The Sower

The Parable of the Sower

Hey everyone, good morning! My name is Julian Miller and I am the student and young adult pastor here at All Church. I am so happy to be here and am really excited to jump into scripture with you today. In our study of the parables Jesus told, we’ve talked about us being the prodigal son or daughter and, in another parable, about forgiveness. Today we get to step into another concrete story that carries abstract truth. And remember, Jesus uses parables to show us stories we can see to reveal things we usually can’t.

Go ahead and turn in your Bible’s to Luke 8 because that’s where we’ll be, but first I have a question for you:

“How much do you know about gardening?”, “Would you consider your thumb as being green?”

My grandfather, Bruce, was an Alabama farmer and he came from generations of farmers. He truly had a “green thumb”—he could grow anything. The tending of his fields and gardens was a daily process. He was a real Red Neck—his neck was red from being bent over in his garden all day. He would spend hours and hours making sure all the conditions were exactly right for the best outcome for his harvest. He was most interested in producing the best fruit. He knew that in order to reap a great harvest, it had to be in good soil. He’d spend his entire year preparing the soil for a small window of time to bear fruit. This is how God shows up in our parable today—as a farmer desiring a fruit harvest. Let’s get into it.

IPAD: Read

Luke 8:4–18 ESV

4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” 16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. 18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

This message comes at a time in Jesus’ ministry that is still relatively early. He has recently called His disciples, preached the Sermon on the Mount, and performed many miracles. This isn’t the first parable He’s told, but it feels like it, because it’s one of the first times He uses a full narrative instead of a simple metaphor.. In a addition, He explains the parable and tell his disciples WHY He will use parables—to show that the Kingdom of God is near.

So, He tells this curious tale about a sower or a farmer that spreads seed in the hopes of growing crops that bear fruit, seemingly, everywhere—even in impossible situations. At first glance, one would think that this farmer doesn’t have a green thumb. I mean, who casts seed anywhere other than the best—most nutrient dense soil? Perhaps a desperate one? Or a farmer that just loves sowing regardless of where—in fact maybe He loves turning what is lifeless into full of fruit. Or maybe a farmer that doesn’t judge soil by its looks, but gives all soil a chance to be fruitful. And maybe this farmer is so good at what He does that no soil discourages Him from making much of it.

Nonetheless the disciples are stunned, so the people around must be even more so. But what does Jesus say when His disciples ask Him for an explanation? Luke 8:10 he said, IPAD: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”

“Disciples are no different from anyone in needing explanations for the parables, but they are different from outsiders in that they choose to come to Jesus for explanations.”

David E. Garland

In other words, they keep listening. They keep asking questions and they keep an open mind. They care about the implication of Jesus’ words. They assume Jesus is speaking truth and draw near to understand, rather than distancing themselves becuase His implication’s weren’t comfortable.

“One of the principles of spiritual growth is that when a person studies revelation (scriptural truth), God gives him or her the ability to understand more truth. However, when one does not seek to understand it, God hides further truth from him or her.”

Dr. Thomas L. Constable

I know, unsettling thought, however, this is scripturally grounded. Go read Isaiah 6. Look at verse “9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive’”.

Jesus is referencing these same 2 senses to describe why He uses parables. 10 “so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’”To draw in those who know His voice. I wanted to address this first becuase we need not go any further until see this:

Ignored truth leads to hardened hearts.

So, lets go to Jesus to draw His conclusions for His words about God, humans and the world.

Soil Survey

This is what I think Jesus would have wanted us to do after hearing this parable. For the purpose of self-examination lets examine each type of soil to see if we can see ourselves in this sobering story.

The Soil Among the Path

IPAD:

Luke 8:5 ESV

5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.

Luke 8:12 ESV

12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

The path has been beaten down by years of being walked on. There is no softness and in turn no depth to the soil. These people trust what they can see. In response, they have hardened their hearts which has given way to mistrust and self-prevision as a rule of life. With the soil not being receptive to or hospitable for the word of God, the Devil comes and snatches it up like a bird. Notice that in the absence of the word (devil removes it) the soil becomes hard. This is our default as humans. If you have never given Jesus a chance, listen today—let the word of God in. Otherwise your heart will remain hardened.

