Jesus Teaches the Parable of the Sower 

About a year before he died, early in 29 CE, Jesus began using parables as a teaching method. The parable of the sower was the first of many he utilized to convey meaning without giving religious authorities a reason to arrest him. This parable was short, a little more than one hundred words. It featured a person randomly casting seeds on a path, among rocks, next to thorns, and finally, on good soil. Jesus delivered this parable to over a thousand people and ended it without an explanation, suggesting that only those with “ears” would understand.

Later that day, Jesus’ twelve apostles confessed confusion about the meaning of the story. He then led a discussion in which the apostles attempted to interpret it. At the end of this discussion, Jesus indicated which of their interpretations was correct.

Sunday morning, March 13, 29 CE, Jesus sat alone in a boat on the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Master was meditating on his next move. But he was not alone for long. Very soon, people from nearby villages began to arrive, and by ten o’clock, almost one thousand people were assembled on the shore near Jesus’ boat and were clamoring for attention. The apostle Peter came up and said to Jesus, “Master, shall I talk to them?” He replied, “No, Peter, I will tell them a story.” And then Jesus began the recital of the parable of the sower, one of the first in a long series of such parables which he taught the throngs that followed him. After Peter had spoken a few words to the crowd, Jesus said:

“A sower went forth to sow, and it came to pass as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside to be trodden underfoot and devoured by the birds of heaven. Other seed fell upon the rocky places where there was little earth, and immediately it sprang up because there was no depth to the soil, but as soon as the sun shone, it withered because it had no root whereby to secure moisture. Other seed fell among the thorns, and as the thorns grew up, it was choked so that it yielded no grain. Still other seed fell upon good ground and, growing, yielded, some thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold.”

When he finished, he said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

The apostles and the others who heard the parable went away confused. Later that evening, in the garden adjacent to the Zebedee home, Matthew said to Jesus: “Master, what is the meaning of the story you presented to the multitude? Why do you speak in parables to those who seek the truth?” And Jesus answered:

“In patience have I instructed you all this time. To you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to the undiscerning multitudes and to those who seek our destruction, from now on, the mysteries of the kingdom shall be presented in parables. And this we will do so that those who really desire to enter the kingdom may discern the meaning of the teaching and thus find salvation, while those who listen only to ensnare us may be the more confounded in that they will see without seeing and will hear without hearing. My children, do you not perceive the law of the spirit which decrees that to him who has shall be given so that he shall have an abundance; but from him who has not shall be taken away even that which he has. Therefore will I henceforth speak to the people much in parables to the end that our friends and those who desire to know the truth may find that which they seek, while our enemies and those who love not the truth may hear without understanding...”

The apostles did not fully comprehend the significance of the Master’s words. Andrew and Thomas talked further with Jesus while Peter and the other apostles withdrew close by and had an earnest and prolonged discussion.

Peter’s group came to the conclusion that the parable of the sower was an allegory and that each feature had some hidden meaning. So, they decided to go to Jesus and ask for an explanation. He said to the Master: “We are not able to penetrate the meaning of this parable, and we desire that you explain it to us since you say it is given to us to know the mysteries of the kingdom.” When Jesus heard this, he said to Peter: “My son, I desire to withhold nothing from you, but first suppose you tell me what you have been talking about; what is your interpretation of the parable?”

After a moment of silence, Peter said: “Master, we have talked much concerning the parable, and this is the interpretation I have decided upon: The sower is the gospel preacher; the seed is the word of God. The seed which fell by the wayside represents those who do not understand the gospel teaching. The birds which snatched away the seed that fell upon the hardened ground represent Satan, or the evil one, who steals away that which has been sown in the hearts of these ignorant ones. The seed which fell upon the rocky places, and which sprang up so suddenly, represents those superficial and unthinking persons who, when they hear the glad tidings, receive the message with joy; but because the truth has no real root in their deeper understanding, their devotion is short-lived in the face of tribulation and persecution. When trouble comes, these believers stumble; they fall away when tempted. The seed which fell among thorns represents those who hear the word willingly, but who allow the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches to choke the word of truth so that it becomes unfruitful. Now the seed which fell on good ground and sprang up to bear, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold, represents those who, when they have heard the truth, receive it with varying degrees of appreciation—owing to their differing intellectual endowments—and hence manifest these varying degrees of religious experience.”

