Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:1-23

Parables: Responding to Jesus

Hebron Church of Hope

Matthew 13:1-23

March 22nd, 2026

Initial Outline - Structure

Parable taught vv.1-9.

Parable questioned vv.10-17.

Parable explained vv.18-23.

Emphasis: Response to the Kingdom

Context 

Literary Context

Passage Before - Matthew 12 - Jesus passes through the grainfields on the Sabbath and the disciples are eating off the heads of grain. They are confronted by the Pharisees for breaking the law of working on the Sabbath. Jesus declares that he is the Lord of the Sabbath. He then goes on to heal a man with a withered hand and to cast out a demon of a man who was blind and unable to speak. The Pharisees call him demon possessed, but Jesus points out that a house divided will fall and that everyone will be known by its fruit. He calls out the Pharisees for their bad fruit and points to the sign of Jonah. Jesus is here to do what is right according to God, not merely upon the traditions of men.

Passage After - Matthew 13:24-43 - Jesus presents the Parable of the wheat and the weeds. Basically here an evil doer tries to ruin the crop of the good farmer. After sharing this parable he quickly shifts to another parable - the mustard seed and leaven - while explaining that using parables fulfills prophecy. He then explains the parable of the wheat and the weeds to the disciples.

Historical and Cultural Context

What is significant culturally historically? 

Historic - circumstances of the author and audience.

Cultural - details and circumstances within the text.

Jesus was sitting by the sea and got into a boat to teach while the crowd was on the shore vv.1-2.

The disciples asked about the methodology of parables v.10.

Biblical Context 

Are there any biblical quotations? 

Check out the NT Commentary on the OT usage. 

Verses 14-15 are from Isaiah 6:9-10 - the comissioning of Isaiah to the nations.

Author’s Aim 

There are a vareity of responses to the proclamation of the kingdom and one main call - preach the good news.

Notes and Research 

Matthew ESV Expository Commentary by Dan Doriani…

Section Overview

Chapter 13 is perfectly fit after chapter 12. There Jesus was slandered by the Pharisees and his family doubted him. Jesus here explains why his kingdom is ignored, opposed, and subverted and why it still has transformative power.

The parable of the sower compares the kingdom to a farmer who scatters seed. As the seed can be fruitful or not, so it is with the word of the kingdom, which comes gently and is easily rejected. The parable labels three ways in which the seed can be fruitless: the hardhearted ignore it, the weak commit to it falsely, and the double minded try to love both the kingdom and the world. There are also three ways the kingdom bears fruit: thirty, sixty, and one hundred times what was sown. The idea is to point to the hope of the kingdom in light of chapter 12.

Comments

13:1-9, “On that day” connects this parable to the controversies in chapter 12. The Pharisees doubted Jesus because he healed on the Sabbath, which they judged a great sin. The disciples, however, trusted Jesus. How could these spiritual leaders oppose Jesus? How could Jesus perform signs that demonstrated his identity and face such opposition?

And the crowds - they loved Jesus! He meets such a crowd that he has to step onto a boat by the shore to speak to them.

Jesus’ parables may seem odd to us. However, these were quite typical for the day and culture. Farmers scattered seed, the plowed their fields. The soil and conditions varied, and seed fell everywhere. After the sower cast his seed, he plowed his land and waited. Birds devoured the seed on the path, the plants that grew on rocks quikcly withered, and the plants that grew among thorns were choked out, while the seed that fell on good ground bore a remarkable harvest. The yield would have been surprising to the audience. A ten-to-one was quite successful. This far exceeds the normal results.

13:10-17, The lesson left the disciples dumbfounded. We think of it and hear it with familiarity. They didn not. This parable is in all three synoptics. They quetion what it meant and why he taught this way.

He speaks in parables because they giev to some and take from others. The to you and to them are both emphatic here. Sharpening the contrast between the two groups. God has chosen to reveal the mystery of the kingdom to the disciples and not to others. Ladd put it this way, “The new truth, now given to men by revelation in the person and mission o fJesus, is that the kingdom which is to come finally in apocalyptic power, as foreseen in Daniel, has in fact entered into the world in advance in a hidden from to work secretly within and among men.”

The decision to speak in parables touches on God’s sovereignty and human responsibility. God has revealed his secrets to some but not others. He is sovereign over salvation. Also, those who hear have a responsibility to respond. The vast majority of people do not respond.

The parables also take away from Jesus’ adversaries. They no longer hear plain teaching. They hear everything from elusive stories and dismiss Jesus as an eccentric storyteller. But parables give to the faithful. They are graphic and memorable. They stand close to reality, yet they twist it in provocative ways. They make listeners think.

