The Parable of the Sower
Notes
Transcript
Handout
4 As a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from every town, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it. 6 Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture. 7 Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.” 9 Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?” 10 So he said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 12 The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing. 14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit. 15 But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit.
Intro:
Intro:
What is a Parable?
it is an analogous story used to teach a spiritual truth(an earthly story with a heavenly meaning). Parables are when Jesus uses two things to compare against each other to bring out a deeper truth, that the story themselves were not meant to be taken literally. The purpose was to reveal the truth to the chosen and to hide the truth from the rebellious. Notice what Jesus says Luke 8:9-10
9 Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?” 10 So he said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.
(EXP)(9-10) Jesus quotes a verse from Isaiah 6:8-11
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord asking: Who will I send? Who will go for us? I said: Here I am. Send me. 9 And he replied: Go! Say to these people: Keep listening, but do not understand; keep looking, but do not perceive. 10 Make the minds of these people dull; deafen their ears and blind their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes and hear with their ears, understand with their minds, turn back, and be healed. 11 Then I said, “Until when, Lord?” And he replied: Until cities lie in ruins without inhabitants, houses are without people, the land is ruined and desolate,
In Isaiah there was a temporary partial hardening because of their rebellious hearts. Jesus used parables(riddles) to hide the truth from some and reveal truth to others. To our ears this seems unfair and unjust but from a God perspective he is well within his rights to harden some while softening others.
Remember the minute our first parents fell into sin fairness went out the window. We took on their sin and the consequences related to those sins. So God is under no divine mandate to reveal himself or his truth to anyone. If you know truth now its because of his grace.
In this parable, Jesus is comparing earthly soil to the heart (not the biological heart; in the NT, the heart often means the seat of your desires, feelings, affections, passions, or impulses) i.e “Do you love me with all your heart” that means with all your being “mind, body, and soul.”
In a Parable, you must determine the Characters in the Parable to interpret it accurately. You have five Characters: The Sower & four hearers of the Word of God.
The setting is a field or garden, but the garden is representative of a group of listening people i.e the multitude in v.4 (nation of Israel, a church, or an audience
-The seeds are the “Word of God” which the Sower spreads indiscriminately among the field without prejudice.
This Parable tells us there are 4 types of people who hear the Word of God. All of us in this room and all of those in the world fit into one of these categories.
God’s word like physical seed must be received onto soft ground in order for it to take root and grow.
I. The Stubborn Hearer
I. The Stubborn Hearer
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it.
12 The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
Stubborn---having or showing dogged determination not to change one’s mind, attitude, or position on something in spite of good arguments or reasons.
In ancient times there weren’t a lot of paved roads, so the people often walked through gardens and farms to reach their destination. When enough people traveled the same path, it would begin to naturally form a dirt-packed hardened road that seed could not penetrate.
(EXP)(12) this text tells you this listener heard the truth, but before that truth could saturate their heart and lead to change, the evil one immediately snatched it away, thereby leaving the person in a state of hard-hearted unbelief. Remember just because the scripture says that the Devil snatch it away does not mean that the listener is not responsible. You are ultimately responsible for what you allow Satan to do.
a. The demon-possessed man
22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and unable to speak was brought to him. He healed him, so that the man could both speak and see. 23 All the crowds were astounded and said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 When the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man drives out demons only by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” 25 Knowing their thoughts, he told them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is headed for destruction, and no city or house divided against itself will stand. 26 If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
1. The miracle-the man was blind and mute due to demon possession but was immediately healed. He began to speak and see. In v.23 it says that all the people were amazed; they could not deny the power of Jesus or the authenticity of the miracle (he was not a fraud)
2. The denial-the Pharisees that were in the crowd and experienced the miracle along with the whole crowd, and yet they responded in v.24 by saying, “it is only by Beelzebub, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons”
3. The response-(25) it says that Jesus “knowing their thoughts” this lets you know two things.
a. They did not have enough courage to deny the miracle in front of everybody for fear of losing the love of the people.
b. Jesus proved his deity to them when he read their thoughts and responded accordingly….One of the attributes of God is that “he knows your thought from a far off”
What is it that makes the human heart hard? There can be only one answer: sin. Sin hardens the heart, and the heart that is hardened sins even more broadly and deliberately.
