Matt. 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21.

[609] Luke 2:49. Page 114 herein.

[610] Matt. 10:37; compare Luke 14:26.

[611] Note 13, end of chapter.

CHAPTER 19.

"HE SPAKE MANY THINGS UNTO THEM IN PARABLES."

Throughout the period of Christ's ministry with which we have thus far
dealt, His fame had continuously increased, because of the authority
with which He spoke and of the many mighty works He did; His popularity
had become such that whenever He moved abroad great multitudes followed
Him. At times the people so thronged as to impede His movements, some
with a desire to hear more of the new doctrine, others to plead at His
feet for relief from physical or other ills; and many there were who had
faith that could they but reach Him, or even touch the border of His
robe, they would be healed.[612] One effect of the people's eagerness,
which led them to press and crowd around Him, was to render difficult if
not impossible at times the effective delivery of any discourse. His
usual place for open-air teaching while He tarried in the vicinity of
the sea, or lake, of Galilee was the shore; and thither flocked the
crowds to hear Him. At His request, the disciples had provided a "small
ship," which was kept in readiness on the beach;[613] and it was usual
with Him to sit in the boat a short distance off shore, and preach to
the people, as He had done when in the earlier days He called the chosen
fishermen to leave their nets and follow Him.[614]

On one such occasion He employed a means of instruction, which, prior to
that time, had not been characteristic of His teaching; this consisted
in the use of parables,[615] simple stories to illustrate His doctrines.
Some of these we shall here consider briefly, in the order most
advantageous for treatment, and as best we know, in what may have been
the sequence in which they were given.

"A SOWER WENT FORTH TO SOW."

First in the order of delivery is the Parable of the Sower. It is a
splendid type of our Lord's parables in general, and is particularly
valuable for its great intrinsic worth and because we possess a
comprehensive interpretation of it by the divine Author. This is the
story:

"Behold, a sower went forth to sow; and when he sowed, some
seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them
up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth:
and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of