Text: Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, a sower went out to sow” (Matthew 13:3).
Why would Jesus use the words “sow and sower”?
What does it mean to “sow”?
What is a “sower”?
What is a parable?
Why did Jesus teach in parables?
Jesus used the words “sow and sower” as teaching tools. After God went through the creation process, He placed man in the beautiful garden, the Garden of Eden.
After God created Adam and Eve, He said to them, “I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food” (Genesis 1:29).
At this point, man had it made. God had provided everything necessary for his survival. After the sin of disobedience entered the world, God said to Adam, “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field” (Genesis 3:17-18).
Man was driven from the Garden and required to work to survive. He could become a nomad and move from place to place with his herd of animals or he could become a farmer and work the soil planting crops. The first children of Adam and Eve each chose one of these means of living. Able was a herdsman and Cain was a farmer.
After the flood waters had receded and Noah and his family came out of the Ark, Scripture tells us: “Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard” (Genesis 9:20). Noah was a tiller of the soil.
I am trying to get you to see that farming or tilling the soil has been around for a long time. People knew what it was to work the soil just as they knew what it was like to tend to herds of animals.
God gave man seed for all the vegetation he created so that man could continue to plant or sow the seeds and in this way plant life would survive. As we all know, there are good seeds and there are bad seeds.
In other words, there are plants of value and then there are weeds and thorns or thistles. Because of this there is competition for the nutrients in the soil.
If the weeds and thorns are not kept under control they will take all the nutrients from the soil and the good plants will not survive. A farmer will plant or “sow” good seed in hopes of gaining good fruits. When he “sows”, he scatters the seed upon the soil and anticipates that the seed will find moisture and nutrients in the soil, sprout, and produce fruit that can be harvested.
The term “sower” refers to the farmer who is scattering the seed upon the ground. People understood what it meant to “sow” seed and they understood that the “sower” was the one scattering the seed. There is no hidden meaning in the words “sow and sower”. Jesus tied a spiritual message to these everyday words.
The Scripture reading for this morning is entitled, “The Parable of the Sower”. Parables are short stories involving common objects and are used for the purpose of teaching spiritual truths. The word “parable” is found 46 times in the New Testament. Jesus was the only person in the New Testament that taught in parables.
Jesus did not begin His ministry teaching through the use of parables. Jesus’ ministry begins after He has been tempted by the devil and ministered to by the angels. Matthew records the beginning of Jesus’ ministry in chapter 4 and verse 12. From that point through chapter 12, we do not find Jesus using parables. He speaks straight and to the point. There is no excuse for misunderstanding.
When Jesus was asked by his disciples why he spoke in parables, His response was: “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 13:11).
If something is a “mystery” it is something that has not yet been revealed. When Jesus speaks of the “mysteries of the kingdom of heaven”, He is speaking of something that has now been revealed. Some people did not believe Jesus for who he was, but on the other hand some did.
The “mystery of the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God” was revealed to those who believed in the person of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. They took to heart the words of Jesus as well as the works that he did in their presence.
The kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God is revealed to each one of us when we repent of our sins, trust God the Father and accept the Lord Jesus Christ as our own personal Lord and Savior. This can only be done though our faith and trust in Jesus.
There were many people who followed Jesus. As the Scripture tells us: “On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea and great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore” (Matthew 13:1,2).
There were many people who followed Jesus, but not all followed Him for the same reason. There were some who just went with the crowd. In other words, they just climbed aboard to see what all the excitement really was about. Today big crowds form, but some of the people are merely curious on-lookers.
As Jesus spoke to the multitude of people from the boat, He talked to them about a “sower” who went out to “sow”. He talked about sowing or scattering seeds upon the ground. Each of us who place our faith and trust in Jesus and call ourselves His disciple are responsible for planting the seed, which is His Word.
In our daily walk through life, each one of us has the opportunity to scatter or sow God’s seed. Many people will cross our path on any given day. Some of these people will be looking for something but they don’t quite know what it is.
