The Text Matthew 7:24-28

The latter is greater than the smaller
Job 8:7
Though your beginning was small, yet your latter end would increase abundantly. (NKJ)

Gen 1:1
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (NKJ)

Do not despise the day of small things
Zech 4:10
For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth." (NKJ)

The righteous rise slowly
Prov 4:18
But the path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. (NKJ)

The joy and sorrow of the foundation
Ezra 3:12
But many of the priests and Levites and heads of the fathers' houses, old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this temple was laid before their eyes. Yet many shouted aloud for joy, (NKJ)

We must be careful not to miss the day of our visitation
Luke 19:41-48
41 Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43 "For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side,
44 "and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation."

2540 kairos (kahee-ros');
of uncertain affinity; an occasion, i.e. set or proper time:
KJV-- X always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season,

45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it,
46 saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'"
47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him,
48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.

1 Sam 2:30
"Therefore the LORD God of Israel says: `I said indeed that your house and the house of your father would walk before Me forever.' But now the LORD says: `Far be it from Me; for those who honor Me I will honor, and those who despise Me shall be lightly esteemed. (NKJ)
Shall be lightly esteemed

7043 qalal (kaw-lal');
a primitive root; to be small, curse, move,.

Ezra 3:8-13
There was a remarkable mixture of affections upon laying the foundation of the temple. Those that only knew the misery of having no temple at all, praised the Lord with shouts of joy. To them, even this foundation seemed great. We ought to be thankful for the beginnings of mercy, though it be not yet perfect. But those who remembered the glory of the first temple, and considered how far inferior this was likely to be, wept with a loud voice. There was reason for it, and if they bewailed the sin that was the cause of this melancholy change, they did well. Yet it was wrong to cast a damp upon the common joys. They despised the day of small things, and were unthankful for the good they enjoyed. Let not the remembrance of former afflictions drown the sense of present mercies.

PROPHET
Malachi was probably written after 432 B. C. when Nehemiah wrote his book because <Nehemiah 13> faces the same problems mentioned by Malachi: priestly carelessness <Mal. 1:6--2:9>, intermarriage with foreigners <Mal. 2:10--3:6>, and lack of tithing <3:7--4:3>.

THE PARABLE ABOUT THE SOWER
A deep impression of the word of God will result in a deep confession in the faith of God

1.The Sower, the Seed, the Soil
2.This is the first recorded teaching in parables
"Parable" comes from the Greek paraballo, which means, "I place beside" in order to compare. It is the placing of a narrative describing an ordinary event in natural life beside an implied spiritual narrative for the purpose of illustrating the spiritual.

Ver. 1. And he began again to teach by the seaside. He went out of the house where he was at Capernaum, the same day he had the above discourse with the Scribes and Pharisees, and on which his mother and: brethren came to speak with him; and from thence he went where he had been before, and taught the people; namely, to the sea side, the shore of the sea of Galilee, or Tiberias:

and there was gathered unto him a great multitude; which followed him from the house, and from other parts of the city, and perhaps from the adjacent places:

so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; in the ship at sea, at some little distance from the shore; the sea of Tiberias being rather a lake, and within land, had no tide, and so was still and quiet:

and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land; stood on the land, all along the sea shore; see Gill on "Mt 13:1", see Gill on "Mt 13:2".

* It was a common experience now to teach the crowds on the beach *

Jesus talked to the disciples on the beach
Ver. 2. And he taught them many things by parables. As he sat in the ship, and they stood on shore;

and said unto them in his doctrine; as he was teaching them, and delivering unto them the doctrine he had received from his father: though the Jews say {c}, that

the Israelites will have no need, "of the doctrine of the king Messiah, in the time to come";
because it is said, "unto him shall the Gentiles seek", and not the Israelites.''

But it appears from hence, and many other places, that the Israelites both stood in need of his doctrine, and sought after it; and very excellent it was; the doctrine of God, and of the grace of God; and was spoken with authority, and in such a manner as never man spoke, and which he delivered to his apostles; and which, if ministers bring not with them, should not be bid God speed.

