Cornelius a Lapide
Table of Contents
Synopsis of the Chapter
First, Christ proposes parables: first, of the sower; second, in verse 21, of the lamp set on a lampstand; third, in verse 26, of the seed; fourth, in verse 31, of the mustard seed. Second, in verse 37, while He Himself is sleeping, a storm arises on the sea, which, being awakened by the disciples, commanding the winds and the sea, He calms.
Vulgate Text: Mark 4:1-41
1. And He began again to teach by the sea: and a great crowd gathered to Him, so that going up into a boat He sat in the sea, and the whole crowd was around the sea, upon the land; 2. and He taught them many things in parables, and said to them in His teaching: 3. Hear: behold, a sower went out to sow. 4. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and the birds of heaven came and ate it up. 5. And some fell upon stony ground, where it did not have much earth, and it sprang up at once, because it had no depth of earth; 6. and when the sun came up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns came up and choked it, and it did not yield fruit. 8. And some fell on good ground, and gave fruit springing up and growing; and it brought forth, one thirty, one sixty, and one a hundred. 9. And He said: He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 10. And when He was alone, the twelve who were with Him questioned Him about the parable. 11. And He said to them: To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things are done in parables: 12. that seeing they may see, and not see; and hearing they may hear, and not understand: lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them. 13. And He said to them: Do ye not know this parable? and how shall ye know all the parables? 14. He that soweth soweth the word. 15. And these are they who are by the wayside, where the word is sown, and when they have heard, immediately Satan cometh and taketh away the word which is sown in their hearts. 16. And these likewise are they who are sown upon stony ground: who, when they have heard the word, straightway receive it with joy; 17. and have no root in themselves, but are temporal; and afterwards, when tribulation and persecution arise for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. 18. And others are they who are sown among thorns: these are they who hear the word, 19. and the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts after other things entering in, choke the word, and it is rendered fruitless. 20. And these are they who are sown upon the good ground, who hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit, one thirty, one sixty, and one a hundred. 21. And He said unto them: Doth a lamp come to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? Is it not to be set upon a candlestick? 22. For there is nothing hid which shall not be made manifest; nor has anything been done in secret, but that it may come to light. 23. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. 24. And He said unto them: Take heed what ye hear. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again, and more shall be added unto you. 25. For he that hath, to him shall be given; and he that hath not, even that which he hath shall be taken from him. 26. And He said: So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the earth, 27. and should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring up and grow, while he knoweth not. 28. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn in the ear. 29. And when the fruit is brought forth, straightway he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. 30. And He said: To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? or to what parable shall we compare it? 31. It is as a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that are in the earth; 32. and when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches, so that the birds of the air may dwell under the shadow thereof. 33. And with many such parables He spake the word unto them, as they were able to hear it; 34. but without a parable spake He not unto them, and apart He expounded all things to His disciples. 35. And He said unto them that day, when evening was come: Let us pass over to the other side. 36. And sending away the multitude, they take Him even as He was in the ship; and there were also other ships with Him. 37. And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that the ship was now filling. 38. And He was in the stern, sleeping upon a pillow; and they awake Him, and say unto Him: Master, carest Thou not that we perish? 39. And rising up, He rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea: Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40. And He said unto them: Why are ye fearful? have ye not yet faith? 41. And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another: Who, thinkest thou, is this, that both the wind and the sea obey Him?
Verse 10: And When He Was Alone
10. AND WHEN HE WAS ALONE. — In Greek, κατὰ μόνας, that is, solitarily, that is, alone, as the Arabic renders it, set apart from the crowd of the people; the Syriac, when He was alone. Thus in Latin one who is alone and separated from others is called singulus, as though without an angle (sine angulo), because those things which are unique and alone cannot constitute an angle: from singulus is derived singularis, that is, unique and alone. Whence Cicero, Academicae Quaestiones, book IV: "I pass over," he says, "Aristotle as being almost singular in philosophy." And Caesar, book IV On the Gallic War: "When they caught sight of any stragglers (singulares, solitary ones) disembarking from the ship, spurring on their horses they attacked them in their difficulty." And likewise that passage: "For Thou, O Lord, hast set me apart in hope (singulariter in spe)," Ps. IV, 10.
