The Parable of the Sower

This study will discuss the Parable of the Sower in terms of its content, its original meaning, its application to modern-day situations, and its value as an expression of a specific literary form. The study will include consideration of the origins of the parable, and a comparison and contrast to other parables.

A.M. Hunter provides us with literary, theological and historical contexts in which to understand the purpose and meaning of this and other parables. Specifically, as Hunter writes,

the word 'parable' . . . means a 'comparison'. . . . A parable [is] a comparison drawn from nature or from daily life, and designed to teach some spiritual truth, on the assumption that what is valid in one sphere---nature or daily life---is also valid in the spiritual world (Hunter 10).

Of course, as a literary form, the parable must do something besides teach---it must involve the hearer in some emotional or psychological way which activates his or her interest. The parable does this in a number of ways. First, it speaks of matters with which the listeners in Jesus' time were very familiar. In the case of the Parable of the Sower, the audience was obviously a rural group which had to make its living in part by growing crops from the earth. The hardships of agriculture were also well-known to the listeners, and they were therefore familiar with plantings that were successful and plantings which were not. They were aware that a wise planter will plant in good soil, where birds could

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ecause in discussing the meaning we are discussing the Kingdom of God rather than scholastic detours. The "meaning" of the parable of the sower cannot be divorced from its "original meaning." Because of the mysterious and hidden nature of the parable, we do not know specifically what Jesus meant by it or what the original audience thought it meant. Had Jesus meant to interpret it in a non-literary, sermon-type preachment, he would not have told the parable in the first place. Clearly, the parable has to do with either God or man casting seeds of communication into the world. Whether the communication takes root has to do with the nature of the listener. The receptivity of the listener is compared to the richness and hospitality of the soil of the earth. There is debate over whether the sower is God or man, whether it is God through Jesus sowing the Word among men, or whether it is the followers of Jesus sowing the Word among other men. In either case, the message itself is paramount, for it is clear that directly or indirectly the message concerns the Kingdom of God and the intended recipients are human beings not yet aware of the reality of that Kingdom. As the Anchor Bible Series writer puts it: The story of the sower fitting

Category: Philosophy - T