We must be faithful. [1] Jesus tells of a farmer who sows seed indiscriminately. Is this not the carpenters son: Because these villagers were familiar with Jesus as a boy and accustomed to unspectacular things from Him, we may conclude that Jesus must have grown up a very normal boy unlike the fantastic stories told in apocryphal books like The Infancy of Jesus. Notice, the thorn is not the riches, but the DECEITFULNESS of riches. 11 He answered and said to them, Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given (Matthew 13:10-11). So far, His discourses had been fairly straight forward and understandable and now He is explaining spiritual truth in this parabolic form. Isn't it interesting that Paul tells us to you it has been granted not only to believe, but also to share in the fellowship of His sufferings.That's the lot of every believer, and that message is not popular. If you didnt let the word take root and produce fruit, then you are unsuccessful. And so the Israelites expected that when Messiah came, He would set up a kingdom in which all of Israel would be converted into true faith in God, that all the Gentiles would stream into Jerusalem and worship Him, that Messiah would kick the Romans out of the land and establish a land ruled by the Torah, the law of God. But I think its fascinating and shows just how brilliant Jesus was. , Your email address will not be published. We ask it in Jesus' name, amen. Just that it bore fruit. As long as God chooses to work in concert with human agency, developing our ability to partner with Him, our unbelief can and may hinder the work of God. Seeds cannot bring life in hard pressed soil. This is what was sown along the path. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. A small degree of knowledge is not sufficient for a preacher of the Gospel. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. Because this person was rootless and their 'faith' was circumstantial. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, a sower went out to sow. The image that should be in our head is a farmer with a bag/satchel full of seeds. This is not something that is surprising. a. Thus, we must choose our battles carefully. There is additional significance in saying, The field is the world instead of The field is Israel. This brief statement presupposes a mission beyond Israel. (Carson). And I can think of few parables more significant, more appropriate, more important for us to meditate upon than this parable of the sower, today. There are times when our cares of the world can be our needs. Notice how Christ described the people who received the word in pathway ground: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. Maybe this person is consumed with accumulating in this life. They didnt let the seed take root deep enough in their hearts. DISCLOSURE: This post may contain affliliate links, meaning I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links. The parable. Required fields are marked *. One utterly rejects the gospel. This passage also, however, will speak to us about the nature of the kingdom. Assuming that the disciples did understand, they had an advantage over many among the multitudes. Copyright 2023, Christianity.com. Ligon Duncan (MDiv, Covenant Theological Seminary; PhD, University of Edinburgh) is the Chancellor & CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary, the John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology, and the President of RTS Jackson. You can now better see how it can choke the life out of the budding seed of Gods word. it helps to pay the bills and keeps this website running. iv. And its also a promise. We don't have to keep up with the 100 fold set. The thorns sprang up and choked the word of God. ii. This is intended to teach the disciples not to expect an easy and complete triumph for the kingdom. But that life is short-lived. This is how Jesus described the people who received the word of God on the stony ground: 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. This insulting question seems to intimate that our Lords family was a very obscure one; and that they were of small repute among their neighbours, except for their piety. Clarke), iii. And they're not quite sure what He means. Most communicators want to reveal or convey their message but the Lord Jesus, by parables, intended both to reveal and to conceal His message. Notice the other kind of worldliness that chokes out. Jesus used this analogy in the Parable of the Sower. The message of the parable of the sower is so important that it is recorded in three of the Gospels. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. The 10 Powerful Lessons from Psalm 23 You Need to Learn Now! In total theres 4 kinds of soil in Jesus story. Lust can be so violent, aggressive, and even explosive. Jesus knew that every person has their own time. The Lord Jesus says, Worldly riches are deceitful. It allows farmers to reach various places in their fields as well as let other people pass through the field. Let me end with one more quote. And certainly would have grabbed the attention of Jesus listeners. We must constantly improve spiritually. This is actually what the Gospel is all about. When that happens the thorns will eventually choke out the good seeds. Beginning with the Parable of the sower let us see if we can determine the course for attaining the Kingdom. The main idea is that the disciples who had just claimed to understand what Jesus taught are now responsible to bring forth their understanding to others, as if they were distributing from the storehouse of their wisdom and understanding. ii. It is not enough to receive Gods word. II. This parable, the parable of the sower, is contained in three of the gospels. We must put God as our top priority in life. He's not only preaching on the same day, He's not only preaching to a crowd, He's preaching on the seaside. In Matthew 12, His character is over and over again contrasted with the character of His opponents, the Pharisees and the scribes. Strive to multiply the one seed given to you. