Parable of the sower- who sows the Word! Which one are you? Truth time!

 

The parable of the sower is about a farmer who sows seed to the ground. This parable is given by Jesus Christ and you can read it in three out of four Gospel accounts. Here are the verses:

• Matthew 13:1–23
• Mark 4:1–20
• Luke 8:4–15

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

22He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

24Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

25But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way.

26But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

27So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.

30Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.

Symbolism

The sower in the parable is Jesus and, by extension, all converted Christians. All those already called are charged with using whatever talents and spiritual gifts they possess to serve and to preach the gospel. The seed is the gospel message.

Never had a chance

The first set of responses is by far the most common among humans. Though they hear the gospel with their ears, they don't grasp its meaning due to their hearts being hardened by sin. Like birds always looking for an easy meal, the devil quickly comes and snatches away what they heard so that it never takes root.

Short roots

The second set of responses from this sower story are people who initially receive the gospel with joy. Like the parable's seed on shallow ground, their belief in God is immediately noticeable. They begin to show signs of their new zeal by attending a local church, participating in Bible studies and so on. As long as things are going relatively good for them they seem to be a committed Christian.

The last thing these people expected, however, is to have their beliefs tested and tried in the fire of life's experiences. The shallow nature of their beliefs becomes evident when trials and troubles come their way. Their faith, which was based far more on feelings than conviction, is quickly jettisoned.

Diversion tactic

The third set of seeds in the parable of the sower falls on reasonably good ground. Unlike the second set of seeds, however, which did not bear fruit due to trials, this group fails due to temptation.

The people who hear the gospel in this set respond positively to it and begin to grow and develop. Growing alongside them, however, are the demands of this world and its deceptive message to live your best life NOW. The cares of this life begin to compete more and more for their time and energy.

The temptations to pursue worldly fame and fortune, and the opportunities to fulfill their lusts, soon prove to be more than they can withstand. Knowing they cannot serve both God and mammon (Matthew 6:24), they choose to pursue the temporary pleasures of this life instead of suffering loss to gain the "hidden treasure" of God's truth (Matthew 13:44).

The abundant harvest

The fourth and last set of responses from this parable comes from the gospel finding the perfect fertile ground in which to flourish. These hearts have been properly "ploughed" and prepared by God who must personally draw them to repent and accept Jesus as their Savior before they can be saved (John 6:44). The seeds that fall on good ground produce 30, 60 or even 100 times more than what the sower had sown.

Why the difference?

Why, in this parable, is there such a difference of fruit produced by those who become true Christians? This difference is due to some of the following factors.

* The natural skills and abilities they possess.

* The resources at their disposal (money, time, relationships, etc.)

* The spiritual gifts they received upon conversion (Romans 12, Ephesians 4, 1Corinthians 12).

* Their level of zeal and willingness to use what they have to spread the truth (Mark 16:15) and do many righteous works so that God can be promoted and glorified (Matthew 5:16).

The parable of the sower is one of the most highly symbolic stories given by Jesus. Its meaning so baffled his closest disciples that they had to ask him to explain it (Mark 4:10, Luke 8:9). It reveals the four main types of responses received by the gospel message spread before the Second Coming.

Type of soil	description	Lessons
Wayside soil	The birds came and devoured them.	We must let the Word of the Kingdom to take root in our hearts. If not, someone or something will snatch it away from us.
Stony soil	There’s not enough soil in this area and thus, the seed didn’t much have much root in it. The sun then scorched the plant and the root withered away.	It is not enough to receive God’s word. You need to nourish it and ensure that it takes root deeply within our hearts.
Thorny soil	The thorns sprang up and choked the word of God.	We must put God as our top priority in life. We must not let the cares of this world, the lusts of the flesh, deceitfulness of riches, and lusts of other things to distract us from God’s work.
Good soil	Good soil represents the people of God who receive His word and bear much fruit.	Our main goal in life should be to nourish the word of God in our hearts, let it take root and thrive. Ultimately, we must bear fruit as a sign of our commitment to God.

This is actually what the Gospel is all about.

Let’s read Matthew 4:23:

23 “And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people.”

Gospel means the good news. Therefore, the seed represents the good news of the Kingdom of God.

It is quite interesting that in this agricultural setting, Jesus is also enforcing the fact that it is God who gives the increase to our labor. Yes, we can sow seeds as much as we want, but in finality, it is God who nourishes the seeds. It is Him who gives life to it. 

The seed that is sown is incorruptible because it is the word of God. That’s what we read in 1 Peter 1:23:

23 …Having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever…

Not only that but the seed, which is the word of God, is called the truth in Colossians 1:5:

5 because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel…

Thus, you can see that receiving the seed sown by the sower is dramatically important in God’s plan of salvation. Once we receive the seed of the kingdom, it becomes our focus and priority. It comes first in every decision that we make in our lives.