CT9718S Parables and their Interpretations: Influences on Christian Theology

Essay: Parables of seed, growth and fruit

Brendan McDonald - Student ID: 201619862

Introduction

In recent weeks, the world has been coming to terms with acts of terrorism that illustrate the
brokenness of the human condition. The public is often presented with media images that
highlight the polarised divisions amongst us, the conjecture between ideologies and the violent
attempts to gain and hold onto power. Whether it be the geo-political manoeuvrings of world
powers or the local debates of regional and state governments, human beings contend that
they have power, control and dominion over the earth and even one another. In the midst of
this obvious disconnectedness, humanity paradoxically shares much in common. We all need to
be nourished. We rely on the fruitfulness of the earth to meet our basic needs; food, medicine
and shelter. Perhaps this is why Jesus used the motifs of seed, growth and fruit to teach about
life, time and the reality of God. These motifs arrest us and captivate us because they are so
familiar to what it is to be human, and they are the source of what satisfies the fundamental
cravings of our bodies. This paper will explore these motifs in the parables of Jesus and attempt
to ‘have ears to hear’, to discern meaning and find inspiration for life in the twenty first century.

Ears to Hear

How do we have ears to hear? In verse Mark 4:11-12, Jesus says “To you has been given the
secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that
‘they may indeed look, but not perceive, and may indeed listen, but not understand; so that
they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”.

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I wonder if those disciples walked away from that conversation thinking that they had truly
received the ‘secret’ of the kingdom of God, or whether they were more perplexed as to the
meaning of Jesus’ parabolic teachings. The reality is that human beings do tend to hear but not
listen, or listen and not hear. The purpose of the parable is to arrest the listener and cause
them to consider the implicit message, the deeper message, the hidden message. To listen at a
deeper level, a heart and soul level. Jesus uses parables to “challenge his listeners to work out
for themselves how to get to the heart of things” (Wright 2004, 164). Jesus uses familiar
concepts of every-day life to capture the imagination of his audience challenge their pre-
conceptions. As I explore seed, growth and fruit, I hope to get beyond my own conceptions and
discern a fuller and broader understanding of Jesus’ parables and how they relate to life and
God’s purpose in the world.

Exegesis

The authors of the Synoptic gospels intended to write for a very different cultural context.
Nineham contends that there are solid grounds that the ‘parable of the sower’ is derived from
an Aramaic original (Nineham 1963, 134) so the motifs of seed, growth and fruit were familiar
to Jesus’ audience in a unique way. Zimmerman agrees stating, “the parables primarily reflect
the environment and life of the people in Palestine, or at least in the Mediterranean world”
(Zimmerman 2015, 197). Considering that the parable of the sower is found in each of the
Synoptic gospels, and the gospel of Thomas, we can contend that they were regular sayings of
Jesus. The phrase “He who has ears” is found in each of them (Mk 4:9, Mat 13:9, Lk 8:8).

Life in ancient Palestine relied on successful agriculture and the Hebrew audience were
accustomed to hearing parables around fruitfulness. Isaiah 5:1-7 is an example involving a
vineyard on a very fruitful hill. Jewish Rabbi’s used Mashal to summon responses from their
audience and provoke engagement with their teaching. The word parable is one English
translation for the Hebrew word Mashal and Nineham notes that Jesus used more than one
form of Mashal (Nineham 1963, 127) in his ministry. Nineham further states, “the Mashal

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would have different effects on different people; those who could and would undertake the
necessary reflection would be illuminated” (Nineham 1963, 127). Those in the audience who
could not or simply would not reflect well on the Mashal would gain no insight even though
they understood the literal meaning of the words used. When Jesus extends the phrase
“Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Mk 4:9) I believe that he is referring to this choice toward
inward response and reflection.

