The Parable of the Sower
Matthew 13:1-9/Mark 3:31-35/Luke 8:19-21
He who has ears, let him hear.”
I have always loved parables, and for today I thought I’d go into The Parable of the Sower.
Background (vs. 1-2)
“That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.”
The first two verses aren’t a part of the parable, but rather they tell you about what was going on at the time. It starts off that Jesus went to what was likely Peter’s house and decided to sit by the Sea of Galilee. Then there was a whole bunch of people (A LOT) who were coming to Him because they were wanting Him to teach them something, and Jesus decided to do so. There were too many people on land though, so Jesus went over to a boat in the Sea of Galilee and chose to sit while he taught. It was very common those days for people to sit while they taught.
The Wayside/The Hard Heart (vs. 3-4)
“And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.”
Something I think is cool about Jesus’ parables is that the field, seed, and birds always have the same meaning in every parable he gives that uses them. The field always symoblizes the earth. The seed always symbolizes the Word of God (God’s message to us), and the birds always symbolize Satan.
In the case scenario of the wayside, Jesus is basically saying that people with a heart that’s so hard that they won’t accept the Bible to any degree are the people that Satan will overtake. Keep in mind that the wayside does not refer to a heart that isn’t able to understand. The wayside is refering to a heart that doesn’t have the desire to understand.
Is that you? Are you the kind of person who is unwilling to accept God’s Word? Do you have a desire to understand the Bible or do you simply feel like there’s no point in trying to understand it? If so, keep in mind that these are the kind of people that Satan will love to devour. There’s nothing blocking him from devouring the kind of person that wants nothing to do with God.
The Rocky Soil/The Shallow Heart (vs. 5-6)
“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, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.”
The rocky soil is symbolizing the kind of person who will accept God’s Word but has no foundation to their faith. This kind of person is very willing to accept God’s Word. In all honesty, these kinds of people will accept God’s Word with much joy in their hearts. Other than that, the shallow heart and the hard heart aren’t too different. The shallow heart has a better start in the sense that they start off willing to accept the Bible with much joy whereas the hard heart just won’t accept it at all, but in the end, they end with very similar results. They don’t truly let God into their hearts.
People with a shallow heart will happily listen to God’s Word but, when something doesn’t go the way that they were hoping, the shallow heart will simply go straight back to not accepting God in their life.
Are you the kind of person who will stop accepting God’s Word if things don’t go your way? How hard of an impact will unpleasant experiences make on your relationship with God? If so, keep in mind how helpful things like prayer and the Bible can be to strengthen your relationship with God. To avoid having a shallow heart, continuously try to strengthen your relationship with God. If life ever gets so unpleasant that you just don’t want God in your life anymore, take that as an opportunity to learn to lean on God instead of feeling like you have to carry the weight of those moments alone.
The Thorny Soil/The Over-Involved Heart (vs. 7)
“Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.”
Ouch. This kind of heart is undoubtedly common yet very unfruitful. Unlike the hard heart and the shallow heart, the over-involved heart does have a good foundation to their faith. This kind of heart isn’t just happy to accept God’s Word. This kind of heart treasures it deeply and will not be defeated by persecution or tribulation.
This kind of heart is far from the kind of heart that God desires for us to have though. The over-involved heart is the kind of heart that cares too much about the things of this world. When a person has a heart that’s compared to thorny soil, they have a heart that focuses too much about things such as money to fully give their hearts to God.
Are you the kind of person who doesn’t put as much focus on your relationship with God as your cares of this world? Are you the kind of person that will put a pause on trying to continuously grow in your relationship with God if a care of this world creeps up on you? Keep in mind that Satan loves to deceive us whenever he can. The cares of this world can become very deceitful.
The Good Soil/The Receptive Heart (vs. 8)
“Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
Aaaahhh… the good soil. Who doesn’t love the thought of having the heart that God compares to good soil rather than no soil, rocky soil, or thorny soil? This kind of heart can only be achieved by a strong relationship with God. It’s definitely the best kind of heart out there. Having a receptive heart is a very good goal to aim for in every kind of way.
The people whose hearts God will compare to good soil are hearts that have been strongly convicted by sin. These kinds of people have a heart that hasn’t just heard God’s Word, they’ve built a good and strong relationship with God that cannot be broken by any means. The receptive heart isn’t just willing to hear God’s Word, they are eager to understand it to it’s fullest. If you want to understand God’s Word to the fullest, God will continue to reward you with a deeper knowledge of the truth. If you have a heart that will yield sixty fold or thirty fold, the Holy Spirit will bring that up to a hundredfold.
Are you the kind of person who has a really strong foundation to your faith? Is there anything of this world that will ruin your relationship with God? How do you handle things that don’t go your way? How strong is your desire for God to help grow your understanding of His Word?
He who has ears to hear, let him hear. - God’s hint at why he’s telling this parable. Try to hear what God is trying to teach you.
God,
Thank you for giving us your Word. Thank you for letting us know that you are always there for us and with us. Please help us to realize what kind of heart we have and to have the desire for you to change our lives for the better.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
God loves you all and wants all of you to have a heart that can be compared to good soil. Let the Holy Spirit guide you, and God will help you to achieve the best kind of heart out there.