The Parable of the Sower
(Mk 4.1—9, 13—20; Lk 8.4—8, 11—15)
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”
Matthew 13:18-23 (NRSV)
The Parable of the Sower Explained
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 is the combination of a parable of Jesus and the interpretation offered by Jesus to the disciples in private. The source is Mark.
Matthew 13:1-9 is the parable of the sower. Its source is Mark 4:1-9 and we also find it in Luke 8:4-8. As we consider this parable, most scholars would suggest that the use of threes in oral performances of this parable functioned as an aid to memory and served to stabilize the structure of the parable. Matthew has retained this triadic structure, while reversing the order of the yield.
1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. The sower depicted by Jesus seems careless. He is certainly not overly cautious. He will throw seed everywhere, apparently confident there will be a harvest despite the losses. He simply keeps sowing his seed, believing that growth will come. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Jesus simply keeps sowing the word of the rule of God, even though it lands on religious people who wonder if he is possessed (12:22-24), on disciples who struggle to understand him (16:21-26) and on at least one young rich man who cannot part with his possessions in order to follow Jesus (19:16-22). The Sower keeps sowing and Jesus keeps spreading the word. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Jeremias has commented that an average first century farmer might expect a good harvest to yield 10 bushels of wheat for every one bushel of seed planted. However, here Jesus calls for yields of tremendous proportions 30, 60, even 100-fold increases. The parable remains unclear about whether the power of the sower or the seed itself produces such outlandish results. However, clearly, only the divine power of God’s own hand could bring about such incredible yields.
9 Jesus concludes, with a saying of common lore that we find repeated many times by Jesus, Let anyone with ears listen!”
The story is the familiar tale of seeds cast out in hope, and the various byproducts of that sowing. At its most basic telling, this parable offers the simple interpretation of what happens when a farmer sows many seeds over a plot of ground. The sower plants an abundance of seed because he knows if he sows enough seed at the outset, he will end up with a good harvest. The wise farmer knows that not all the seeds will fall on fertile ground, that not all the sprouted seeds will grow to fruition. The farmer also knows, however, if he sows abundantly, he can overcome expected losses. The ear catching part of Jesus' original parable is not that some seeds flourish while others wither and die. The stunner in this story is the overabundance of yield that this farmer enjoys from those seeds that do prosper.
The parable originally referred to the immediate context of the Galilean ministry. If we think of the farmer as Jesus, we find him to be incredibly generous in the way he shares the word of the rule of the rule of God with the people he meets. The parable reflects the experience of Jesus as a teacher. The parable relates to the preaching of the rule of God, even though it does not use that term explicitly. This parable represents Jesus’ own fate, the failure of this message and ministry to bear fruit in some lives, but also the victory of the good purpose of God, which it depicts in a simple metaphor without fantastic details about a coming eschaton. Despite hostility and a seeming lack of response, there were already signs of an abundant harvest. The word is fruitful. God will cause an abundant harvest in the end. The farmer is persistent in sowing the seed, even though people are fickle and resistant to the word of the rule of God. The one factor that accounts for variety is the soil, for the sower and the seed are the same. The farmer remains confident because of a clear vision of the end. The rule of God comes with the repentance of Israel as a whole. This parable stresses the great threat to which the work of the Sower is exposed. The Sower will not sow in vain, for Jesus is Victor. Yet, in the face of this threat to his work, this victory is not self-evident.[1] Such an eschatological interpretation of the parable has the merit of focusing on the abundant harvest. Despite unresponsive hearers, the field is ready for harvest. The seed can bear amazing fruit when it takes root, even if some of the seed is lost. The seed produces yields at two different levels. The point of the parable appears to be the ultimate success of Jesus’ preaching, despite human obstacles encountered. We as listeners are to have the same careless abandon as those who follow Jesus. We are to speak the gracious and judging word without calculating its potential for success. Everything depends upon what God will do.[2]
This parable encourages the disciples to be faithful in spreading the word of God. It also reminds the disciples that those who hear have responsibility to receive the word and let it produce fruit. Barth favorably refers to a breach with contemporary economic order here, in that, referring to a common saying of Goethe, scattering his seed irrespectively over the path and stony ground would hardly be the actions of a good farmer.[3] The Word goes out as the one message and summons to humanity, has concern with the hearers of the Word, and the strangeness of the truth to the world as shown in the response to the Word. What we have here is reception, acceptance, appropriation, and comprehension. Beyond hearing and understanding is true knowledge that appropriates and does.[4]
Discipleship may well be that wonderful adventure in sharing in the confidence of the farmer. Yes, the world remains fickle, resistant, and hostile. In the short term, this means willingness to fail. It also means focusing upon hope and resilience. It means deep trust that that by the grace of God at least some of our work will bear fruit.
