[Legacy
Standard Bible]The Parable of the
SowerOn that day Jesus
went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large
crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole
crowd was standing on the beach.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. And others fell on the rocky places, where
they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had
no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and
because they had no root, they withered away. And others fell among
the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And
others fell on the good soil and were yielding a crop, some
a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has
ears, let him hear.”The Purpose of the
Parables And the disciples
came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in
parables?” And Jesus answered and said to them, “To you it has
been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has
not been given. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and
he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be
taken away from him. Therefore, I speak to them in parables; because
while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do
they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled,
which says, ‘You will keep on
hearing, but will not understand;
You will keep on seeing,
but will not perceive;
For the heart of this
people has become dull,
And with their ears they
scarcely hear,
And they have closed
their eyes,
Lest they would see with
their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with
their heart and return,
And I would heal them.’ “ But, blessed are
your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I
say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you
see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not
hear it.The Parable of the
Sower Explained “Hear then the
parable of the sower.” “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 the one on
whom seed was sown beside the road. And the one on whom seed was sown on
the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives
it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but
is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because
of the word, immediately he [falls away. And the one on
whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the one who hears the word, and
the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the
word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the
good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed
bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some
thirty.” The parable takes place
“beside the sea” of Galilee where Jesus called the first disciples (4:18-22). We
read that Jesus addressed the crowds with a parable (13:2), then offered the disciples an interpretation of its meaning 13:18-23.
The parable presents a situation
that speaks of a farmer who sows a number of seeds. The seeds fall into four different types of ground with quite different consequences.
Jesus said: “Listen!
A sower went out to sow. 1. And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the
birds came and ate them up. 2. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not
have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they
withered away. 3. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up
and choked them. 4. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”. This parable ends with an
appeal — “let anyone with ears, listen” (13:9). To have ears is an image
that points beyond a mere literal hearing to discerning the significance
of Jesus’ words. However, and significantly Jesus, though, offers no help to
his audience to understand the significance of the scenes he has presented
to them.
The Parable of the Sower
(also known as the Parable of the Four Soils) is found in the gospels of Matthew
13:3-9; Mark 4:2-9; and Luke 8:4-8. After presenting this parable to the
multitude, Jesus interprets it for His disciples.
The Parable of the Sower
concerns a sower who scatters seed, which falls on four different types of
ground. The hard ground “by the way side” prevents the seed from sprouting at
all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. The stony ground provides
enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is
“no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in
the sun. The thorny ground allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns
choke the life out of the beneficial plants. The good ground receives the seed
and produces much fruit.
Jesus’ explanation of the
Parable of the Sower highlights fourdifferentresponses to the gospel. The seed is “the word of the kingdom.”
The hard ground
represents someone who is hardened by sin; they hear but do not truly understand
the Word, and Satan plucks the message away, keeping their heart dull and
preventing the Word from making an impression. The
stony ground pictures an individual who professes delight with the Word;
however, their heart is not changed, and when trouble arises, their so-called
faith quickly disappears.
The thorny ground depicts
one who seems to receive the Word, but whose heart is full of riches,
pleasures, and lusts; for the things of this world, all that take the
individuals time and attention away from the Word, and they end up having no
time for it.
The good ground portrays
the one who hears, understands, and receives the Word—and then allows the Word
to accomplish its result in their life. The individual represented by the “good
ground” is the only one of the four who is truly saved, because salvation’s
proof is their fruit (Matthew 3:7-8; 7:15-20).
To summarize the point of
the Parable of the Sower: “An individual’s response to God’s Word is
determined by the condition of their heart.” A secondary lesson would be
that “Salvation is more than a superficial, albeit joyful, hearing of
the gospel. Someone who is truly saved will go on to show that they are saved.
Jesus said: “But as for what was sown
on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and
in another thirty.’
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