yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
21. When affliction or persecution ariseth on account of the word. By way of example, Christ says that such persons are made uneasy by the offense of the cross. And certainly, as the heat of the sun discovers the barrenness of the soil, so persecution and the cross lay open the vanity of those, who are slightly influenced by I know not what desire, but...
Christ preached both morning and afternoon the same day, unwearied in doing good. Though His enemies opposed and interrupted Him before, the afternoon brought no such discouragements. Resist difficulties in God's service, and they will flee. The poor receive the Gospel where the pomp of religion is least.
AI summary
Commenting on Matthew 13:1-23
But he that received seed into the good ground,.... The hearer compared to good ground into which the seed fell, is he that heareth the word and understandeth it; has a new and spiritual understanding given him, feels the power of it on his heart, enlightening and quickening him; has an application of it made to him by the Spirit of God, and can discern...