12. And note that he sets forth three differences of unfruitful soil and only one that is good, because, according to what is said in Matthew 22, "many are called, but few are chosen." And therefore the Lord laments in Micah 7: "Woe is me! For I have become like one who gathers clusters of grapes in autumn after the vintage." And the reason for this is given in Matthew 7: "Because wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there are who enter through it; narrow is the gate and strait is the way that leads to life, and few there are who find it."
13. As he said these things, he cried out. Here, after the gathering of the multitude and the proposal of the parable, there is subjoined thirdly the arousal of apostolic solicitude. Concerning this arousal, four things are introduced by the Evangelist, namely the magisterial admonition, the disciplinary interrogation, the familiar predilection, and the judicial reprobation. The first arouses, the second rectifies, the third strengthens, and the fourth humbles.
First, therefore, with regard to the magisterial admonition that arouses, it is said: As he said these things, he cried out, so that by his cry he might arouse the attention of his hearers, as in John 7: "On the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out." For this is the office of the preacher; Isaiah 58: "Cry out, do not cease; lift up your voice like a trumpet," so that by the very manner of speaking he might arouse his hearers.
Nor only from the manner of speaking, but also from the sense of the word: on account of which he adds: He who has ears to hear, let him hear, that is, "let him understand these words spiritually"; and Bede says: "Wherever this admonition is interposed, it is shown that what is said is mystical and must be sought more attentively." And this is signified by the very multiplication of the act of hearing, as in Isaiah twenty-eight: "Perceive with your ears and hear my voice, and attend and hear my speech." To this exhortation the one who truly understands can say that word of Isaiah fifty: "He wakens in the morning, in the morning he wakens my ear, that I may hear him as a master"; and that word of Job forty-two: "With the hearing of the ear I heard you, but now my eye sees you," etc. He touches upon the use of hearing, because there are three degrees: the first in hearing outwardly, the second in believing, and the third in understanding.
14. (Verse 9.). Second, as regards the disciplinary question that directs, it is added: And his disciples asked him, namely, so that they might be directed by him, according to that word of Sirach thirty-three: "He who makes known the question will prepare the word, and so having prayed he will be heard; and he who keeps discipline will then respond." But this is said not because they asked immediately, but because at the word of Christ they conceived the will to ask; whence in Mark four it is said: "When he was alone, they asked him."
And because the question is about hidden and mystical things, therefore it is added: What this parable might be, that is, what it might signify, so that through its interpretation they might be able to grasp the understanding, according to that word of Proverbs one: "The wise man hearing will be wiser, and the man of understanding will possess counsels; he will discern the parable and its interpretation"; and Sirach thirty-nine: "Therefore the wise man will seek out the hidden things of proverbs and will dwell in the secrets of parables."
15. (Vers. 10.). Third, with respect to the familiar pre-election that strengthens, it is added: To whom he said: To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God, that is, the understanding of Scripture, which is called the kingdom of God, according to that passage in Matthew twenty-one: "The kingdom of God shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth its fruits." Scripture is called the kingdom of God because it preaches and shows and promises him and leads the obedient to him, according to that passage in John five: "Search the Scriptures, because you think in them to have eternal life." Concerning these things, therefore, he says to the Apostles specially and distinctively: To you it is given, because they were chosen for this: John fifteen: "But I have called you friends, because all things whatsoever I have heard from my Father I have made known to you." And he pointedly says given, not sold, so that we may acknowledge grace; Matthew ten: "Freely you have received, freely give"; given also, not innate: below, twenty-one: "For I will give you a mouth and wisdom"; given, not acquired: James one: "Every best gift and every perfect gift is from above, descending from the Father of lights." In this, therefore, that he familiarly declares them pre-elected, he strengthens them, lest they fail in their seeking: below, twelve: "Fear not, little flock, for it has pleased your Father to give you the kingdom."
16. Fourth, with respect to the judicial reprobation that humbles, he adds: But to the rest in parables, namely, supply: it is given to know, which is rather not to know; Isaiah twenty-eight: "In the speech of lips, namely the exterior," and in another tongue I will speak to this people." And this he does by his just judgment, by which he does not wish to communicate holy things to the unclean, according to that passage in Matthew seven: "Do not give what is holy to dogs."