THEY ASKED HIM (Jesus), THE TWELVE WHO WERE WITH HIM. — The Greek, Syriac and Arabic have, "with the twelve," that is to say, the seventy disciples, who together with the twelve Apostles were the followers of Jesus, asked Him what was the meaning of the parable of the seed and of the sower. So Euthymius.
Verse 21: Doth a Lamp Come to Be Put Under a Bushel?
21. DOTH A LAMP COME (that is, is it brought in or carried into the house or into the chamber) TO BE PUT UNDER A BUSHEL? — That is, to be hidden under a vessel; as though to say: No; but that it may be publicly displayed and shine upon all. By this parable Christ signifies that He does not wish the mysteries of this parable and the other doctrines of the Gospel to be concealed and hidden, but that He wishes His disciples to unfold and communicate them in their own time to others, who at this present time were still unable to grasp them; therefore they are not to keep them hidden, but to spread them abroad and preach them openly. So S. Jerome, Bede and others, and it is plain from the verse that follows, where He adds:
Verse 22: Which Shall Not Be Made Manifest
22. FOR THERE IS NOTHING HID WHICH SHALL NOT BE MADE MANIFEST (that is, which is not meant to be made manifest), NOR HAS ANYTHING BEEN DONE IN SECRET, BUT THAT IT MAY COME INTO THE OPEN. — So read with the Greeks and the Latins; as though to say: Although the teaching of the Gospel and My deeds and words are still hidden and secret, yet I do not will that they should remain hidden forever; but that at a fitting time they be openly set forth by you, O disciples, and preached unto all. So S. Jerome and Bede. This is what Christ says in Matthew 10:27: "What I tell you in darkness, speak ye in the light; and what ye hear in the ear, preach ye upon the housetops."
Verse 24: Take Heed What Ye Hear
24. AND HE SAID UNTO THEM: TAKE HEED WHAT YE HEAR. — That is to say, says Euthymius: Give heed to those things which ye hear from Me, that ye may understand them and commit them to memory, and in due time carry them out in deed — namely, that ye may communicate them to others. He adds the reason: "Let none of My sayings escape you," says Theophylact. Hear Bede: "He urgently teaches us to listen to the words, so that we may be able both to ruminate upon them continually in our own breast, and to pour them forth for the hearing of another."
WITH WHAT MEASURE YE HAVE MEASURED, IT SHALL BE MEASURED UNTO YOU AGAIN, AND IT SHALL BE ADDED UNTO YOU. — As though to say: If ye have communicated and preached My teaching to others largely and copiously, I also will largely and copiously impart unto you a far greater understanding of it, wisdom, grace and glory, as it were an antidote and a reward. So fountains, the more water they pour out downward, the more they receive from above. Let doctors, therefore, catechists, preachers, and the rest, learn from this saying and promise of Christ, that the more things they impart to others by teaching, the more wisdom and grace they shall receive from Christ, according to that word: "He who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows in blessings (beneficiis, that is, beneficently, largely, copiously), shall also reap of blessings," II Cor. IX, 6. See what is said there.
Verse 25: For He That Hath, to Him Shall Be Given
25. FOR HE THAT HATH, TO HIM SHALL BE GIVEN; AND HE THAT HATH NOT, EVEN THAT WHICH HE HATH SHALL BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HIM. — "He has," that is, he uses and by using shows that he has: for such a one has in act, while he who does not use a grace and gift has it only in habit and idleness. This is what the theologians say: that he who uses his grace has it in second act; but he who does not use it has it only in first act, that is, in potency and habit. See what was said on Matthew 13:12, and Matthew 25:29. The sense therefore is: He who uses the teaching imparted to him by God, whether by study or by infusion, to him shall be given an increase of teaching: but from him who does not use his teaching, God will take it away, as being idle and useless. For Christ here stirs up the Apostles to diligent and fervent preaching of the Gospel, promising them that if they do so, there will be a greater inflow of His wisdom and grace.