James Montgomery Boice
-Final Verdict….. “a house divided against itself cannot stand.” it would be illogical to cast out a demon by the power of Satan, who put the demon in the man in the first place.
-The Pharisees were so stubborn. …..Like the parable said, the word falls on dry, hard dirt and never penetrates the soil’s surface, leaving it easy prey for the birds of the sky to eat.
Hell is full of hard hearts; there is not one soft heart there.
Thomas Watson
Application
1. The Stubborn hearers cannot receive the word because of an intentionally hard heart.
2. Do not waste much of your time with a stubborn-hearted person who likes to argue. “Shake the dust of your feet”
T/S-In our endeavors to share our faith, you will most definitely encounter our next hearer. The shallow hearer
1038It has been truly said that if you have a very hard thing, you can cut it with something harder. And if any heart is especially hard, God can use the hard, strong, persistent vehemence of other mighty, passionate souls to pray the blessing of eternal life into that stubborn, rebellious heart.—47.285
Charles Spurgeon
Open the Doors of the Church
II. The Shallow Hearer
II. The Shallow Hearer
parable an analogous story meant to convey a heavenly meaning
characters of the parable
let anyone who has ears to hear! Listen!
the Stubborn hearer
6 Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture.
13 And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.
Shallow definition---Of little depth
In farming, when you plant something, you have to plant it deep enough so that the roots can reach the water in the soil’s depth. Often, stones prevent the roots from reaching deep soil. In this case, the plant will die, never bearing any fruit.
(EXP)(13) this listener also heard the word of God preached, but when they saw that serving Jesus involves trials, some tribulations, and some lonely nights, they decided that they weren’t that serious about serving Christ. There is difference between this person and the stubborn hearer. and that is they did not deny that Jesus is the Christ, nor do they question his Lordship, they are church members. They accept it all as truth, but they are Shallow. They like Jesus, but they don’t love Jesus. When you only like someone, you don’t stay around when it may cost your life. When you love somebody, do you stay around when it is hot? Job’s wife’s response to his trial
Illustration
a. Mary anoints Jesus at Bethany
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, the one Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 So they gave a dinner for him there; Martha was serving them, and Lazarus was one of those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took a pound of perfume, pure and expensive nard, anointed Jesus’s feet, and wiped his feet with her hair. So the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot (who was about to betray him), said, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?” 6 He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it. 7 Jesus answered, “Leave her alone; she has kept it for the day of my burial. 8 For you always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
1. The problem-Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with costly oil
2. The response-Judas says that was a waste; we could have sold that for 300 denarii(equivalent to a year’s wages) and given it to the poor.
3. The solution-Jesus says the poor you have with you always; this is preparation for my death.
-John’s addition to the narrative in John 12:6:
6 He didn’t say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He was in charge of the money-bag and would steal part of what was put in it.
John is writing this book after the events have taken place, and after some research, the Disciples figured out that Judas was only interested in being the treasurer so he could get his sticky fingers on.
Application
Application
1. This hearer is the one that is littered all through our evangelical churches they are the ones who will get up and shout, say amen, go to choir rehearsal, and pray over people, but when they realize that there is a cost to following Jesus they bail out, or find a church that preaches a Jesus they like.
2. They are like Judas in that they only follow Jesus as long as he blesses them. Judas was cool as long as the treasury was filled. Judas is the precursor to all these false prophets who are deceiving millions into believing if you have faith in God, he will give you everything that you want.
3. That is not Biblical Christianity. Biblical Christianity is a life that offers no guarantees of financial prosperity, perfect health, and all open doors. It does promise that while you are living, God will supply all your needs; he promises his presence and power as you go through trials and tribulations, and he promises that when you come off the battlefield of life in a body bag, the only thing that they will be carrying is your body because your spirit will be in the presence of the King of King and Lord of Lord’s
III. The Sidetracked hearer
III. The Sidetracked hearer
7 Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
14 As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.
-Sidetracked—causes someone to be distracted from an immediate important issue
-In farming, one of the things that weeds do is grow fast with little or no water; they don’t need to go deep in the soil to grow, and the final thing they do is choke out plants, flowers, and trees that need weather conditions, time, and depth to grow.