And therefore he adds: That seeing they may not see: that here is not causal but consecutive, as in John nine: "For judgment I have come into this world, that those who do not see may see, and those who see may become blind." And this judgment is foretold in Isaiah twenty-nine: "The Lord will close your eyes: your prophets and your princes who see visions, he will cover. And the vision of the Lord shall be to you as the words of a sealed book." There is no contradiction in this, that he says: That seeing they may not see, because the first refers to exterior sight, the second to interior sight, according to that passage in Isaiah forty-three: "Bring forth the blind people who have eyes, and the deaf who have ears." And the following clause explains this: And hearing they may not understand: Isaiah six: "Blind the heart of this people and make heavy their ears";
and in the same place it is added: "Hear with your ears and do not understand." Whence it is said in Second Corinthians three: "Until this present day, when Moses is read, a veil is placed over their heart." And this was done by divine judgment, according to that passage in Romans eleven: "I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, that blindness in part has happened in Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles should enter." And this ought to humble all, according to what is said in the same place: "Do not be high-minded, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, perhaps he will not spare you either." — And this humility is fitting and a preamble to the understanding of mysteries, because it is said in Matthew eleven: "You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to little ones."
Second, the apostolic instruction in open discourses is set forth through two parts.
17. (Vers. 11.). Now this is the parable. After the parabolic instruction in hidden mysteries has been set forth, the second part of the chapter follows, in which the apostolic instruction in open discourses is described. Now this part has two sections, in the first of which they are instructed toward the understanding of the parable; in the second they are invited to the communication of doctrine, at the passage: No one lighting a lamp, etc.
As for the explanation of the parable, it should be noted that first he explains it generally, then specifically, at the passage: Now those by the wayside.
He says therefore first, as if setting forth a certain general intention of the parable: Now this is the parable, that is, this is the meaning of the parable, so that he could say that passage of John sixteen: "These things I have spoken to you in proverbs. The hour comes when I shall announce to you plainly concerning my Father."
The seed is the word of God. Now the divine seed is the word of God, because through it we are reborn, so that we may become divine: James one: "Of his own will he begot us by the word of truth."
According to the four members set forth in the parable, he distinguishes four kinds of hearers, in whom the seed of the divine words is received in different ways,
so that one seed receives the disposition to be in some trampled underfoot, in others dried up, in others choked, and in others multiplied.
18. (Verse 12). First, therefore, as regards the explanation of the trampled seed, which is the word of the Lord in the forgetful heart, he says: Those along the path are those who hear: which does not refer to the seed received, but to the persons receiving the seed, who themselves are also called seed, according to that passage of Jeremiah thirty-one: "I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of men and the seed of beasts," that is, of the perfect and the imperfect. Those, therefore, who hear are seed, but they are unfruitful for this reason: because they do not retain it. — On account of which he adds: Then the devil comes, namely through suggestion, and takes away the word from their heart, that is, from their memory. And this was signified in Judges six, where it is said: "When Israel had sown, Midian and Amalek would come up and lay waste to everything, while it was still in its green growth." Whence he gladly destroys the beginnings of goodness, because he lies in ambush against our salvation. — On account of which he adds: Lest believing they be saved. For as it is written in the last chapter of Mark, "he who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned." He, however, seeks nothing except our damnation, as one already damned himself; Apocalypse twelve: "The accuser of the brethren has been cast down, who accused them before the sight of our God day and night."
19. (Verse 13). Second, as regards the explanation of the withered seed in the slothful heart, it is added: Those upon the rock are those who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy. And this indeed is praiseworthy, according to that passage of Acts seventeen: "They received the word with all eagerness."
But nevertheless they are blameworthy in this, that they do not nurture it nor wish to labor; and therefore he adds: And these have no roots, that is, firmness of charity, concerning which the Apostle says in Ephesians three: "Rooted and grounded in charity"; but rather they have a lustful or adulterous love, and therefore they do not advance: Wisdom four: "Adulterous plantings will not give deep roots nor establish a stable foundation," because, Hosea nine, "their root has dried up."