The Soil Among the Rocks

IPAD:

Luke 8:6 ESV

6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

Luke 8:13 ESV

13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.

In verse 6 Jesus tells us that this rocky soil had no moisture and then in verse 13 He insinuates that the rockiness of the soil allowed no depth for roots—they were stopped by the rock. They burned up in the sun and withered away. So, these people initially believe—they accept the word of God and then due to the adversity of the sun and rock with no refreshment of water grow no roots and fall away under trouble or persecution. I think Jesus is saying these people need moisture, don’t let the road blocks and pain points in your life deny you the growth of your roots. Receive the seed and grow around the rock—whatever it takes. Press on!

The Soil Among the Thorns

IPAD:

Luke 8:7 ESV

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

Luke 8:14 ESV

14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

In verse 7 Jesus tell us that these fell on decent soil; decent enough for there to already be something else growing in that soil—thorns or weeds. He said it “grew up with it..”, so there is belief here, there is faith—they “hear”, but they are choked and entangled with distractions that should have been cleared. There are two opposite ends of the spectrum that lead to the same outcome here: cares or worries and riches and pleasures make sick and immature plants. Both seek to distract you from bearing fruit from the word of God in your life. The poor have worries that other don’t and the rich have pleasure that others don’t—both are tempted to struggle with distraction. Notice the comparison Jesus makes with these 2 opposites leading to the same outcome. Rich and poor alike, Jesus is saying… don’t tell yourself or your family you’re providing them a legacy of wealth when all you’re handing them is “distraction”. Cast your cares and your gratitude on Jesus.

The Good Soil

IPAD:

Luke 8:8 ESV

8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold…”

Luke 8:15 ESV

15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Good soil avoids the previous pitfalls through sustained commitment to God’s word. The soil is no doubt, still going to have the same obstacles as the other soils. This is because it is not the removal of the adversity and distractions that are going to make good soil . It’s the work of the farmer. And He is working in all of our soil. Our only response is to let Him work. The seed will transform the soil and bear fruit in it. The soil must hold fast to the farmer uprooting weeds when they arise, Him watering the soil when it gets hard and dry, and waiting in patience as fruit is born through and in perseverance and adversity.

In light of all this, no matter where we see ourselves, what do we do now? What conclusions can we draw from this parable? Here’s where we can respond:

1. The Seed is for Everyone

The seed is the word of God—the good news of Jesus Christ. And the sower is diligent to cast seed everywhere liberally, aggressively—even scandalously. He spreads it in places that don’t make any sense. Why would a farmer waste good seed on a path, or not get rid of the weeds first, or make sure the soil is has been cleared of rocks before he spreads. What a waste right? This farmer casts seed as if He throws from an infinite supply—this farmer spreads what is precious without discretion. He labors as if ALL have hope in the seed cast. What Grace!

1 Timothy 2:3–4 “3 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, 4 who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

2 Peter 3:9 “9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.”

Ezekiel 18:23 “23 Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?”

It’s important to note that God’s desire that all be saved does not necessarily entail that all will be saved, since God’s desires (not His will) can be frustrated by human decisions. The distinction matters: God genuinely wills salvation for everyone, yet respects human freedom in responding to that offer.

He desires us all, but not all will desire Him.

2. Not all those who hear Listen

The Greek word Jesus uses in His closing phrase in verse 8 is (akouō) “ah-KOO-oh” meaning “to hear” and is closely related to the greek verb (hypakouō) “hoo-pah-KOO-oh” which is a combination of the words “under” and “hear”. You don’t truly understand God’s Word until you’re living (hearing) under it—until you obey it.

This is my thought: People resist God or the idea of God, not because it doesn’t make sense, but mostly because they are spiritually blind, deaf and held captive. This is hardness of heart.

Have you ever spoken with someone who has rejected Jesus outright with no real attempt at getting to know Him?

I hear people say all the time, “Oh, I’m so glad you found your thing—what makes you happy, you know, YOUR truth.”, “Good for you…, but its not for me.”

