Synergy as a full assumement of man's relationship with God and his surrogate — the parable of the sower as a paradigm

Synergy as a full assumement of man's relationship with God and his surrogate — the parable of the sower as a paradigm

24 May 2025

All the synoptic evangelists present the Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13, 1-9, 18-23; Mark 4, 1-9, 13-20, Luke 8, 5-15), with some particular details, as we also encounter in the case of other parables or events from the Saviorʹs activity. The Parable of the Sower is the only one which, after speaking, Jesus explained (interpreted), thus being, in this case, an interpreter of His word, being among the first parables spoken by the Savior and the first parable recorded in the pages of the Holy Gospels. However, we do not have the full explanation of this parable, as observed by the Holy Fathers, biblical exegetes and theologians who analysed it, found themselves wondering who the sower is, what the seed represents, or what the four types of soil on which does it fall mean seed? Thus, the parable raises many questions and nuances of both interpretation and logic. Moreover, Joachim Jeremias finds it appropriate to note that “the pictorial element of Christʹs parables is drawn from the daily life of Palestine” 1, this detail also applies to this parable because learning that some seeds fell by the wayside, on stony ground or among thorns, we ask ourselves why the sower was not more vigilant at the time of sowing. Craig Keener puts forward the argument that in the Holy Land, the land was first sown, then plowed (“when the seeds were sown before the field was plowed, which was quite common, it was natural that they fell into one of the four categoriesʺ) 2, by that could not have a faithful mirror of the soil favourable to the sower. Otherwise, in a metaphorical sense, all the places indicated in the parable where the seeds fall is the heart of man and how they are received by each man.