The Parable of the Sower

Introduction

Video: Parable of the Fishing Trip

Well good morning Friendship Church, how are we doing this morning? I don’t know about you, but as the snow begins to melt and the days start getting longer I can’t help but long for spring, and what says “spring” better than a good fishing story.

But you probably picked up that there was more to this story than just a group of people who were going fishing. As the narrator carefully pointed out the many different responses and excuses we were drawn in to think that there must be a deeper meaning in all of this. Yes, the story was about a fishing trip, but then again it wasn’t really about a fishing trip. It was about something more.

Jesus loved to tell stories like this. In fact the Bible records Jesus telling about 40 different stories like this. The Bible calls these kinds of stories “Parables” as they are always earthly stories that communicate heavenly meanings.

You might have noticed that the title of this mini-movie was “The Parable of the Fishing Trip” and while it did tell an story about a fishing trip, the meaning was really to get us to think about all the different excuses that we employ when faced with Jesus’ instruction to “Follow me and I will make you fishers of men” (Mat 4:19).

That’s a Parable. An earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Tension

And Jesus used parables for many of the same reasons that other Rabbi’s in His day, and even teaches today do: These dynamic stories are easier to remember and relate to then a stoic list of principles or practices. But what we are going to see today is that Jesus used these parables for another purpose as well.

Over the past couple of weeks in our “CHRISTOS” series, we have been looking at this transition point in Jesus public ministry where He has reached the pinnacle of his popularity among the masses, and now He turns to really focus in on preparing his 12 disciples for their role in His Kingdom.

After Jesus suffers and rises again, just like He told them that He would, these 12 men will be given the responsibility to carry the message of the Kingdom of God to the rest of the world. So while Jesus often taught the crowds, He was training His Disciples. It has been said that:

“Teaching is simply imparting the information, but training is taking things one step further…it is teaching that is aimed at a future event”.

To teach you something about boxing is one thing, but when your name is on the poster for an upcoming fight - every “teaching” is now “training” that you will be depending on at a whole new level.

Parents, we are to “train up our children in the way they should go”, right? Because there is a future event when they are going to leave our home and take what we taught them into the rest of their life.

Whether they understood it at this point or not, the 12 Disciples were getting more than just teaching, they were being trained by Jesus for the future event of their mission to take the good news of the Kingdom of God to the entire World.

So everyone was taught by Jesus in parables, in fact Scripture says that Jesus “said nothing to the crowds without a parable.” but the crowds often left for home wondering about what the parable meant. But not so for the 12 Disciples, in their “training” they were given the meaning.

And there is no better parable to see this at work then the “Parable of the Sower” that we are going to look at today, for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the Gospels record both the teaching and the explaination that Jesus gave to His disciples later in their training. But another reason is that both the meaning of this Parable, and the setting is aimed at the Disciples having a greater understanding of their up coming mission.

You see the Disciples were still thinking that Jesus’ promised Kingdom was an earthly one, so when they saw the crowds growing, and felt the energy rising they began to think that any moment now Jesus should announce His claim on the thrown and all the people would fall in line behind them as they marched into a great victory. “You gotta strike when the iron’s hot” kind of thing…but Jesus wanted to teach them not to trust in the size of crowds, but in the condition of their hearts.

And hopefully, we will learn this right along with them this morning...So open up you Bibles with me to Matthew chapter 13 page 818 in Bibles in the chairs. As you are turning there, I will pray and we will look into the text together.

Truth

So this is a very well known parable, and we find it all three of the synoptic Gospels, but we are going to look at from Matthews account... chapter 13, starting in verse 1 we read:

Matthew 13:1–3 ESV

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.

So our first theme for the week is that...

1. Spiritual truth is generously offered to all people(Mat 13:1-9)

And we will see how this theme represented in both Jesus’ parable and the setting in which He told the parable. Because who is there listening to Jesus tell this parable? Great Crowds who had gathered around Jesus on the seaside. The crowds were too great for the house He was teaching at, so Jesus moves to this new venue so that everyone can hear His teaching.

He is generously offering these Spiritual Truths to all these people. And not just this parable, but this is really an introduction to a whole stack of parables that Jesus generously offered all the people that day, but He starts with the one about “A sower who went out to sow”

If those words are a little unfamiliar to you, let me explain. Sowing, is a farming practice where farmers plant their fields not in rows like we do today with all of our massive farming equipment, but by broadcasting the seeds across the land by hand. There are places in the world where this is still practiced today, but it looks something like this picture here.