Verses 11-12 stress God’s sovereign will in revealing the secrets of the kingdom. Still, while Jesus speaks in parables to punish blind, deaf, and hardhearted listeners (verses 13-15) he also affirms human agency and responsibility. The Jewish leaders call Jesus Satan’s agent. Amos 8:11 comes to mind here.

Because the leaders spurn God’s revelation Jesus stops speaking clearly. This is what fulflls Isaiah 6.

In Isaiah 7-8 there was a tide of unbelief in Judah and God charged Isaiah to prophesy even though his messages would close eyes and harden hearts. The same pattern held in Jesus’ day.

Matthew and Mark highlight sovereignty and human responsibility. matthew emphasizes that Jesus speaks in parables to punish ISrael’s spiritual blindness and deafness. Mark says Jesus speaks in parables so that they may indeed see but not perceive lest they should turn and be forgiven. Matthew makes it sound like punishment for freely chosen sin whereas Mark sounds like a reflection of God’s sovereign decision to reveal himself to some but not others. Both are true.

13:18-23, Jesus explains that the four soils represent four kinds of listeners, or two types of fruit: fruitful and unfruitful. Some critical scholars object to Matthew’s allegorical interpretation of the parables. However, Jesus himself did not find this to be an issue. Most of the parables are low-level allegories with a limited number of figurative elements. A King, master, or Father may represent God. Good and bad servants may stand for disciples and unbelievers.

Parables can be compared to jokes or onions. They have a punch line in which hearers either get or miss. They have layers of meaning that the hearers slowly peel back. This particular parable is an onion - since Jesus interprets it twice. In verses 18-23 Jesus interprets the soils comparing them to the way people respond to the word.

The seed is the same and yet the results vary depending on the soil. The results of labor depend less on the laborer or the methods than on external factors.

The four types of responses are as follows. First, the seed on the path is devoured by birds. This represents anyone who hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it. The evil one snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This means that serious proclamation has occured. Yet Staan has snatched it away.

The second, seed on rocky ground. The spiritual enthusiast hears the word with joy but has no root. Snodgrass says, “People can receive the word with joy and still be guilty of hardness of heart.” They expect the kingdom to bring benefits - psychological or material. But that person’s faith links him not to God but created things. When the skies are fare they’re happily there, but when tribulation comes they fall away.

Third, the seed among the thorns. The person hears the word with interest but indulges competing interests as well. The cares of the world and deceitfulness of riches choke the word. Some categorize this as a fruitless believer, but that is not something Jesus would do. Every healthy tree bears fruit.

Fourth, the word falls on good oil. The man or woman who listens and understands bears fruit exceeding all expectations. The fruit is prolific.

The parable asks us - how do we respond to Jesus? Jesus says in verse 37 that he is the sower. If Jesus is the sower, he sows the word every time he speaks. The parable reveals how the kingdom works. It enters the world like a seed, in hidden form, without power or compulsion. It comes as a seed, not as a mighty army. The kingdom is genuinely present but not fully present. Many stumble over this. If the kingdom has arrived, why does it seem so weak? Why does it struggle for repsect, converts, and resources? Jesus does not explain why but says that it must be so for a time. Let no one despair. A great harvest is coming.

Matthew by Charles Quarles…

Context

The parables focus on the kingdom. The closest preceding reference to the kingdom is Matthew 12:28. The exorcisims demonstrate the arrival of the kingdom.

Exegesis

The crowds that listened to Jesus in the house in 12:46 are now following him to the shores of the Sea of Galilee. The great numbers prompted him to board a boat and sit down to teach while the crowd stood. Parallel accounts - Mark 4:1 and Luke 8:4 - don’t note this detail.

Bridge

Jesus desires to teach the crowds and has a willingness to take special measures to be heard by as many people as possible. Habakkuk 2:14 anticipates the day!

Comments on Parable of the Sower

The teaching ministry of Jesus is like work of the sower scattering seed, this represents proclaiming the message about the kingdom. The variety of hearers are to be identified with the four kinds of soils in the parable. Jesus explains this to the disciples.

In the Old Testament Solomon was known for his parables. Matthew’s readers may have noted Jesus’ similarity to Solomon and recognized him as the messianic “Son of David”.

This parable assumes some familiarity with the agricultural methods of the time. The sower is not carefully planting individual seeds neatly in a row in a shaped furrow. He is broadcasting seed by the handful at a time with the result that some seed falls in less suitable places than others. There are four different soil conditions on which they fell. These represent the four types of hearers of the message about the kingdom.

