience to a command of this nature was immediate. But here, a certain delay is permitted, the more signally to manifest the power of Christ…”

“And he asked him, What is thy name?--The object of this question was to extort an acknowledgment of the virulence of demoniacal power by which this victim was enthralled.”

“And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country--The entreaty, it will be observed, was made by one spirit, but in behalf of many--"he besought Him not to send them, &c."--just as in Mr 5:9, "he answered we are many." But what do…”

“In Mt 8:30, they are said to have been "a good way off." But these expressions, far from being inconsistent, only confirm, by their precision, the minute accuracy of the narrative. a great herd of swine feeding--There can hardly be any doubt that the owners…”

“And forthwith Jesus gave them leave--In Matthew (Mt 8:32) this is given with majestic brevity--"Go!" The owners, if Jews, drove an illegal trade; if heathens, they insulted the national religion: in either case the permission was just.”

“And they that fed the swine fled, and told it--"told everything, and what was befallen to the possessed of the devils" (Mt 8:33). in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done--Thus had they the evidence, both of the her…”