The Sower

Scripture Reading

Glad you’re with us

We’ll be looking at the first part of Matt 13 today

At 58 verses, it is quite a long chapter

Today: The Parable of the Sower

The Purpose of the Parables

The Parable of the Sower Explained

The Parable of the Sower is Jesus’ introduction to his own parables

He explains their purpose - and who, and who cannot understand them

And then he explains, in plain English, what it exactly means

This is a rare gem: Jesus interprets his own words

The Parable of the Sower sets the scene for all of his parables

Read along with me - the first 9 verses in Matt 13

Matthew 13:1–9 ESV

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 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, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

(Pray…)

The parables of Jesus are deceptive in one sense

I think it’s been said a few different ways - I’m not sure who originally made this point:

The parables come across as nice little stories

But when you’re not expecting it - they go off like theological hand grenades

In other words, they are a nice way of explaining something very serious