The Parable of the Sower

Intro:

Last week we began our series on the Parables of Jesus by look at the purpose of Parables.

It was a fulfillment of prophecy. Isaiah 6:9 “And He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’”

To reveal kingdom truth and precepts.

Remember, to interpret scripture accurately we must understand what was said, to whom it was said, and where it was said. To understand the intent of the message we must look at the cultural context as well as the scriptural context before and after the text we are reading. These combined will help us to interpret scripture accurately.

Our goal in studying the word should be to rightly divide the word of truth.

We don’t add to it or take away from it.

We do not want to pull out the parts we like and ignore the rest. This will lead us to error.

We must observe the total context of the message to interpret the scripture so that we can come to the correct application for our lives.

To close out the message I shared with you the basic concept of the Kingdom of God. The word Kingdom speaks of the Kings Domain.

It is person, place, power, and culture. A kingdom has a king. He is the ruler and ultimate authority of the kingdom. He has place. A king sits on a throne. From that throne He rules and reigns. The king has power. The word that He speaks is final. The decrees He makes are filled with authority and shall be carried out exactly has He has said. The king has a culture in His kingdom. He determines what is acceptable in everything that is under is rule.

The essence of Jesus ministry is to establish the rule of His reign in the earth. The purpose of His kingdom is to bring all things under His rightful rule. To regain what was lost through the fall of Adam in the Garden. Rebellion, sin, wickedness, and corruption were a result of the fall.

The parable of the sower addresses the battle ground of humanity. The heart of a man. Like Adam many sit on the throne of their heart. They exercise their will, power, and culture. The message of the Gospel of the Kingdom is Repent, for the kingdom of Heaven is at hand. This message places our rulership in the crosshairs. He requires us to repent and submit to his rule and reign.

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Submit:

Today we are going to look at Jesus first parable known as the parable of the sower. The parable is recorded in Matthew 13, Mark 4, & Luke 8. These three Gospels are known as the Synoptic Gospels because they are shared from a similar point of view.

Quick reference point. If the same parable is written in more than one of the Gospels make sure to study each to capture the fullness of the parable. Even though the three parables have much similarity in the overall context, they also have a few other descriptive elements that help bring a full thought.

I will show you this in a minute.

First, let’s read the parable of the sower from Matthew 13:1-9 and then I will read to you the combined explanation of all the parables from Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Matthew 13:1-9 “On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!””

Some keys to look at from this parable.

Someone was sowing seed.

There were four different scenarios that took place with the seed.

Of the four only one scenario yielded a crop.

Finishes with He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

Now in Mark’s Gospel it records Jesus saying, Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all parables? Then he explains what the parable meant. (*I will read the combined explanation from all three accounts.)

Mark 4:13 “And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?” Matthew 13:18 ““Therefore hear the parable of the sower:”

Mark 4:14 “The sower sows the word.” Matthew 13:19 “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one (Satan Mark 4:15.) comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart (lest they should believe and be saved Luke 8:12). This is he who received seed by the wayside.” (These likewise are the ones sown Mark 4:16.)

Matthew 13:20 “But he who received the seed on stony places, (Luke 8:13 “the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy;) this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;” (Mark 4:16 gladness). Luke 8:13 and these have no root (in themselves, but only endure for a time Matthew 13:21), (in time of temptation Luke 8:13) (and when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word immediately he stumbles Matthew 13:21), (and falls away Luke 8:13).”

Matthew 13:22 “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, ( goes out Luke 8:14) and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (and the desires for other things entering Mark 4:19) (and the pleasures of life Luke 8:14) choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.” (bringing no fruit to maturity Luke 8:14).

Matthew 13:23 “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word (accepts it Mark 4:20) and understands it, (Luke 8:15 “having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”) who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.””

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Apply:

As we look at the application Jesus give us the answer to our initial observations.

The Seed being sown is the word of the Kingdom.

The four places the seed is sown represents four different types of hearts that had varying outcomes for the seed based on the condition of the heart.

