WAYSIDE.—Two blind men sat by the wayside begging, as Jesus left Jericho on His way to Jerusalem (Matthew 20:30). They had probably taken their station at a spot near the city where several paths met, and which may have been planted with trees. Again, in the parable of the Sower, some of the seed fell ‘by the wayside’ (Matthew 13:4), i.e. along the road (παρὰ τὴν ὁδόν), where the ground was so hard as to be impenetrable by it. Jesus gave His own interpretation of the parable. (1) Owing to their hardness of heart men do not understand the word. They hear but do not heed. It falls like seed on a drumhead; and then (2) the fowls of the air come and devour it. Hearts worn hard by selfishness and worldliness do not give entrance to the Divine truth, and the truth lying there is either trampled and destroyed by cares and anxieties, or snatched away by the host of passing thoughts.
R. Leggat.