Verse 26: So Is the Kingdom of God, as if a Man Should Cast Seed Into the Earth
26. AND HE SAID: SO IS THE KINGDOM OF GOD, AS WHEN A MAN CASTS SEED UPON THE GROUND. — This parable is another and different from that of the sower, which came before at verse 3, although both are drawn from the same seed, but applied and explained in different ways. Moreover, by the seed, as S. Chrysostom, Bede, and the Scholiast in Jerome here rightly teach, just as also on S. Matthew XIII, is signified the teaching of the Gospel; by the field, the hearers; by the harvest, the consummation of the world, or also the death of each individual man.
Verse 27: And Should Sleep and Should Rise Night and Day
27. AND SHOULD SLEEP (namely the man who has sown) AND SHOULD RISE NIGHT AND DAY, AND THE SEED SHOULD SPRING UP AND GROW, WHILE HE KNOWS NOT. — Some refer the phrase "and should rise night and day" to the seed, taking the Greek τὸ ἔτι ("and") as διηγητικόν, that is, explanatory of what preceded, and supposing it to be taken for "that is" — so that Christ is unfolding the sense by adding, "that is, the seed springs up and grows, while he knows not," namely the sleeping man; as though to say: The seed cast into the earth by the husbandman continually germinates and grows night and day, even while the husbandman is not thinking of it, but is resting and sleeping. So Bede, the Scholiast in S. Jerome, and the Glossa.
More plainly, S. Chrysostom, Theophylact, Euthymius, Maldonatus, Francis Lucas and others refer the phrase "he should rise day and night" to the man who sows, not to the seed, so that "night" belongs to "he should sleep," and "day" to "he should rise," as though to say: Just as the husbandman who has sown, sleeping idly through the night and rising during the day and busying himself with other affairs, and not thinking of the seed or the field — yet the seed itself by its own force germinates and grows without the husbandman knowing, so that it first sprouts the blade or shoot, then the ear, and then the corn in the ear: in the same way the preaching and teaching of the Gospel proceeds. For this, sown (that is, preached) continually by Christ and the Apostles from small beginnings, grows gradually and imperceptibly into the great and ripe fruits of the faithful — Christ Himself as it were sleeping in Heaven, and, as it were, not knowing, in that He permits unbelieving Jews and Gentiles and tyrants to rise up against the Apostles and the Gospel, and to persecute and slay them. It grows, I say, until, gradually propagating itself, it fills the whole world, when at length, the harvest being ripe, the corn — that is, the elect — shall be gathered into the barn of Heaven, which shall come to pass at the end of the world and on the day of Judgment.
By this parable, therefore, is signified the power of the Gospel, which has gradually pervaded the whole world, and converted it to itself and to Christ. Tacitly also it is signified by it that the Apostles, the heralds of the Gospel, are not to glory in their own preaching, as though they by it had converted the world; because, as the Apostle says, "neither is he that planteth anything, nor he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase," I Cor. III, 7. On the other hand, it suggests that they are not to lose heart if they see the fruit of their preaching small and slow, because God will by little and little convert many others through those few whom they have converted — as S. James, by the seven (or, as others say, nine) whom he had converted in Spain, converted the whole of Spain.
Verse 28: The Full Corn in the Ear
28. FOR THE EARTH BRINGETH FORTH FRUIT OF HERSELF, FIRST THE BLADE, THEN THE EAR, THEN THE FULL CORN IN THE EAR. — The Arabic: "Because the earth alone brings forth fruit, first the blade, and after it the ear; then the ear is filled, so that when the fruit is ripe, then the sickle is put in, for the harvest is come." In the same way the faith of Christ and the Church has gradually grown through the preaching of the Gospel by various stages of increase; has grown, I say, both in virtues, and in propagation throughout all the provinces.
Morally, interpreters adapt these three — blade, ear, corn — to the threefold increase of virtue and merit in each man. For the ground of our heart sprouts, first, the blade, when it conceives and begins good desires and works within itself; secondly, the ear, when it vigorously pursues them by doing; thirdly, the corn, when it brings works, virtues, and merits to full maturity and perfection. So Theophylact: "The blade," he says, "is at the beginning of good; the ear, when we resist temptations; the fruit, perfect action."
