Parallel Texts in Matthew, Mark
& Luke
4.
Understanding The Sower
Matt 13:18-23 // Mark 4:13-20
// Luke 8:11-15
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Intended Audience
The aphorism on hearing appended
to the parable of the sower assumes that this
description of broadcasting could
be understood by any of Jesus' original audience who had ears.
Likewise, Jesus' reply to his disciples' question about his use of parables
asserts that they did not need parables to understand the subject of
his message (God's kingdom). Yet, all the synoptic gospels append to these
passages a detailed commentary on the broadcast seed which presupposes that
the meaning of this parable is not immediately obvious.
The logic inherent in these three
pericopes indicates that there has been a change in audience. The
audience for which this interpretation was intended is not the Galilean
masses for whom Jesus originally formulated the parable, nor is it the
band of intimate associates who lived with him daily. Rather, it was for the readers that the gospel writer
had in mind in composing this cluster of pericopes.
These were not Jesus' contemporary
Palestinian Jews but members of a Christian community a generation or more after
Jesus' death who were no longer familiar with the circumstances for which he
had composed the parable & did not know
quite what to make of it.
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Implied Author
The gospel of Thomas provides
evidence that the parable of the sower could & did circulate in early
Christian circles without any explanatory comments. Yet, all of
the synoptic gospels record substantially the same explanation in exactly
the same place -- not directly after the parable itself, but after a discussion
of Jesus' rationale for using parables that claims Jesus' disciples were
familiar with his message. The logical gap in this sequence indicates that
this series of pericopes is an artificial literary composition by a
particular author. The fact that two other writers reproduce this
sequence despite its logical seams is good evidence that they simply copied
the same text.
Unlike Jesus, whoever composed this parable
interpretation obviously thought that the proper meaning of the
parable could not be grasped without an explicit explanation. Thus, he
acted like any preacher in presuming to explain
an element of Jesus' teaching to his own audience. But by
ascribing this interpretation directly to Jesus the author of this pericope created
the impression that Jesus' disciples were unable to interpret the parable
on their own. So, the interpreter was clearly more concerned with readers
accepting his explanation than in defending the reputation of Jesus' original
disciples.
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Form: Allegorical Exegesis
This interpreter treats the
parable of the sower as an allegory rather than an
illustration. Instead of the story making a single point it is taken as
a text whose various images need clarification.
Just about every element of the parable's
description of sowing is explained, but in terms of the reaction of an audience rather
than the agricultural imagery itself. By drawing an analogy between the
broadcast seed and a spoken message, the interpreter diverts the focus of the
parable from its natural climax (the bountiful harvest in the good soil) to an
exposition of reasons for people not accepting Jesus' teaching. Note
that Matthew & Mark do not even bother to explain the immense size of the
harvest but simply repeat the conclusion of
the punch line of the parable
itself.
By changing the parable's focus
from the picture of the sower scattering seed
to an analysis of the character of the various
types of soil into which the unproductive seed fell, the
interpreter actually alters the plot of the parable. He diverts the audience's
attention to an issue he was concerned about -- why some people abandon
Jesus' teaching -- rather than the optimistic conclusion of Jesus' picture of
broadcasting.
Note that Matthew & Mark
interpret the parable's description of the sun that
scorched the seedlings in rocky soil as an allusion to troubles
& persecution "on account of the word." Since
persecution for adopting the Christian message arose only after Jesus'
execution, this explanation of the parable's imagery is clearly intended for
the readers of these gospels rather than for Jesus' own audience.
Note also that only Matthew
mentions God's "kingdom," which the
preceding pericope identified as the theme
illustrated by Jesus' parables.
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Varied Performances
Although all three synoptic
gospels present essentially the same interpretation of the parable of the
sower, there is actually very little verbatim agreement between the texts of
all three [blue text].
Greek
words |
Matt |
Mark |
Luke |
Introduction |
7 |
15 |
5 |
Interpretation |
121 |
137 |
102 |
Total |
128 |
152 |
107 |
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Mark introduces this
interpretation with 2 rhetorical questions
that call attention to the problems the audience is having in
comprehending Jesus' parables. Matthew &
Luke do not. Their
introductions are shorter but worded differently.
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There is extensive verbatim
agreement [blue + teal
text] between Matthew & Mark's versions of the allegorical
interpretation of this parable, whereas Luke's paraphrased summary
often deviates from the wording of one or both of the other synoptics.
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However, Mark & Luke
begin by equating the seed with "the word" [Greek: λόγος];
Matthew does not [see Mark 4:14 &
again 4:15 par]. Yet, from the
explanation of the rocky soil on, Matthew
& Mark both explicitly identify the element broadcast as "the
word," while Luke neglects to name this element in explaining the
thorns.
-
Neither Mark nor Luke echo the
well-constructed syntax [temporal clause + main clause] of the opening
sentence of Matthew's interpretation of the parable [Matt
13:19] but instead prefer a more cumbersome itemized series of
equations.
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Luke & Mark share some
other phrasing that is not found in Matthew:
The only places where
Luke shares wording with Matthew that is not also in Mark are:
Matt
13:19//Luke 8:12 identify the "heart" as the
place from which the adversary removes the word while the earliest
texts of Mark do not. But note that
most later mss. of Mark do use the word "heart" in
this context.
Matthew & Luke use a
literate Greek construction [singular article + δε + prepositional
phrase + participle] in referring to the seed among thorns [Matt
13:22//Luke 8:14] & in good soil [Matt
13:23//Luke 8:15]. Mark uses more cumbersome grammatical
constructions to identify the seed in:
thorns [Mark
4:18]: καὶ ("and") + plural distributive
pronoun ("others") + copulative verb + plural article +
prepositional phrase + participle;
good soil [Mark
4:19]: καὶ + plural demonstrative pronoun
("those") + copulative verb + plural article +
prepositional phrase + participle.
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Unlike both Matthew &
Mark, Luke does not end his interpretation by repeating the
concluding phrases of the parable describing the immense size of the
harvest.
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last revised
28 February 2023
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