Stories for the Waiting Room

Getting By Part 2: The Sower (Mark 4:1-9; Matt 13:1-8; Luke 8:4-8; Gos. Thom. 9)

Dr. Mark A. Proctor Season 2 Episode 4

In the second and final episode on Jesus' parable of "The Sower," Dr. Proctor discusses the genre of allegory and its relevance for studying Jesus' parables. Having acknowledged the presence of allegorical treatments of the "Sower" in each of the Synoptic Gospels, he and Lee move on to proffer an alternative way to understand the parable. Using clues from the development of the tradition after Mark and the commentary present in ancient agricultural texts about crop production rates, Mark and Lee settle on an interpretation of the famous story that is relevant and timely for anyone dealing with the wearying effects of the Coronavirus pandemic.