The words, "He who has will be given and will abound, but he who does not have will be taken away from him even that which he has"

But if these same people begin to read the word of God without preconceived thoughts and read it with faith and a sincere desire to understand it, then they will undoubtedly understand it; understanding will be given to them; and the more they are imbued with the greatness of this word, the more this understanding will increase in them, the brighter and clearer will be the divine truth for them; then will their eyes also be blessed, which when they see, they see, and their ears, which when they hear, they hear (Matt. 13:16).

Many Old Testament prophets desired to see (Matt. 13:17) what they prophesied; many righteous people wanted to see the fulfillment of their expectations of the coming of the Messiah and to hear Him; but they did not see Him or hear Him. Blessed are your eyes that see, and your ears that they hear (Matt. 13:16).

Unfortunately, at that time even Jesus' closest disciples, His Apostles, were not yet fully aware of what they had seen and heard. According to the Evangelist Mark, they apparently found it difficult to understand the meaning of the parable of the sower, since Christ asked them: Do you not understand this parable? How then can you understand all the parables? (Mark 4:13).

This is what this parable means (the explanation of the parable of the sower is given above, on p. 394).

Having finished the sermon with parables and dismissed the people, Jesus entered the house (Matt. 13:36) and there, left alone with the Apostles, explained to them, at their own request, the meaning of the parable of the tares (the explanation is given above, on p. 398). The apostles asked to explain to them only two parables; consequently, the others were understood by them without explanation. It was said above that the teaching of parables was intended exclusively for the people. Meanwhile, left alone with His disciples, He continues to speak in parables – why? Is it not in order to test their receptivity to the word of God, their thoughtfulness and understanding? "Behold," says He, "ye have not understood the parables of the sower and the tares; how then can you understand all the parables?" (Mark 4:13). And then, apparently to test whether they understand the thoughts hidden in the parables at all, He tells them new parables.

The Parable of the Man Who Threw Seed into the Ground

The Kingdom of God is like if a man throws seed into the ground, and sleeps, and rises night and day; and how the seed sprouts and grows, he does not know, for the earth of its own accord produces first greenery, then an ear, then a full grain in the ear. When the fruit is ripe, he immediately sends a sickle, because the harvest has come.

This parable has always been considered one of the most difficult for an interpreter. Who should be understood by a person who throws seed into the ground? In the opinion of Anthony, Archbishop of Volhynia and Zhytomyr, here the sower is understood not as God, but as a Christian who plants a good seed (the teaching of Christ or feats of piety) both in his heart and in his social life; he cannot follow the further growth of the grace-filled life in himself and in others, just as a resting farmer does not follow the gradual growth of a sown field, but the Lord, invisibly affirming virtue in his heart and in his social life, like the sun and rain that raise the grain growing in the field, then suddenly, unexpectedly for the workers, reveals the grace-filled fruits of their labors and gives a bountiful harvest of God.

In interpreting the Lord's parables, it must always be borne in mind that, in teaching with parables, Jesus Christ did not take imaginary examples, but from the everyday life of His listeners, and He did so (according to the explanation of John Chrysostom) in order to make His words more expressive, to clothe the truth in a living image, to imprint it more deeply in the memory and, as it were, to present it to the eyes. Therefore, in parables one should look for similarities or similarities only in general, and not in particulars, not in each word taken separately. In addition, each parable must be understood in connection with others of the same kind and with the general spirit of Christ's teaching.

In His sermons and parables, Jesus Christ very precisely distinguishes the Kingdom of Heaven from the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven He calls the Kingdom of God which is reserved exclusively for the righteous and will begin after the final Judgment of the human race. And He calls the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of those who believe in Him and do the will of the Heavenly Father Who sent Him, founded by Him on earth. The Kingdom of God prepares the people who enter it for the Kingdom of Heaven; it began with the coming of Christ, who threw the word of God into the hearts of people, just as a farmer throws seed into the ground; and it will end when the time of harvest comes, when the fruit that has grown from the sown word of God is fully ripe. This fruit will ripen when all mankind inhabiting the earth unites into one community of believers, into one flock of the One Shepherd; when all mankind will become one field in which good seeds are sown (the growth of tares together with wheat will not break the unity of the field, just as the presence of Judas in it did not break the unity of Christ's little flock). Then the Kingdom of Heaven will begin. The visible participation of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God is expressed in His founding of this Kingdom and in the sending of reapers when the fruit ripens. Although His invisible leadership of this Kingdom is now undoubted for all who believe in Him, the Apostles at that time did not yet have such faith in Him. They had to give a clear example from everyday life to explain how the Kingdom of God begins and ends here on earth. The best example was the same sowing, which has already been mentioned. A man who threw seed into the ground he had prepared for it did all that was required of him; although, if he wishes, he watches over the growth of what he sows, and protects it from unfavorable external influences, yet, because of the power hidden in the seed, the earth of its own accord produces first greenery, then an ear, then a full grain in the ear. In the same way, the word of God, sown by Jesus Christ and falling on favorable soil, as a result of the grace-filled power contained in it, regenerates man; and if neither thorns nor tares choke it, it grows and bears fruit even without the further assistance of Him who sowed.

On the basis of what has been said, we can assume that in this parable the Sower is Christ Himself, the seed is the word of God brought by Him to earth, and the plant growing from the seed is the Kingdom of God. The main idea of the parable is the action of the power of the word of God, uniting people into one Kingdom of God. The rest of the parts of the parable should not be taken into account when interpreting it, since they do not have a special independent meaning (for example: and how the seed sprouts and grows, he does not know) and are given only to clearly confirm the correctness of the main idea.

The Parables of the Treasure Hidden in the Field, the Pearl Seeker, and the Seine

Continuing to test the Apostles whether they could understand His thoughts hidden in the parables, the Lord told them two parables about seekers of the truth, that is, the truth of God. A man accidentally found a treasure buried in a field; And when he found it, he was so glad that he went and sold all that he had, and bought that field. And another sought good pearls, and when he found one pearl of great price, he went and sold all that he had, and bought it (Matt. 13:46).