Even though there are still agricultural communities scattered throughout the world, most of
humanity is now congregating in urban settings and large cities. Food is purchased in plastic
packaging, often frozen, and our connection to the land and familiarity with agricultural
reliance is hugely diminished. The authors of the synoptics could never have imagined the
nuances our world and there is a risk for us, that me might form erroneous interpretations
because of our familiar cultural lens. Zimmerman points to finding the “realistic ground of the
parable” (Zimmerman 2015, 197) through socio-historical analysis as means of keeping this risk
in check. He makes his point by saying, “Before I can understand what it means when the
kingdom of God is compared to a mustard see, bread dough or a sower, I must first know what
bread dough is, what a mustard seed looks like, or how a sower goes about his or her work”
(Zimmerman 2015, 197). Farmers in ancient Palestine used different methods to ours and this is
significant in how we should go about interpreting these parables.

Seed and Sowing

When I was a younger man and first read Mark 4:1-9, I interpreted the sowing as preaching. I
even applied my own Christian context to the scripture by understanding the point of that
preaching to be a message of penal substitutionary atonement and the acceptance of it for
salvation. This highlights the peril of applying our own cultural contexts to ancient texts. I am
sure there are preachers around the world who do what I did, and use the parable of the sower
to challenge their audience to “accept Jesus as their Lord and saviour” but many scholars
debunk this approach. Jeremias argues that “The interpretation of sowing as preaching is not

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characteristic of Jesus’ way of speaking; he prefers to compare preaching with the gathering in
of the harvest” (Jeremias 1963, 78). The fruit, the harvest is the very point of the parable rather
than the question of where the seed lands. The point of his criticism is that “The emphasis has
been transferred from the eschatological to the psychological aspect of the parable. In the
interpretation the parable has become an exhortation to converts to examine themselves and
test the sincerity of their conversion” (Jeremias 1963, 79). For Jeremias, the harvest is the
present eschatological reality of Jesus’ incarnation and ministry, rather than a message
preached for some future time.

Even taking his view into consideration, I still feel that my interpretation may have had some
merit because it thrusts forward the question ‘how will I receive the word?’. The former Bishop
of Coventry A.M. Hunter writes that it is possible to “read the parable as a parabolic comment
on ‘take heed how you hear’. On this view, the parable shows how the same Word of God gets
a different reception from different people” (Hunter 1960, 101). I have heard some people refer
to this scripture as the parable of the soils and this is what Hunter is getting at. The fact that we
human beings have the capacity for inward reflection and growth but it depends on us. Do we
have ears to hear?

Even though Jeremias might say that my youthful interpretation was lacking, my reader
oriented approach was useful and meaningful for me at the time. Zimmerman explains why this
could be so and even appropriate, stating;

The reader’s life experiences, hopes, and fears are placed into the parable
through them without the text expressing these in a narrower sense. However,
this emotive (as well as cognitive) activation is in no way inappropriate or alien
to the text. On the contrary, it is often the narrative gaps that invite the
recipient to fill them with their own experience (Zimmerman 2015, 156).

Who is to say which interpretation is correct? I think they both provide added meaning. N.T.
Wright takes a similar approach to Jeremias in terms of the eschatological present of the
parable. In relating to the parable as written in Matthew, Wright states “it’s what God is doing

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personally, bodily, in Jesus and his work, and what God will do through his death and
resurrection. God is indeed sowing Israel again, planning his people once more, through Jesus.”
(Wright 2004, 163). I really love that because it describes an ongoing work, an ongoing harvest
and a God who is present and active in the world through his people.

Abundance and Harvest

If I extend the logic of Jeremias and Wright to the question about having ears to hear and ask it
of myself, I am challenged with the fact that the harvest is a continuous present reality in my
daily life. The idea is that God’s abundance, thirty, sixty, one hundred-fold is within me and
surrounding me. The post-modern reader might think that the sower is foolish for wasting seed
on the rocky path but Nineham points out that this was common practice in ancient Palestine
as the ground was ploughed after sewing, rather than beforehand which is our practice
(Nineham 1963, 134). In this case, there is a chance that the rocky path will produce a harvest
as well and the whole field is a harvest field. This is an extravagant harvest and it’s the main
point of the parable and drives home its intended meaning as Jeremias says;

The abnormal tripling … signifies the eschatological abundance of God,

surpassing all human measure. To human eyes much of the labour may seem
futile and fruitless, resulting apparently in frequent failure; but Jesus is full of
joyful confidence: God’s hour is coming, and will bring with it a harvest of
reward beyond all asking and understanding (Jeremias 1966, 119-120).

