Eleventh Sunday in Ordinary Time (June 13, 2021) Mar 4:26-34

The Parable of the Seed Growing

26 And he said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground.

The wicked earns deceptive wages,

but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward. PRO 11:18

Rashi

The wicked earns deceptive wages—The wage of the wicked lies to him. He thinks that his prosperity will remain, but all is lost.

But one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward—But one who sows righteousness, it is a wage of truth, for he is surely confident that he will receive his wage at the end. שכר cornial in Old French. This appears to mean a weir in several dialects; i.e., a fence placed in the water to catch fish. Manuscripts of Rashi yield: eclusse or esklusa, which is e’cluse in modern French; in German wasserschleuse, a lock or a sluice gate. Like a man who locks a canal in order to gather fish, and he is confident that he will find many fish there. A similar instance is Isa 19:10: “all who work (שכר) for pay.”

27 He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how.

28 The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

11 And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so.

Rashi

Let the earth sprout—Let it be filled and covered with a garment of different plants. In Old French דֶשֶׁא is called erbediz, herbage, all species of herbs growing together collectively whilst each root by itself is called anעֵשֶׂב .

Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed—דֶּשֶׁא does not mean the same as עֵשֶׂב nor does עֵשֶׂב mean the same as דֶּשֶׁא so that it is not a correct expression in Biblical Hebrew to say תַּעֲשִׂיב הָאָרֶץ, for the species of דֶּשֶׁא are all different, each by itself being called this or that עֵשֶׂב, and it would not be linguistically correct for a speaker to say this or that דֶּשֶׁא, for by דֶּשֶׁא is meant that which forms the covering of the ground when it is filled with herbage.

Yielding seed—That its seed should grow within itself, so that some of it may be sown in another spot.

Fruit trees—That the taste of the tree be exactly the same as that of the fruit. It the earth did not, however, do this, but “the earth brought forth, etc., trees bearing fruit” and the trees themselves were not fruit; therefore when Adam was cursed on account of his sin, it (the earth) was also visited (because of its sin) and was cursed (Bereishit Rabbah 5:9).

In which is their seed—This refers to the kernels of each kind of fruit from which the tree grows when they are planted.

12 The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. GEN 1:11-12

Chullin 60a:12

Immediately, every kind of grass emerged after its kind, as it is stated: “The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds” (Gen 1:12). The minister of the world began tospeak and said: “May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works,” who do his will even when not explicitly instructed.

Chullin 60b:5

Rav Asi raises a contradiction between two verses. It is written: “The earth brought forth vegetation” (Gen 1:12), on the third day of the week of creation. And it is also written: “No bush of the field was yet in the land” (Gen 2:5), on the Sabbath eve, the sixth day of creation, immediately before Adam was created. Rav Asi explains: This teaches that the grasses emerged on the third day and stood at the opening of the ground, but they did not grow until Adam, the first man, came and prayed for mercy upon them, and rain came, and they sprouted. And this is meant to teach you that the Holy One, blessed be he, desires the prayers of the righteous.

Rashi

The earth brought forth etc.—Although the expression לְמִינֵהוּ according to their own kinds, was not used when the various kinds of herbage were commanded to grow, they heard that the trees were so commanded and they applied to themselves the argument à fortiore, as it is explained in the Aggadah of Tractate Chullin 60a.

29 But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.”

John Gill

But when the grain is ripe—To perfection, and is fully ripe; signifying that when grace is brought to maturity, and faith is performed with power, and the good work begun is perfected; then, as the man of the soil,

At once he puts in the sickle—And cuts it down, and gathers it in;

Because the harvest has come—At death or at the end of the world, which the harvest represents: when all the elect of God are called by grace, and grace in them is brought to its perfection, and they have brought forth all the fruit they were ordained to bear, they will then be all gathered in; either by Christ himself who comes into his garden, and gathers his lilies by death; or by the angels, the reapers, at the close of time, who will gather the elect from the four winds; or the ministers of the gospel, who shall come again with joy, bringing their sheaves with them; being able to observe with pleasure a greater increase, and more fruit of their labours, than they knew of, or expected.