Some seed fell on the hard-packed soil of the footpath. A flock of hungry birds would descend and devour every one of the seeds. Jesus later explained that this represents a person who hears the message about the kingdom but does not understand. The lack of understanding establishes a connection between this section and Jesus’ quotation of Isaiah 6:9-10. The message no more penetrated the heart of the hearer than scattered seed sinks its roots into the soil that was pounded by thousands of feet and hooves over many generations. The birds represent the evil one who snatches the message away from the confused hearer. The initial rejection leads to perpetual rejection.

Some seed fell on a thin layer of topsoil that covered a stratum of rock. It quickly sprouted in the rich topsoil, and the plant being to sink its roots down to the water table. The heat would evaporate the moisture from the soil and the plant would quickly wither and die. This represents a person who immediately receives the message of the kingdom with joy and excitement. But their commitment to the message is merely superficial and short-lived. The high cost of discipleship causes some recipients of the message to renounce their commitment.

Some seed fell among thorns. This seed is destroyed by efforts to remove the thorns or struggle to compete with the thorns. The thorns were hardier than most other plants and would consistently win the struggle. The flourishing thorns would choke out the good plants by sapping the soil of its moisture and nutrients, leaving none for the emerging wheat, overshadow the wheat and block it from needed sunlight, and perhaps even coil around the roots or stalks of the wheat. The thorns are the worries of the age. Jesus addressed these in Matthew 6:25-34 - they include anxiety over sufficient food, drink, and clothing. Obsession with the worries of the present age crowds out concerns for being prepared for the coming age. The pursuit of earthly treasures can also smother the desire store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. Jesus’ reference to the deceitfulness of riches may indicate that riches deceive by guaranteeing a secure future when they are actually very transient, by convincing their owners that wealth can be loved and served along with God.

Some seed fell on good, fertile soil. It produced a yield of 100, 60, or 30 times the amount of seed sown. These yields are unusually high. Normal harvest in Israel yielded only around ten times the seed planted. The only explanation to this kind of yield is special divine blessing. Some commentators note the usage of this yield from Genesis 26:12 and say that it is not miraculous. However Isaac was blessed by the Lord after he planted such a crop. These are not incidental details but important to the message. The fruitfulness of the seeds in the fertile soil represents the profuse fruit bearing of the one who hears and understands the message about the kingdom. “Fruit” is metaphorically used in 3:8, 10; 7:16, 17, 18, 19, 20; and 12:33. This refers to the good deeds and words that the true disciple produces because of the inner transformation that he or she has experienced. This is not the promise of large numbers of people responding to the disciples message. It is a description of the amazing transformation that Jesus produces in his disciples which results in them being characterized by a righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.

Bridge

The reader may be tempted to see the mention of the sower as merely incidental since he is only briefly mentioned before the parable focuses on the four different soils and their reception of the seed. However, that would clearly be a mistake. The phrase “consider the sower” (lit. “Look, the sower) calls attention to the sower specifically. Furthermore, verse 18 refers to the parable not as the parable of the soils or the parable of the seed as we might expect, but as the parable of the sower. This implies that the parable is primarily about the sower even though the interpretation in 13:18–23 does not precisely identify him. The interpretation of the parable likely does not identify the sower because this was deemed unnecessary. His identity should have been obvious to the crowd and especially to the reader of Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus (Matt 4:23; 9:35) and his disciples (10:7) both preach the gospel of the kingdom, so they are reasonable candidates for the referent of the sower. However, by referring to the sower rather than a sower, Jesus implied that a specific propagator of the message of the kingdom was in view. Since Jesus is presently proclaiming the message of the kingdom by telling parables about the kingdom, he is the most natural referent of the sower. Although the parable has implications for understanding the human response to gospel proclamation delivered by anyone, the parable was originally designed to explain the various responses to Jesus’s own preaching in particular.311 Early Christian writers sometimes identified Jesus as the sower.

The Old Testament uses the image of a farmer sowing seeds and planting crops to describe God. In the promise of Israel’s restoration in Jeremiah 31:27–28, God sows the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of people and of animals and promises that he will “plant them” (cf. Hos 2:23). Using imagery more similar to Jesus’s parable, Isaiah 61:11 describes God causing righteousness and praise to spring up before all the nations “as the earth produces its growth, and as a garden enables what is sown to spring up.” In rabbinic parables, a farmer commonly represents God.314 By using a familiar image for God to portray himself, Jesus implies his own deity. Admittedly, this allusion to his deity is subtle for the modern reader. However, the original audience likely was alert to these references, especially since Jesus used several similar images to express his deity (see §§2–4).

