Matthew 13:19

13:19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one ¹  comes and snatches what was sown in his heart; ²  this is the seed sown along the path.

Matthew 24:43

24:43 But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief ³  was coming, he would have been alert and would not have let his house be broken into.

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¹ sn Interestingly, the synoptic parallels each use a different word for Satan here: Mark 4:15 has “Satan,” while Luke 8:12 has “the devil.” This illustrates the fluidity of the gospel tradition in often using synonyms at the same point of the parallel tradition.

² sn The word of Jesus has the potential to save if it germinates in a person’s heart, something the devil is very much against.

³ sn On Jesus pictured as a returning thief, see 1 Thess 5:2, 4; 2 Pet 3:10; Rev 3:3; 16:15.