This interpretation brings great hope in a world where injustice is often portrayed as the victor.
Where human failure is constantly presented because it commands higher ratings. If the idea
that the sower has no care for where the seed will fall because the harvest is assured is true,
then it gives me hope. It means that what I perceive as personal failure could actually be part of
God’s ongoing work in the world and it will bear some fruit.

It is right here that these parables of growth become very meaningful to me. Just like the ones
in the world who grasp at power and control, who manipulate others, who oppress the poor

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and vulnerable… well there is a bit of that in all of us and I cannot deny my own personal
involvement. If my life were a harvest field there would be some rocky path, there would be
some scorching sun, and, yes, I will say it, there are thorns! If I do have ears to hear then what I
am listening to is the reality that God will scatter seed all over that mess and something good
will happen.

Growing in Secret

The parable of the growing seed is a further evidence of this message as it takes the relentless
need to control one’s own life and puts it into its true perspective. The seed will do its thing
regardless of the daily activities of the sower. This parable speeds up time and provides a
cartoon like image of rapid growth, “first the stalk, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear”
(Mk 4:28). And again, the harvest, the fruit is the outcome. It is a call to simply trust and rely on
the mystery of life and the one who gives it. I can imagine a world where people do not need to
grasp for control, do not need to exert power or dominate others. In that world people would
know the giver of life and rely on what he does; make good things grow. Can you imagine a
world where striving to bring about happiness, joy and contentment was no longer a
requirement because people just knew the nature of the seed? I think it would look something
like the kingdom of God and I think that is what Jesus is showing his audience.

Jeremias refers to this parable as the parable of the ‘Patient Husbandman’ where he explains,
“we are confronted with a sharp contrast; the inactivity of the farmer after sowing is vividly
depicted: his life follows it’s ordered round of sleeping and waking, night and day: without his
taking anxious thought or active steps” (Jeremias 1963, 151). The truth of the matter is that the
harvest will come. Somehow the nature of God and his kingdom correlates to the nature that
has been created, “there is a time for everything” (Eccles 3:1).

This secret growth was evidenced by the ministry of Jesus. Jesus went about his work in secret
and the secret of his Messiahship was hidden from the disciples and his audience. They could

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not perceive that his intent was to be one who did not take kingship by force. In contrast Jesus
is portrayed as the suffering servant in Mark, the one who “must suffer many terrible things”
(Mk 8:31). The nature of the natural progression in God’s kingdom is that this messiah will not
try to control events, not try to dominate Israel’s enemies, but rather, die. Jesus’ mission was
hidden in a similar way to how the message of the kingdom was hidden in the parables he
taught. The growing seed’s mystery is only known to God and as Bornkamm describes it, “just
as the earth ‘of itself’ brings forth fruit, so the kingdom of God comes by its own power alone, a
miracle of man, which he can only wait with patience” (Bornkamm 2017, 31-32).

The Seed as Eschatological Reality

In Mark, the disciples have not yet realised who Jesus is and the kind of Kingdom he is
describing. The eschatological reality of time in eternity is found in this parable and in Christ
himself, the presence of the harvest, the presence of the seed, the very Word of God enfleshed
amongst them even though for them, it is hidden and insignificant. Bornkamm describes this
paradoxical reality saying, “the beginning of the kingdom of God is an insignificant event in this
time and world. Within this time and world it sets and end to both. For the new world of God is
already at work.” (Bornkamm 2017, 32). Jeremias states the same concept in a different way,
“The fruit is the result of the seed; the end is implicit in the beginning. The infinitely great is
already active in the infinitely small. In the present, and indeed in secret, the event is already in
motion.” (Jeremias 1963, 152). The implications of this are huge for human beings because it
intimates that God is present in every small act of love, care and compassion. Even though the
fruit of these acts may not seem visible to us and we may feel as though we are not achieving
any good from our actions, the reality is that there is a present and eternal fruit being produced
that will outlast the very process of the growth that we are experiencing in this world.