[Sower Sowing pic]

So you would have your bag of all your seeds and you would broadcast or scatter or “sow’ your seed across your land like this and it would land wherever you threw it…and even though we might need a picture like this to understand what a “Sower who went out to sow” looks like, Jesus used this word picture because His original audience would have instantly recognized it and follow it into the rest of the story.

So along with the setting, our theme shows up here in the parable as the sower generously broadcasts the same seed in every direction. Sow what was sown was the same, the only thing that was different was the type of soil that the seed landed on...

Matthew 13:4–9 ESV

4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

Well that is a nice story, and even those of us who do not have a green thumb can pretty well figure out what is going on here: The Sower was responsible only for scattering the seed, not for forcing the seed to take root (v. 3), and it was the condition of the soil that determined whether the seed would produce grain or not( vv. 4–9). And the story identifies four types of soil:

Hard Soil - where the seed was eaten by birds because it couldn’t work it’s way past the hardened surface of the path.

Shallow Soil - This was where there was just a little bit of dirt sitting on top of a rocky foundation, the plant grew fast but when the sun came out it dried up that thin layer of soil and without roots the plant withered.

Crowded Soil - Where the seed appears to grow just fine at first, but so do the thorns around it, until the young plant is overshadowed by the throns and choked out.

Good Soil - Where the seed thrives and produces a crop up to 100x the seed that was sown.

Everyone there that day, and I would imagine everyone of us can see those things in the story, but we also sense that there is something more. We know that Jesus isn’t giving a gardening class here…especially since He ends the story with these words... “He who has ears, let him hear”.

What does that mean? Of course they all had ears, otherwise they couldn’t have heard the story so Jesus must have meant something more than just those things on the side of our heads. We know there is more, but all we really have is questions:

Who is the Sower supposed to be?

What is the seed?

What or who does the different types of soil represent?

Everyone there that day got to hear the story, but may left scratching their heads over questions like these. But not the Disciples. Their “training” demanded that they understood what Jesus meant by these things.

This brings us to our second theme for the week:

2. Spiritual insight is available to those who have a heart for God’s Word (Matthew 13:10-17).

After the crowds had left, the Disciples came to Jesus privately to learn what He meant.

Matthew 13:10–13 ESV

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

Jesus makes a clear distinction here over those who are simply hearing His teaching and those who are receiving it as God given truth. We are going to see in the weeks to come that most of Jesus’ parables begin with the phrase “The Kingdom of Heaven is like...” and then Jesus tells the rest of the Parable to show what His Kingdom is going to look like. It wasn’t going to be like the earthly Kingdom that the crowds and even his own Disciples thought at this point.

This parable doesn’t begin with that phrase, but it has the same goal of introducing the Disciples to the what His Kingdom is all about, it’s just that this Parable is about the planting of the Kingdom in someone’s life, instead of what it looks like when it is fully operating there.

Anyway, Jesus knows that among the crowd there are many who have heard, but will never receive His message. The Kingdom of heaven is a Spiritual insight that is only available to those who have the heart to receive it. To those people belong the Kingdom of Heaven, but to the ones who have rejected the good news of Jesus, even what little they know of the Kingdom will be take from them.

And then Jesus shows how this is not a new idea in the History of God’s people by quoting from the Old Testament. Don’t miss the significance of this. So many people, even people claiming to be Christians, are trying to discredit God’s Word and especially the Old Testament in favor of a “so-called” Christianity that is “Just about the ideas of Jesus, we will take the ideas of Jesus but we will leave the rest of it” Well it was Jesus’ idea to quote from “the rest of it” so what are you gonna do with that? Bottom line is, you cannot be about Jesus and reject His Word.

Matthew 13:14–15 ESV

14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “ ‘ “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive.” 15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’

Jesus, and others, quoted this passage from Isaiah several times in the New Testament, each time pointing to the condition of the people’s heart being a pre-requisite for receiving Jesus as the Messiah. Their hearts had grown “dull”, which is a bit of a confusing word here because we usually understand “dull” to be in contrast to something that is sharp, but the word that Isaiah used in the original Hebrew carries the connotation of “fat” or even “impervious”, as if the heart is so out of shape that a layer of fat has formed around it and the truth cannot permeate through.

So the God who created the heart, mind, ears and eyes of these people in order for them to be able to experience Him and all of His glorious creation... is now be ignored because the people hearts have become “dull” toward Him. The “Spiritual Truths” were generously shared with them, but the condition of their hearts prevent them from receiving and believing what they heard. The Disciples only saw the size and energy of the crowd, but Jesus knew their hearts.

He knew what would happen over time…because that is the nature of growing things isn’t it? It takes time. You can plant the seeds but you have to wait the see what is going to happen. The crowds are loving Jesus now, but it won’t be long till the crowd yells out “Crucify Him!” What a contrast.

