How Rich is Your Soil?
In several instances Jesus gave lessons by telling stories called “parables” because they required some thought to fully understand. The lessons were intended for the people who were truly wanting to know more of the Kingdom of God. He wasn't interested in those who came just to say they were there.
The first parable He preaches in the 13th chapter of Matthew is the one we'll study; the Parable of the Sower. This story tells about ways the gospel message will be received & what it will produce. In the story a sower comes out to sow seeds. The sower here is Jesus Christ or others who go out to spread the gospel. The seed is the Word of God. The soils He describes will be those who hear the message. The condition of the soil represents the condition of the person who hears the message.
(4)“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. (5) 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. (6) But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. (7) Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. (8) And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” (Matthew 13:4-8)
He says the sower went out to spread the seeds & some fell by the wayside. These seeds fell there & birds came to eat them. Jesus is saying the Word that was shared was given no value & did not have time to take root in the person's heart. The words are heard but quickly stolen away. Being left like that it was exposed for the birds to devour. The birds represent demon spirits. It was no problem for Satan to send his evil spirits to take those words & eliminate them so they produced no fruit at all. The devil will do all he can to stop the growth of God's Kingdom.
These people go to church on Sunday morning because it is the Christian thing to do. They hear what the pastor says but it doesn't change the way they live. In their heart they don't desire to truly understand the message given or follow the principles. This makes it easy for the devil to steal the seed away from them. He only has to whisper a temptation in their ear & they follow him.
Farmers know that for the ground to be ready to produce a good crop the soil has to be broken up. The heart has to be broken up to receive the Word of God in the same way. The Holy Spirit breaks the heart up the way the soil is plowed. He breaks the heart through conviction of sin. The soil described in this verse has not been broken & is still very hard. The seed cannot take root. The devil quickly steals away the seed not giving it a chance to grow at all.
In verse 5 we see Jesus describing soil that has “rocky places.” When the seeds fall in this soil they have just enough to get started growing. The person who receives the seed professes great faith in God, but when the roots start to grow they hit a stone. The seed has no depth to hold it. Jesus is telling them when the gospel message isn't taken into their heart & allowed time to take hold the person will be vulnerable to persecutions. When the sun (representing persecution) comes up, which it always will, the new growth has no roots & will be scorched & whither away easily. When troubles arise the faith of the worshipers who are of stony soil quickly disappears. Their faith may be passionate when the Word of God is delivered, but because it has no roots that passion is short-lived.
Verse 7 describes the type of soil many worshipers would fall in, soil with thorns. The thorns He is mentioning represent things that draw our attention away from the Lord. Thorns are like weeds growing in the field. The soil may be very rich but when weeds are present they draw the nutrients away from the plant. A healthy relationship with God cannot grow with things like sin, money, activities, sports, work, & many other things piled on top of it. By themselves those things can be good. But when they are all put together & take more time & commitment than God they are toxic! They hinder the growth of the Word in the heart. I think it is safe to say that most of us have too much going on in our lives. Do you have things piled up in your life that take precedence away from worshiping of our Lord? Then you have weeds in your soil!
The last type of soil Jesus describes is the type of soil all children of God want to be, the good soil. This describes a person who is eager to learn more of the Kingdom of God. They can't get enough of our Heavenly Father & His works. When the Word of God is received by these people it takes deep roots in their hearts & grows. This growth changes the person's life to be more aligned with the will of God. Being aligned with God it produced great fruit. As Jesus said this type of soil produces crops that yield fruit thirty, sixty, & a hundredfold!
After Christ spoke this parable His disciples asked why he was speaking this way. Jesus told them, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that he has.” (Matthew 13:11-12) Jesus was describing two different types of listeners. The first type of listener He describes is the more righteous follower of God who wants to find out more about the Kingdom of Heaven. The second type of people is those who show no interest in knowing about the blessings of God. Those who desire to have more the Lord will bless them abundantly. But for those who have no interest in following God what they have will be taken away.
After He told His chosen disciples why He was speaking in parables Jesus took them to explain the meaning of the story. The first group he described was the group where the seed fell by the wayside. He told them that this was the people who had no desire to understand what that Word of God meant. Not someone without the ability to understand; but one who did not truly want to know. Jesus told them the “wicked one”, Satan, would then come & take away that which was sown in his heart. This person didn't give any value to the seed. It was easy for Satan to steal what he had.
Then there was he who receives the seed in stony places. When this person receives the Word of God he rejoices immediately. But he doesn't let the Word take root in his heart. Jesus told them, “Yet has he not root in himself, but endures for a while: for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the Word, by and by he is offended.” (Matthew 13:21). When we have the Word of God in our heart persecution will always arise. Jesus was telling them that when these things happen the person who received these seeds will give in to the persecution & not stand firm on the promises found in the Word of God.
Next Jesus explained the situation of the man who received the seed in soil with thorns. Jesus tells His disciples that this person hears the Word of God AND the care of the world. The soil this man is on is rich, but the deceitful cares of the world rob it of it's nutrients. He said the thorns, “...choke the Word and he becomes unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22). When we give much attention to the activities of the world & put value in them our ability to carry out the will of God is weakened. We worry about work, money, which team is going to win the big game, & a dozen other things that have no eternal value at all. We don't devote as much time & energy as we should into being a faithful follower of Christ.
Finally, Jesus explains the situation of the man who is on good ground. This ground has been “plowed up” by the Holy Spirit of conviction because of sin. This man has a heart that is eager to grow richer in the ways of the Lord. This readiness to know & understand more produces much fruit, which represents a powerful Christian growth. It bears fruit that is “some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)
We've looked at people who received the seed without giving it value & letting it fall by the wayside to be stolen by the birds, fall on stony soil where it could not take root, fall on soil overrun by thorns that choked it out, & fall on good soil which produces an abundant harvest.
On what type of soil are the seeds in your heart growing?
