The Parable of the sower
When the New Testament was written, communities were agriculturally based. A family would be allocated a section of land to farm. Also, every farmer’s plot was adjacent to their neighbor’s. Also there were no fences to separate the different fields. In order to get to the fields, the farmers would walk along the boundaries bordering each field to avoid stepping on the growing plants. So, all the farmers used the “path.” In the course this path became hardened and became a “footpath,”
In the earlier chapters of Matthew we can see how strong the opposition to Jesus had grown, and how Jesus warned the people of the danger they were in if they rejected Him, their Messiah. Now that their rejection has been officially recorded, Jesus began to teach the people with parables. We shall see why this different style of teaching – parables- was now used by Jesus, as well as how such parables should be studied. This is a large subject, as you could probably guess, but we shall work with some basic principles.
Matthew 13 presents a priceless display of some parables of Christ and also gives His reasons for using parables in His teaching ministry. Best of all, it offers two examples of Christ’s own interpretation of His parables. They give us a snapshot of the history of the kingdom of God from its earliest beginnings to its consummation.
It’s fascinating to read the parables of Jesus because there always seems to be something new that comes from it. That’s how I feel about the parable of the sower.
Take a few minutes to read one or more of the accounts of the parable of the Sower found in:
• Matthew 13:1-23
• Mark 4:1-20
• Luke 8:1-15
We read in the text: Matt. 13:1-13
On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 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. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
and seeing you will see and not perceive; 15
for the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed,
lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
so that I should heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17
or assuredly, 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.
18 Therefore, hear the parable of the sower: 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. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 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. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful, 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
The chapter is filled with teachings about the progress of the kingdom of heaven in this age. The chapter is a set discourse of Jesus, and not a collection of truths taken from the Lord’s ministry at different times and set out by Matthew as a sequence of teachings. Verse 53 of the chapter makes it clear that these seven parables were delivered on one and the same occasion by Jesus. Accordingly, they develop a unified theme. The parallel passages in Mark 4: 33-34 also attest to this fact. Mark even goes further : “When He was alone with His disciples He explained everything.” Mark 4:34.
In verses 1-3a of Matthew we find they when the multitudes gathered around Him, He spoke to them in parables. In verses 10-16, after the first parable, Jesus explained to His disciples why He spoke in parables to the people. Because the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Matthew 13:10 (NASB)
So why does Jesus turn now to use parables? He had used some parables in His teaching so far, but now it becomes the supreme method used. The disciples noticed the changed and asked the reason. To answer it we have to note the circumstances of the chapter.
But first, what exactly is a parable? The Greek word literally means a throwing or placing things along side of each other, for the purpose of comparison. The comparison is expressed clearly (“the kingdom of heaven is “like”. A parable is designed to focus only on one aspect of the kingdom, in one period of the development of the kingdom. To press every detail of the story into service for all the incidentals about the kingdom is going too far
.
So a parable is a story or an illustration placed along side of a truth with the intention of explaining the one by the other. An old definition says a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning--some familiar thing of life on earth is placed alongside of some mystery of heaven, that our understanding of the one may help us understand the other. Jesus drew from the common life of the people to explain some principle or teaching about the kingdom of heaven. In following this method a point of similarity is communicated, as well as a disparity between this life and the life in the kingdom.
The purpose of using a parable is revelation by illustration. Parables are designed to communicate truth in every day terms. But our text says that they also conceal the truth from those who refuse to believe. So how do we explain these things?
They reason that Jesus explained in this passage, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” Then He went on to say that “whoever has, to him shall be given.” The disciples had something, and because they possessed it, the knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom was given to them. But then He added, “whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away even that which he has.” It was not given to the people to know the mysteries of the kingdom because they did not possess something, there was something they lacked. So what was it that the disciples possessed and the others did not? It was their faith in Christ. The disciples had received Jesus as the Messiah, and because of their faith in Him as their King they were able to receive and understand the mysteries of the kingdom. They may not have understood everything Jesus did and said, but they trusted Him as their King.
The people up to this point had by and large rejected Jesus as the Messiah, and so he could not give to them the mysteries of the kingdom — they would not have understood. They were unable to see, or enter into the kingdom. And because they did not receive Christ, they were in danger of losing all that they did possess, their religious heritage and preparation.
So, as the argument continues, with these people who were incapable of grasping the secrets of the kingdom, Jesus adopted a new approach. He would give them pictures to draw them to the kingdom. So in a sense the parable would provide an even wider door for people to enter if they had any faith at all. Using parables, then, reveals the patience and pity of the Lord on a deeper level. They had rejected Him out of hand, and He tried to reach them a different way, through parables. Even for a while Jesus had to use parables for His disciples, and explain them to them, for they had not quite developed in their faith and understanding of the message of the kingdom.