Some scholars point to the fact that the Word made flesh is the sowing of God’s kingdom and
that Christ himself is the very seed of the kingdom. In pointing to Christ’s destiny, Ratzinger
states, “He ends up on the Cross. But that very Cross is the source of great fruitfulness.”

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(Ratzinger 2017, 33). In Jesus, we see the kingdom of God in seed form and as is the nature of
seed growth and fruitfulness, the seed must fall to the ground to germinate as stated in John’s
gospel, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just
a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (Jn 12:24). Just as parables have an implicit
message that is hidden in the explicit narrative, Christ implicitly incarnates God’s kingdom
before a crowd that cannot explicitly recognise it. Leander Keck succinctly explains this, “Jesus
preferred parables not merely because there is an inner connection between the parabolic
mode of speech and the mode and motive of his work. Jesus concentrated on parabolic speech
because he himself was a parabolic event of the kingdom of God” (Keck 1971, 244)

A 2017 Response

Considering all the previous discussion I must ask myself how does this theology penetrate the
lives of people in my own western culture? How does it penetrate my life? Do I have the ears to
hear in my own 2017 context in Australia? On the surface of the culture, the explicit evidence
based on the last census, is that less people are interested in religion but that is not say that
there is a lack of spiritual interest and spiritual activity. People still long for meaning and many
are looking for truth. Jesus offers truth, and as the seed that promises God’s kingdom as
presented in the seed, growth and fruit parables, I feel that I have two personal responses.

Firstly, I return to my original reader oriented response. I feel that this is such good news that I
want to share it with the people around me. I want to sow kingdom seeds in the hope that they
will find good soil, but I should check my myself and make sure they are sincere and motivated
by love and authentic concern. In an address from the Vatican in 2014, Pope Francis proclaimed
that the parable of the sower still applies today. He presented an approach to it that correlates
to my own stating;

It is good for us not to forget that we too are sowers. God sows good seeds, and
at this point too we can ask ourselves: what type of seed comes out of our heart
and our mouth? Our words can do great good and much evil; they can heal and

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 they can wound, they can encourage and they can depress. (Official Vatican
Network)

Secondly, and probably the more important question for me is “what kind of soil am I?”. Am I
open to what the eschatologically present Word is speaking to me day by day, from moment to
moment, from challenge to challenge?

For me holding both approaches in tension is crucial, because I don’t want to try and control or
manipulate myself or others, because it is God who does the growing in secret, yet at the same
time I have good seed to share. The final realisation and maybe the place where I do have ears
to hear is in the submission to the will of the sower yields a harvest regardless of my efforts,
thirty, sixty or even one hundred-fold.

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Bibliography

Bornkamm, Günther. “Parable Documents” (A collection of readings provided electronically buy

lecturer, Samuel Curkpatrick, February 27, 2017).

Hunter, A.M. 1960. Interpreting the parables. London: SCM Press

Jeremias, Joachim. 1963. The Parables of Jesus: Study Edition. London: SCM Press

Jeremias, Joachim. 1966. Rediscovering the parables. London: SCM Press

Keck, Leander. 1971. A Future for the Historical Jesus: The place of Jesus in preaching and
theology. Nashville: Abingdon Press.

Nineham, D.E. 1963. Saint Mark: The Pelican New Testament Commentaries. London: Penguin
Books.

Official Vatican Network. “Angelus: The parable of the sower still applies today.”
http://www.news.va/en/news/angelus-the-parable-of-the-sower-still-applies-tod (accessed 19
May 2017).

Ratzinger (Benedict XVI), Joseph. “Parable Documents” (A collection of readings provided

electronically buy lecturer, Samuel Curkpatrick, February 27, 2017).

Wright, N.T. 2004. Matthew for Everyone: Part 1. London: SPCK

Zimmerman, Ruben. 2015. Puzzling the Parables of Jesus: Methods and Interpretation.
Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

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