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29 and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. As we are trying to understand the parable of the sower meaning we need to take note that essentially all the soil is the same. 18 "Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the wordof the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. Don't be fooled! Starts out with a heart that is very hard and the seed, which is the word of God, falls on the path as Jesus calls it and the birds of the air come and just eat the seed right off of it. However, Jesus did not deny their claim to understand. So let's look then at God's holy word in Matthew chapter 13, beginning at verse 1:we will read from verse 1 through 9, and then we'll skip to verse 18. 3 * And he spoke to them at length in parables, * saying: "A sower went out to sow. Answer The Parable of the Sower (also known as the Parable of the Four Soils) is found in Matthew 13:3-9; Mark 4:2-9; and Luke 8:4-8. 31 Therefore do not worry, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or What shall we wear? 32 For after all these things the Gentiles seek. Its not too late, and you havent gone too far for Jesus to produce a crop in you. They didnt turn their back on it. And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? We could perhaps learn a thing or two from this particular crowd, but don't think that they all believed the Lord Jesus Christ. Our main goal in life should be to nourish the word of God in our hearts, let it take root and thrive. The farmer is not concerned with the kind of soil the seed will fall on. This is the meaning of the idiomatic phrase: He who has ears to hear, let him hear., I hope that you enjoyed this blog post on the parable of the sower meaning. And for good reason. May 20, 2022 What Is the Parable of the Sower? Thats intentional. When I read this passage, I am reminded of the words of C.S. He gives every kind of soil a chance to produce life. Jesus announced Gods kingdom, and this would lead many of his hearers to expect a cataclysmic disruption of society, an immediate and absolute division between the sons of light and the sons of darknessIt was to this impatience that the parable was primarily directed. (France). Because of this, the parable of the sower should properly be called the parable of the soils. This is the person who may have a strong emotional response to the message of the gospel at first, and who at first heartily embraces the gospel; and yet later on, has fallen by the side. The Lord Jesus speaks impressively without a beautiful cathedral or a great Roman theater, or even a nice house to preach in. Our Father, we thank You for this word and we ask now that You would bless it to our spiritual nourishment, especially because this parable is so familiar, we pray that You would give us spiritual eyes to see things in it that we have not seen before, or, O Lord, to have brought to mind things that we have learned in the past, but have forgotten or have not applied in our lives before you as we ought. However, it shouldnt live within and among us. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website. 36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away and went into the house. Thats whats so powerful about the parable of the sower; its a perfectly illustrated story that helps us understand Gods truth for us. We must not be passive. He's told us here in His word. This is the person who at the evangelistic rally raises the hand or bows the head or goes forward with great excitement. Dr. Ligon Duncan | April 28, 1998. In this we see that the parable of the tares changes the figures slightly from the parable of the soils (Matthew 13:3-9; 13:18-23). Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.. This person doesn't even want to hear the message. We might be worried about our life, our clothing, our food, and our shelter. It never gets through. a. Lusting after other things can easily lead us to violate the Tenth Commandment, which is: 17 You shall not covet your neighbors house; you shall not covet your neighbors wife, nor his male servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbors (Exodus 20:17). In the parable of the sower Jesus uses three symbols: a sower, seed and soils. . The human heart is like receptive soil to the seed of the Word of God. Remember, for instance, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7, verses 24 to the end of the chapter, and a parable, the parable of the man who built his house on the sand and the man who built his house on the rock, and then there is a parable recorded for us in Matthew chapter 12 as well. Jesus went to sit by the lake that was near a house he was staying in. He has authored, co-authored, edited, or contributed to numerous books. The word of God must be obeyed and not just heard. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. If you didnt farm, you didnt eat. We will bear fruit, but some will bear 100 fold, some will bear 60 fold, some 30 fold. And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying,'Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as He sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Strongs Dictionary defines it as a longing (especially for what is forbidden): concupiscence, desire, lust (after). These are the four types of soils mentioned in the parable of the sower: Its worth noting that the field in this parable can represent the world as we can see in Matthew 13:38: 38 The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.. 