Then ¹  his disciples asked him what this parable meant. ² 

“Now the parable means ¹  this: The seed is the word of God.

He also asked, “To what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable can we use to present it?

and he reasoned ¹  that God could even raise him from the dead, and in a sense ²  he received him back from there.

This was a symbol for the time then present, when gifts and sacrifices were offered that could not perfect the conscience of the worshiper.