The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

I remember back in the mid-sixties when I was in first grade, the teacher gave each student a seed to plant in a paper cup of dirt and we placed them all on the windowsill of the classroom.  I believe it was some type of a bean seed.  This was to be a very rudimentary lesson in botany.  All of us first graders would eagerly watch our paper cups, wondering whose would be the first to show a growing plant breaking through soil.  We all wanted our little seeds to grow!   There is Someone else who has planted seeds, many seeds, and is eager for them to germinate and grow.  We read about this in our Scripture from St. Matthew’s Gospel today.

Today we are going to look at Jesus’ parable of The Sower, one of His more familiar parables.  Jesus frequently taught the crowds of people through parables, simple stories used to illustrate spiritual lessons.  On this day Jesus and His disciples were along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and a large crowd of people had gathered to hear what He had to teach.  In order to be better seen and heard, Jesus stepped into a boat and told them the Parable of the Sower (vs. 1-9).

The sower was walking through his property and had a bag of seed.  As he walked, he grabbed handfuls of seed and tossed them randomly everywhere he walked.  Some of the seed fell on the wayside, which was hard ground.  There they were ready food for the hungry birds.  Some fell where the ground was stony and very little soil.  Because they couldn’t develop much roots the plants didn’t get much nourishment or water, and quickly died in the sun.  Some of the seed fell among weeds, where the plants would get choked out and could not thrive.  Lastly, some fell on good soil and produced a good crop.

What did this parable mean?  Was it just a lesson in being more careful in planting your seeds?  When Jesus was away from the crowds, He explained to the disciples, who were eager to learn what this meant (vs. 18-23).  The Sower is God, the seed is His Word, and the various soils are the different people in the world.  The wayside hearer may hear the Gospel, but they do not understand, and the devil snatches God’s message away from them (vs. 19).  This is the unregenerate, hardened heart.  It is not that the seed is bad, but instead it is the soil which is unreceptive to it. They have no interest or care in anything to do with God.  Satan opposes the reception of the Gospel, and will actively remove the Word from unprepared hearts.

The stony ground hearer represents one who responds emotionally and quickly to hearing the Gospel, but does not have a root (vs. 20-21).  When trials come they will fall away.  They make a profession of faith, but do not genuinely have Jesus in their heart.  Genuine salvation will produce endurance, but having temporary enthusiasm is not true salvation.  God uses trials to strengthen our faith.  Each test makes our faith stronger.  Those who don’t truly believe will fall away when afflictions arise.  To go through suffering and remain true to Christ testifies to others about our salvation.

The third type of soil is the one filled with thorns and weeds (vs. 22).  The seed, the Word of God, is crowded out by the cares of this world and deceitfulness of riches. When we have competing loyalties in our heart, the worldly ones will usually choke out God’s Word.  Worldliness and materialism are deadly enemies of true discipleship.  This hearer never bears fruit, which is another mark of false conversion. Thorns grow naturally, but spiritual fruit does not.  Believers must actively resist distractions and worldly desires.  Fruit is not optional, it is the inevitable result of new birth.

The good soil represents those who hear God’s Word, understands, accepts God’s offer of salvation, and bears fruit (vs. 23). Fruitfulness is the evidence of genuine salvation.  True believers will vary in fruitfulness, but all will bear some fruit.  True salvation produces transformation.  True believers hunger for the Word of God and bear fruit.  These four soils explain why not all who hear the Gospel are saved, and why not all professions of faith are genuine.

We may wonder about the method that the sower of the seed used, as it seems random and indiscriminate.  The sower doesn’t take each seed one by one and plant them in individual holes he made.  He grabs handfuls and throws them left and right, across all types of soil.  The Sower is God.  He has no time to waste, and He wants the entire field, the entire world, to get the seed of the Gospel.  He throws it everywhere, into prisons, schools, and homes, to the rich and the poor, the educated and not, to everyone.  God wants every human to know that He sent His Son to die for their sins.  He wants you to know about Jesus, and then bring forth a harvest in your life.