13:10-17 The Use of Parables

Comments

The initial question - why are you speaking to them in parables? Was really the disciples asking why Jesus was teaching them differently. It was more than a query prompted by curiosity.

Jesus’ teaching method was based on insights that the disciples did not possess or have access to.

Sermon Crafting Stage

Conclusion - Draft Argument: 

Jesus is sowing the message of the kingdom that will bear much fruit.

Take care how you hear and respond to the message of the kingdom.

Listen to the message of the sower and consider your response.

Draft Outline - Version 1

Hear Jesus’ message vv.1-9.

Ask about the message vv.10-17.

Respond to the message vv.18-23.

Connecting to the Gospel 

Gospel Lens:

Specific Connections:

Applications

Christians:

Non-Christians:

Hook Ideas

“The Parable of the Sower”

Argument: Listen to the message of the sower and consider your response.

 Introduction

Hook

Goal - look to Jesus as we head into Easter. We’re going to look at a number of Jesus’ parables - which are meant to be provocative stories that illicit responses. I came across quite a story in my research this week.

In the mountainous regions of northern Italy, there was a small monastery that overlooked a small subalpine village. Every day, early in the morning, a monk wended his way down a footpath to say mass in the village church. One cold morning in spring he spied a small bird by the side of the path, shivering with cold and nearly expired. Without hesitation he picked it up, examined it, and then, for lack of an alternative, put it inside his habit, next to his warm body. By the time he had reached the piazza in front of the church the little bird had revived enough to be wriggling about rather briskly under his garment, and he realized he could not bring it with him into the church. The bells began to chime. As he stood wondering what to do, he noticed a great steaming cow pie, providentially placed there by a dairy cow departing for the meadows beyond the village. Gently but firmly he set the bird down into this warm and gelatinous mixture and went into the church. The bird was revived still further by the warmth of the cow pie—so much so that it began to sing. An old fox, patrolling over the stone wall of the churchyard, heard it, hopped over into the piazza quick as a flash, snapped it out of the cow pie, and ate it. There are three points to this story. First, the one who puts you into it is not necessarily your enemy. Second, the one who gets you out of it is not necessarily your friend. Third, when you find yourself up to your beak in the stuff, it is best to keep your beak shut.

Argument: listen to the message of the sower and consider your response.

Hear the message vv.1-9.

Context of chapter 12 connected to verses 1-2.

Jesus and the disciples passing through on the Sabbath and the disciples eat the heads of the grain - causing an issue with the Pharisees. The law doesn’t permit anyone to work on the Sabbath - their actions were deemed work.

Jesus then goes on to heal a man in the synagogue who was brought to him to corner him into a situation - is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath? After Jesus heals him in verse 14 the text says the Pharisees went out and plotted against him to kill him.

Jesus then withdrew from their presence and large crowds followed him. A demon possessed man was brought before him and he healed him. This is when the crowds asked, “Could this be the Son of David?” The Pharisees said this man is the son of Beelzebul - a title for the prince of demons.

Jesus goes on to call out the Pharisees, calling them a brood of vipers, and say that a tree will be known by its fruit. They are an evil and adulterous generation looking for signs but not believing in the one who delivers them.

Jesus’ mother and brothers went calling on him and he said his family was in front of him - his disciples! Whoever does the will of the Father is his brother and sister and mother.

Chapter 13:1-2 - Jesus has gone out of the house and was sitting by the sea of Galilee when the large crowds gathered again and forced him into a boat to teach because they filled the shore.

He told them many things in parables… v.3a.

Matthew is pointing us to a larger section within his writing. From what comes immediately after this we have a single parable, but there will be a number of parables that Jesus will use going forward.

So what is a parable? A parable is a literary device in which a lesson is taught through veiled metaphors to achieve certain affects. A lesson using an illustration that causes the hearer to take consideration of what is being said. It is a teaching tool.

The parable of the sower and the soils vv.3b-9.

Consider the sower who went out to sow. Agriculture was a main staple in the life of many people within Israel. Many people planted and farmed. Jesus says to consider the sower. He has gone out to sow. When we think of sowing sometimes what comes to our minds is fields that have been plowed and careful rows created for planting. That is not what is in mind here. Jesus says the object of our consideration is the Sower. His job is to go out and to throw seed anywhere he can. These methods may seem odd to us but were quite typical in this context.

He gives four examples of sowing with four different results.