Some will look at us and wonder what we have that they don’t have. Others will know that we are different because of the way we walk, the way we talk, the smile upon our face and the joy and love that radiates from our heart.
This is our opportunity to sow the greatest seed that can ever be sown. This is our time to tell them about our personal friend Jesus. We can relate to these people the importance of placing their faith and trust in Jesus. We can tell them the story of Jesus and why the Father sent him to walk the face of the earth. We can plant the seed that will grow and blossom and lead them to the kingdom of heaven.
The other side of the story is a sad story. As we are sowing God’s seed, the wicked one or the devil is working to destroy what we have planted. As we plant the seed, some people will understand and some people will not understand what we are saying.
Jesus said, “And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them” (Matthew 13:4). God’s seed can be sprinkled on people, but for some reason the seed seems to roll of, like water off a duck, and it falls by the wayside or the edge or the hard shoulder. Perhaps this happens because people are not ready or it seems contrary to the ways of the world.
When the God’s seed falls by the wayside, the devil just sits back and claims a victory. Satan has a way of convincing people that they are in control and whatever they want to do is permissible. Remember what Satan did back in the Garden of Eden.
“Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” Satan knew exactly what God told Eve, but yet he twisted the story a bit giving Eve the idea that God was selfish and hard-hearted and did not want to share his knowledge of good and evil with her.
Satan said to Eve, “For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). Satan convinced Eve that God did not give her everything, but was in essence holding back with some of the “goodies”.
Adam and Eve had been given all the essential of life. Everything necessary for life had been provided for them. There was no such thing as death. There was no misery, no pain, no heartache, no need for clothing and no need to worry about the necessities of life. Eve failed to realize what had been provided for her and Adam and chose to focus on what she did not have.
What happened to Adam and Eve is what Jesus is talking about. God spoke to Eve and gave her His Word, the seed, but Satan came along and confused her mind in such a way that God’s seed fell away from her and fell by the wayside. The devil snatched away the seed and devoured it. The result was confusion, misunderstanding and the sin of disobedience which led to the separation of God and man.
As we sow God’s seed, some people will listen to us, but Satan will enter into their lives and try to confuse their minds. In the process, they will no longer be interested in pursuing the growth of the seed and it will fall by the wayside and be devoured by the ways of the world.
Some people we talk to will anxious to hear the Word of God. They will become excited and their hearts will overflow with joy. The light will shine in their eyes and they will want to get involved in God’s work. They will begin to tell others how their eyes have been opened, how their life has been changed, and how good things are happening to them.
Then something unexpected happens in their life. Perhaps it is the loss of a loved one, the loss of work, sickness in the family, an automobile accident, or some other tragedy that gives the devil an opportunity to step in and cause them to have second thoughts.
When the unexpected happens to a person who has received the “seed” of God, but the seed has not been able to sink into the person’s heart and germinate and grow and blossom, that seed is like the sower’s seed that falls on stony ground, starts to grow, but is scorched by the hot sun because there was not soil for it take root.
God’s words or “seed” must be planted deep in the fertile rich love God has placed in the individual’s heart. When the individual keeps their eyes focused on the sower there is no way that Satan can scorch and wither the seed because it is deep within the confines of God’s creation.
The only way the devil can take away is if the person gives in to him. God’s Word say, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).
When we submit ourselves to God, we are saying “God, here I am, I am Yours, I yield to you and I will obey and follow you all the days of my life. I will not let the devil take control of my mind. All my faith and trust I place in you. ‘He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world’” (1 John 4:4). The devil can only do what we give him permission to do.
Our mission is to sow the Word of God, and pray that the seed will not fall upon stony places. We pray that the people to whom we sow seed will be able to resist the temptations of the world by keeping focused on God’s Word.
There will be times when you and I sow the Word of God and it will be received, but only for a short period of time. This is like the seed the farmer sows among the thorns. The seed lands in the soil and takes root, but the thorns and weed of destruction spring up and destroy the new plant.
