St Matthew Chapter XIII : Verses 24-30
Contents
- Matt. xiii. 24-30. Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
- Notes on the text
- Additional Notes: Cockle; Suffer both to grow until the harvest.
Matt. xiii. 24-30
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| An enemy sowing cockle. J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum. |
Aliam parabolam proposuit illis, dicens : Simile factum est regnum cælorum homini, qui seminavit bonum semen in agro suo :
25 But while men were asleep, his enemy came and oversowed cockle among the wheat and went his way.
cum autem dormirent homines, venit inimicus ejus, et superseminavit zizania in medio tritici, et abiit.
26 And when the blade was sprung up, and had brought forth fruit, then appeared also the cockle.
Cum autem crevisset herba, et fructum fecisset, tunc apparuerunt et zizania.
27 And the servants of the goodman of the house coming said to him: Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy field? whence then hath it cockle?
Accedentes autem servi patrisfamilias, dixerunt ei : Domine, nonne bonum semen seminasti in agro tuo? unde ergo habet zizania?
28 And he said to them: An enemy hath done this. And the servants said to him: Wilt thou that we go and gather it up?
Et ait illis : Inimicus homo hoc fecit. Servi autem dixerunt ei : Vis, imus, et colligimus ea?
29 And he said: No, lest perhaps gathering up the cockle, you root up the wheat also together with it.
Et ait : Non : ne forte colligentes zizania, eradicetis simul cum eis et triticum.
30 Suffer both to grow until the harvest, and in the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers: Gather up first the cockle, and bind it into bundles to burn, but the wheat gather ye into my barn.
Sinite utraque crescere usque ad messem, et in tempore messis dicam messoribus : Colligite primum zizania, et alligate ea in fasciculos ad comburendum : triticum autem congregate in horreum meum.
Notes
Note. — This parable deals with the development of the good seed, which, though sown on good ground, is still exposed to certain dangers.
24. he proposed to them. Lit. “ he laid beside them ” (παρέθηκεν αὐτοῖς). The word is used of food set before a person, and occurs in St Luke (I have not what to set before him, xi. 6), and also in St Mark vi. 41 and viii. 6-7.
to them. To the multitudes, not only to the disciples.
The kingdom of heaven, etc. The parable of the sower has no such introduction, but we find it preceding the other six parables given in this chapter, all of which treat of the kingdom of heaven.
25. while men were asleep. Some commentators see here an example of the negligence of those in charge of souls, but the more general opinion is that it simply points out that the enemy chose his opportunity in the darkness and secrecy of night, when deep sleep is wont to hold men (Job iv. 13). It is not said that these men who slept were the keepers of the field. Even in the time of our Lord Himself, there was a Judas, a son of ‘perdition, among the Twelve ; and in the writings of the apostles we find allusions to some who had made shipwreck concerning the faith (e.g. 1 Tim. i. 19 ; 2 Tim. iv. 9).
his enemy. The devil is God’s enemy rather than ours, and if he attacks us, it is because he hates God, and seeks to* vent his rage on God’s creatures.
oversowed. (ἐπέσπειρεν) “ Our Lord here shews that error comes after the truth, which the actual event testifies. For so after the Prophets, were the false prophets ; and after the Apostles, the false apostles ; and after Christ, antichrist. For unless the devil sees what to imitate, or against whom to plot, he neither attempts nor knows how” (St Jn. Chrys., Hom., xlvi. p. 629).
Roberts, in his Oriental Illustration, states that this kind of injury is perpetrated in India even in our days. “ See,” he says, “ that lurking villain watching for the time when his neighbour shall plough his field : he carefully marks the period when the work has been finished, and goes in the night following and casts in what the natives call pandinellu, i.e. pigpaddy ; this being of rapid growth, springs up before the good seed, and scatters itself before the other can be reaped, so that the poor owner of the field will be for years before he can get rid of the troublesome weed ” (Quoted by Trench, Notes on the Parables, p. 104),
cockle. Probably the “bearded darnel,” a poisonous grass, which, until the ear is developed, greatly resembles wheat.
went his way. Better, “ went away ” (ἀπῆλθεν).
26. when the blade, etc. Note that the cockle is not represented as injurious to the wheat, as the thorns were to the good seed in the previous parable.
then appeared. Lit. “ was manifested ” (ἐφάνη)
27. the servants. Our Lord does not explain whom they represent.
28. gather it up. Lit. “ collect together ” (συλλέξωμεν).
Cockle. Three plants have been given as answering to the “ zizania ” of the New Testament — cockle, tares, and bearded darnel (Lolium temulentum). The latter seems the most probable, as this is a poisonous plant which provokes vomiting and convulsions, and even leads to death when taken in sufficient quantity. The Oriental name “ zawan ” is derived from zan (nausea). “ The darnel, before it comes into ear, is very similar in appearance to wheat, hence the command that the zizania should be left to the harvest, lest while men plucked up the tares they should root up also the wheat with them.’ ” Stanley, however (S. and P., p. 426), speaks of women and children picking out from the wheat in the corn-fields of Samaria the tall green stalks, still called by the Arabs zuwan. “These stalks,” he continues, “if sown designedly throughout the fields, would be- inseparable from the wheat, from which, even when growing naturally by chance, they are at first sight hardly distinguishable.” (See also Thomson's The Land and the Book, p. 420); — “The grain is just in the proper stage to illustrate the parable. In those parts where the grain has headed out, the tares have done the same, and then a child cannot mistake them for wheat or barley ; but where both are less developed, the closest scrutiny will often fail to detect them. Even the farmers, who in this country generally weed their fields, do not attempt to separate the one from the other” (Smith’s Dict, of Bible, art. ‘ ‘ Tares ”).
25. But while men were asleep. Our Lord does not explain these words when interpreting the parable, neither does He mention whom the servants (verse 27) represent. The parabolic form of teaching was often employed by Christ, and in each parable we can perceive that He desired to inculcate some great truth. When this object was secured, the minor details of the parable were often added to render the narration more vivid and true to nature. Hence, it is not necessary to seek for an explanation of each feature of the parable. A comparison drawn from earth can convey but a faint image of some spiritual truth. We should therefore seek to grasp the great truth set forth in any one of the Gospel parables. This generally stands out in relief, and frequently the context projects a strong light on it. In the parables concerning the kingdom of heaven, we trace the connection of ideas, and the seven, in their fulness, reveal the different aspects of the Catholic Church. A glance at the truths taught by these seven parables will bring this home to the student more clearly.
30. Suffer both to grow until the harvest. This does not mean that those in authority are to allow evildoers to pursue unmolested their course of life. All who have charge of others are bound, as far as possible, to root out what might be a danger for those under their care. But this does not justify private individuals in attacking transgressors against faith or morals. Thus the Government prosecutes malefactors and the Church condemns heresies, but the simple citizen or the lay Catholic has no such power or authority. In spite of all the vigilance of superiors, it must needs be that scandals come (St Matt, xviii. 7), and the coexistence of good and evil in the Church militant is often alluded to in the first gospel, e.g. —
(a) The wheat and the chaff are mixed on the threshing floor (hi. 12).
(b) The wheat and the cockle grow side by side (xiii. 30).
(c) The draw net gathers both good and bad fishes (xiii. 47).
(d) The wise and the foolish virgins are together for a time (xxv. 1).
(e) The sheep are mingled with the goats (xxv. 32).
Totus tuus ego sum
Et omnia mea tua sunt;
Tecum semper tutus sum:
Ad Jesum per Mariam.
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