The Parable of the Sower: Part II

Introduction:

Last week we began to look at this series on The Parables of Jesus Christ. And we came to the first of these parables entitled the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. We learned that Lord Jesus Christ had a twofold purpose in mind for His teaching in this way.

He taught in this manner to conceal truth and reveal truth.

(a) He taught in parabolic form to reveal truth.

These disciples of his would need to know what was going to take place as the Gospel went forth. The Lord told us that it was

(b) He also taught in parabolic form to conceal truth.

Remember there were those who had up to this point rejected the Lord and His message.

There is an accountability required with what light God has given to us.

This principle of stewardship is found frequently in the Gospel records.

Secondly it was prophesied that the Lord would speak in this matter.

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

You see, 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.

Lets begin once again by reading starting in verse 1.

Read Verses 1-9

Let’s Pray

Remember the one rule we need to apply in a interpreting a parable. The rule is that 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.

In this particular parable the great truth is the powerful Word of God and the soil of the human heart.

We have already discovered 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 grasp this great truth, we will understand that three necessary applications:

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. To receive the Word of God, is different than just hearing the Word of God. Hearing we must hear and seeing we must see.

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)

Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on a different occasion 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 first two of the three great subjects of this parable.

We have first of all:

I. The Seed

The seed as defined by our Lord, is the Word of God. Because of this there is

A. The Prominence of the Seed

God’s Word is absolutely necessary.

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. Jesus answers the question, ‘How does the Gospel affect the heart of man?’, in this very parable.

Secondly, we discovered:

B. The Propagation of the Seed

We answered the question:

Where exactly is the seed to go? Where is the Word of God to be put?

The seed goes everywhere. There is seed that falls on the way side, there is seed that falls upon stony places, there is seed falls among thorns, and then there is seed that falls upon ready soil.

The emphasis is not on trying to keep the seed to oneself. The emphasis is not on soil sampling before sowing.

The sower is not on trying to figure out who is going to receive the seed and who is not.

Remember, the Lord Jesus Himself is standing in front of multitudes at this very moment.

The seed is to be scattered here and scattered there. It is to be tossed out into the field of this world. It is to be heralded, it is to be sown. It is to be given out, it is to be proclaimed to every creature.

Not only do we see the Prominence of the Seed, the Propagation of the Seed, but notice the Power of the seed.

C. The Power of the Seed

God’s Word as it is applied to the human heart by the work of the Holy Spirit changes us.

You see God’s Word has power.

We see not only the seed but notice the second major element given to us is:

II. The Sower

First and foremost we need to understand that:

A. Christ is the Sower.

B. God the Father is the Sower.

Jeremiah 31:27 the Bible says, “Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.”

Just as God had sent Jeremiah as his prophet to root out, and to pull down, to throw down and destroy in chastisement of His people. Jehovah God would be in the sowing business for His people Israel.

C. The Holy Spirit is the Sower.

Jesus in His great dialogue with Nicodemus told Him of the operation of the sowing of the Holy Spirit when He thus stated in John 3:8, “The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

The sowing work of the Holy Spirit is marvelous. Today right now God the Holy Spirit is at work in the world sowing the Word of God in the hearts of men.

You see the Lord Jesus Christ is the sower, God is the sower, and the Holy Spirit is the sower, but then lastly, I want you to understand that:

D. Every Christian is a Sower.

There is no greater purpose given to the local New Testament Church than to fulfill the work of Jesus Christ by sowing the seed of the Gospel everywhere.

So we have seen the Seed, that being the powerful Word of God. We have seen the sower that being Jesus Christ Himself, and you and I yielded to the Holy Spirit. Lastly, we with the Soil.

One Bible scholar said

This certainly could be called the parable of the soils because of emphasis on the heart soil of man. (Lockeyer)

The Lord though gives us a different title He calls this the parable of the sower according to this chapter in verse 18.

In this last section we come to understand what is taking place before you and I all across this world. (This prophecy if you will is a reality)

At this point, the Lord’s ministry marked a decisive turn toward the Cross of Calvary. And for the next six parables the Lord Jesus Christ would be giving His disciples an understanding of what would take place between His first advent and His second.

And so as we look upon the soils remember this is God’s exposition on what is going on in our hearts when the Word of God is sown.

III. The Soils

The first soil described is the

A. The Way Side Soil

v4, v19

The wayside soil shows us:

The Word Superficially Received.

The wayside soil would be the hardened earth of a path. It would picture for you and I the common travelled course of this world.

You see there are a great many that will hear with their ears but the Word of God will not penetrate into their hearts to take root. [Why?} Because of the hardness of the heart, because of a willing rejection it is left to be taken away.

We see first the wayside soil is one that is hardened soil; the Word of God is superficially recieved.

Therefore secondly, we see the Word is Satanically Removed.

The Bible says, (v4) “the fowls came and devoured them up:”

The Lord in explaining this said in Mark 4:15 “And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts.”

You see there is a warfare that is taking place. Anytime we make the will choice to reject the Word of God or we fail act upon the conviction of the Holy Spirit we are hardening our hearts.

So this is the Wayside soil but then we saw the Weak and Withered Soil.

B. The Weak And Withered Soil

This soil is different from the wayside soil in that it produces a weak then withered plant. The Lord had this to say about this type of soil in verse 5:

v5-6, v20

V5,6 “Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.”

The Word Enthusiastically Received

And what was the cause of this springing up?

We see the cause for this springing up is given. It states “because they had no deepness of earth...”

All the energy of the seed is shown outwardly as this seedling shoots up.

This type of heart soil says a lot, but does little.

