The Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:1-12

If you brought your bibles turn with me over to the gospel of Mark chapter four. The gospel of Mark chapter four and in a moment we are going to read verses 1-12 of the gospel of Mark chapter four.

We are diving back into our study of the gospel of Mark this morning. We took an extended break through the Christmas season, and we have come to a very familiar passage of scripture. We call it the parable of the sower, but it should really be called the parable of the soils because that is what it is about. It is about the human heart and it’s ability to receive the Word of God.

Have you ever wondered why, you heard the gospel and your life was changed. You wanted more of God’s truth and had hunger to grow in your faith. Meanwhile, others heard the very same Word and it didn’t matter to them. They were indifferent and unconcerned about what they heard?

That is precisely the problem the disciples faced as we come to Mark chapter four. They were convinced Jesus was the Messiah. They saw the miracles. They heard His teaching and their lives were transformed, but the Jewish leaders were doing everything in their power to convince the people they were wrong, and the disciples couldn’t understand why so few people believed in Jesus.

In Mark chapter three we began to see all these different opinions of Jesus emerge. There were crowds of people who filled the house in Capernaum looking for the miracles He would perform. There was His own family, that came from Nazareth to take Him away because they thought He lost His mind, and the Jewish leaders were accusing Him of casting out demons by the power of demons.

At a time when the nation of Israel was watching and waiting for the Messiah to come, the Messiah was standing right in front of them, and the disciples couldn’t understand why they did not believe!!

We face that same problem today. We live in a lost and dying world that needs Jesus now more than ever, and yet we live in a world that largely ignores Him and the message of the gospel. That is why Jesus gave us this parable. To help us understand we are responsible for our receiving the Word of God and bare fruit for the kingdom.

Jesus taught this parable to explain why some people believed and grew in faith while others did not. In general, Jesus taught in parables to separate the believer from the unbeliever, and to evaluate those who were listening and wanted to grow from those who refused. Therefore, the parable of the sower serves as a commendation to those seeking truth and a judgment of those who are not!!

That is what we are going to talk about this morning because that is what we learn from the scripture. So, lets read this passage here in;

Mark 4:1–12 KJV

And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.

Father, I thank you for your Word. Lord I pray this morning that we could receive your Word. Father we depend on you. Open our hearts and minds allow me to speak clearly that we could understand what you have to say to us from your Word. Do not allow the enemy to steal your truth from us!! We love you and ask you bless our time together this morning. In Jesus name I pray, Amen!!

In our passage this morning we have come to an important parable. So, important it is included in all, three of the synoptic gospels; Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It is a foundational parable, and Jesus tells us that down in Verse 13.

He says, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?” In other words, this parable is important because it is the key to understanding the rest of the parables!!

The word parable itself is where we get our word parallel from, because that is what Jesus is doing. He is laying two things along side of each other and drawing a comparison between the two.

He uses a story that was common knowledge for the people He was talking too, in this case, farming and soil and compares that with the human heart to teach a spiritual truth.

It is important we understand that not all parables are the same. In fact, the proverbs are considered short condensed parables. So, we can’t use this parable and compare it with other parables to draw a conclusion.

Each one stands alone. Jesus taught this parable to explain why some people believed and grew in faith while others did not.

I. Jesus the Teacher Vs. 1-2

One of the missions of Jesus coming in to the world was to teach the Word of God. Christianity is a teaching religion. That’s why I always ask you to open your bibles and follow along with me, so you can learn what the bible says.

Notice the beginning of Verse 1, “And he began again to teach by the sea side:” That word “again” tells us this was the usual practice of Jesus. “Again” He began to teach by the sea side.”

This is something Jesus does on a regular basis. At times we find Him teaching in the synagogue, at times we find Him teaching in a house, (we saw that in chapter three). Later on we are going to see Jesus teaching in the temple.

But here He began to do what He so often did, He takes the Word of God out doors. Down by the sea side where the people are traveling, and He began to teach.

The miracles Jesus performed proved He was the Messiah and drew the crowds to Him, but they were really just a method to get people to listen to what He had to say. He wanted to teach us about the Kingdom of God!!

And what we have seen before we see again. Vs.1 tells us, “there was gathered unto him a great multitude,.” In the original language there is an extra adjective there that says, “it was a very great multitude.” In other words, this was a huge crowd!!

If you remember back in chapter three, on another occasion, He was teaching beside the sea, the crowd was so large, it was beginning to crush in upon Him, He told Hid disciples to have a boat ready. Have a boat ready in case He had to get in to it. On this occasion in chapter four, He actually gets into the boat, and He begins to teach!!

