The Sower

The words

Matthew 13:1–23 (opens a new tab)

1. Deceitfulness

   The power to mislead.

   In Matthew’s explanation, deceitfulness of riches joins the care of this world in choking the word; Mark adds desires for other things, while Luke includes life’s pleasures.

   Matthew 13:22 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:19 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:14 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 4:1-20 (opens a new tab)

2. Deepness

   Depth; thickness of soil.

   In Matthew, seed on stony places springs up quickly because there is little depth of earth; the sun scorches it and the lack of root leads to withering.

   Matthew 13:5–6 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab)

3. Devoured

   The birds eat seed that falls by the way side in Matthew’s story; in the explanation, the wicked one catches away the word from a hearer who does not understand.

   Matthew 13:4, 19 (opens a new tab)

4. Dull of Hearing

   Matthew includes dull of hearing in Jesus’s quotation of Isaiah; the surrounding lines speak of hearing without understanding and seeing without perceiving.

   Matthew 13:14–15 (opens a new tab) · Isaiah 6:9–10 (opens a new tab)

5. Good Ground

   Matthew links good ground with hearing and understanding the word; Mark speaks of receiving it. Luke adds keeping it with patience, rendered steadfast endurance in the NET.

   Matthew 13:23 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:20 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:15 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Luke 8:4-15 (opens a new tab)

6. Hundredfold

   A yield a hundred times the seed sown.

   Matthew lists a hundredfold first among the good-ground yields; Mark places it last after thirty and sixty, while Luke gives a hundredfold without the smaller figures.

   Did you know?

   Genesis 26:12 also uses the phrase “an hundredfold,” describing Isaac’s sowing and what he received in the same year.

   Matthew 13:8 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:8 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:8 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab) · Genesis 26:12 (opens a new tab)

7. Mysteries

   Secrets made known, in this setting.

   Matthew speaks of mysteries of the kingdom of heaven given for the disciples to know; Mark has the singular mystery of the kingdom of God, while Luke also uses mysteries.

   Matthew 13:11 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:11 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:10 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Mark 4:1-20 (opens a new tab)

8. Root

   Matthew’s rootless plant withers in the story; the explanation pairs having no root with a hearer’s brief reception, followed by stumbling under tribulation or persecution because of the word.

   Matthew 13:6, 20–21 (opens a new tab)

9. Scorched

   Matthew says the sun scorches the growth on stony places; Mark gives the same sequence of sun, scorching and withering, before explaining the hearers’ response to affliction or persecution.

   Matthew 13:5–6 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:5–6, 16–17 (opens a new tab)

10. Sixtyfold

    A yield sixty times the seed sown.

    Matthew’s sixtyfold is the middle of three fruitful yields on good ground, repeated in Jesus’s explanation; the same figure also appears in Mark’s list.

    Matthew 13:8, 23 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:8, 20 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab)

11. Sower

    The sower goes out to sow, and the seed falls on several kinds of ground. Luke’s explanation identifies the seed as the word of God; Mark says the sower sows the word.

    Matthew 13:3–8 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:14 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:11 (opens a new tab)

12. Stony Places

    Rocky ground with shallow soil.

    In Matthew, the stony places have little earth and no deepness, so growth appears quickly but does not last; Luke’s rock scene emphasizes a lack of moisture.

    Matthew 13:5–6 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:6 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab)

13. Thirtyfold

    A yield thirty times the seed sown.

    Matthew includes thirtyfold among the fruitful yields, alongside sixty and a hundred; Mark begins his sequence with thirty, and both retain it in the explanation of good ground.

    Matthew 13:8, 23 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:8, 20 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab)

14. Way Side

    Beside the path.

    The seed by the way side is eaten by birds in Matthew; Luke adds that it is trodden down. Both explanations describe the word being taken away.

    Matthew 13:4, 19 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:5, 12 (opens a new tab) · NET Bible: Matthew 13:1-23 (opens a new tab)

15. Wicked One

    Matthew calls the figure who catches away the word the wicked one; Mark names Satan in the parallel explanation, and Luke names the devil. Each describes the removal of the sown word.

    Matthew 13:19 (opens a new tab) · Mark 4:15 (opens a new tab) · Luke 8:12 (opens a new tab)