Ver. 3. Hearken, behold, there went out a sower to sow.
Luke 8:5
"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. (NKJ)

By whom is meant Jesus Christ, who came forth from God as a teacher, and went out into the land of Judea to preach the Gospel, which is sowing spiritual things among men; and this may be also applicable to any faithful minister of the word.

Luke 8:5
"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. (NKJ)

Ver. 4. And it came to pass, as he sowed, Whilst he was preaching the, Gospel, casting about the precious seed of the word, he was laden with:

some fell by the way side; the common beaten path: the word was dispensed among some men comparable to it, on whom it lighted, but made no impression; there it lay, though not long, and was not inwardly received, and took no root, and consequently was of no effect:

The same Greek word is used here for the house that FELL DOWN BECAUSE IT DID NOT HAVE A GOOD FOUNDATION

Matt 7:25
"and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. (NKJ)

and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. (NKJ)

Luke 8:5
"A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. (NKJ)

and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up; the devils, who have their abode in the air, especially the prince of the posse of them; and the Syriac version reads it in the singular number, "and the fowl came"; that ravenous bird of prey, Satan, who goes about seeking what he may devour; and for this purpose attends where the word is preached, to hinder its usefulness as much as in him lies.

The fowls consumed the seed just as CHRIST WAS EATEN UP FOR THE HOUSE OF GOD

John 2:17
Then His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for Your house has eaten Me up." (NKJ)

Ver. 5. And some fell on stony ground
Luke 8:6
"Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. (NKJ)

The word was preached to some persons who had hearts of stone, and which remained so:
where it had not much earth; and so could be received only in a notional and superficial way, but could take no place, so as to produce any good effect:

God removes the HEART OF STONE
Ezek 11:19
"Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, (NKJ)

and immediately it sprung up; a sudden and hasty profession of the word was made, without a powerful experience of it:

because it had no depth of earth; if it had, it would have been longer in coming up; more work would have been done by it, which would have required more time, before a profession of it had been made.

Jesus immediately came out of the water after being baptized
Mark 1:10
And immediately, coming up from the water, He saw the heavens parting and the Spirit descending upon Him like a dove. (NKJ)

*A hasty profession of Christ will last as long as a snow flake on the finger *

Ver. 6. But when the sun was up, it was scorched. When persecution arose because of the word, and that became very hot and vehement, it tried and pierced through this thin speculative knowledge of the word, which could not stand before it, and bear the heat of it:

The angel poured out his bowl
Rev 16:8
Then the fourth angel poured out his bowl on the sun, and power was given to him to scorch men with fire. (NKJ)

* He who invites Christ invites persecution *

and because it had no root, it withered away; the word had only a place in the head, and not in the heart; wherefore the profession of it was soon dropped, and came to nothing.

Luke 8:6
"Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. (NKJ)

Ver. 7. And some fell among thorns. The word was ministered to some who were eat up with the cares of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and other lusts:

and the thorns grew up, and choked it; the word did not take place so as to beat down, overcome, and root out these things, nor even to weaken, and keep under, and prevent the influence of them; but these [the thorns] got the ascendant of the word, and prevailed over it, and made it altogether useless and unsuccessful: for while it was administered, the minds of these persons were after their riches and worldly things, and gave no heed to the word; and last were prevailed upon, not to attend upon it, but drop the profession of it:

and it yielded no fruit; it was not the means of grace; faith did not come by it, nor any other grace; nor did it produce good works in the life and conversation.

Ver. 8. And other fell on good ground, &c.] The word was preached to some whose hearts were disposed by the spirit and grace of God to receive it; and their understandings were enlightened by it; and they had a savoury and comfortable experience of the truths of it, it coming with power to them; it was a good word to them, and through the grace of God they became good by it; a good work of grace was wrought upon their souls, and they were filled with all goodness and righteousness:

and did yield fruit that sprang up, and increased; they not only appeared, and made an outward profession of the word, and brought forth a little show of fruit, which comes to nothing, as in others; but they were filled with the fruits of righteousness, and increased with the increase of God, and grew in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ Jesus, and continued to bring forth fruit to the end of their lives:

and brought forth some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred; that is, so many fold: in some the word of God produced larger and greater effects; the grace of God was more in exercise in some, than in others, and some were more fruitful and useful; yet in all of them there was true grace, and a measure of it; some degree of lively exercise, and some usefulness.