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Ver. 1-3. Mark saith, Mar_4:1, He began again to teach by the seaside: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. Luke, Luk_8:4, saith no more than, when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable. Two evangelists agree that this sermon of our Saviour’s was preached out of a ship, to multitudes that stood on the shore. The occasion of his going into a ship was the throng of people, both for his own and their convenience. It is here said that he sat; this, we observed before, was the usual gesture of the teacher amongst the Jews. This sermon is said to have been made the same day, which some observe in historical narrations is to be taken strictly, and lets us know the assiduity of Christ in his work.
And he spake many things unto them in parables: the term parable often in Scripture signifies dark sayings, or proverbial speeches, Eze_17:2 20:49. But in the Gospels it generally hath another sense, and signifies similitudes or comparisons of things. This being the first time we have met with the term, and the first formed and perfect parable we have met with, because we shall meet with the term often hereafter, with many formed parables, I shall here give some notes which may be not only of use to understand the following parables we shall meet with in this chapter, but in the following part of the Gospel.
1. A parable, in the gospel sense of the term, signifieth a similitude, taken from the ordinary actions of men, and made use of to inform us in one or more points of spiritual doctrines.
2. That it is not necessary to a parable that the matter contained in it should be true in matter of fact; for it is not brought to inform us in a matter of fact, but in some spiritual truth, to which it bears some proportion. This we see in Jotham’s parable of the trees going to choose themselves a king, &c.
3. That it is not necessary that all the actions of men mentioned in a parable should be morally just and honest. The actions of the unjust steward, Luk_16:1, &c., were not so.
4. That, for the right understanding of a parable, our great care must be to consider the main scope of it, whither the story tends, and what our Saviour designed principally by the parable to instruct and teach the people by that discourse.
5. That the main scope of the parable is to be learned, either from our Saviour’s general or more particular explication of it, either from the proparabola, or preface to it, or from the epiparabola, or the conclusion of it.
6. It is not to be expected that all particular actions represented in a parable should be answered by something in the explication of it.
7. Lastly, though the scope of the parable be the main thing we are to attend unto, and in which it doth instruct us, yet it may collaterally inform us in several things besides that point which is in it chiefly attended.
It is said that our Saviour spake many things to the multitude in parables, covering truths under similitudes fetched from such ordinary actions as men did or might do. This was a very ancient way of instruction, by fables or parables, as we may learn by Jotham’s parable, Jud_9:7,8, &c. It is now much out of use with us, but amongst the Jews was very ordinary; so as our Saviour spake to them in their own dialect. It had a double advantage upon their hearers:
1. Upon their memory, we being very apt to remember stories.
2. Upon their minds, to put them upon studying the meaning of what they heard so delivered; and also upon their affections, similitudes contributing much to excite affection.
But withal it had this disadvantage, that he who so taught was not understood of a great part of his auditory.