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. Isn't it interesting that in these two first soils, we see two examples of different kinds of worldliness. I want to focus on those soils with you today just for a few moments. But Jesus said to them, A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house. Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Us. The Parable of the Sower Explained. So did Jesus himself, at the utmost cost, buy the world to gain his church, which was the treasure which he desired. (Spurgeon), Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.. Now, I don't know those folks and I don't know what was going on there, but I do know this for those Christians at least something looked like it was going to bring happiness and satisfaction that didn't. This parable looks at how the message of the kingdom, and the Messiah Himself, will be received. We use cookies to provide you with a great user experience. But only one soil could be harvested; only one gave to the farmer what he needed and wanted. Surely, Gods word will not return to Him empty and it will not be in vain: 10 For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,And do not return there,But water the earth,And make it bring forth and bud,That it may give seed to the sowerAnd bread to the eater. Ostensibly we are in no danger of bad weeds, but the seeds are there., This is why its so important to guard our heart. The Israelites knew that when the Messiah came there would be a great conversion, not only of the people of Israel who were apathetic towards God, but even of the Gentiles. What are the best Christian books in June 2023? 18 Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,And you shall eat the herb of the field. I want to do some research on that.And so his friend decided that he would go around and ask other people who had had their personal businesses sold for $5 million or more, he would ask them what life had become like, or been like, after the sale of their businesses. The point of the parables is completely different; the parable of the soils shows how men receive and respond to the Word of God, and the parable of the tares of the field shows how God will divide His true people from false believers at the end of this age. The parable of the sower meaning is a challenge to cultivate your heart. And in Matthew chapter 13, Matthew gives us a glimpse of the method of His teaching. Bearing good fruit isnt simply an optional piece of advice from Christ. Listen to what William Hendriksen said:Jesus now, more than ever before, begins to speak in parables in order to further reveal the truth to those who accepted the mysterious, but to conceal it from those who rejected the obvious. And that is precisely what He does in this passage. The parable itself is given to us by Matthew in two parts. He climbed up a boat and used the platform as a way to reach His audience. And so we also see the location the Lord Jesus is preaching from. Life happened, tragedy struck, or they just got busy and their faith faded. We just have to have our desires in the right place to see the word of God, by His grace, bear fruit in us. The previous three parables (the wheat and the tares, the mustard seed, and the leaven) each spoke of corruption in the kingdom community. That shows how much he valued this pearl of great price, and how much Jesus values His people. It's a professed faith, but its not a real faith. Therefore, the seed represents the good news of the Kingdom of God. Jesus used this analogy in the Parable of the Sower. This person is preoccupied with this life. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. Jesus reveals to us things about the nature of the kingdom even in the method that He uses to communicate and Matthew gives us a good deal of information about it. In Matthew chapter 13, verses 1 though the first part of verse 3, Matthew gives you the context in which Jesus delivers this parable, and I want you to note that Jesus reveals truths about His kingdom even in the way that He preaches. The soil is simply not deep enough to sustain life. And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil;and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. Church Planter. The Word of God cannot work in our lives unless we have receptive hearts. The sower, the seed, and the soil are all specifically identified by the Lord Jesus Christ. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared. Indeed, the proportions of the parable are staggering, aren't they? We know that you're the King of Israel! The likeliness that seed would take root in rocky soil is slim. There is a final soil that the Lord Jesus speaks of and it is the only soil which is believing. Now that's a strange thing for a communicator to do. The seed represents the word of the Kingdom. And I want you to notice that Jesus doesn't say that this person's heart changed. Yet the point is clear, both in the world and in the kingdom community. What are the lessons we learn from this parable? It is given that this world is full of thorns, but it doesnt mean that you will also let the thorns spring up in your life. And the rest of the parable talks about the soil in which this seed falls. One in four, alone, accept the message of the Messiah. Some of them were simply there out of curiosity. Justin Martyr, an ancient writer, testifieth, that our Saviour, ere he entered upon the ministry, made ploughs, yokes, and so forth. While it is true that there are many people who have received the word of the Kingdom and failed to keep it, there are still those who received the word and kept and nourished it. They're simply there. And so He is the sower. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. When you put them first instead of the will of God, you can easily choke the seed that has been sown in your heart. 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