“Sneak Preview”

Matthew 13: 2: “And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach.” One of the most important holy days in the Christian calendar, Feast of the Ascension, is coming up this Thursday, and this week’s scriptures prepare us for it. Thus we begin today with … the Parable of the Sower? What does this parable have to do with Ascension? For openers, in this verse we have a picture of things to come. Jesus assumes a sitting posture in a boat (seated being the authoritative stance for a divine teacher), a precursor of Mark 16: 19; as He is seated on the sea (a biblical symbol for the nations of the world) He is surrounded by all the people. In this, the Church has always seen images of Revelation chapters four and five. Even here, early in His ministry, Jesus shows us Who He is and where He is going.