For the mind of this nation has grown dense, And their ears are dull of hearing, Their eyes also have they closed; Lest some day they should perceive with their eyes, And with their ears they should hear, And in their mind they should understand, and should turn--And I should heal them.'

When any one hears the Message of the Kingdom without understanding it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown in his mind. This is the man meant by the seed which was sown along the path.

By the seed which was sown on rocky places is meant the man who hears the Message, and at once accepts it joyfully;

By the seed which was sown among the brambles is meant the man who hears the Message, but the cares of life and the glamour of wealth completely choke the Message, so that it gives no return.

But by the seed which was sown on the good ground is meant the man who hears the Message and understands it, and really yields a return, sometimes one hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty fold."

The field is the world. By the good seed is meant the People of the Kingdom. The tares are the wicked,

When they had almost reached Jerusalem, having come as far as Bethphage, on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent on two disciples.

His answer was: "'Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy Heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.'

Alas for you, Teachers of the Law and Pharisees, hypocrites that you are! You pay tithes on mint, fennel, and caraway seed, and have neglected the weightier matters of the Law--justice, mercy, and good faith. These last you ought to have put into practice, without neglecting the first.

So, while Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, his disciples came up to him privately and said: "Tell us when this will be, and what will be the sign of your Coming, and of the close of the age."

They then sang a hymn, and went out to the Mount of Olives.

Taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebediah, he began to show signs of sadness and deep distress of mind.