Jesus delivered this discourse to the crowds, not the disciples, but He explained things to the disciples. The crowds are “this generation” that Jesus has already denounced; here they are not given the secrets of the kingdom.
Matthew records two rationales for parables, one for outsiders and one for disciples. Jesus explains the parable to the disciples because revelation is given to some and not to others. Jesus’ explanation of the reason for parables cannot be softened, because part of His answer to the disciples is that one of the functions of parables is to conceal the truth, or at least present it in a veiled way. In biblical usage the “mysteries” to which Jesus refers are plans or decrees often presented in veiled language and made known to the elect.
What is being revealed to the disciples is not the person of Jesus or the nature of God, but the coming of the kingdom into history . It was commonly known that God was going to bring in His glorious kingdom by supernatural manifestations and judgments. But the mystery of the kingdom is what no one was expecting, that the kingdom which is ultimately to come in great power has already begun to enter the world in advance in a hidden form to work secretly within people. All of the parables deal with this present form of the kingdom, which Jesus explained to the disciples, but did not explain to the crowds who were expecting some dramatic deliverance. Even the parables that are teaching some ethical truth have to be understood in the light of the present form of the kingdom.
Matthew is showing that what is taking place on the one hand is the fulfillment of prophecy and the decreed will of God, and on the other hand a gross rebellion of unbelief and spiritual ignorance by the crowds. The responsibility for their unbelief is their own entirely, because men always do as they choose. And the fact that God foreknew they would do this does not in any way diminish their culpability.
So the use of parables fits into the midst of this issue. It would be too easy to say that the only reason Jesus used parables was to conceal the truth. And if that were His sole desire, all He had to do was stop teaching entirely. But He came with a mission to call people into the kingdom. So using parables is a way of teaching the truth or preaching about the kingdom without casting His pearls before swine. The parables will harden those who are already hardened against Him, and enlightened those who are interested in knowing the truth about the kingdom. Parables challenge the hearers in matters of the faith.
The parables do not contain truths that only the initiated or enlightened could understand--they seem pretty clear. No, the parables present the claims of the present form of the kingdom in such a way that only those who trust Jesus will understand the new direction in the plan of God. After all, He was announcing a different form of the kingdom than they had expected. He told Pilate “ My kingdom is not of this world,” said Jesus. “If My kingdom were of this world, My servants would fight, so that I wouldn’t be handed over to the Jews. As it is, My kingdom does not have its origin here.” –John 18:36
The parables challenge the hearers to respond with faith.
The parable of the sower would require the hearers to see the truth that the kingdom is slowly progressing, and if that be so, to determine what kind of soil they were. For those who are hardened like the rocky soil, the parable is a message of judgment; for those who are open to the words of Jesus, their “soil” will respond to the “seed” or message of the kingdom. Like Isaiah before Him, Jesus’ proclamation of the word will succeed in dulling the spiritual sense of those who are already self-righteous or calloused to the word, because they do not want to repent or change--they just want the reward of a glorious kingdom - but it will also succeed in “producing fruit” among those submissive to the will of God.
The passage, then, provides us with an introduction (1-3a), then the parable itself (3b-9). This is followed by the explanation of the reason for using parables by Jesus (10-17). Finally, Jesus explained the meaning of the first of His parables, the sower and the seed (18-23.)
Matthew begins the section with “That same day,” clearly linking these parables with the events covered in chapter 12, the opposition arguments. The reference to the house connects the material to the event at the end of the chapter. So, in view of the conflicts, Jesus now begins to use parables more fully. This is one of the few discourses that is addressed to the crowds in general, and not specifically to the disciples (and by disciples we would mean the people who believed in Jesus and followed Him, numbering far more than the twelve).
The posture of Jesus sitting, first by the lake, and then in the boat because of the crowds, is one of a teacher. He was a teacher, here teaching people about the kingdom. The usual posture of a teacher was to sit, while the people stood and listened, or sat all around and listened. Matthew tells us that Jesus taught them many things in parables.
Matthew’s account is longer than Marks (4:10-12) and Luke’s (8:9-10) and preserves more of the use of Isaiah than they do. Jesus first gives a basic answer (13) which is then applied to “them” (14, 15) and then to the disciples (16,17).
Jesus makes a distinction between the crowds and the disciples. The emphasis is not so much on the disciples’ ability to understand, which they have in part but not completely, but on the fact that revelation has been given to them, because the people were hardened to the truth.
This is the way that judicial hardening works. The disciples followed Jesus by faith. They did not understand everything, but asked. The crowds did not follow by faith, but demanded a compelling sign. Further revelation was not given to them. They are like the crowd that Isaiah dealt with in Isaiah 6:9-10.
