{By a parable} (dia parabol(8873)).  Mr 4:2  says "in parables"
as does  Mt 13:3 . This is the beginning of the first great group
of parables as given in  Mr 4:1-34  and  Mt 13:1-53 . There are
ten of these parables in Mark and Matthew and only two in  Lu
8:4-18  (The Sower and the Lamp,  8:16 ) though Luke also has the
expression "in parables" ( 8:10 ). See  Mt 13  and  Mr 4  for
discussion of the word parable and the details of the Parable of
the Sower. Luke does not locate the place, but he mentions the
great crowds on hand, while both Mark and Matthew name the
seaside as the place where Jesus was at the start of the series
of parables.