33 Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit.

34 O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.

35 A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. 36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

38 Then certain of the scribes and of the

Pharisees answered, saying, Master, we would see a sign from thee.

39 But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas:

40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

41 The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.

42 The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and, behold, a greater than Solomon is here.

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.

44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.

35

who seek after a sign.

1

against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world nor in 33 that which is to come. Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for 34 the tree is known by its fruit. Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. The good man out of his good treasure bringeth forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil treasure bringeth forth evil things. And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judge37 ment. For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

36

38

40

41

Then certain of the scribes and Pharisees answered him, saying, 2 Master, we 39 would see a sign from thee. But he answered and said unto them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet: for as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale; so shall the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. The men of Nineveh shall stand up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, a greater than Jonah is here. The queen of the south shall rise up in the judgement with this generation, and shall condemn it: for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, a greater than 43 Solomon is here. But the unclean spirit, when he is gone out of the man, passeth through waterless places, seeking rest, and 44 findeth it not. Then he saith, I will re

42

4

1 Or, age. 2 Or, Teacher. 3 Gr. sea-monster. 4 Gr. more than. ♪ Or, it.

refusal of God's spiritual appeals, one of which is the miracle with its circumstances. Nor in that which is to A proverbial expression for an emphatic " never," and wholly without indication of a place of pardon beyond this world.

come.

33. If the healing miracles of Christ were good, they must have come from a good source; and the evil-speaking of the Pharisees must have proceeded from an evil heart.

36, 37. The words of a life express the character of that life (Rom. 10: 10). The idle word is the mark of a careless heart. The words of a man's life will be the record of his justification or condemnation at the last. The blasphemy against the Holy Spirit may be merely an idle word; that is, a word of careless indifference: yet that is opposition to God, and the token of final ruin.

38. A sign. Of the Messiahship.

39. Adulterous. This word and its cognates are constantly used in Scripture for the sin of idolatry; Israel having abandoned Jehovah, her husband (Isa. 54: 5; Jer. 3: 14), and married faise gods. The sign of Jonah the prophet. The prophets not only predicted the Messiah, but sometimes typified him. So Isaiah with his children (Isa. 8: 18, quoted in Heb. 2:13). So Ezekiel (chap. 24: 15-24). They were all, in some sort, types of the great Messiah-prophet (see Deut. 18: 15). Whale. Simply "sea-monster." In the Hebrew of the Book of Jonah it is great fish." The fish which swallowed Jonah is supposed by some to be the squalus carcharias, or “white shark," also called lamia, and found in the Mediterranean Sea. Such a fish, sixty feet long, was seen in the Levantine waters about ninety years ago. Another, said to be a right whale, was stranded near Sidon only six or eight years ago. This one was also about sixty feet long.

40. Three days and three nights. This seems too explicit to be explained by two nights and one day, with parts of two more, the time spent by our Lord's body in the tomb. We prefer to consider "the heart of the earth" to refer to the time, beginning at Gethsemane, in which our Lord's ministry was suspended, as was Jonah's when he was in the fish's belly.

41. A greater than Jonah. Literally, "more than Jonah." So below, "more than Solomon." Jonah and Solomon were but types. Herein Jesus was the fulness of the antitype.

42. The queen of the south. The Queen of Sheba in Southern Arabia (1 Kings 10:1). The ends of the earth. Oriental hyperbole for "a distant land."

43. But we must expect this; for the unclean spirit, etc. This is the connection. This parable, suited to the Jewish notion of demons frequenting deserts, is to be received in its general instruction as referring to the

45 Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

46 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my

brethren ?

49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

45

46

of the sower.

turn into my house whence I came out; and when he is come, 1he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. Then goeth The, and taketh with 2 himself seven other spirits more evil than 2 himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man becometh worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this evil generation.

While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. 47 3 And one said unto him, Behold, thy seeking to speak to thee. But he answered mother and thy brethren stand without,

48

49

and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, Behold, my mother 50 and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.

1 Or, il. * Or, itself. Some ancient authorities omit verse 47.

increased assaults of Satan after a false reformation. The application is, doubtless, in the first instance, to the Jews, who were refusing the Messiah, and bringing themselves into greater condemnation.

46. His brethren. In chap. 13: 55, and Mark 6: 3, James and Joses (some read “Joseph" in Matthew) and Simon and Judas are called the Lord's brethren; and in Gal. 1: 19, James the son of Alphæus, the apostle, is called the Lord's brother. Now, as James was not the son of either Joseph or Mary, the word "brethren" is used here in the wider sense of kinsman. These four were probably nephews of Joseph or of Mary. The James mentioned is thus the apostle, and author of the epistle, and Judas is also an apostle, and author of an epistle (if we suppose "brother" is the true filling of the ellipsis in Luke 6: 16); but it is more doubtful whether the Simon is Simon the Cananæan.

47. Seeking to speak with thee. From Mark's account (chap. 3: 31) we see they were impatient, both sending to him, and calling out to him. This leads us to suppose that they wished to control his movements, and stop his discourse, perhaps through fear that his denunciation of the Pharisees might lead to his and their injury. The incident gave occasion to one of the most tender and touching of our Lord's expressions: "Whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother."

CHAPTER XIII.

3. The parable of the sower and the seed: 18. the exposition of it. 24. The parable of the tares, 31. of the mustard seed, 33. of the leaven, 44. of the hidden treasure, 45. of the pearl, 47. of the drawnet cast into the sea: 53. and how Christ is contemned of his own countrymen.

1 THE same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them

up:

5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

1

On that day went Jesus out of the 2 house, and sat by the sea side. And there were gathered unto him great multitudes, so that he entered into a boat, and sat; and all the multitude stood on the beach. 3 And he spake to them many things in parables, saying, Behold, the sower went 4 forth to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the birds came 5 and devoured them: and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root,

1. On that day. Matthew fixes the time. It was on the same day in which he had so earnestly rebuked the Pharisees, and had been sought by his mother and brethren. The sea side. The beach of the Sea of Galilee.

2. Into a boat. Sitting on one of the thwarts of a fishing-boat, pushed out a little into the sea (Mark 4: 1), he could be seen and heard by all the vast multitude on the beach.

4. The way side; or, "along the road." The roads in the East are merely tracks through the fields, beaten hard by the travel, and having no fences or hedges of separation from the growing grain. The sower would necessarily sow over the path, but nothing could grow there by reason of the packed and hard earth. The birds would soon catch up the seeds thus exposed.