This parable has always been considered one of the most difficult for an interpreter. Who should be understood by a person who throws seed into the ground? In the opinion of Anthony, Archbishop of Volhynia and Zhytomyr, here the sower is understood not as God, but as a Christian who plants a good seed (the teaching of Christ or feats of piety) both in his heart and in his social life; he cannot follow the further growth of the grace-filled life in himself and in others, just as a resting farmer does not follow the gradual growth of a sown field, but the Lord, invisibly affirming virtue in his heart and in his social life, like the sun and rain that raise the grain growing in the field, then suddenly, unexpectedly for the workers, reveals the grace-filled fruits of their labors and gives a bountiful harvest of God.

In interpreting the Lord's parables, it must always be borne in mind that, in teaching with parables, Jesus Christ did not take imaginary examples, but from the everyday life of His listeners, and He did so (according to the explanation of John Chrysostom) in order to make His words more expressive, to clothe the truth in a living image, to imprint it more deeply in the memory and, as it were, to present it to the eyes. Therefore, in parables one should look for similarities or similarities only in general, and not in particulars, not in each word taken separately. In addition, each parable must be understood in connection with others of the same kind and with the general spirit of Christ's teaching.

In His sermons and parables, Jesus Christ very precisely distinguishes the Kingdom of Heaven from the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of Heaven He calls the Kingdom of God which is reserved exclusively for the righteous and will begin after the final Judgment of the human race. And He calls the Kingdom of God the Kingdom of those who believe in Him and do the will of the Heavenly Father Who sent Him, founded by Him on earth. The Kingdom of God prepares the people who enter it for the Kingdom of Heaven; it began with the coming of Christ, who threw the word of God into the hearts of people, just as a farmer throws seed into the ground; and it will end when the time of harvest comes, when the fruit that has grown from the sown word of God is fully ripe. This fruit will ripen when all mankind inhabiting the earth unites into one community of believers, into one flock of the One Shepherd; when all mankind will become one field in which good seeds are sown (the growth of tares together with wheat will not break the unity of the field, just as the presence of Judas in it did not break the unity of Christ's little flock). Then the Kingdom of Heaven will begin. The visible participation of Jesus Christ in the Kingdom of God is expressed in His founding of this Kingdom and in the sending of reapers when the fruit ripens. Although His invisible leadership of this Kingdom is now undoubted for all who believe in Him, the Apostles at that time did not yet have such faith in Him. They had to give a clear example from everyday life to explain how the Kingdom of God begins and ends here on earth. The best example was the same sowing, which has already been mentioned. A man who threw seed into the ground he had prepared for it did all that was required of him; although, if he wishes, he watches over the growth of what is sown, and protects it from unfavorable outside influences, yet, because of the power hidden in the seed,

the earth of its own accord produces first greenery, then an ear, then a full grain in an ear. In the same way, the word of God, sown by Jesus Christ and falling on favorable soil, as a result of the grace-filled power contained in it, regenerates man; and if neither thorns nor tares choke it, it grows and bears fruit even without the further assistance of Him who sowed.

On the basis of what has been said, we can assume that in this parable the Sower is Christ Himself, the seed is the word of God brought by Him to earth, and the plant growing from the seed is the Kingdom of God. The main idea of the parable is the action of the power of the word of God, uniting people into one Kingdom of God. The rest of the parts of the parable should not be taken into account when interpreting it, since they do not have a special independent meaning (for example: and how the seed sprouts and grows, he does not know) and are given only to clearly confirm the correctness of the main idea.

The Parables of the Treasure Hidden in the Field, the Pearl Seeker, and the Seine

Continuing to test the Apostles whether they could understand His thoughts hidden in the parables, the Lord told them two parables about seekers of the truth, that is, the truth of God. A man accidentally found a treasure buried in a field; And when he found it, he was so glad that he went and sold all that he had, and bought that field. And the other was looking for good pearls, and when he found