Hear S. Gregory, Homily 15 on Ezekiel and book XXII of the Morals, chapter xiv: "To bring forth the blade is still to hold the tenderness of a good beginning. The blade comes to the ear when virtue conceived in the mind is carried on to the accomplishment of a good work. But the full corn fruits in the ear when virtue has now advanced so far that it may become a work both robust and perfect." Wherefore, says Victor of Antioch, "It is not enough for salvation that we should flourish like green grass through obedience; but over and above, a certain manly strength of soul is needed, by which, when we are buffeted by the blasts of the winds — that is, of temptations — we may stand upright like an erect stalk. And then also we must swell like the rich ears with the grains of fruits — that is, of virtues — and fill the hand of the mind."
Christ here, therefore, suggests that the Apostles, and those who convert souls, must wait long-sufferingly for the fruit and harvest of their labour, as husbandmen wait; and must nurture and lead the tender faithful up to the summit of virtue by gradually teaching, admonishing, and exercising them. "Therefore," says Bede, "let no one who is seen to be still in the tenderness of mind at his good resolve be despised, since the corn begins from the blade that it may become a grain."
Symbolically: the Scholiast in S. Chrysostom: "The blade," he says, "was in the law of nature; the ear, in the law of Moses; the corn, in the Gospel."
Verse 29: And When It Shall Bring Forth Fruit, Immediately He Putteth in the Sickle
29. AND WHEN IT SHALL BRING FORTH FRUIT, IMMEDIATELY HE PUTTETH IN THE SICKLE. — In Greek, ὅταν δὲ παραδῷ ὁ καρπός, that is, "when indeed it shall have shown itself," or "when the fruit shall have been brought forth"; fructus (fruit) here therefore is nominative case: whence others translate "when the fruit shall have come forth"; Euthymius, "when it shall have ripened"; the Syriac, "when it shall have become full"; the Arabic, "when it shall have been made perfect." It is a Hebraism. For among the Hebrews verbs in the hitpael conjugation have a passive meaning, or one of reflexive action, by which the agent takes the action upon himself, so that the same is patient as is agent. Hence certain codices read: "When the fruit shall have brought itself forth." Maldonatus otherwise: "When it shall have brought forth the fruit." "With fruit," he says, "that is, when the seed itself, which was the fruit of the previous seed, shall have brought forth its own fruit, namely another fruit from itself."
Verse 33: And With Many Such Parables He Spake the Word Unto Them
33. AND WITH MANY SUCH PARABLES HE SPAKE THE WORD UNTO THEM, AS THEY WERE ABLE TO HEAR IT. — That is, as they were worthy to hear, says Maldonatus, from Bede, Euthymius, and Clement of Alexandria, book I of the Stromata. As though to say: To the Apostles, who were willing to understand and believe, Christ spoke plainly and without parables, that they might understand more and more; but to the Scribes and Jews who were unwilling to believe and understand, He spoke so obscurely and parabolically that, even if they wished, they could not understand. More simply and plainly, Theophylact and Franciscus Lucas here, and S. Chrysostom, Homily 45 on Matthew, as though to say: Christ spoke "such," namely common and easy "parables," which all the common folk knew, and not abstruse ones unfamiliar to the crowd — so that the crowd might understand the outer shell of them, and might recognize that something heavenly and divine lay hidden beneath them; and though they did not comprehend it in particular, yet they were incited and stirred by Christ through the familiar parable to investigate and seek out the unknown thing hidden beneath it.
Verse 36: Just as He Was in the Ship
36. JUST AS HE WAS IN THE SHIP. — As though to say: The disciples took Christ out into the deep, that they might cross over with Him; Christ, I say, just as He was in the ship, namely sitting and teaching the people who stood upon the shore, as is clear from verse 1; for afterwards, in verse 38, He changed that posture, sleeping in the ship. It notes the prompt obedience of the disciples, and, in turn, the ease of Christ accommodating Himself to their readiness, that He might avoid the tumult of the flocking crowd. A little differently, Franciscus Lucas: "Just as He was in the ship," that is, he says, without His going out in any way from the ship in which He was. Whence the Syriac translates, "when He was in the ship"; the Arabic, "they took Him into the ship."
AND OTHER SHIPS WERE WITH HIM. — It was done by the counsel of God, that the many who were being carried in those ships should be spectators and witnesses of the miracle which Christ was about to perform, namely the stilling of the storm.