Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-23

Matthew 13:1–23 (ESV)

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.”

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.”

The seed that falls on the rocky ground represents a shallow hearer, who hears the word with joy but has no ability to sustain it

The seed that falls on the thorns represents someone who is intrigued by the word but has other interests competing with it

The good soil represents the believer who hears the word of God and understands it and bears fruit as a result of what they heard

This passage should prompt us to ask ourselves, what type of ground am I when it comes to the work of Jesus in my life?

We have talked in the last couple weeks about what it looks like to abide in Jesus, and what it looks like to bear fruit

This parable of Jesus prompts us to examine our hearts and figure out what kind of soil we want to be for the Lord to sow seeds into our lives through the word and His presence

Intentionally abiding in Jesus is what will cultivate good soil for the Lord to plant seed in

Prioritizing the time you spend with Jesus (reading the word and prayer) will create in you a heart that is ready to nurture the seed that Jesus plants

Conversely, when we don’t abide in the Lord, we are like the shallow hearer, who may initially hear the word with joy, but we have nothing in us to sustain the Lord’s work in our hearts, and we quickly forget about it

If we have our attention divided between what Jesus wants to do in our lives and other things, we are like the thorns

Our desire to put other things in our life in the place of Jesus will cause us to be unable to experience the fullness of what He has for us

The things we get to experience in life are not inherently bad things, but it becomes idolatry when we put them in the most important place of our lives, that is where Jesus belongs

James 1:23-25

James 1:23–25 ESV

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

We are called to take in the word of the Lord, and to take in what Holy Spirit is saying during time in His presence

This isn’t the only factor involved in our walk with Him, though, after we take in what Holy Spirit is telling us, we are called to be doers of the word

Remember, though, it isn’t about us striving to do good things in our own strength, it is entirely about remaining in Jesus, and when we do that, the fruit we bear will come as naturally to us as breathing does

When you are constantly immersed in the presence of Jesus, there will never be a need to strive for good works or bearing fruit, it will just come out of you naturally

Altar/Response