A Hermeneutics of Hearing Informed by the Parables with Special Reference to Mark 4

Jesus' parables were intended to enable hearing and elicit a response. They assume a hermeneutics of hearing, one that calls for depth listening and includes a hermeneutics of obedience. The Parable of the Sower more than any other is a parable of hearing, even though on the surface Mark 4:11–12 seems to suggest the opposite. An analysis of the Sower, its Markan context, and its background in Isa 6 underscores the importance of hearing and provides a basis for understanding a hermeneutics of hearing.