3: "Listen! A sower went out to sow.

5: Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil;

10: And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables.

11: And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; 12: so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven."

13: And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?

Historical Commentary The context of this parable, v1-2 and v9-20, is clearly invention of the writer of Mark. The most important verses are 4:11-12. However one interprets the controversial verses 11 and 12, they are clearly not historical. The hypertextual habits of the writer of Mark are strongly Temple-focused, meaning that often in Mark when an OT reference occurs and the reader returns to the OT to view the context, the passage will either take place in, or be about, the Temple in Jerusalem. In this case, the words in Isa 6:9-10 are uttered by a voice in the Temple. This is a signature habit of the writer of Mark. Another sign of the hand of the writer of Mark is the signal of a later date. Verses 9-20 appear to refer to a much later time  "when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away." There were no persecutions during Jesus' lifetime. Additionally, those verses contain vocabulary found nowhere else in the Synoptic gospels, but present in other NT writings. These include "sow" as a metaphor for preaching (1 Cor. 9:11), "root" as a metaphor for inner steadfastness (Col 2:7, Eph. 3:17) and above all, the "word" which grows and spreads, found in many places in 1 & 2 Thess, II Tim, and other early Christian  writings (Ludemann 2001, p 27). This interpretation of the context as much later is widely agreed-upon (Kee 1990, 68-9). Yet another problem with the parable is that it appears to discuss the Jesus movement from a later perspective. The parable assumes that the hearer knows about Christianity as a movement.  The final, and by far the most important, reason this parable is from Mark's hand is that the author of Mark used it as the key literary  structure for the first half of his Gospel. Mary Ann Tolbert (1989) has give the richest and most detailed reading of the way the parable functions as an introduction to the first division of the Gospel, which in her interpretation runs from 1:14 to 10:52. In her reading, the key focus in Mark is not on the seed, but on the kind of ground onto which it falls. Thus, the Parable of the Sower introduces the typology for each of the major groups in the story: Typological Functions of the Parable of the Sower (adapted from Tobert 1989, p171) Parable of the Sower Interpretation Gospel of  Mark seed sown along the way, eaten by birds those in whom the word is immediately removed by Satan scribes, Pharisees, Jewish leaders seed sown in rocky ground, comes up quickly, but has no roots, withers in the sun those who accept the word immediately, endure for a time, but fall away when tribulation comes disciples, especially Peter, James, and John. seed sown among thorns, thorns choke it and it produces no fruit others in whom the word is choked by the cares of the world, desire for riches, and desire for other things Herod, rich man of Mk 10:17-22 seed sown on good earth, brings forth grain in triple abundance those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit in triple abundance one healed (or saved) by their faith In addition, the Parable functions as a synopsis of the next section, a common structure in Hellenistic popular literature, a genre which has much influenced the Gospel of Mark. Because the parable and the context seem to be tightly linked in more than one way, it appears likely that the writer of Mark invented this parable. However, this parable is found without interpretation or Markan redaction in the Gospel of Thomas, and some scholars believe that the author of Mark used Thomas as a source. Given the way the parable is used in the Gospel of Mark, as well as the signals of Markan style, it seems that the writer of Mark invented this parable, and that Thomas has somehow taken it from Mark (see Excursus: Mark and the Gospel of Thomas at the end of Chapter 12). Burton Mack (1988) points out that the parable has a nice trifold structure: Structure of the Parable of the Sower (adapted from Mack 1988, p153) some seed fell along the path and the birds came  and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground where it had not much soil,and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." This pericope contains two separate chiastic structures. A Again he began to teach beside the sea. B And a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; C and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. C And he taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: "Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it had not much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil; and when the sun rose it was scorched, and since it had no root it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." B And he said, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." A And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. Although it looks like there is no relationship here, the first three brackets all revolve around the sea, the second three brackets, around parables. The writer appears to be making a connection between the Sea of Galilee and parables. As many scholars have pointed out, the Parable of the Sower draws on images of planting, harvesting, and education, that were common in both Hellenistic culture and in Judaism. Given that, the Parable of the Sower and its explanation are most likely from the hand of Mark. Nothing in this pericope may be used to support historicity.

22: For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light.

23: If any man has ears to hear, let him hear."

24: And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you.

 

25: For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Historical Commentary This short pericope offers a dense grouping of sayings that are paralleled either in the Old Testament or in Jewish tradition. For example, v24-5 are both common Jewish sayings for which there is no way to demonstrate historical content. Because of this relationship, there is no support for the historicity of these sayings.

