Bel Air #10
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The Parable of the Sower
The Parable of the Sower
4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Lets pray
Introduction
I wanted to address this parable
This parable is the key to understanding the other parables that Jesus spoke of
13 And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?
This was foundational to understanding the rest of His parables
Mark’s gospel clearly states where Jesus is recorded as saying if you don’t understand the parable of the Sower
then you can not understand any of the other parables
That means this parable is key
The key to understanding of all the other parables
This Parable is clearly a foundational Parable
That is why most of the other Parables start with “the Kingdom of Heaven is like...”
This parable does not start like that
why
This Parable tells us the entrance into the Kingdom
so this parable is the doorway
it is the foundational Parable
You must understand this Parable
Now as we dive into this parable, we will notice something
Jesus is about to be what I call a good preacher
He is going to unpack the parable for them in an expository fashion
This means Jesus will walk them through this parable line for line
verse by verse
He is not preaching opinions
He is not preaching man made doctrine
He is about to exposit the word
that is good Biblical preaching
He does not take a verse and forcing it to say what you want it to say.
Jesus is not lifting a verse out of context
Jesus is going to take the Bible and make it preach what it says right
I should have started with this Parable first
Two weeks ago, I did the sermon on the parable of the ten virgins
Now after I did that sermon, I realized that was a mistake
It was a mistake because I needed to start with this one
I want to make sure we have the proper foundation
So we will cover this teaching
You can find this Parable in the Gospels of Matthew (13:1-23), Mark ( 4:1-20) and Luke (8:4-15)
Today I will be in Luke
4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable:
This parable is known as the parable of the sower
it is also called the parable of the seeds
the parable of the soils
The premise is simple
The farmer spreads seeds that land on the hard path, rocky soil, soil covered in weeds, and good soil
the resulting crop depends on what kind of soil the seeds land on
Now I want to point out an important point here
All three Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) record this parable
But they do it in different context
Mark places the parable at the beginning of a series of others that illustrate how the kingdom of God will grow through God’s power
Matthew uses it to introduce parables that show while God’s kingdom grows citizens and unbelievers will be intermixed
Luke however takes a different approach
He uses the parable to introduce the responsibility of people to listen to the message: to be the good soil
I personally enjoy all three approaches
However, as much as I love the Bible, this approach appeals to me
We can not just hear the gospel
we must respond to it by believing
After a metaphor about how light is meant to be seen and the message is meant to be heard
16 No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. 17 For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. 18 Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
Luke presents several examples of faith and salvation in the real world situations
Jesus provides salvation from worldly hardships for the purpose of revealing who He is
37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him.
the people around Him must “hear” what His miracles are saying and have faith in Him.
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
A sower is a farmer who spreads seed on the ground
At harvest every year, farmers would hold back grain or seeds from their crops
They would do that to use it for next years crops
In Israel, people would often live in small towns surrounded by farmlands
Families would have individual fields right next to other family fields
The way side may be trails that run between the fields
the ground would be quite hard
Birds are not specifically bad in Scripture
but they are often portrayed as scavengers
who clear away things that are left out
Here is an interesting point
Neither Matthew nor Mark mention that the seed is trampled
I find it interesting that the Holy Spirit inspired Luke to include that detail
especially since it is not repeated in Jesus’ explanation
Luke’s emphasis of Jesus’ parable is to listen well
First, the hardened path, trampled by passers by, is like people who have allowed the world to harden their hearts so that God’s Word can not break the surface
Second, it is difficult to listen to God’s word well when we allow the enemy priority in our lives
Satan has been an expert at twisting and removing God’s word from hearts since the garden of Eden
If we want to understand what God is saying to us
we need to listen to Him
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
In His first example, seeds fall on the hard path where people crush them with their feet
and birds take the seed away
In this example, the seeds land on rock
Jesus is describing this
a base of stone with a thin layer of dirt on top
Unless the dirt has been prepared in advance
the person casting the seeds won’t realize it is so shallow
Both Matthew and Mark say the soil allows the seed to grow quickly
yet the rock underneath causes shallow roots
when the sun gets hot, the plants whither and die
Luke , perhaps because he is a doctor, gives a specific reason the plants die
they have no moisture
Because of the bedrock, the soil can not hold the moisture the plants need
Jesus compares this soil to people who hear God’s Word with a shallow kind of understanding and acceptance
They don’t allow the message to reach their hearts
So when they are tested, they abandon what little understanding they have
How does this apply to listening well?
