Overall, the verses in this chapter can be divided into groups (with cross references to parallel sections in the other gospels): Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer identifies two groups of parables: the four first parables (up to Matthew 13:34) "were spoken in presence of the multitude, and the other three again within the circle of the disciples".

[6] German liberal Protestant theologian David Strauss thought this chapter was "overwhelming with parables".

[6] At the beginning of the chapter, Jesus sits in a ship or a boat on the Sea of Galilee and addresses the crowd who stand on the shore or the beach.

[4] Johann Bengel suggests that Jesus would have been ready to explain the other parables if necessary, "but they understood them, if not perfectly, yet truly".

[12] The final verses of this chapter see Jesus return to his home town, meaning Nazareth,[11] where he preaches in the synagogue and experiences the rejection of his "own people",[13] and his own country.