-Jesus uses the picture of the weeds choking out plants to describe the one who hears the word but looks at the cost of the Gospel and begins to worry about their 401k, rental homes, and inheritances. In this case, the Word cannot take root because of “the weeds of life” what I shall eat, what I shall wear, where I shall live, what Job will have, who will I marry, how many children will I have, how many degrees will I pursue; these things get in the way and cause you to misplace your priorities.
Illustration
a. The Rich Young Ruler Mark 10:17-22
17 As he was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 18 “Why do you call me good?” Jesus asked him. “No one is good except God alone. 19 You know the commandments: Do not murder; do not commit adultery; do not steal; do not bear false witness; do not defraud; honor your father and mother.” 20 He said to him, “Teacher, I have kept all these from my youth.” 21 Looking at him, Jesus loved him and said to him, “You lack one thing: Go, sell all you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” 22 But he was dismayed by this demand, and he went away grieving, because he had many possessions.
1. The Question-What must I do to inherit eternal life? And he said this on his knees….he knew he was in the presence of somebody great….either the Messiah or a great prophet.
2. The Answer (21) “Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come take up the cross, and follow me.. Jesus gave him a challenge that he knew he could not complete...Jesus said “one thing you lack” and that was faith, because his confidence & heart was in his stuff. He was an idolatry
3. The result(22) “but he was sad at this word, and went away sorrowful”
Application
1. The rich young ruler made a major mistake believing that earthly wealth is the same as eternal wealth. let me help you….earthly wealth(temporary) & heavenly wealth(eternal), earthly wealth(builds your kingdom) & heavenly wealth(builds God’s kingdom), earthly wealth(leaves you unsatisfied) & heavenly wealth(fills your cup)….earthly wealth(can be stolen or lost) & heavenly riches are stored up in heaven for you where neither moth nor thief can get.
2. Do not be sidetracked by fleshly issues when your eternal destiny is at stake.
IV. Submissive Hearer
IV. Submissive Hearer
8 Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”
15 But the seed in the good ground—these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit.
-Submissive definition---unresistingly or humbly obedient
-In this parable, soft soil represents a heart that is not only listening to the word of God but is ready and willing to submit to whatever is said. In the parable, Jesus says that this listener has good intentions & when he hears the word, he retains it. His heart is like fresh potting soil, ready for the seed of God’s word. In the case of this heart, Jesus says that after some time, conditions (rain & sun), and effort (personal discipleship) these seeds will bear much fruit. As much as 30, 60, or 100 fold, which means that the seed of God’s word will not come back void, and all that was sown will lead to salvation and a transformed life.
Illustration
a. Zacchaeus----Luke 19:1-10
1 He entered Jericho and was passing through. 2 There was a man named Zacchaeus who was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 He was trying to see who Jesus was, but he was not able because of the crowd, since he was a short man. 4 So running ahead, he climbed up a sycamore tree to see Jesus, since he was about to pass that way. 5 When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down because today it is necessary for me to stay at your house.” 6 So he quickly came down and welcomed him joyfully. 7 All who saw it began to complain, “He’s gone to stay with a sinful man.” 8 But Zacchaeus stood there and said to the Lord, “Look, I’ll give half of my possessions to the poor, Lord. And if I have extorted anything from anyone, I’ll pay back four times as much.” 9 “Today salvation has come to this house,” Jesus told him, “because he too is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost.”
1. The request-come out of the tree I am eating at your house
2. The response-Jesus, I will divest myself of half of my riches and pay back four-fold anybody that I have defrauded
3. The result today is that Salvation has come to this house
Application
1. God may not be asking for you to give up all your riches, but he is asking you to give up anything that is keeping you from fully submitting to him
2. When Zacchaeus met with Jesus, nothing else mattered. True salvation means giving it all up to him with joy.
3. In our midst today, we some Stubborn hearers (could stare truth right in the face and still deny it), others folks are the Shallow hearers (only in it when they need God for a blessing), Some folks are sidetracked hearer’s (blinded by life issues and can’t see what’s most important) Hopefully we will become submissive hearers (ready and open to receive the word of God, and to bear much fruit)
