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He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
Matthew 13:37 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB He answered them, “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
  • KJV He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man;
  • NKJV He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
  • NASB And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
  • NLT Jesus replied, “The Son of Man is the farmer who plants the good seed.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

Jesus explains that He, the Son of Man, is the one who sows the good seed. Christ Himself is the source of the true people of God.

Overview

Beginning His interpretation, Jesus identifies the sower of good seed as the Son of Man, His favored self-designation drawn from Daniel 7. This establishes Christ as the active agent producing the genuine children of the Kingdom in the world. The parable thus centers on Jesus' authoritative work in history, planting His people amid a hostile environment.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 14

  • 1 Cor 3:5–7What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
  • Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
  • Luke 10:16Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
  • Matt 13:41The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.
  • Matt 13:27The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
  • Matt 13:24Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.
  • John 20:21Again Jesus said to them, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so also I am sending you.”
  • Rom 15:18I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
  • Matt 10:40He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
  • Matt 8:20Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”
  • Matt 16:13–16When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
  • John 13:20Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever receives the one I send receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me.”
  • Heb 1:1On many past occasions and in many different ways, God spoke to our fathers through the prophets.
  • Heb 2:3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (4)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Matthew videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Matthew 13:37YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MatthewMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'

How Matthew 13:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.