THE PARABLE
OF THE SOWER: Matthew 13:1-8; 18-23
Matthew
13:1-8; 18-23
1)
NARRATOR: That same day Jesus went
out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him
that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the
beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying:
READER 1. ‘Listen! A sower went out
to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and
ate them up.
READER 2. 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. But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since
they had no root, they withered away.
READER 3. Other seeds fell among
thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
READER 4. Other seeds fell on good
soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
The
Parable of the Sower Explained
NARRATOR: Hear then
the parable of the sower.
READER 1. 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.
READER 2. As for what was sown on
rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it
with joy; 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. READER 3. 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.
READER 4. 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.’
2) BACKGROUND
“…the material in Matthew 13:1-23, the Parable of the
Sower along with its explanations, is Jesus' response to the events that have
taken place in chapter 12.” [p. 112]
(Jensen, Preaching Matthew’s Gospel, p.
112.) Chapter 12 relates the
increasing opposition to Jesus teaching on the part of the Pharisees.
“In Palestine
sowing precedes ploughing”. Jeremias, The
Parables of Jesus,(1972) p.11
“A Galilean
tenant farmer could have up to half his harvest extracted as rent. Small
holders were subject to the land tax or tribute of Herodian kings or …the
Romans, either of which ranged from one-quarter to one-third of the harvest.
Not included in this were the tithes of to the Jewish authorities…” Myers,
pp.51-52
“The
parable’s focus upon the majority of the seed, which went fruitless, would be
bitterly familiar to the peasant… Wealthy landlords always extracted enough of
the harvest to ensure that the farmer remained indentured to the land… Against
this background the promise of an astounding harvest … is poignant indeed”.
..the Palestinian farmer might typically expect a yield of around 7:1, with a ten-fold yield considered a bumper
crop. The parable’s harvest thus symbolically represents a dramatic shattering
of the vassal relationship between peasant and landlord. “Ched Myers, Binding the Strong man, p. 176-77.
“The abnormal tripling…of
the harvest’s yield (thirty, sixty, a hundredfold) symbolizes the …overflowing
of the divine fullness, surpassing all human measure.” (Jeremias, p. 150)
13:9 “Let
anyone with ears listen”- asserts Jesus authority, reflects the Shema of Israelite faith, “Hear, O
Israel, the Lord your God is the only Lord.” As in many places the Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, the equation of Jesus authority with God’s authority is hinted
at rather than, as in John, explicitly named.
3)
REFLECTION: WHAT/WHO IS BEING
SUBVERTED/CHALLENGED IN THIS PARABLE?
4) DISCUSS WITH YOUR NEIGHBORS: WHAT
MIGHT THIS PARABLE CHALLENGE OR SUBVERT IN OUR OWN CONTEXT?
5) PERSONAL REFLECTION- WHAT DOES THIS
PARABLE CHALLENGE OR SUBVERT IN YOUR OWN LIFE?
6) SUMMARY
The Parable
of the Sower challenges and subverts prevailing assumptions regarding
efficiency and scarcity. The “word of the kingdom” (that is, Jesus mission from
God) is scattered prodigally, lavishly, wastefully, and recklessly upon the
earth. It is not carefully dribbled out to those who particularly deserve it.
“The idea of
the catholicity of the kingdom- the insistence that is it at work everywhere,
always, and for all, rather than in some places, at some times, and for some
people- is an integral part of Jesus teaching from start to finish….” (Robert
Capon, Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox,
Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus.p. 64
Parables are
meant to be difficult. They are meant to destabilize, subvert, and disrupt the
established world-view of whoever is listening. In Matthew 13:13 Jesus’ says
“The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive,
and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.”
It is not
until there has been a collapse and a surrender of familiar ways of perceiving
that “the soil” is ready to receive the kingdom of God.
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