Isaiah lived about 700 years earlier than this. He announced the judgment of God on the nation for its unbelief. That judgment would take the form of hardening--they would hear but not understand, the preaching would make their spirits dull. (Isaiah 6:9-10) In other words, the message would only harden their resistance to God. This judgment may seem harsh, until one realizes that the nation of Israel in 700 B.C. had had the sanctuary, the priesthood, the prophets, the scriptures for centuries. And yet in their sin and rebellion they had moved farther away from God than the people of the earlier centuries. Finally God gave them up, meaning He ceased to work in their hearts by His Spirit to reveal His truth to them. Rather, He let them alone to have their own way. And their natural way was to reject the words of the prophet. This gives us a good idea of what the psalmists and prophets meant when they said to seek the Lord while He may be found.
In the days of Jesus this prophetic message of Isaiah found its fullest meaning. The people had been listening to Jesus preach and teach, had seen the authenticating miracles, and yet accused Him of Satanic works and rejected His word. Some of those people would be hardened in their unbelief; and the simple theological truth is that the revelation of the mystery of the kingdom was not given to them. They might intellectually hear the parable and make something of it — but it would not make sense to them because of their hardened unbelief, rejection of Jesus, and pre-conceived idea of what the kingdom should be. The Savior was still among them, and they could still follow Him and trust Him. But God knew the hearts of the people, and if they did not believe the words and the works of Jesus in their midst, no further revelation would be given to them.
But the disciples believed in the person and the work of Jesus, and so further revelation came to them, not just in the immediate explanation of the parable, or in the constant teaching of Jesus, but in the fact that the Spirit open their “eyes” and their “hearts” to understand. He had already said that revelation was necessary for people to know Him and to know the Father (Matt. 11:25-27) and He would say to Peter later, “Flesh and blood have not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven” (Matt. 16:17).
How long would the hardening continue? Isaiah said in his day “until the cities lie in ruins.” (Isaiah 6:11-13) This means, until God judged the nation for unbelief and scattered them abroad. That happened with the exile. In Jesus’ day the pattern would be repeated: they were looking for Messiah to build them a glorious kingdom, but the city would be ruined and they would be scattered. The failure of most of the Jews to discern the spiritual things would lead to judgment. And part of the judgment was their being hardened in unbelief. This hardening was a subject Paul picked up in Romans 11, a hardening which God used to turn to the Gentiles with the Gospel and raise up a people who would make Israel jealous.
The disciples were blessed above any others who had come before, both prophets and righteous men. They looked forward to the coming of the Messiah, but the disciples received Him, walked with Him, witnessed His mighty works, and were shown things that the prophets never knew.
What the passage is saying is that the crowds stand in the tradition of the “willfully blind” of the Old Testament, and the disciples stand in the tradition of the prophets and the righteous people of the Old Testament. The disciples truly believed in Jesus, and so accepted what He was saying, namely, that the message of the kingdom was at a critical turning point.
Jesus now lays out the parallel ideas to explain the meaning. He does not explain every detail — no explanation is given for the sower, or the path, or the rocky ground, or the diverse yield. The general point is that the seed is the message of the kingdom. It receives varied responses from the people; and it will take time to develop because of the difficult times and difficult people. But in time the message will produce a harvest.
The Israelites understood farming because it was their culture, so they could appreciate what Jesus was saying, whether they got the intended interpretation or not. They should have gotten it, because it was used in the Old Testament already. Psalm 126:5-6 spoke of the perseverance of the sower with tears and trouble, indicating that eventually he would bring in his sheaves. That psalm was written at the restoration of Israel from the captivity. It was not about farming, but about proclaiming the message of the kingdom at that stage in God’s program — convincing Jewish people to leave the east and return to the land to help build the program of God in the land of promise. It was difficult, because they were now settled in their homes and businesses in Babylonia-Persia. But the principle was that if they continue to sow, if they continued to expend any effort for the greater cause, there would be a result, there would be people coming down the road from the east to return to the land.
The seed that is sown is the message of the kingdom. The soils are the people, the human hearts, who make the decision about the message. They can be compared to the different kinds of soils who receive the seed. So the parable is probably about the ground, which would mean the people who heard Christ’s message. The good ground received the seed, the word, it took root and grew, meaning it was believed and it produced the fruit of righteousness and obedience.
The disciples did not understand why Jesus did not clearly explain the parables. How were the people expected to understand the message of the parable? Jesus’ answer was direct and maybe shocking.
Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.” Matthew 13:11 (NASB)
The disciples could know the meaning of the parable but not the crowds. Mark 4:11 adds “those who are outside get everything in parables.” That is, those who are excluded from the kingdom, those who do not believe in Jesus Christ cannot know or understand the parable.
Why were they excluded? The answer to the question is given in Jesus’ next statement.
