“The sower soweth the word.”
The farmer sows the word — the interpretation begins with the simplest possible identification: the farmer is the one who proclaims the word; the seed is the word itself. This identification establishes the parable's primary referent as the proclamation of the kingdom — the preaching of Jesus and the mission of his disciples. The quality of the sowing and the nature of the seed are not in question; the parable is entirely about the soil. The word is consistently sown (the farmer does not change his practice based on where the seed falls); the variable is the condition of the heart that receives it.
Church Fathers on Mark 4:14
Although the Lord appears in the transactions mentioned above to neglect His mother, nevertheless He honours her; since on her account He goes forth about the borders of the sea.
For if we look into the Gospel of Matthew, it appears that this same teaching of the Lord at the sea, was delivered on the same day as the former. For after the conclusion of the first sermon, Matthew immediately subjoins, saying, 'The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea-side.'
But He began to teach at the sea, that the place of His teaching might point out the bitter feelings and instability of His hearers.
Read all 22 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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