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Time after Pentecost · Proper 10 · Year A

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

The Parable of the Sower

July 12, 2026

Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, Pieter Bruegel the Elder
Landscape with the Parable of the Sower, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, 1557Timken Museum of Art, San Diego
Bruegel's earliest signed painting. The sower is small and off at the left edge, and a crowd is gathered on the far bank listening to someone preach.The parable is told to a crowd from a boat, and Bruegel put both the telling and the thing told into one landscape.Pieter Bruegel the ElderThe great painter of Netherlandish peasant life (c. 1525-1569), who put proverbs, seasons and crowds on canvas with an eye that is affectionate and entirely unsentimental.Timken Museum of Art, San DiegoA small free museum in Balboa Park, built around one family's collection and known locally as the jewel box.Timken Museum of Art, San Diego
LSB Three-Year Lectionary
GospelMatt. 13:1-9, 18-23Mt 13:1-9, 18-23
EpistleRom. 8:12-17Rom 8:12-17
Old TestamentIsa. 55:10-13Is 55:10-13
PsalterPs. 65:(1-8) 9-13Ps 65:(1-8) 9-13

Overview & Insights

“Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:8)

Jesus tells the crowds of a sower whose seed lands on the path, on rocky ground, among thorns, and on good soil. He then explains that the seed is the word of the kingdom, received differently by different hearers.

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Take it further: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Commentary

Working Preacher: Commentary on Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23Working Preacher: Commentary on Mt 13:1-9, 18-23 Working Preacher

Lutheran lectionary commentary on the sower and the four soils.

Enduring Word: Matthew 13Enduring Word: Mt 13 Enduring Word · David Guzik

David Guzik's verse-by-verse evangelical notes on the parables chapter.

Precept Austin: Matthew 13 CommentaryPrecept Austin: Mt 13 Commentary Precept Austin

Detailed study page gathering many commentators on the parable of the sower.

BibleHub: Commentaries on Matthew 13:1BibleHub: Commentaries on Mt 13:1 BibleHub

Parallel classic commentaries keyed to Jesus teaching the crowds from a boat.

StudyLight: Matthew 13 CommentariesStudyLight: Mt 13 Commentaries StudyLight

Many complete commentaries on Matthew 13 gathered on one passage page.

Background & Word Study

BibleProject: Matthew 1-13 OverviewBibleProject: Mt 1-13 Overview BibleProject

Animated overview of the first half of Matthew's Gospel and its design.

BibleHub: Matthew 13 InterlinearBibleHub: Mt 13 Interlinear BibleHub

Greek-English interlinear for word-level study of the chapter.

The Church Fathers

Catena: Matthew 13Catena: Mt 13 Catena

Patristic comments gathered verse by verse on Matthew 13.

Worship & Prayers

The Lectionary Page: Proper 10A The Lectionary Page

Collect and full set of appointed readings for the day.

Podcast

Working Preacher: Sermon Brainwave Podcast Working Preacher

Weekly lectionary podcast where scholars discuss the appointed texts.

Art & Music

Vanderbilt: Revised Common Lectionary Art Index Vanderbilt

Lectionary art index for visual reflection on the day's readings.

Study Hub

The Text This Week: Proper 10A Textweek

Curated study, art, and preaching hub for these readings in Year A.

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