Listen to the story of the Sower and learn that Jesus is incredibly generous in the way that he shares the word of the kingdom with all the people of the world. Listen and learn that God's Word is incredibly fruitful, and that a great harvest is guaranteed. Listen and learn that the coming of the rule of God is not something that we can control. Everything depends on what God will do.
In many ways, Jesus, and therefore those who would be his followers, is like Atticus Finch, one of the top fictional characters in history. The hero of Harper Lee's novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus surpasses the assessment of his daughter Scout. In the opening pages of the book, she says that she and her brother Jem "found our father satisfactory." In fact, he was much more than satisfactory -- wise, patient, forgiving and brave. TIME editor David Von Drehle says that Atticus "is the man who will do what's right when the world is saying he's wrong."
Atticus is a white lawyer who defends a black man in a racist Southern town. As a character in the novel says to Scout and Jem, "There are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father's one of them." Atticus stands up for justice when it would be much easier to let the standards of the community prevail, and yet he is not alienated from his neighbors. He "loves his backward, racist, fearful community even as his heart breaks over its shortcomings." Wise, patient, forgiving and brave. A man born to do our unpleasant jobs for us, and who loves us completely -- even as his heart breaks over our shortcomings.
Matthew 13:18-23 is an interpretation of the parable of the sower. The source is Mark 4:13-20. We also find it in Luke 8:11-15 Matthew modifies the allegorical interpretation from Mark in minor ways.
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom (thereby identifying the seed) and does not understand (συνιέντος) it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands (συνιείς) it, referring to those who acknowledge God's rule and power over all. This is a traditional Hebrew concept of ''understanding,'' (in verse 18 as well). In this case, such understanding is necessary from the beginning of the illustration (to insure initial rootage of the seed) and at the conclusion of the tale (where the degree of ''understanding'' apparently determines the abundance of the harvest). The good soil reveals itself: who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” A proper understanding must escort and attend a divinely orchestrated harvest of overabundance. This interpretation is a secret only because most people do not realize that God’s creative Word has come into the world in the simple parable of Jesus, and is awaiting their response.
We as readers are to listen to the story and learn its lesson. One way to do so is to consider the different soils. The interpretation of the parable shifts our attention as readers from the Sower to the Soil. In fact, you could even call it "The Parable of the Four Kinds of Soil." When the emphasis is on the Soil, the message is that we should all be good soil -- people who hear the word of the kingdom of God and understand it. Jesus promises that the person who does so "bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty" (v. 23). When you hear the word of the kingdom, do not be like the path which is susceptible to the evil one who "comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart" (v. 19). Do not be the rocky ground in which a plant "has no root, but endures only for a while" (v. 21). And do not be thorny soil, in which "the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing" (v. 22).
Such an interpretation must acknowledge that soil is passive. It simply sits and receives the seed. It cannot choose to be good soil. Jesus encourages his hearers to listen (verse 3). He stresses at the end that those who have ears to hear must hear (verse 9). Jesus is encouraging us to be active listeners to the word of the rule of God.
O Lord, our hearts are open
To so many kinds of things,
To hates and hurts and happiness
That earthly living brings.
Sometimes we'd like to close them
with a hard protective coat
Like stone, so when the angers come,
No way would we take note.
At times we're very busy
With activities and such
So hurts and disappointments
Will not bother us so much.
Lord, help us learn to live
So we may keep an open mind,
That each of us may keep
An open heart to all mankind.
But most of all, O Lord of life,
Please open up our hearts
To be the place where grows the seed
Of love your Son imparts.[5]
No comments:
Post a Comment