Notice the end of Vs. 1, it says, “he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land.”

The boat has become His pulpit and the world has become His sanctuary, and there has never been a finer sanctuary. The one who is teaching in this sanctuary is the one who created it!

This is a beautiful scene for us of our creator sitting in a boat, preaching the Word of God to the masses, in the open air where the people are, with the world He created all around Him!

What we have in this story is an eyewitness account. We have the intimate details from Peter of this scene, shared with Mark and recorded for us!! As we read this we get to see with our imagination what Peter saw on that day!

Jesus the teacher! Calling the people to Him and preaching the Word of God!!

BTW, this is the same way true believers are gathered to Christ today. They are drawn to Him through the gospel. And this is the way He feeds those who have already come to faith in Him through the teaching of the Word of God!!

So, as Jesus teaches and the Word is proclaimed there is an evangelistic work going on and a shepherding work going on at the same time!

Notice Vs 2, “ And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine.”

“Many things by parables” makes it clear that this is not the only parable He taught that day. He was teaching them many things and He is doing it in parables.

This was new method of teaching for Jesus, and we have already discussed what a parable is; we wont go into that again but just to say, it is a comparison, an earthly story that teaches us a heavenly truth.

And Jesus was the master user of the parable. He used it effectively. He was more than a preacher. He was God in the flesh who came to teach us about the Kingdom of God.

II. Jesus and the Parable Vs. 3-9

The parable Jesus tells here is a simple story but it had a profound meaning. It was misunderstood by most, yet it was a common practice everyone was familiar with, sowing seeds.

Look at Vs. 3-9, “Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

What an unusual story. This story is so unusual that unless Jesus tells us the meaning we are not going to know what He is talking about. Once He tells us the meaning it is easy to understand, but unless you get the rest of the story it doesn’t make sense.

It is important we remember Jesus’ life is in danger. They are plotting to kill Him. Notice Mark 4:33–34 “With many such parables He was speaking the word to them, so far as they were able to hear it; and He did not speak to them without a parable; but He was explaining everything privately to His own disciples.”

So, from hear on out Jesus is going to be teaching them in riddles, and mysteries that unless God reveals it to them they will not be able to understand it, and that is very unusual.

Most of us are familiar with this story so we already understand what is being taught. We already know what the symbols are. We will talk about those next week.

But if we were hearing this for the first time we would not understand it. To really grasp what Jesus is teaching, we need to hear it as though it was the first time. There are five things in this parable that stand out to me.

First, the farmer sows some seed that doesn’t take any root at all.

There are two kinds of soil here that are different from the other soils, because there is never any root produced.

a. Notice there is the seed that falls by the wayside. This is the unplowed areas of the field. The wayside is the places that are hard to reach for the plow. The corners of the field and the areas designated as paths people walk on. The seed never penetrates the soil so it can’t produce any root.

B. Then there is the seed that falls on the stony ground. This is the rock that lies right underneath the surface of the soil. This is not rock on top of the surface the farmer would have just raked those away, but this is the limestone the plow couldn’t reach.

It holds water and heat very well so the seed sprouts up immediately, but there is no root to the plant, so it gets burned up by the sun.

2. the farmer sows some seed that does take root, but it doesn’t produce any fruit.

This is the seed that falls among the thorns. This soil is a part of the field, it has been plowed and it looks good, but just beneath the surface there are a mass of weeds just waiting to grow. And because the plow didn’t reach them, means they will grow faster than the seed, so even though that seed takes root, it is choke out by the weeds and thorns.

3. the farmer sows some seed that does bear fruit.

This seed falls on the good soil, and notice when the fruit from the good soil appears it continues to grow. It continues to increase. That is an important fact about the good soil.

4. Notice only a few of the seeds produce 100 percent.

All of the seed in the good soil produces fruit, but each plant grows at a different pace. That is another important fact. Some plants only produce 30 percent of what they are capable of. These are weak plants and miss out on 70 percent of the fruit they could bare.

Then we see some of the seed only produces 60 percent of what it could, just over half it’s capabilities. These are weak plants too that are 40 percent unfruitful.

Notice there are very few that produce 100 percent of there potential. What I want you to understand is; the problem doesn’t have anything to do with the seed. The seed had the potential to produce 100 percent fruit on all the soil. It was the condition of the soil that determined the amount of fruit it produced.

