The Parable of the Sower

Introduction:

As we come to the first of these parables, we must understand that the Lord Jesus Christ had a twofold purpose. The Lord Himself defines this purpose plainly for us, notice what the Bible says in verse number 11 in response to His disciples asking Him why He spoke in parables,

“v11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

We can rejoice this morning with the Disciples, that those who have trusted in Christ have been given these parables to understand the mysteries concerning the Kingdom of Heaven.

[Why?] v12  For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. v13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”

In other words there was an accountability required with what had already been given, there were those that had rejected the Lord up to this point, because of this they had no spiritual understanding. “Hearing” they heard not. And so it is likewise with you and I there is an accountability with what you and I hear.

We find out also that this was prophesied of the Lord Jesus Christ in the book of Psalms.

“I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:” Psalm 78:2

How can we know this is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because the Holy Spirit tells us in Matthew 13:34,35 properly attributing this passage to the Lord.

(“All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them:That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.”)

These very parables contain marvelous truth that has been kept secret since the foundation of the world. What you and I have privilege to see and understand here is something wonderful.

1/3 of all that Jesus Christ taught is in the form of parables, so it is wise for us to look at these parables and understand what He has given to us to know.

With that being understood, let us read beginning in verse 1.

Let’s Pray

As we begin to understand these parables, we need to apply this one rule to their interpretation. You see a parable is not the same as an allegory. In a allegory you may look at every detail of the story a presenting some parallel truth or hidden meaning, but a parable is not so designed. The rule for interpreting parables is simply this: the intention behind the parable is to convey one great truth. Now there may be many applications and conclusions drawn from this parable but they will all center around this one great truth.

We can envision this one great truth as the hub of a wheel and all the spokes the emit from that central truth will be application for you and I.

This parable in particular is a starting place to understanding all parables. In Mark chapter 4:13 the Bible says, “And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? And how then will ye know all parables?”

In this particular parable the great truth is the powerful Word of God and the soil of the human heart. Dr. Clarence Sexton put it this way, “I prove that I am a Christian, not by giving my testimony but by the fact that there is fruit in my life produced by the Word of God.” [and might I add the Holy Spirit] (Clarence Sexton)

You see we will discover that there is no problem with the Sower in this parable. There is no problem with the Seed in this parable. The problem is with the soil. When we come to understand this great truth, we will understand that we must:

1. Continue to Sow the Seed (A Co-labourer With Our Savior) As Christians we are called into this ministry of reconciliation.

“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building.”

I Corinthians 3:9

2. Continue to Be Personally Receptive to the Word of God

3. Continue to Examine Our Own Hearts Soil (with the help of the Holy Spirit)

The Bible says that we are to, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)

And Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ spoke to Peter after declaring the parable of the blind leaders of the blind that “out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:” So you and I have this responsibility to understand the importance of examining our own hearts soil help of the Holy Spirit and the work of His Word.

So let us begin to look at the three great subjects of this parable.

We have first of all:

I. The Seed

The picture is given to us here of a common event that took place. A individual goes out to plant seed with the intention of receiving a harvest. The simplicity of this parable is striking because it is easy for us to understand what is taking place. It is universal in its language. The law of sowing and reaping applies to the physical world and certainly applies to the spiritual as well.

I remember recently that William began to learn about a plant and how it grows from seed and forms a root system and springs up out of the earth. Now he didn’t exactly convey that to us in words, but rather gave us a few colored drawings exhibiting this very truth. And William is able to understand this principle concerning the seed, the sower and the plant.

A. The Prominence of the Seed

In this parable the Lord Jesus shows us the prominence given to the seed. The whole parable is built around the presence of the seed. If you remove the seed from the parable, it would not make sense. But there is a prominence given to the seed. In Mark 4:14 in a parallel passage the Lord Himself defines for us what the seed is and He simply states, “The sower soweth the word.” So we are to understand that there is a prominence given to the Word of God. It is necessary. When we begin to think about this, we can go back all the way to beginning in the book of Genesis and see that it His Word that created us. The Bible tells us in Hebrews 11:3, that “Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” In Hebrews chapter one and verse 3 we are told that Lord Jesus Christ Himself is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” And we could say this, that whatever God speaks is of eternal importance. In John 6:63 the Lord Jesus Christ said that we ought to pay close attention to His words, he stated , “… the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” So sit up and pay close attention…. Arouse yourself out of complacency and sleep and pay attention to the Word of God. There is not a place you and I could go to in this blessed book and find empty words of no importance. His Word is prominent. And though in totality all of His Word is important, Here we see a special emphasis upon the Word of God as it affects the soil of the human heart. We answer the question, How does the Gospel affect the heart of man?in this very parable. My friend this ought to be admonishment for you and I as to the importance of the seed. We ought to thank God for the Gospel message that was declared to us, the Word of God. We ought to thank God every time we get to come into this church house and hear someone open up, read and preach from the Word of God. We ought to thank God every time we are able to open our Bibles in our homes and read the precious Word of God. You see without the seed there is no life. You and I would be utterly lost without the Word of God.