The Life of Christ

LESSON 8

SECTION 82

Mt. 13:1-3 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And great multitudes gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole multitude was standing on the beach. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow.”

The word "parable" means to "place beside.”

• It is an earthly example used to communicate a heavenly truth.

• The key to understanding all the parables is found in Mk. 4:13:

And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? (Mk. 4:13).

• The parable of the Sower and the Seed provides the legend used to interpret all the parables.

• This is the code to help understand all of the parables contained in Mt. 13:

• The seed is the word of God (Mt. 13:19). The field is the world (Mt. 13:38). The soil is the condition of the heart (Mt. 13:20-23). The birds are the agents of evil which snatch away the word (Mt. 13:19,32). • “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside” (Mt.13:19).

• These interpretations remain true regarding all the rest of the parables.

• Mt.13:9 ends this particular parable by saying, “He who has an ear to hear, let him hear.”

Some parables come with additional interpretation, such as the “Sower & Seed” and the “Wheat & Tares.”

• Other parables stand-alone without interpretation, such as the “Mustard Seed,” “Leaven,” “Hidden Treasure,” “Pearl of Great Price,” “The Dragnet,” and ‘The Householder.”

SECTION 83

Mt. 13:4 “…and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.”

Sowing was done one of two ways in Israel.

• The seed was either cast by hand or spread by means of cattle.

• A sack was filled with corn and laid on the back of the animal, so that, as it moved forward the seed was scattered.

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