Abstract:
This article attempts to read the parable of the Sower (Mk 4:3b–8) as a parable of the
historical Jesus. In this reading, the focus is different from almost all previous interpretations
of the parable. It is proposed that the Sower should not be understood in terms of realistic
agricultural practices in 1st century Palestine, but in terms of the realism of the political, social
and economic world in which the parable is told by Jesus. The conclusion reached is that the
parable asks its first hearers to align themselves with the kingdom of God, and describes what
the results of this decision can be. In a world with little choice, the parable gives a vision on
how to cope in an exploitative world.