We can choose to be shallow people or not
We can choose to have a depth of character that can take in God’s Word, consider it, and act on it
Acknowledging only parts of God’s Word that sounds pleasant and easy will not lead to a firm faith that can withstand life’s inevitable trials
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
Jesus’s third example of soil is filled with thorns
The thorny weeds choke the crops by stealing away water and nutrients
It is interesting to remember the origin of thorns in the creation story
Thorns and weeds were a punishment against Adam because he disobeyed God
17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
They are a constant reminder of sin
Specifically the sin of looking to something other than God for life
Jesus’ interpretation matches this
He compares the thorns to the cares and riches and pleasures of life
In response, what little growth occurs is useless
Nothing should keep us from following Jesus
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
This completes the parable of the sower
Jesus describes what we should all attain to become
good soil that readily takes the seed, nourishes it, and produces fruit
If our hearts are softened and ready for God’s Word, Christ’s truth will impact our entire lives, allowing us to display the fruit of the Spirit
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
those behaviors and actions glorify God and show love to others
Mark emphasizes the growth
saying the seeds “produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixty fold and a hundred fold
Matthew is similar, although he reverses the numbers
In the ancient world, a decent crop could produce thirty five times more output
a one hundred times multiplication of seed isn’t physically possible
but it would have been seen as a sign of God’s blessing
For Luke, the point of the chapter is the last phrase
He who has ears to hear, let him hear
The parable, itself, is about the responsibility to listen well
9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be?
Jesus has told the parable of the sower to a large crowd of people
Although (Mark 4:10) explains this conversation occurs a bit later
when the twelve as well as a larger group of disciples are with Jesus
drawn away from the crowd
The disciples ask both what this parable is about as well as why Jesus uses parables at all
Jesus starts by explaining why He uses parables before going into the interpretation
10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
Jesus has taught a large crowd the parable of the sower
A smaller group of disciples has asked Him the meaning of the parable
Matthew records that they also asked Him why He uses parables
This is Luke’s shorten version of the answer to the latter question
This verse has two different contexts
The original is God’s commission of Isaiah
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; And see ye indeed, but perceive not. 10 Make the heart of this people fat, And make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; Lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, And understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
This was a prophesy of Jesus
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
the second context is within the parable itself
The people Jesus is referring to are represented by the first three soils
These are people who hear the gospel but do not make the effort to take it seriously and allow it to change their lives
By speaking in parables, Jesus is giving the people a test
If they choose to contemplate the parable and accept what it means
they pass the test
they prove to be His disciples
If they are distracted by hardships and pleasures of the world
that is their decision
they choose not to understand
and thus they will not
So that means Isaiah’s prophecy is still being fulfilled
people are still rejecting God’s Word
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
Now Jesus untangles the parable’s metaphors to the disciples
The key element is that the sower’s seed represents the Word of God
What are the Words of God?
Whatever Jesus has spoken
49 For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.
10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
That He is the promised Messiah
17 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, 18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. 20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.
