1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:
“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
(ESV)
STOP! Think a little 🤔 What is God saying to you?
- What is the writer saying?
- How do I apply this to my life?
Because the Jews had begun to reject Jesus and His offer of the Kingdom, He changes tack and begins to teach using parables.
“Parable” comes from the Greek words para and ballõ, which together mean “to throw alongside”. A parable is like an illustration that takes a known truth and throws it alongside an unknown (spiritual) truth comparing them to each other. They are earthly stories with heavenly meanings.
This first parable speaks of a sower who sows seed in his field. The emphasis of the story is on the results of his sowing. The seed fell on four different types of ground; the path, on rocky places, among thorns, and on good soil. Because of this the farmer had four different results. The seed on the path was eaten by the birds. The seed on the rocky ground sprang up but because of the lack of depth of soil it soon withered. The seed that fell among the thorns grew alongside the thorns which choked them. The seed that fell on the good soil grew to maturity, produced grain with an abundant yield, some of it more than others.
The disciples noticed Jesus’ change in teaching style and asked Him why He had changed.
His first reason was to continue to teach truth to His disciples. He was making known the secrets, or mysteries, of the kingdom of heaven. The mysteries are those truths that were not revealed in the Old Testament but which were now being made known to those Jesus taught.
Secondly, Jesus spoke in parables in order to hide these truths from unbelievers. The secrets of heaven would be given to the disciples but hidden from the religious leaders. Even what they had previously known would no longer be clear to them. Jesus’ teaching in parables carried a judgemental aspect to it.
Third, He spoke in parables in order to fulfill Isaiah 6:9-10. God told Isaiah that many people would not understand his message, now Jesus receives the same response. Many people heard and saw but they did not understand. The disciples were blessed because they had the privilege of seeing and understanding the truths that those in the Old Testament had longed to know.
The disciples saw and believed; the leaders saw and rejected. Because the leaders turned from the light they had been given, God gave them no more light.
Then Jesus explained what His parable meant. The four results of the sown seed are compared to the four results of someone hearing the kingdom message.
First, the seed on the path is when someone hears the message but does not understand it, and thus does not believe it, the devil snatches away the word that was sown. This clearly represents those who do not get saved.
Second, the seed on rocky ground is someone who responds to the truth and believes but because the truth doesn’t take firm root in their heart they are unable to endure. They don’t have a firm foundation that allows them to stand in the face of any opposition. Some think that this type of person is also an unbeliever but because the seed sprang up they must have believed the message of salvation. Sadly it is possible for a believer to fall to the point that their faith is no longer effective in their life (apostasy). Everlasting life, once received, is everlasting even if one’s faith later fails (John 10:28).
The third seed fell amongst the thorns and represents believers whose hearts are deflected away from God toward the attractiveness of the things of this world. The cares of this world are the worries and concerns of this life and the deceitfulness of riches represent the false security found in the pursuit of worldly wealth. These things distract a believer from his or her focus on God and the result is a believer who is unfruitful.
The final seed is received by ready and faithful believers who show different levels of commitment resulting in different levels of productivity and resultant fruit. The difference in results is not because of any defect in the seed (the Word of God) but in the condition of the hearer’s heart.
Which ground does your heart represent?
Is it hard and unreceptive? (I certainly hope not if you’re reading this. But if you have not believed in Jesus Christ as your saviour, then this is you)
Is your heart lacking in depth, are you not taking the time to allow God’s truth to sink into your heart and give you the solid foundation you need to stand against the attacks that will come on your faith?
Are you surrounded by the cares and distractions of this world so much so that they are crowding out your time and attention from the things of God. Not all the things of the world are bad, but anything that continually takes your time away from serving God is.
If you have a receptive heart, that is fantastic, but there’s still a question for you; how receptive is your heart? Are you living for God in a way that’s producing a fruitful yield of thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold? What are you doing to increase your yield for God?