O. The parable of the sower (8:4–15)
O. The parable of the sower (8:4–15)
The second of Luke’s Marcan sections begins here and goes on to 9:50. It is usually agreed that the parable with which the section begins and which is given prominence in all three Synoptists marks something of a turning-point. The crowds were thronging about Jesus. He was becoming a popular preacher. But he looked for more than a superficial adherence, so he intensified his use of parables, stories which yielded their meaning only to those prepared to search for it. The parables demand thought and spiritual earnestness. They separate the sincere seeker from the casual hearer.
In earlier days the interpretation of the parables was heavily overlaid with allegory. In modern times it is generally agreed that this is the wrong approach. But perhaps the repudiation is taken too far, as when the interpretation given to this parable in all three Synoptists is rejected. After all it is known that the Old Testament, contemporary Judaism and the early church all used allegory. There seems no reason at all why Jesus should not have made some use of it too. Recent scholarship is right in turning from the allegorical excesses sometimes engaged in by popular piety. But when it goes on to claim that most or all of the interpretations given in the Gospels originate with the early church and not with Jesus, it is a different matter. As Tasker reminds us, ‘such attempts to disentangle primary and secondary elements must always be more subjective than scientific’.13
4. Luke does not tell us with any exactness when this parable was delivered. It came from a time of Jesus’ popularity, for there was a great crowd and people from town after town came to him. But we can scarcely say more.
5–7. The Palestinian sower sowed first and ploughed afterwards (in 1952 I saw one follow this method). Seed along the path may refer to that which fell on a path the farmer planned to plough up, though the reference to its being trodden under foot looks more like a regular path. In either case birds could eat the seed. The rock will mean stony ground with a light covering of soil not deep enough to hold moisture. Plants growing there must soon wither. Thorns are prickly plants of vigorous growth. They grow faster than wheat and choke out the good grain.
8. By contrast with the previous seeds, some fell into good soil, where they yielded an abundant crop. Matthew and Mark speak of thirtyfold and sixtyfold yields as well as of a hundredfold, but Luke’s version is abbreviated. He simply makes the point that in good ground there is abundant harvest. The story finishes with an injunction to him who has ears to use them.
9–10. Jesus begins his reply to the disciples’ request for an interpretation of the story with some general remarks. He contrasts the disciples with others: you is emphatic. To them are revealed the secrets of the kingdom of God. Secrets (mystēria) are truths which we could never discover for ourselves, but which God has revealed. The word is common in Paul, but is found only in this connection in the Gospels. But for others there is sight without seeing and hearing without understanding. They hear the parables, but do not comprehend their meaning. Parables both reveal and conceal truth: they reveal it to the genuine seeker who will take the trouble to dig beneath the surface and discover the meaning, but they conceal it from him who is content simply to listen to the story. This is plainly the result of the parables, but Jesus says it is also their purpose (so that …). Parables are a mine of information to those who are in earnest, but they are a judgment on the casual and careless.
11–15. Now comes the explanation of the parable. The word of God (a frequent expression in Luke) is the word that tells of God, or, more probably, the word that comes from God. The ones along the path are those who never really took in the word. They heard but they did not heed. Satan whipped it away before they believed. The ones on the rock do a little better. They are happy to receive the word (cf. Ezek. 33:32; Mark 6:20), but there is no depth in them. In time of testing (temptation) they fall away. What fell among the thorns stands for people who have the potential for spiritual advance. But life will hold just so much, and these people fill their lives with so many good things that there is no room for spiritual fruit. Over against all these are those in the good soil. The honest and good heart may go with hold it fast (as RSV), but more likely with hearing, as NEB, ‘those who bring a good and honest heart to the hearing of the word’. They really retain the word, and they bring forth fruit.
There are two ways of understanding this parable. One sees it as encouraging disciples with the contrast between the small beginnings and the ultimate rich harvest (which may be ‘the eschatological success’ of Jesus’ preaching, Fitzmyer). Despite the vicissitudes of the seeds that fell in unproductive places, the final result is impressive. The other emphasizes the importance of a right reaction to hearing the word. If we take it in, a rich harvest results, but if we react like the path, the rock, or the thorns, we finish with nothing. There is more to be said for the second view.14 Tinsley argues from the prominence given to this parable and its explanation in all three Synoptists that it is especially significant. Of the explanation he says, ‘It is as near as Jesus ever comes to “explaining” himself and his mission … Jesus sees his mission as a way of speaking and acting which will give men the greatest opportunity to respond to the word of God.’