And that these do not have confirming roots, he shows when he adds: Because they believe for a time, namely in a time of prosperity, and in a time of temptation they fall away, namely from God, according to that passage of Deuteronomy thirty-two: "He withdrew from God, his Savior." This certainly befits such a slothful person, according to that passage of Ecclesiasticus six: "How exceedingly harsh is wisdom to unlearned men, and the senseless man will not remain in it"; but, as it is said in Hosea seven, "woe to those who have withdrawn from me." Against which, Job twenty-seven: "Until I fail, I will not withdraw from my innocence." And therefore Ecclesiasticus two exhorts: "Son, when you come to the service of God, stand in justice and fear, and prepare your soul for temptation."
20. (Verse 14.). Third, however, as regards the exposition of the seed choked in the busy heart, it is added: That which fell among thorns, these are they who have heard, that is, those are signified by that. And note that hearing is attributed to all, so that no one can excuse himself; Romans 10: "Have they not heard? Indeed, their sound has gone forth into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world." But not all bear spiritual fruit, because they are hindered by carnal cares; and therefore he adds: And by anxieties, namely within, and by riches, namely without, and by pleasures of life, namely below; in which is touched upon the threefold mutable good, namely interior, exterior, and inferior: going forth they are choked, that is, they lose the spiritual life, because, according to what is said in First Timothy 6, "those who wish to become rich fall into temptations and into the snare of the devil and into many useless and harmful desires, which plunge a man into ruin and perdition"; and therefore they are rightly said to be choked.
And therefore by losing the interior life, they consequently lose exterior efficacy; and therefore it is added: And they bring forth no fruit. For it is written in Ecclesiastes 5: "He who loves riches shall reap no fruit from them," because, as it is said in the Psalm, "they slept their sleep, and the men of riches found nothing in their hands"; and Romans 6: "What fruit did you have in those things of which you are now ashamed?" — as if to say: none. Whence riches and pleasures are rightly compared to thorns, both because they do not bring forth fruit, and also because they hinder fruit, and also because they afflict the one who possesses them, according to that passage of Ecclesiastes 2: "But to the sinner God has given affliction and superfluous care, that he may add and gather together. But this also is vanity and a vain solicitude of the mind"; Ecclesiastes 5: "Sweet is the sleep of the laborer, whether he eats much or little; but the satiety of the rich man does not permit him to sleep." Whence he lies as it were upon thorns; on account of which Bede says: "Riches, even if they seem to delight, are nevertheless thorns to their possessors, because with the stings of cares they pierce the minds of those who eagerly seek them and anxiously guard them."
21. (Vers. 15.). Fourth, regarding the interpretation of the seed multiplied in the fruitful heart, he subjoins: But that which fell on good ground, namely fell: Numbers fourteen: "The land which we surveyed is very good"; these are they who in a good heart, with respect to the cognitive power: Ecclesiasticus thirty-seven: "Establish within yourself a heart of good counsel"; and Ecclesiasticus three: "A wise and understanding heart abstains from sin"; and very good, with respect to the affective power: Hebrews last chapter: "It is best that the heart be established by grace." Hearing the word, retain it, with respect to the memorative power: Proverbs three: "My son, do not forget my law, and let your heart keep my precepts." And bring forth fruit, with respect to the operative power: Isaiah thirty: "Rain shall be given to your seed, wherever you sow in the land, and the bread of the fruits of your land shall be most abundant." In patience, with respect to the passive and supportive power, in which is the consummation of good merit: James one: "Patience has a perfect work, that you may be perfect and entire." Hence it is patience that leads to fruit: James five: "Behold, the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, patiently bearing, until he receives the early and the late rain"; and Hebrews ten: "Patience is necessary for you, that doing the will of God, you may receive the promise"; and twelve: "All discipline in the present indeed is not of joy but of sorrow, but afterward it will render to those exercised by it the most peaceful fruit of justice."
22. For the more evident manifestation of this explanation, however, it should be noted that the seed is the Word of God, first, because it holds the nature of an active principle: John eight: "I am the beginning, who also speak to you"; Matthew thirteen: "He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man," who namely is the principle of every good. - Second, because it holds the nature of a propagative principle: John five: "My Father works until now, and I work." Therefore Mark four: "So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground and sleep," etc.; and Genesis one: "Let the earth bring forth green herb and yielding seed and fruit tree, whose seed," etc.