The good news is the kingdom of God has arrived
43 And he said unto them, I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent.
that sinners are welcome to repent and be reconciled with God
30 But their scribes and Pharisees murmured against his disciples, saying, Why do ye eat and drink with publicans and sinners? 31 And Jesus answering said unto them, They that are whole need not a physician; but they that are sick. 32 I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
but Jesus also has difficult things to say
like His followers must love and pray for their enemies
hold lightly to things of this world when others threaten us
be merciful to those who don’t deserve it, just like God the Father
Now Luke draws this message out of the parable that everyone is responsible to listen to Jesus’ words
which we have in the Bible
and allow them to grow in our hearts
The more receptive we are to God’s Word
the more our faith will grow until our actions and words reflect God’s
One thing I find interesting
Considering Luke interprets this parable in a different context than Matthew and Mark
as a call to listen rather than a confirmation of the kingdom
It shows that the Holy Spirit led the gospel writers to find nuance in Jesus’ rich multifaceted teaching.
12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
The seed represents the teachings of Jesus
The way side that rejects the seed until the birds take the seed away
represents people who hear God’s Word but their openness to Satan’s lies is already strong so the words don’t penetrate their hearts
Luke’s larger point is that these people were predisposed to reject God’s Word
Jesus called us to hear and understand
hear and believe
hear and mature in our faith
and hear and hold fast so we may bear fruit
It is important we understand the role of spiritual warfare in our lives
Satan is only one being who, as far as we know, can only be in one place at one time
Very few individuals can assume that Satan, himself, is attacking them
And even though individuals can be demonized
Satan and the demons do not primarily attack individuals directly
They can more efficiently attack humanity by influencing the cultures and power structures that people live under
flooding culture with temptations for lust or greed or pride is more efficient than tempting each of us individually
sound familiar?
So when Jesus says that the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts
This taking away seems to be by filling the culture with distractions
sinful and not
so our attentions are elsewhere and our hearts are already hardened towards God’s Word
13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
The thin layer of soil is like a shallow person
They like the good news that Jesus teaches
but they do not take the instruction and meditate on the meaning
They are not like a tree planted by streams of water that can withstand hardship
when the world tests their faith and their devotion to God
they become like a grain husk that dries up and blows away in the wind
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, That bringeth forth his fruit in his season; His leaf also shall not wither; And whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. 4 The ungodly are not so: But are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.
The parable of the sower is often used to identify what it takes to be saved
or what identifies someone who is saved
Does “fall away” mean these people were saved but lost their salvation?
no
That incorrect interpretation contradicts this verse
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, 14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
Remember the Bible does not contradict itself in any way
It is important to understand what the text does not say
because laying out the mechanics of salvation is not the point
the point is that we are responsible for listening to Jesus’ words and acting on what we understand
if we do so, we will bear fruit
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
Now Jesus talks about people who have the capacity to meditate on God’s Word but are distracted by both hardships and the luxuries of life
Those who are concerned with the cares and riches of the world are seeking security in the world
They won’t accept God’s offer of provision or consider the needs of others
Distractions represent excessive concern about one’s welfare, possessions, and comfort
both hardships and pleasure can keep us from fully devoting our lives to Jesus
15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
The final soil is good nutrient rich dirt with plenty access to water
Just as the farmer’s seed grows easily, providing a bumper crop,
God’s Word penetrates honest hearts
Such people understand and follow Jesus’ teaching, loving God and others and exhibiting the fruits of the Spirit
Both Matthew and Mark repeat that the fruit produced is thirty to one hundred times more than what was sown
Their presentations of the parable of the sower emphasize that God’s kingdom will grow despite whatever hardships His followers face
Luke’ message is simpler
How we listen to God’s Word will directly determine the fruit it bears in our lives
and the impact we have for God’s kingdom
Hard hearts, spiritual warfare, persecution, and earthly concerns will pull us away from deepening our faith
growing more sanctified
and showing the world the love of Christ
But Jesus says
He who has ears to hear, let him hear
We get to choose how we hear God’s word
We can choose to harden our hearts
submit ourselves to Satan’s lies
keep our faith shallow
and focus on the world more than God’s will for us
Conversely, we can choose to be the good soil
patiently meditate on God’s Word and allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit through us
the choice is clearly yours
lets pray