But Jesus is certain of better things for His Disciples, and He wants to make sure they understand their role in the Kingdom of God!

Matthew 13:16–17 ESV

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The great prophets like Isaiah, they longed to hear the message of the Kingdom of God from Jesus the Christ, but He didn’t come in their life times. Their faith was a faith looking forward to when Jesus would come. Our faith is a faith looking back at when Jesus came. The Disciples, though were looking right into the face of Jesus, and they had the privilege of hearing and receiving the message of the Kingdom of God directly from Him. And Jesus teaches them the meaning behind the Parable of the Sower.

Our third theme for the week is that...

3. Spiritual growth is assured for those who eagerly receive God’s Word (Matthew 13:18-23; Mark 4:13–20; Luke 8:11-15)

Here is the heavenly meaning of the earthly story...

Matthew 13:18–19 ESV

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

So the first soil, represents the Hard Heart - that is so hardened that the seed just sat on the surface until the “evil one”...“Satan” or the “Devil” as Mark and Luke call him, comes in and snatches away the opportunity. He is not gonna take no chances!

Matthew 13:20–21 ESV

20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.

The second soil represents the Shallow Heart - something like a once “zealous” hearer who got really excited about what little they knew about Jesus, but when questioning and confrontation came they had no answers and were pulled away. This person only had heart for part of the story. Yes, Jesus loves us and He has come to give us life to the full...but that love sent Him to the cross and we are called to “Pick up our cross and follow Him” into the life that He promises is full - just not in the way you thought.

Then the third one is probably the biggest one for us here in America. The Crowded Heart

Matthew 13:22 ESV

22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.

Sure, I mean we want to be a fruitful follower of Christ but…the bills gotta get paid. The commitments gotta be met. The college fund has to be plush. The finances have to be secure…as if there even is such a thing as money bringing security! . This is the “Rich Young Ruler” who we will meet in a few weeks. He came to Jesus certain that along with His wealth He had earned eternal life with His righteousness, but Jesus saw into His heart. The Young Man wanted to add heaven to the rest of the stuff He treasured here on earth, but ...

No deal. He didn’t want to give up his treasure on earth, for treasure in heaven. If I can somehow have both, then great, but I have to choose between the two, No deal.

That is the Crowded Heart. We want it all and figure we can have it all, and you don’t have to look hard to find false teachers who will sell you that snake oil, but … “the deceitfulness of riches will choke the word, and it [will prove] unfruitful.”

And then finally,

Matthew 13:23 ESV

23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

This is what Jesus was trying to train His Disciples in that day. The size and energy of the crowd doesn’t matter, it can change in an instant. It is the condition of their hearts that matters. He did not give himself to the crowd, because their hearts were not open to His message. They were only temporarily interested in His Word. They found it interesting, but not compelling and more often than not they were there for the “signs and wonders” anyway.

Gospel Application

In line with some of what I said last week, I just can’t help but grow in concern over where I see the Christian Church heading in our culture. There seems to be a lot of comprising going on as the social pressures to conform to the worlds values seems to rise. Maybe you aren’t feeling it yet, but in my lanes of communication I have been feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the size of the groups that are attacking the Church, and the size of the Churches willing to just go along and support ideas that are contrary to the plain teachings of Scripture.

But I was encouraged this week as I looked again at this parable. Jesus was never impressed with the size of the crowds. When they were gathered to sing His praises and He questioned their hearts. When they were gathered as an angry mob yelling “Crucify Him” and He said, “Father forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing”. Jesus was always looking at the heart of the individual, the soil that might receive the seed.

And the truth is that every believers can in a sense be categorized as both a “soil” and a “sower”. As “Sowers” we have the responsibility of broadcasting the good news of Jesus Christ to the world around us, but as “Soil” we have the responsibility to keep watch on the condition of our heart and prepare ourselves to always be ready to receive and cultivate the truths of God’s Word so that we can continue to bear much fruit.

Landing

And at the risk of mixing metaphors, I can’t help but brings us back to our “Parable of the Fishing Trip” that we opened with. It is so easy to come up with excuses for why we can’t follow Jesus command to be “fishers of men”. But that is what the seed planting is all about. It is not just that we would grow strong and healthy ourselves, but that our growth would produce a crop that bears fruit 30, 60 or 100 times beyond us. Are we the good soil that is doing that?

I will close with the wording from Luke’s account of this parable, where He says:

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.”

As you look back over your spiritual walk which soil have you proven to be? If you know you are not where you need to be in this, then you can make a change. Come see me, one of the other Overseers…

Let’s pray.