No it is FOR you. In fact there has been, still is and never will be again a more FOR YOU thing that has ever existed. Becuase God is FOR you in your saving and you exist FOR Him. His will is to deal with your sin FOR you for those that believe. The question is: do you want God to deal with your sin FOR you or just deal with YOU. Jesus is good news for these people. He said he was here to free the captives, bring sight to the blind, open up deaf ears and make the lame walk.

If the people of this world would give Jesus’ words a chance—a real chance—if they would posture their hearts, eyes and ears toward Him, it would be good exceedingly enough for them. It would be an answer to grace’s great cosmic proclamation. Jesus make it clear that only the humble with truly hear His words and understand them. As long as our hearts are unwilling to soften, we will remain fruitless, purposeless and without salvation.

Humble Hearts… they Listen.

3. We are responsible for our Soil

Our soil is our hearts. The type of soil and the temperament of it are up to our discretion. How have we let the world shape our view of God, Jesus and the world around us? How do we make sure we have “good” soil.

The posture of our hearts towards God’s words sets the vitality of our soil.

If I am to possess good soil that God can grow deep roots in and bear much fruit, I must do these things:

Receive the seed - Humble ourselves to the fact that we need His seed to do anything—that without Him we cannot tell right from wrong. That His seed is the only thing that will grow anything real in my life. There are 2 types of people that will exist—those that are humble enough to submit to holy God and those that WILL NOT.

Till up the soil - If your heart’s soil is on the path, it needs to be broken up. God’s mercy and grace often does this in our lives whether pleasant or unpleasant. We need to be willing to break old ways of thinking to embrace the good news of God’s word. The devil tries to steal and kill and destroy any sight of an exposed seed. The seed has to get into the soil. We have to do the hard and sometimes painful work of breaking up the soil’s hardness. But, soft soil is receptive soil. The breaking we need can sometimes be christian friends, scripture, church community, mentors, regular encounters with Jesus, accountability and adversity we face in life. These things in life can either be the things that harden or soften your heart.

“Up Root Weeds / Shoo the Birds” - mixed in our soil from birth are many of the enemies lies that have entangled our hearts. They strangle and choke the faith in our hearts with things that do not matter. The enemy comes to choke any vestige of the plant so that, if it does manage to produce fruit, it is sickly. We must “shoo” away the birds as they attempt to steal the truth from our lives. What are you influences? What do you let into your mind? Most of what you consume should be “hypakouō” to Christ—obedient to Him and listening to Him.

Cultivate - Though your salvation is the free gift and finished work of Christ, we do the work of participating in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ. Act like you have heard what He has said by replacing the weeds with fertilizer. Fill your time, thoughts and actions with things that Paul describes as:

Philippians 4:8–9 ESV

8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Luke 8:16–17 ESV

16 “No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. 17 For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.

In verses 16-17 Jesus is reminding us that keeping good soil should lead to being a light to those in a dark world. If there is light in you, it won’t hide itself. If there’s life in your soil, there will be green to show for it. Time will tell all these things in a life lived with Him bearing fruit.

Luke 8:18 ESV

18 Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”

We are responsible for HOW we hear because Jesus tells us to “take care”. “Take heed” / “Be careful” / “Pay attention” - Not just that you hear… but how you hear. Jesus isn’t saying “are you listening?”, He’s saying, “what kind of listener are you?”, “There are 4 types—which are you?”

Therefore, to the person that allows God’s word to work, more work will be done—you will see more truth. To the one who hardens their hearts, even what they have will be lost. In other words, you don’t use it—you lose it. It’s like a language—if you don’t speak it, you will forget it. This is Neuroplasticity = your brain’s ability to change, rewire, and adapt based on what you repeatedly think, feel, and do. He is warning us to hold fast to God’s word.

Call to Action:

So, where are you? What do you need to do today that starts you on a journey of softening your heart? Do you need to:

Receive the seed/word of God?

Till up the soil?

Up root weeds?

Shoo away birds?

Are you ready to cultivate?

There are going to be people up front during the last song and afterwards that would love to pray for you and with you about whatever you need—about what step you need to take today. Let me pray for us and we’ll head into a time of reflection and worship.