5. Notice the way Jesus stresses the importance of hearing it.

He begins with a command in Vs 3. He says, “Hearken, Behold.” In other words, listen up, pay attention to what I am saying. So, it is not that He didn’t want them to understand what He was saying but they had to be paying attention.

Notice Vs. 9, He gives us a mandate, He says, “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” This is a call to the spiritual people in the crowd. In Luke’s version of the story, he tells us Jesus “cried out” in other words, He shouted these words to stress how important they were.

This message was so important Jesus wanted everyone to hear it and understand. Unfortunately, He knew that it was going to fall upon deaf ears.

And the same thing is true today. My fear is everything we have talked about this morning will be forgotten by lunchtime. This parable is meant to cause us to reflect on ourselves and ask, what kind of soil am I?

Just as a farmers tests his soil for pH and nutrients, we have to evaluate our spiritual lives. What happens to the Word of God that is sown in you? Does it produce fruit useful for the Kingdom, or is my heart to hard for anything to grow?

This was the intention of Jesus and the parable!

III. Jesus and the Believers Vs. 10-12

“And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”

What is interesting here is even those who were closes to Jesus didn’t understand what He was teaching. But notice they come seeking wisdom. They don’t just dismiss and forget what was said. They come and want understanding. And that’s what a disciple does.

A disciple hears the Word of God. They don’t just hear the words, they hear the message, and they want to understand it. The disciple receives it, and is willing to think about what they’ve heard , because they want to know what God wants them to do with it!!

So, the disciples come to Jesus and ask what the parable means because they want to do what the parable teaches. And thus God’s mysteries of the Kingdom are revealed.

The unbeliever, on the other hand, hears the word of God but doesn’t receive it, they just hear the words, with no spiritual understanding.

Notice what Jesus calls them in Vs. 11, “them that are without.” In other words, They are on the outside looking in.

And They do exactly what Jesus says they will do in Vs. 12. “They see but they do not perceive; and they hear but do not understand.”

But what is it that the outsider does not perceive and understand, well Jesus makes that clear in Vs. 12 they need to be converted and forgiven!

This is a direct quote from Isa. 6:9-10 when God asked Isaiah, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us.? Isaiah answered and said, “Here am I send me.” And God said, “Go, and tell this people, but they are not going to listen to you!! They will see and not perceive and hear and not understand!!

The unbeliever doesn’t listen, because they are not willing to receive what is taught, because they don’t want to change. They are not willing to be converted.

They still believe they are justified by their own behavior so they have closed their minds to the truth. The more an unbeliever hardens their heart to the truth, the harder they become.

This is called the law of conditioning. The more we condition our heart to receive the Word of God the more we can grow spiritually.

But the opposite is also true. The more we reject the Word of God, and ignore it, the more we decrease in our ability to receive it, understand it, and apply it to our life.

I can’t help but think to myself we live in a world that surrounds us with those who are without! People who have hearts that are hard toward the things of God. People who are shallow and superficial, and have no root or depth in their life. People who are so worldly minded that they are only interested in spiritual matters when confronted with their own mortality.

Conclusion

Jesus taught in parables to separate the believer from the unbeliever. To evaluate those who were listening to what He had to say from those who were not. So, this parable was a commendation to those seeking truth, but a judgment on those who were not.

This passage should challenge us to evaluate our desire to seek the truth and bare fruit in our faith and it should move us to be grateful that we have been given the privilege of knowing the mysteries of God!!

Personally, I have to ask myself what kind of soil am I? Do I hear the Word of God and want more? Do I want to grow in my faith, or do I hear what Jesus says and turn away from the truth?

Do we as a church bare fruit for the Kingdom of God? Are we grateful as a people that we are given the mysteries, or do we take them for granted?

How can we be different? We can listen!! We can apply!! We have been given a mandate to have ears that hear, Jesus would not give us a command we could not keep. Therefore, we are responsible to hear and to grow.

This passage should inspire us to do that. And if we don’t, it also teaches us that we are under the judgment of God as an unregenerate people!!

The bottom line is; We are responsible to grow in our faith through listening and learning the Word of God!!

Lets pray together,

Father,

I thank you for your Word. This is a very difficult Word, but Lord I pray we would receive it the way you want us to. That we would reflect and evaluate our heart based on what you have to say to us!!

I know there isn’t one person here Father, that doesn’t want to grow and become who you want us to be! God give us strength, fill us with purpose, as we endeavor to commit our lives to you!!

In Jesus name, Amen!