THE STUDENT OF the parables of Jesus, as they have been
transmitted to us in the first three Gospels, may be confident
that he stands upon a particularly firm historical foundation.
The parables are a fragment of the original rock of tradition. It is a
generally accepted fact that pictures leave a deeper impress on the
mind than abstractions. Among the special characteristics of the
parables of Jesus is the fact that step by step they reflect with peculiar
clarity the character of his good news, the eschatological nature of
his preaching, the intensity of his summons to repentance, and his
conflict with Pharisaism. ¹ Everywhere behind the Greek text we get
glimpses of Jesus' mother tongue. ² Also the pictorial element of the
parables is drawn from the daily life of Palestine. It is noteworthy,
for instance, that the sower in Mark 4.3-8 sows so clumsily that much
of the seed is wasted; one might have expected a description of the
regular method of sowing, and that, in fact, is what we have here.
This is easily understood when we remember that in Palestine sowing
precedes ploughing. ³ Hence, in the parable the sower is depicted as

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