28: The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear.

29: But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."

Historical Commentary After laying out the typology of the Gospel, dividing its characters into 4 groups, Jesus next utters a group of parables on the theme of the Kingdom of God. It should be noted that not only is sowing a metaphor for instructing, but seed may have a double meaning. It may refer to the message, but in both Jewish and early Christian discourse, it also referred to the resurrection, through analogy.  For example, one ancient rabbi noted:  "If a kernel of wheat is buried naked and will sprout forth in many robes, how much more so the righteous." (b. Sanh. 90b). Funk et al (1997) note:  "The question of what the parable is about has puzzled many readers, possibly including Matthew and Luke. It may be about the seed, perhaps the process of growth, or the parable as a whole may be about God's domain."(p59) Perhaps this is because the parable describes the resurrection, and not any process of growth or the kingdom of God. In that case, the double meanings encoded here are due to the author's hand, not the voice of Jesus. The tight relationship of this parable to to the previous parable and similar passages in the OT indicates that there is no support for historicity for this parable.

31: It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth;

32: yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."

33: With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; 34: he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything.

Historical Commentary The "sowing" metaphors recall Paul's comments in 1 Corinthians about being "sown in weakness" and "raised in power." After laying out the typology of the Gospel, dividing its characters into 4 groups, Jesus next utters a group of parables on the theme of the Kingdom of God. The chiastic structure for the parable section must be regarded as tentative. The exterior AB - BA brackets are sound, but the center brackets cover areas with many textual variants, and suspected interpolations, including whole parables (for example, 4:26-9). I have divided them into brackets simply to illustrate the divisions. The center, however, seems to work nicely, suggesting that 4:26-9 has been reworked rather than inserted. A And when he was alone, those who were about him with the twelve asked him concerning the parables. B And he said to them, "To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables; so that they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand; lest they should turn again, and be forgiven." C And he said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown; when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word which is sown in them. And these in like manner are the ones sown upon rocky ground, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns; they are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the delight in riches, and the desire for other things, enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown upon the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold." D And he said to them, "Is a lamp brought in to be put under a bushel, or under a bed, and not on a stand? For there is nothing hid, except to be made manifest; nor is anything secret, except to come to light. E If any man has ears to hear, let him hear." E And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away." D And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed upon the ground, and should sleep and rise night and day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he knows not how. The earth produces of itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come." C And he said, "With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade." B With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them without a parable, but privately to his own disciples he explained everything. A On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, "Let us go across to the other side."And leaving the crowd, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Many exegetes argue that these parables go back the historical Jesus. Sellew (1990) notes that parabolic material with "sowing" as a metaphor is found in several different ancient texts, and the Parable of Sower is known from the Gospel of Thomas as well as the Dialogues of Justin Martyr. Sellew also notes that it is found in 1 Clement, and perhaps Hermas as well.  The first three retain the pattern of the seed falling on three unproductive soils, while 1 Clement gives an abbreviated form of the Parable of the Sower. Much scholarly attention has been focused on identifying "Markan" expansions of the original material, although no reliable metholodogy exists for doing that. Sellew (1990), discussing one of the sayings, gives a good example of how a tradition of transmission for such sayings can be constructed out of reasonable-sounding speculation: "Though some differentiation could be expected depending on the emphasis applied, the point would be focussed initially on the surprising contrast in size, out of all proportion to normal expectation. As time passes, the saying's reference to resting birds attracts a greater assimilation to known biblical references to nesting birds (=incorporation of gentiles into God's kingdom, the eschatological Israel)."(p249) Needless to say, there is no evidence for such a pattern of transmission. Sellew's account is entirely speculative and imaginative. Rather, the proven habits of the writer of Mark in developing material out of the Old Testament and Hellenistic thought most likely account entirely for the presence of the parables in this section. The tight relationship of this parable to the previous parable and similar passages in the OT, as well as the presence of themes from both the OT, Pauline letters, and Hellenistic tradition, indicates that there is no support for historicity for this pericope.

37: And a great storm of wind arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already filling.

38: But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him and said to him, "Teacher, do you not care if we perish?"

39: And he awoke and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace! Be still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

40: He said to them, "Why are you afraid? Have you no faith?"

41: And they were filled with awe, and said to one another, "Who then is this, that even wind and sea obey him?"