Matthew 13:2

2 when a vast multitude of people crowded round Him. He therefore went on board a boat and sat there, while all the people stood on the shore.

Matthew 13:2 Meaning and Commentary

Matthew 13:2

And great multitudes were gathered unto him
Some on one account, and some on another; some to see his person, others his miracles; some healing for their bodies, and others for their souls; some for the loaves, and others to hear him preach; and of these there were several sorts, as the following parable shows.

So that he went into a ship:
both for his own advantage, that he might not be crowded, and pressed by the people, and have more room, and a freer air to speak in, and for theirs, that they might both see and hear him better. And sat, and the whole multitude stood on the shore;
as was the then custom of the Jewish doctors and hearers, the one to sit, and the other to stand. (See Gill on Matthew 5:1). Christ sat upon the deck of the ship; or perhaps this ship was no other than an open boat, which was put to sea, some little distance from the shore; upon which the people stood in great numbers, with much convenience and attention.

Matthew 13:2 In-Context

1 That same day Jesus had left the house and was sitting on the shore of the Lake,

2 when a vast multitude of people crowded round Him. He therefore went on board a boat and sat there, while all the people stood on the shore.

3 He then spoke many things to them in figurative language. "The sower goes out," He said, "to sow.

4 As he sows, some of the seed falls by the way-side, and the birds come and peck it up.

5 Some falls on rocky ground, where it has but scanty soil. It quickly shows itself above ground, because it has no depth of earth;