Matthew 13:35

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "¹I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

Matthew 13:35 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 13:35

That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet,
&c.] Not Isaiah, as some copies in the times of Jerom read, but Asaph, who is called Asaph the seer, ( 2 Chronicles 29:30 ) which is all one as a prophet; vision is one sort of prophecy ^F4; and there was such a thing as prophesying with harps, psalteries and cymbals, as well as in other ways, and with which Asaph and his sons are said to prophesy, ( 1 Chronicles 25:1-3 ) so that he is very rightly called a prophet by the evangelist, who is cited, as

saying,
( Psalms 78:2 )

I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things which have
been kept secret from the foundation of the world:
which Psalm, though a history of the dealings of God with the people of Israel, and of the many deliverances wrought for them, yet as the ^F5 Jewish writers observe, contain many things in it, expressed in a parabolical and enigmatical way; such as God's furnishing a table in the wilderness, kindling a fire against Jacob, opening the doors of heaven, giving the corn of heaven, and angels' food, and delivering his strength into captivity; and besides, the very historical facts recorded of the people of Israel, were types of things future under the Gospel dispensation: now as Asaph, by divine inspiration, delivered these parables and dark sayings, so Christ expressed the Gospel, and the mysteries of it, in a parabolical way, which were hid in God, and under the shadows of the law; and so were kept secret from the beginning of the world, and from the multitude, though now made known to the apostles, and by them to others, according to the will of God.

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FOOTNOTES:

F4 R. David Kimchi, Shorash. rad. (hzx) .
F5 Aben Ezra & Kirachi in loc.

Matthew 13:35 In-Context

33 He spoke another parable to them, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened."

34 All these things Jesus spoke to the crowds in parables, and He did not speak to them without a parable.

35 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet: "I WILL OPEN MY MOUTH IN PARABLES; I WILL UTTER THINGS HIDDEN SINCE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD."

36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, "Explain to us the parable of the tares of the field."

37 And He said, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,

Cross References

• 1. Psalms 78:2