You shall come to your grave in ripe old age,

like a sheaf gathered up in its season. JOB 5:26

Rashi

You shall come to your grave in ripe old age—Heb. בְכֶלַח. In other words, you will be saved from pestilence. As for the word בְכֶלַח : there is no Biblical support to understand its meaning, but according to the context, it can be interpreted as an expression of the completion of the ripening of the grain, when it is completely ripe. Our Rabbis, however, interpret בְכֶלַח as “sixty years,” according to its numerical value.

Like a sheaf gathered up—Like a sheaf is taken off the ground in its season.

The Parable of the Mustard Seed

30 And he said, “With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it?

18 He said therefore, “What is the kingdom of God like? And to what shall I compare it?”

20 And again he said, “To what shall I compare the kingdom of God?

21 It is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, until it was all leavened.” LUK 13:18, 20-21

31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth,

32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

John Gill

Yet when it is sown—So the gospel, when it was preached, it spread notwithstanding all the opposition made against it by, the Jews and Gentiles: there was no stopping it; though the Jewish council charged the apostles to speak no more in the name of Jesus, they regarded them not; though Herod stretched forth his hands against the church, and killed one apostle, and put another in prison, yet “the word of God grew and multiplied” (Act 12:1-3; 12:24), and gospel churches when set up, whether in Judea, or among the Gentiles, presently had additions made to them, and “grew up,” as holy temples in the Lord: and wherever the grace of God is really implanted, there is a growing in it, and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus:

And becomes larger than all the garden plants—The gospel exceeds the traditions of the Jews, and the philosophy of the Gentiles, and any human scheme whatever, in its nature, usefulness, and the largeness of its spread: and the gospel church state will before long fill the world, and all nations shall flow to it; when the Jews shall be converted, and the fulness of the Gentiles shall come, it will be a greater kingdom, than any of the kingdoms of the earth ever were: and the grace of God in the heart, is vastly above nature, and does that which nature can never perform; and which spreads and enlarges, and at last issues in eternal glory:

And puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade—By whom are meant, saints; such to whom the gospel is come in power, and who have the grace of God wrought in their hearts, who are partakers of the heavenly calling: these come where the gospel is preached, and where gracious souls are met together, even in the several gospel churches; where they not only come and go, but where they make nests, abide, and continue, in the shade of the gospel, and gospel ordinances, and that with great delight and pleasure; singing songs of praise to God, for his electing and redeeming love, and for calling grace, and for all spiritual blessings, and gospel privileges: for a larger explanation and illustration of this parable, see Gill on Mat 13:31-32.

10 You cleared the ground for it;

it took deep root and filled the land.

11 The mountains were covered with its shade,

the mighty cedars with its branches.

Rashi

The mighty cedars with its branches—Heb. ארזי אל, like strong cedars, i.e., mighty kings.

12 It sent out its branches to the sea

and its shoots to the River. PSA 80:10-12

33 With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it.

John Gill

With many such parables—As those of the tares, of the leaven in three measures of meal, of the treasure hid in the field, the pearl of great price, the net cast into the sea, and of the scribe instructed to the kingdom of God; which though not related at length here, are by the evangelist Matthew, in Mat 13:24-30, 33, 44-50, 52 together with others elsewhere:

He spoke the word to them—Preached the gospel to the multitude,

As they were able to hear it—Meaning either that he condescended to their weakness, accommodated himself to their capacities, and made use of the plainest similes; and took his comparison from things in nature, the most known and obvious, that what he intended might more easily be understood; or rather, he spoke the word to them in parables, as they were able to hear, without understanding them; and in such a manner, on purpose that they might not understand; for had he more clearly expressed the things relating to himself, as the Messiah, and to the gospel dispensation, so as that they could have took in his meaning, such were their pride, their wickedness, and the rancour of their minds, that they would have at once rose up, and attempted to have destroyed him.

34 He did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

John Gill

He did not speak to them without a parable—For the above reason, as well as for the accomplishment of Scripture (see Gill on Mat 13:34-35).

But privately to his own disciples he explained everything—After they returned with him from the sea side, to the house in Capernaum, where he usually was when there; see Mat 13:36. The multitude being dismissed, he unfolded and explained all these parables to his disciples, and led them into a large knowledge of himself, and the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven; whereby they were furnished for the work he had called them to, and designed them for.