The seed in the parable was not the issue, the heart was.

The goal of the seed was to bear and produce fruit.

There were varying levels of fruitfulness.

Let’s look at each of the components of this parable.

THE SEED:

The seed is the word of God. The whole emphasis in this parable is on the word of God. The seed of the word has all the divine potential in it. It is an incorruptible seed, a sinless seed, an immortal seed, a perfect seed, a Divine seed. There is no fault in the seed for it is the word of God. It will produce what He intends to produce if the soil is receptive.

THE SOILS:

The ground the seed falls on represents the human heart. It is the condition of the heart that determines the response to the word of the kingdom. There is no fault with the seed of the word of God. The problem is with the soil, or the heart of the hearer. Understand that it was the same seed that fell on all the soils. The only difference was the acceptance of the seed. Jesus mentions four types of soil with four different responses.

The Wayside Hearer: It a surface hearing only. Essentially it went in one ear and out the other. Having ears to hear physically they never really heard spiritually. A lack of understanding allows Satan to come and steal the word. (*this is really important: Satan does not want the word in your heart. The word is powerful and he knows it.) The power of the word brings belief in Christ and salvation. The wayside hearer is unable to hear and receive.

The Stony Ground: This person hears the word and immediately receive’s it with joy and gladness. The catch is that the spiritual depth of their heart is shallow. The stony places allow the seed to spring up quickly, but they have no depth. It is a surface experience and emotional response. Luke says they have no root in themselves, and so only endure for a time. When Affliction, temptation, or persecution arises because of the word they stumble and fall away through offense. Though there was great joy initially the lack of deep roots results in a shallow believer. Deep roots are a deep love for the Lord and His word.

The Thorny Ground: This person like the stony ground hears and receives the word. The main difference is that compared to the stony ground this seed takes deeper root. However, this seed also does not produce fruit. The one who initially heard the word has allowed it to become choked out by thorns. The thorns are described as the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the desires (lust) for other things entering into the heart, and the pleasures of this life. The worries and cares of this life can quickly drain a heart of faith (how am I going to do it), riches in themselves are not bad, but when you set you heart on them it is bad. The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. The lust or desire for other things is an unlawful desire that is contrary to the word of God. The pleasures of this life are the pleasures of sin, the things that look to bring pleasure apart from the pleasure that is found only in God. The result is that this person becomes unfruitful. They bring no fruit to maturity.

The Good Ground Hearer: They hear the word of the Kingdom. They understand it. They receive it and accept it in their heart. They keep the word of the kingdom, and the result is fruitfulness. Now what is important to see is that the good ground brings fruit to maturity in varying degrees. Important to see with this soil condition is that the heart was made ready for the seed. The ground had been broken up so the seed could be planted. Proverbs 4:23 tells us to guard our hearts with all diligence for out of it comes the issues of life. The degrees of fruitfulness in the believers life is determined by degree of commitment to the Lord. the good soil bears fruit with patience. This speaks to the endurance needed to mature. There are no shortcuts in the kingdom of God. Fruitfulness comes from faithfulness and pursuit.

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Closing:

The great lesson of this parable is that the seed of God’s word carries the divine power to save your soul and produce great spiritual fruit. The reality is that you have a part to play in preparing your heart to receive the word and protect it.

If we will pay attention to what we hear, believe it, receive it, and protect it. The divine power of that word will produce within us the fruit of the kingdom of God leading to eternal life. It will also shape and transform our earthly lives.

For those of you who preach the word and scatter seed do not be discouraged by the response or lack of response you see in hearer’s. Every person is represented by one of these soil types. Scatter seed, help til the soil in others, teach them how to prepare their hearts to receive from the Lord.

This parable is the foundation to understanding all other parables. My prayer today is that you would have ears to hear, and hearts ready to receive.

Let’s Pray!

For the Help of the Holy Spirit to break up the soil of our hearts.

Salvation.