“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.” Matthew 13:12-13 (NASB)
The first part of Jesus’ answer, Matthew 13:12, reveals that the crowd had a spiritual problem and that there is an established spiritual principle which grants more information to those who already have spiritual understanding and insight. That is, those who are not part of God’s spiritual family will eventually lose what little spiritual understanding they do have. It is like those who work hard. Usually, the more you work, the more you obtain in this life. Those who do not work eventually have very little and may lose what little they do have. In the spiritual realm, those who have a deeper relationship with God will grow even more. Those who do not have a relationship will become even further separated from God
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The second part of Jesus’ answer, Matthew 13:13, becomes personal, “. . . while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” He now refers to the crowd directly. That is, after hearing Him teach on previous occasions, the crowd still could not understand spiritual truth. They could not understand because they were not spiritually alive.
Spiritual truth is foolishness to those who are not spiritually alive. They do not have any ability to understand it. The Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day were just one example.
Then Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah as further explanation,
In their case 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,
With their ears they scarcely hear,
And they have closed their eyes,
Otherwise they would see with their eyes,
Hear with their ears,
And understand with their heart and return,
And I would heal them.” Matthew 13:14-15 (NASB) (Isaiah 6:9-10)
Did you notice that the prophecy predicted “the heart of this people has become dull?” That is, they had already rejected Jesus Christ. They had already heard about Jesus and heard His message. They came primarily to see Him perform miracles, to do wonders, to be healed, but the unbelieving crowd had rejected Him along with His teaching. Without spiritual life, they could not see; they could not hear nor understand. Therefore, Jesus spoke to them in parables.
In the setting of that time a farmer sowing a field was a well-known sight. He walked up and down his freshly tilled land grabbing handfuls of seed grain from a sack slung over his shoulder and throwing it in front of him as he went.
The well-worn paths between towns and farms ran next to the fields. The passing of many feet, hooves and carts compressed the paths into hard-packed dirt unable to receive the seed.
But because the farmer’s field went alongside the path, he would inevitably sow some of the seed on the “wayside.” Seed falling on a well-worn path won’t work into the soil and take root. Birds in those days were as smart as birds are today and knew where to get an easy meal. They would swoop down and quickly fill their bills with seed. This is the seed that “fell by the wayside.” This is the first time that Satan is mentioned in the Parables. He appears as the one who prevents them from understanding and accepting the word. He next appears in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares as the sower of the evil seed or Tares. If people do not receive and respond to the word with faith, their opportunity will be stolen by the evil one.
Jesus continued with His explanation, talking about seed that “fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth.” Although farmers would try to keep their fields free of stones, inevitably some areas remained pocked with rocks. Because of the way the seed was sown, coupled with help from the wind, some seed would inevitably fall in these areas.
Stony ground has soil, but it isn’t good enough for seed to germinate and put down deep roots. The stones block root growth, preventing plants from growing roots large enough to support much fruit. As Christ said, anything that begins to grow in stony soil lacks a deep root system and quickly withers and dies from the heat. It produces no fruit.
Christ continued His lesson, talking about seed that is sown among thorns. Thorns can grow just about anywhere—in poor soil, rocky soil and in good soil. In Jesus’ day people didn’t have sophisticated herbicides. Today we can spray these on the soil and they prevent virtually all weeds. Without thorns or weeds, we can have grain and other crops growing unhindered by the unproductive plants. Nothing is around to compete with and “choke” the life out of the good grain.
The last category He mentioned is the seed that falls on good ground and produces much fruit. The variance Christ mentions is because some grain are more responsive to the fertilizer, water and sunlight than the other grain and will have a better output. Remember it is the same field. The greatest amount of fruit produced was not determined by how rich the soil was, but how yielding was the seed to the fertilizer , water and the sunlight.
All the types of soil mentioned here are actually in the same plot of ground with one major difference. Only one area fully yielded to cultivation.
Now, let’s talk a little more about these weeds. Salvation occurs in a heart where the things of the world have been plowed up. The ground is limited as to its capability and the weeds drain the soil of its nourishment, its nutrition, its water and – and the good seed can’t survive. And by the way, the good seed is not native to your soul, weeds are. They used to be in there. They live there. But the good seed is alien to the soil and it has to be protected and cared for and cherished. But the weeds, they’re at home. And as long as weeds live, they grow and will prevent the good seed from growing.
Now not every Christian produces the same amount of fruit. We all bear some fruit. Some bear just some fruit, some bear more fruit, some bear much fruit, but we all bear fruit, we all bear fruit. That’s the distinguishing mark of believers.
Conversely, the description of the good soil preserves our hope when we see others reject the good news or fall away after initially receiving it. Those early Christians to whom Luke wrote may have been deeply troubled by seeing how many had once followed Jesus but then turned back for one reason or another. Yet Jesus in this parable led them and us to expect this at times and provided a God’s-eye view of the difference found in the good soil — “they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart” (Luke 8:15). We are not to be surprised, nor is our faith to be shaken, when the most genuine-seeming Christian falls away.
