Scripture Portions
The Parable of the Sower
Parables of Jesus
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A parable of Jesus told in all three Synoptic Gospels in which a sower scatters seed that falls on a footpath, on rocky ground, among thorns and on good soil; only the seed on good soil produces a harvest. In Matthew and Mark, Jesus explains the parable privately to his disciples afterward, reading the four soils as four different responses to his own teaching.
Facts
Identity
Position in the CanonChapter 13 of 28 in the Gospel of Matthew. 1 Canonical ReferenceMatthew 13:1-23, with parallel accounts at Mark 4:1-20 and Luke 8:4-15 1 Attributions
Synoptic Gospel Controversy
Point in DisputeScholars of the Synoptic Problem are divided on whether Mark's version is the earliest, independently reworked by Matthew and Luke, or whether the shared allegorical explanation attached to all three points to a common written or oral source lying behind them. 2 Meaning
ThemeThe same message received differently depending on the condition of the hearer, offered as an explanation for why Jesus' teaching takes root in some listeners and not in others. 2 Text
Literary FormParable with an attached private allegorical explanation, unusual among Jesus' parables in receiving one spelled out in the text itself. 2 Cross-Tradition Connections
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