The seed that falls along the path. The farmer who walks along the path drops seed onto the ground. The result is that a bird comes and devours the seed that is clearly open and not protected or cultivated.

Then there is the seed that falls on the rocky ground amid a lack of soil. It takes root quickly and grows quickly but doesn’t have deep roots. So, when the sun comes up it is scorched and withers.

Then there is the seed that is planted among soil with thorns. It grows but the thorns outgrow it and consume it by choking it out.

Then there is the seed that falls on good ground and produces a harvest - a hundred, sixty, and thirty times what was sown. That would have been an astonishing harvest for the listeners. A common yield in Israel would have been ten times what was sown.

Let anyone who has ears listen.

Application

Do you notice the bookends of this parable? The very beginning and the very end include two calls to action - consider and listen. Jesus is calling his audience to these actions on the back of the context of chapter 12. He is inviting them to consider whether they’re with the kingdom of God or the religion of the Pharisees. So, we must consider where we belong - in the kingdom of God or in the religion of the Pharisees.

Consider: Are you a Christian?

Christian, consider who you are listening to. What kind of content are you consuming regularly?

Develop a better discipline in listening. Jesus’ invitation to hear was at the end of this parable. The point he was trying to drive was that these people needed to listen to God and His Word. Have you ever noticed how easily distracted we are? Listening is work.

Pray and ask God for help.

Battle against the distractions.

Listen for what is said not what you hope to hear.

Consider the logic and flow of the content. What is the argument? How is it built?

Then consider what this means to you. Is it a call to action? Is there something you need to reflect upon? What does this teach you about God? About yourself?

Ask about the message vv.10-17.

The scene shifts away from the public teaching by parable to a conversation of Jesus with his disciples v.10.

Why are you speaking to them in parables?

This kind of communication wasn’t uncommon. And we may be familiar with it, especially if we have some familiarity with the gospels. However, the disciples were truly perplexed. When we look at the synoptic gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke - we’ve got parables in each. In Luke 8:9 it says, “And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant.” In Mark 4:10 “And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables.”

Jesus speaks in parables because they give to some and take from others v.11-12.

There is a stark contrast between you and them in this verse. The disciples have been given the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. Others have not received this.

How is this? Through God’s decision. This invites us to see God’s rule and power in who he reveals the kingdom to and who he conceals to from. But it also invites us to see human responsibility. The message is available to those who hear and believe God.

It also speaks to us about the referent - the disciples have and the Pharisees have not. Matthew’s reading audience also has or has not.

This parable proclaims that many hear but not all believe. Failure to hear and believe results in denied entry to the kingdom.

Jesus speaks in parables to fulfill Isaiah’s prophetic ministry vv.13-15.

In chapter 12 we saw Jesus heal the blind and the deaf. In chapter 13 Jesus says those who fail to hear and believe are blind and deaf by choice and fulfillment.

The quote comes from Isaiah 6:9–10 “And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.””

In Isaiah 6 Isaiah is brought up into the heavenly throne room of God where he sees an incredible picture of God’s majesty. In the text he is so overwhelmed by God’s awesome power that he says “woe to me, for I am a man of unclean lips, I am undone.” One of the seraphim flew to him and put a burning coal on his lips and said that his guilt and sin were atoned for. God then spoke in verse 8 and said whom shall I send, who will go for us? Isaiah responded here I am! Send me. Then what we have in our passage was God’s response - you’re going to go and there will be a people who will not hear and will not respond who will see and fail to believe.

This leads to the disciples blessing vv.16-17.

Blessed are your eyes because they see and your ears because they hear.

Many of the prophets and righteous ones longed for these things and did not see or hear them.

Application

Don’t be afraid - Ask the question! We don’t grow in understanding if we try to fake it.

God has a way of responding to our curiosity. That doesn’t mean that he owes us an explanation to everything we face in life. However, when we ask him questions that relate to his plans and his Word he will, in his time and his way, give us answers.

Respond to the message vv.18-23.

Jesus gives the disciples the explanation and calls them to listen v.18.

The parable explained vv.19-23.

The seed along the path v.19 - anyone who hears the word and doesn’t understand it. The evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.

The seed on the rocky ground - hears the word and immediately receives it with joy but falls away quickly.

The seed among the thorns - hears the word but the worries of the age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word out.

The seed on good ground - hears the word and produces fruit with a miraculous harvest.

Application

God determines the fruit.

We are called to hear the word and respond.

What is your response to God and his word?

Conclusion

What do I want them to take away?

Notes and Feedback from Elders