Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 4:15
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.
15. Satan ] See note above, Mar 3:23.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Verse 15. THESE are they] Probably our Lord here refers to the people to whom he had just now preached, and who, it is likely, did not profit by the word spoken.
Where the word is sown] Instead of this clause, four copies of the Itala read the place thus – They who are sown by the way side, are they WHO RECEIVE THE WORD NEGLIGENTLY. There are thousands of this stamp in the Christian world. Reader, art thou one of them?
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
15. And these are they by thewayside, where the word is sown; but, when they have heard,c.or, more fully (Mt 13:19),”When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandethit not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which wassown in his heart.” The great truth here taught is, that heartsall unbroken and hard are no fit soil for saving truth. Theyapprehend it not (Mt 13:19) asGod’s means of restoring them to Himself it penetrates not, makes noimpression, but lies loosely on the surface of the heart, till thewicked oneafraid of losing a victim by his “believing tosalvation” (Lu 8:12)finds some frivolous subject by whose greater attractions to drawoff the attention, and straightway it is gone. Of how many hearers ofthe word is this the graphic but painful history!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown,…. Such hearers are represented by the way side, in which the seed fell; who, coming where the Gospel is preached, stop awhile and hear it, and so are only casual and accidental hearers of it:
but when they have heard; and indeed whilst they are hearing, and before they are well got out of the place of hearing,
Satan cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. The devil, signified by the fowl, or fowls of the air, immediately takes notice of such hearers, and is very busy with them; filling their minds with other things suitable to their dispositions, and setting before them other objects, whereby their minds are, at once, taken off from what they have been hearing; so that all that they have observed, and laid up in their memories, is lost at once, and never thought of any more.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Where the word is sown ( ). Explanatory detail only in Mark.
Satan () where Mt 13:19 has
the evil one ( ) and Lu 8:12 the devil ( ).
Sown in them ( ). Within them, not just among them, “in his heart” (Matt.).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And these are they by the wayside,” (houtoi de eisin hoi para ten hodon) ”Then are these the ones along the way,” the kind of ones along the wayside or highway of life. These are the kind along the way of life who hear the word, but they criticize both it and the sower, find fault, cavil, deride, etc.
2) “Where the word is sown;- (hopou speiretai ho logos) ”Where the word (as seed) is sown,” where the word is fallen, is broadcast by the sower, the minister, layman, or witness, Act 1:8; Ecc 11:1-6.
3) ”But when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately,” (kai hotan alkousosin euthus erchetai ho satanas) “And when they have heard (the word) as the seed is sown, Satan comes of his own ulterior will and. motives, at once,” or immediately, by reason of the company the hearer keeps, Psa 1:1; Pro 1:22-23; Pro 19:29.
4) “And taketh away the word,” (kai airei ton logon) ”And lifts up and takes away the word,” that had been sown like seed. Satan steals the word from the hearer, like an adult stealing candy from a child, Luk 8:12; 2Co 2:11; 1Pe 5:8.
5) “That was sown in their hearts.” (ton esparmenon eis autous) “That was having been already sown in them,” with reference to them, to their need and their hopes. The word had been sown, the Spirit poured out, convicted them, Pro 1:21-28. But by the wayside, with the wayside crowd, in spite of understanding and Holy Spirit heart conviction, they let Satan steal the word from them, 2Co 4:3-4; Rom 2:4-5.
HEARING WITH PROFIT
There is a story of two men, who, walking together, found a young tree laden with fruit. They both gathered, and satisfied themselves for the present, but one of them took all the remaining fruit and carried it away with him; the other took the tree and planted it in his own ground, where it prospered and brought forth fruit every year; so that though the former had more at present, yet this had some when he had none. They who hear the Word, and have large memories and nothing else, may carry away most of the Word at present; yet he that perhaps can but remember little, who carries away the tree, plants the Word in his heart, and obeys it in his life, shall have fruit when the other has none.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(15) In their hearts.The better MSS. give simply, in them.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
15. Satan cometh Through his emissaries, symbolized by the fowls. Temptations have wings, and they come in flocks, and they have open beaks to snatch up the word of life and carry it off or devour it up. And how easily the seed of the word does go! People on Monday have forgotten both the sermon and the text of Sunday. The birds have come and devoured them both up.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And these are they by the wayside, where the word is sown. And when they have heard Satan comes immediately and takes away the word which has been sown in them.’
Here the seed is the word, and the hearers are like the beaten down path, for they do not absorb the word so that Satan is able to take it away ‘immediately’. They are totally unmoved and go on to other things, not even aware of what they have lost. Matthew tells us that it is ‘the word of the kingly rule’ and that it is ‘the Evil one’ who snatches away ‘what has been sown in his heart’. Matthew then adds, ‘this is he that was sown by the wayside’. Thus ‘to be sown’ is an abbreviation for someone receiving the sown seed.
Note that the explanation does not specifically apply the detail of the parable as if it were fully an allegory. The interpretation is not mechanical but living. For example no attempt is made to relate the plural birds to the singular Satan. As the explanation continues the hearers might be thought to be revealed as the seed itself, but as we see from Matthew that is to apply the language too pedantically. What they are is the soil and the resultant grain that results from the action of the word on the ‘soil’. They are thus the result of the sowing of the seed combined with their response to it. Jesus is depicting the general consequences of what happens. He is not applying every detail. This supports the idea that the interpretation follows closely on the giving of the parable. A later mechanical application by the church as an allegory would have been more particular and specific.
We should notice that the idea of the activity of Satan is prominent in the surrounding context (Mar 3:11; Mar 3:22-30; Mar 5:1-20). We should not therefore be surprised to find a reference to him here. Jesus is quietly emphasising that He and Satan are not on the same side, and that Satan is in fact rather seeking to hinder His teaching.
We have already seen how the descent of birds in Scripture is regularly seen as something that should fill men with foreboding (e.g. Gen 15:11; Gen 40:17; Gen 40:19; Isa 18:5-6; Jer 7:33; Jer 12:9; Eze 39:4; Eze 39:17) and that we can compare Jesus’ words here with Rev 18:2, which echoes Jewish traditions where devils, unclean spirits and unclean birds were seen to be operating in parallel (compare Isa 13:21; Isa 34:11; Isa 34:14-15). Thus their very background should have given them an inkling of the significance of the birds.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mar 4:15 . : elliptical for, those in whose case the seed falls along the way = the “way-side” men, and so in the other cases. for , Euthy. Zig.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
Mar 4:15. , where the word is sown) This clause is rather to be connected with what follows.-, immediately) Satans most favourite time for lying in wait.- , in their hearts) This means more than into their hearts.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
these: Mar 4:4, Gen 19:14, Isa 53:1, Mat 22:5, Luk 8:12, Luk 14:18, Luk 14:19, Act 17:18-20, Act 17:32, Act 18:14-17, Act 25:19, Act 25:20, Act 26:31, Act 26:32, Heb 2:1, Heb 12:16
Satan: Job 1:6-12, Zec 3:1, Mat 13:19, Act 5:3, 2Co 2:11, 2Co 4:3, 2Co 4:4, 2Th 2:9, 1Pe 5:8, Rev 12:9, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3, Rev 20:7, Rev 20:10
Reciprocal: Luk 8:5 – sower
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mar 4:15. Satan. Matthew: the wicked one; Luke: the devil. Being spoken of in the explanation of the parable, or in a didactic way, Satan must be a real personal being, and not merely the symbol of evil.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 15
Taketh away the word. The truth passes away from their minds, by the agency of Satan, and is forgotten.