Some people who receive the Word of God with excitement and enthusiasm will soon lose it because of worldly ventures. The Word doesn’t seem to get to the rich soil of the heart, but instead lands on the outskirts of the mind where the devil has a chance to choke it by sowing pretty pictures of the world. The devil is very good at painting pictures intended to change the course of one’s life.
Perhaps the devil might instill dissatisfaction in a marriage. The individual might begin to look at another man or woman with the idea that their present relationship in no longer good. The person, without thinking, permits the devil to manipulate and place ideas in their minds that leads to adultery or betrayal which in turns leads to family destruction.
The devil always like to make one think that the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence, but we should all know that the grass is only greener over the septic tank.
A person might begin to think that working more and making more money is most important in their life. Climbing the corporate ladder will make them important and give them more status in life. Buying a bigger house in a ritzy gated community will increase their options for a better life. The possession of two brand new cars, a boat docked at the ocean, a private airplane at the local airport, children in the best of private schools and name brand clothing purchased at expensive stores.
All this is wonderful providing these worldly possessions do not cause the person to place them before their relationship with God who created them and loves them.
When a person becomes disconnected with their Maker and loses touch with their Maker, Satan moves in and chokes the life out of that person much like the thorns take the life of the young plant. The Word of God is taken from that person because the focus is on worldly things instead of Godly things.
Lastly, some of our sowing will fall upon good ground. When good ground receives the seed, the seed will take root and begin to grow because the soil is moist, contains the nutrients necessary for growth and is protected from outside destructive factors.
Some of our sowing of God’s Word will be received by people who are like the good rich soil. God’s seed will not only enter their minds, but will continue to pass through to the inner most part of their heart and begin to take root. God’s seed will not only take root, but it will begin to grow and blossom and be fruitful.
When this happens, the life of this person will change. Worldly possessions will not longer be as important as they once were. Their eyes will be focused on the heavenly instead of the worldly. There will be joy upon their face and a bounce in their step as they journey through life.
Their ears will be opened to the voice of the Heavenly Father. These people will not only hear the Word, but they will be able to understand what the Word means. The Holy Spirit will reveal heavenly insight to these people. They will love like they have never love before. The joy that appears on their face will be like the brightest star in the heavens and the peace that is in their heart will be one of complete everlasting contentment.
The Holy Spirit will produce patience and endurance or longsuffering in the heart of the person who has received the seed of God’s Word in the rich soil of their heart. Kindness and goodness will blossom in the life of the person as never before and will flow forth as the water from a bubbling spring.
Faithfulness, goodness and self-control will be evident because Christ is in control. The individual will be faithful to God our Father because the seed we sowed has taken root and has become fruitful.
The new person will want to share all the goodness received from God and will do it in a way that God receives all the glory and honor. Self-control will not be an issue because the Holy Spirit is in control of the believer’s life.
Conclusion:
We are not to be discouraged as we sow the “seed” of God or the “Word” of God. We know that some people will listen to us but then let God’s Word go in one ear and out the other. Other people will listen to us and receive the “seed” and become very excited and joyful, but only for a very short time.
Some will receive the “seed” and believe it until some trial or tribulation occurs in their life and they begin to doubt. At this time Satan steps in and claims a victory.
There are those people who will receive the “seed” and like what they are hearing, but the cares of the world block the still small voice of God. The seed is choked and the person becomes unfruitful.
Last of all, there are people who will listen to us and receive the “seed” and it will penetrate to the most inner part of their heart where it will take root, grow, sprout and become productive or fruitful.
These are the people who know their status in life. They know they are sinners and their relationship with Almighty God is not right. They know they are missing something in life because they see the fruit that is being produced in the life of the sower. They want what the sower has so they accept the “seed”.
They believe in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus and because they do, these people repent of their sins, accept Jesus as their own personal Lord and Savior, and invite Him into their heart. When this happens, God has redeemed the person, salvation has occurred, and the person is guaranteed a place in the heavenly mansion and will spend eternity with their Maker.
“Behold, a sower went out to sow” (Matthew 13:3).
You and I are “sowers” and we “sow” by our witnessing for Jesus.
Amen.
