And He said, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man,
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;
- BSB He replied, “The One who sows 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.
- 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 3:5–7Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed; and each as the Lord gave to him?
- Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.”
- Luke 10:16Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me. Whoever rejects me rejects him who sent me.”
- Matt 13:41The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will gather out of his Kingdom all things that cause stumbling, and those who do iniquity,
- Matt 13:27The servants of the householder came and said to him, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where did these darnel weeds come from?’
- Matt 13:24He set another parable before them, saying, “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field,
- John 20:21Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace be to you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.”
- Rom 15:18For I will not dare to speak of any things except those which Christ worked through me, for the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and deed,
- Matt 10:40He who receives you receives me, and he who receives me receives him who sent me.
- Matt 8:20Jesus said to him, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
- Matt 16:13–16Now when Jesus came into the parts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?”
- John 13:20Most certainly I tell you, he who receives whomever I send, receives me; and he who receives me, receives him who sent me.”
- Heb 1:1God, having in the past spoken to the fathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways,
- Heb 2:3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation — which at the first having been spoken through the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard;
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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.