After listening to Peter, Jesus asked the other apostles if they did not also have suggestions to offer. To this invitation only Nathaniel responded: “Master, while I recognize many good things about Simon Peter’s interpretation of the parable, I do not fully agree with him. My idea of this parable would be: The seed represents the gospel of the kingdom, while the sower stands for the messengers of the kingdom. The seed which fell by the wayside on hardened ground represents those who have heard but little of the gospel, along with those who are indifferent to the message, and who have hardened their hearts. The birds of the sky that snatched away the seed which fell by the wayside represent one’s habits of life, the temptation of evil, and the desires of the flesh. The seed which fell among the rocks stands for those emotional souls who are quick to receive new teaching and equally quick to give up the truth when confronted with the difficulties and realities of living up to this truth; they lack spiritual perception. The seed which fell among the thorns represents those who are attracted to the truths of the gospel; they are minded to follow its teachings, but they are prevented by the pride of life, jealousy, envy, and the anxieties of human existence. The seed which fell on good soil, springing up to bear, some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold, represents the natural and varying degrees of ability to comprehend truth and respond to its spiritual teachings by men and women who possess diverse endowments of spirit illumination.”

After Nathaniel finished speaking, the apostles and their associates debated the parable, with some supporting Peter's interpretation and almost an equal number supporting Nathaniel's. Meanwhile, Peter and Nathaniel withdrew to the house to fiercely argue their case.

The Master permitted this confusion to pass the point of most intense expression, then called them around him once more, saying, “Before I tell you about this parable, do any of you have something else to say?” Following a moment of silence, Thomas spoke up: “Yes, Master, I wish to say a few words. I remember that you once told us to beware of this very thing. You instructed us that, when using illustrations for our preaching, we should employ true stories, not fables, and that we should select a story best suited to the illustration of the one central and vital truth which we wished to teach the people, and that, having so used the story, we should not attempt to make a spiritual application of all the minor details involved in the telling of the story. I hold that Peter and Nathaniel are both wrong in their attempts to interpret this parable. I admire their ability to do these things, but I am equally sure that all such attempts to make a natural parable yield spiritual analogies in all its features can only result in confusion and serious misconception of the true purpose of such a parable. That I am right is fully proved by the fact that, whereas we were all of one mind an hour ago, now are we divided into two separate groups who hold different opinions concerning this parable and hold such opinions so earnestly as to interfere, in my opinion, with our ability fully to grasp the great truth which you had in mind when you presented this parable to the multitude and subsequently asked us to make comment upon it.”

Thomas’ words had a quieting effect on all of them. He caused them to recall what Jesus had taught them on former occasions, and before Jesus resumed speaking, Andrew arose, saying: “I am persuaded that Thomas is right, and I would like to have him tell us what meaning he attaches to the parable of the sower.” Thomas said: “My brethren, I did not wish to prolong this discussion, but if you so desire, I will say that I think this parable was spoken to teach us one great truth. And that is that our teaching of the gospel of the kingdom, no matter how faithfully and efficiently we execute our divine commissions, is going to be attended by varying degrees of success; and that all such differences in results are directly due to conditions inherent in the circumstances of our ministry, conditions over which we have little or no control.”

When Thomas had finished speaking, the majority of his fellows were about ready to agree with him, even Peter and Nathaniel were on their way over to speak with him when Jesus arose and said: “Well done, Thomas; you have discerned the true meaning of parables; but both Peter and Nathaniel have done you all equal good in that they have so fully shown the danger of undertaking to make an allegory out of my parables. In your own hearts, you may often profitably engage in such flights of the speculative imagination, but you make a mistake when you seek to offer such conclusions as a part of your public teaching.”

Now that the tension was over, Peter and Nathaniel congratulated each other on their interpretations, and each of the apostles ventured to make an interpretation of the parable of the sower before they retired for the night. Even Judas Iscariot offered a very plausible interpretation. The twelve would often, among themselves, attempt to figure out the Master’s parables as they would an allegory, but never again did they regard such speculations seriously. This was a very profitable session for the apostles and their associates, especially so since from this time on Jesus more and more employed parables in connection with his public teaching.