(Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:3-20, Luke 8:5-15) This is probably the best known of all Jesus’ parables. It appears that He told it early in His period of ministry, and it was presented by the Sea of Galilee, near Capernaum. The figure of a “sower” (farmer) would have been very familiar to those who heard this parable. Farms in Judea were small, divided by pathways between the fields rather than by fences. The soil of these paths tended to become compacted…