The Lord Himself described this heart soil condition in Matthew 15:8 by quoting Isaiah 29:13, “This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.”

You see the word is enthusiastically received but then we see that there is:

The Witness of a Shallow Heart.

Mark this phrase, “....because they had no deepness of earth:”

The Lord in describing this individual is one that receives Word with seeming Joy, but because of their shallowness, there is no root. Everything that is seen is external. Everything there is exists on the outside.

This leads thirdly to The Weakness of Their Commitment

Adversity is a fact of the Christian life.

The Bible tell us in II Timothy 3:12 “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”

You see our Lord’s description of this shallowness comes to bear in the heat of the day. Verse 21 defines for us the meaning of this shallowness. There is an attempt to live according to God’s Word which then brings tribulation and persecution. Buit when the difficulties come the weakness of their commitment is revealed.

v21 “...for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.”

The tribulation and persecution reveals the shallowness of this confession for the Lord.

It states, “by and by he is offended.” (v21)

So we have the wayside soil, the Withered and Weak Soil now lets take up where we left off with the third soil type of the human heart which is

C. The Worldly Soil

The phrase fell among thorns indicates for you and I the presence of thorns.

In a field that is meant to be sown, there is work that is to be done to clear the area.

For the Christian, there is a decisive break from the old life to the new life.

There is the putting off and the putting on that needs to take place.

The thorns are described by our Lord as the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches.

What are the cares of this world?

Look at the latest headlines and advertisements to find out what this world values and deems as important.

The cares of this world are the idols that a person allows to exist in their heart that are more important than God and His Word.

Many have been called to specific service for the Lord Jesus Christ and one might ask them what has prevented you from taking that step forward for the Lord. “The cares of this World.”

The cares of this world may be fame. How many are seeking fame today? The cares of this world seem to be power in the sight of men? How many are motivated by this endless thirst for power and control? The cares of this world have to do with pleasing self? How much of our time is spent on trying to please self with ease and entertainment?

Many will live for this world and in doing so deny that there is a world to come.

Colossians 3:1-4 in speaking about the way we ought to go says this, “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.”

You see there is the thorn called, “The cares of this world.” Then you have another thorn,

The Deceitfulness of Riches

This word used here translated as riches has much more significance than just money. It broadly signifies fullness of material possessions.

I want you to realize that yes the love of money can be a great thorn in the life of an individual, but possesions also can be a great thorn.

In Matthew chapter 19 the Lord encountered such a pious, moral person.

The Bible tells us in verse 16, “And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?” (How can I earn my way to heaven?)

The Lord responded, (v17) “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.” (Be perfect)

It is interesting that this young man, no doubt was going about doing good. No doubt was attempting to live by God’s law, but what he didn’t know was the thorn of possessions had gripped his heart. God was about to but his finger on this mans heart. Verse 21 of Matthew 19 tells us,

v21 “Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.”

You see this young man did not realize that in his heart this thorn was choking the growth of the Word of God.

So when we look at this coupling of items that choke the Word of God we see the worlds system, we see the World’s values and the World’s Wares all associated together.

The love of stuff over the love for the Savior.

This mentality of “what can I get out of this...” pervades this kind of heart soil and is deceived by riches and consumed by the cares of the world.

Well thankfully the parable does not end with all failure, but we see the last soil mentioned is:

D. The Willing Soil

Perhaps this is mentioned at the end for the first shall be last and the last shall be first.

The willing soil is a fruitful soil.

It is a receptive soil. It is a productive soil.

When the sower sows the seed, His intentions are to receive a harvest. And according to Revelation chapter 13 there will be an abundant harvest.

The Abundant Harvest

Though at times it may seem that not much is going on in this world for the cause of Christ, we can be assured that Our Lord and His Gospel will produce an abundant harvest.

The Bible says in Revelation 7:9-10, “After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.”

This Harvest is successful because of the Seed, the Sower, and the Soil. The ‘good ground’ was one that received the seed of the Word of God.

The Good Ground Described

As the Lord described to the Disciples this Parable he defined for them the full description of the good ground in verse 23.

“But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (v23)

Notice the description is one that:

‘Heareth the Word’

‘Understandeth the Word’

‘Beareth Fruit’

‘Bringeth Forth’

This is no other than the entire trajectory of the Christian life. It consists of hearing of God’s Word. The Understanding of God’s Word. Then by implication the yielding to God’s Word and His Spirit which then results in bearing fruit that remains.

It is the upward ascent that the Christian is engaged in, being conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

Based on these set characteristics there are the results of Fruit-bearing:

The Results of Fruit-Bearing

These results show two things, (1) that those who receive the Word of God, yielding to God Himself will bear fruit. But (2) secondly, some will be very fruitful and some will produce very little fruit.

An Hundredfold - this would seem to be the most abundant.

Sixtyfold - The intermediate amount.

Thirtyfold - The least fruitful.

An Hundredfold would be a striking return as is mentioned Genesis 26:12. And in that verse speaking about Isaac the Bible makes clear it was the LORD that had blessed Him. And so it seems very evident that the one who has yielded Himself to the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God would be blessed to produce the greatest spiritual results.

Conclusion:

As we close this morning, can we see and identify where we fit in this morning?

Are we receptive to God’s Holy Word? And because of this are producing fruit to the Glory And Honor of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Am I producing little or much?

Are we allowing the Cares of the World and Deceitfulness of riches to choke out God’s work in our lives?

Have I personally received Jesus Christ as my Savior, understanding the Gospel message, the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. Or am I hard-hearted rejecting the seed, giving place to Satan’s workers to distract me from receiving eternal life?