Mark 4:1-20 "The Parable of the Sower"

Introduction:

Jesus was once again by the sea and He got into a boat and was just off shore as He began to teach the very large crowd that was gathered (1).

And we see that He was teaching them in parables and He began to teach the people using a parable of a Sower who was sowing seed (2). This would had been a familiar illustration during ancient times because of the way seed was sown in ancient times. They didn’t have the benefit of modern farm equipment so they had to do most things by hand.

And as Jesus tells the parable of the sower He is fully aware that most, if not all had seen workers in the field who sowed seed during the planting season (3-9).

Jesus refers to 4 types of ground that the seed landed on. (1)Some seed fell along the path and the birds ate it; (2)Other seed fell on rocky ground but there wasn’t enough soil for it to develop roots and the sun scorched it and caused it to wither; (3) Other seed fell among thorns but the thorns choked it out; (4) And other seed fell on good ground and produced an abundant harvest.

But the parable that Jesus declares in their hearing is not a lesson in farming techniques related to sowing seed. But there is a spiritual truth that is being communicated to the people in His presence.

But why does Jesus tell this story about sowing seed to the large crowd who had gathered without giving them the explanation behind it? To answer that question we have to understand the purpose behind Jesus speaking in parables in the first place and He tells a smaller group that included His disciples at a later time as we see in verses 10-12. Look back at your text to verses 10-12:

I. The Purpose of the Parables (10-12).

Jesus used parables when He taught to reveal the secrets of the Kingdom of God to those to whom they have been given. But those outside of the Kingdom the parables keep the secrets of the Kingdom a secret (10-11). But why would Jesus want to keep the secrets of the Kingdom a secret? Doesn’t He want everyone to know the true spiritual reality of the Kingdom of God?

It is verse 12 where Jesus alludes to Isaiah 6:9-10 where Isaiah prophesies a temporal judgement upon a certain group of people. And we know from Jesus’ words that some of these people were in His hearing when He was teaching at the edge of the sea.

And the parables allowed them to see but not perceive. And they allowed them to hear but not understand. This lack of perception and understanding kept them from turning to faith and being forgiven. They couldn’t understand or perceive even if they wanted to because the things of the Kingdom of God are spiritually discerned. And to understand the secrets of the Kingdom the understanding has to be given to you.

Christian you perceive, and you understand, and you have turned to God in Christ and are forgiven because God has made the secret of His Kingdom known to you.

You didn’t just figure the kingdom of God out by metal assent. It wasn’t because you were smart and your IQ was high. Not at all, you came because of the work of God in Christ being graciously applied to your life by the Holy Spirit. It has always been that way when it comes to disciples coming to Christ.

Jesus didn’t use parables to speak to people so that they could better understand. He used parables to keep them from understanding. But He did explain the meaning of the parable to His disciples. He explained the parables to the ones whom God had given the secret of His Kingdom to.

Look at the disclosure of the parable in verses 13-20:

II. The Disclosure of the Parable (13-20).

Now we must understand that Jesus gives us the meaning behind the parable of the sower. We do not get to decide for ourselves what it is. He is revealing the secret of the Kingdom of God to those in His presence.

Now remember there where 4 types of ground upon which seeds fell in verses 3-8. And here we learn that the seed represents the word of God (14). And the ground types represents types of people that have the word of God sown into their lives. So the 4 types of ground are really people:

The people of the path have the seed of the word of God stolen from them immediately by Satan. Just like a bird eating a seed off of a path when it is just laying there on the top of the hard ground of a trampled path, so Satan comes to devour the word to keep it from producing a harvest (15).

The people of the rocky ground are those who hear the word and receive it with joy but the word doesn’t take root because there is no fertile depth of soil present. There are only rocks and nothing for the roots to cling to for effectual life (16-17).

Persecution and tribulation arises in life due to the word of God and they fall away. They can’t handle the hardships inflicted on them by the world so they fall away. They are not committed to the advancement of the Kingdom of God in the face of opposition from the world.

The people of the thorns hear the word but the cares of the world and their desires for riches and other things of the world choke the word and the word is unfruitful in their lives (18-19).

It is because their hearts are longing for something else instead of the Kingdom of God. They have their focus on the temporal things of the world instead of the eternal things of the Kingdom. Things like a desire to have riches or fame or prominence in the world instead of desiring the things of the Kingdom.

The people of the good soil are the ones that hear the word and accept it and they bear a fruitful harvest of thirty, and sixty and a hundred fold. This is talking about a harvest of a spiritual nature that they receive back due to the seed being planted in good soil.

And this harvest has both temporal and eternal implications for the person who hear and accept the word by faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

Jesus is telling us that the word goes out but it only takes root effectually in the persons who are of the good soil. The difference is the soil or the nature of the ground upon which the word is sown.

Who are these people? How do we recognize them?

They are the ones that have their ground prepared by the Holy Spirit. They are the elect of God who the Holy Spirit ministers to prior to the word being sown. They are enabled to see the Kingdom and to enter the Kingdom by the Holy Spirit prior to the sower of the seed preaching the word.

This is what makes the gospel effectual to produce life in the believer. This is one of the mysteries of the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom does not advance through the seeds scattered on infertile ground. And it doesn’t become good ground by the works of men or by initiating it.

When I was a kid on the farm it did. We plowed and worked the ground to make it ready to sow the seeds. But in the Kingdom of God He makes the soil ready by the Holy Spirit applying the word of God to His covenant people.

They are recognized after the sowing is done by the fruit that they bear and the lives that they live in perseverance and obedience to the word. They do this because they have been regenerated by the Spirit and made ready for the word to be planted in them for a harvest to take place in faith.

Regeneration, being born again precedes faith. Many people exercise faith by non-effectual means. Things such as traditions or expedience for personal reasons of felt-needs or social pressure or for moralistic reasons or maybe just for the sake of being in community.

But the Kingdom of God has come into the world to establish the divine realm of the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all things to the glory of God. And King Jesus has came to redeem a people who are under the just wrath of God due to sin through His death burial and resurrection.

The Holy Spirit has come into the world to prepare the soil for the word of God to bring forth a harvest.

Conclusion:

Unbeliever has He made your soil ready? Are you ready to hear the word with acceptance and to experience the fruit that it bears. Come to Christ and put your faith in Him for salvation. Do not resist the work of the Kingdom of God in your life. Believe the gospel for salvation.

Believer you are the byproduct of the Kingdom of God. The Spiritual dominion is what you live in and persevere in to the glory of God. Confess your sin and know He is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you of all your sins. Find your rest in God’s Kingdom provision to you in Christ. Let’s Pray!