In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus warns His audience that although the seed may be good, if it is not sown or planted right, it will not yield what is intended.
Mat 13:1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
Mat 13:2 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.
Notice the emphasis that Matthew places on the number of people who were following Jesus. He uses the expressions, “great multitudes” and “the whole multitude.”
“Experts” say that when you are attempting to plant a church you want to “draw a crowd.” Jesus never had a problem drawing crowds and we will see that Jesus wasn’t concerned about crowds, He was concerned about the state of the hearts of the people in those crowds.
Mat 13:3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: "Behold, a sower went out to sow.
Mat 13:4 "And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
Palestine, in those days, was literally crisscrossed with fields. The fields were usually long, narrow strips, separated from other fields by paths. The paths between the fields were about three feet wide. They were used by the farmer to access whatever field he wanted. They were also used by those traveling from one part of the countryside to another.
Matthew 12:1 says, “At that time Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat.” It was those paths that the Lord had in mind when He talked about the wayside.
The dirt in those paths was packed down from people walking on it and the dryness of that part of the world would compact the dirt to the point where it was like a road. It became as hard as pavement.
When a farmer threw the seed and some of it would fall on that hard surface and would not grow because it could not penetrate the ground. As the farmer was sowing the seed, the birds hovering above him waited for the opportunity to eat any seed that landed on the hard path. Whatever seed the birds did not eat would be trampled by the feet of men that were passing through the fields (Luke 8:5).
Mat 13:5 "Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
Mat 13:6 "But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
I can identify with this—When we moved into our house I learned from my neighbor how the builders buried all the boulders, rocks and stones back into the ground. For the longest time I couldn’t get any grass to grow because the roots had a hard time getting established.
But Jesus is not talking about soil with rocks in it, because any farmer who cultivated a field would make sure all the rocks were out. But the land in Israel has strains of limestone bedrock running through it, and in many places this bedrock comes up to within inches of the soil surface.
If the seed landed on that limestone bedrock, it would germinate and try to grow its roots downward, but there was no place for the roots to go. Initially those seeds would spring up faster than the other grain but eventually they died from the heat of the summer, because the bedrock hindered their roots from finding any moisture.
Mat 13:7 "And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
Have you ever planted your vegetables only to discover that something that you didn’t plant grows along with your tomatoes?
What happens is that after the seeds are sown and they begin to germinate, weeds also begin to grow from the roots hidden in the ground and eventually the weeds choke the life out of the flower or vegetable.
The problem is that weeds are natural to that soil; they're at home there. Vegetable or flower seeds are a foreign element in that soil. Because of that, the vegetable has to be cultivated. The weeds eventually choke the vegetable and send out their leaves so that they take up the sun and the moisture.
There's not enough room for both to share the nutrients of that soil. Thus, the good seed dies. This is what Jesus is speaking about in verse 7.
Mat 13:8 "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Here Jesus describes what He calls “good ground.” This soil is soft, deep, and clean.
It's soft, unlike the soil that became hard from walking on it.
It's deep, unlike the stony limestone ground.
And it's clean, unlike the weed-infested soil.
It's on that ground that the seed germinates and brings forth a harvest, sometimes a hundredfold, or sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. Did you know that farmers categorize an average yield as 7.5%. A good crop would be tenfold. So, Jesus is talking about a tremendous, flourishing crop.
That is, a hundred, sixty, or thirty “grains” for each one that was sowed an increase by no means uncommon. Some grains of wheat will produce twelve or fifteen hundred grains. The usual proportion on a field sown, however, is not more than twenty, fifty, or sixty bushels for one. (Barnes)
Mat 13:9 And Jesus concluded, "Listen, then, if you have ears!"
Mat 13:10 Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked him, "Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?"
Mat 13:11 Jesus answered, "The knowledge about the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
Mat 13:12 For the person who has something will be given more, so that he will have more than enough; but the person who has nothing will have taken away from him even the little he has.
Mat 13:13 The reason I use parables in talking to them is that they look (The Pharisees and other religious leaders of the Jews), but do not see, and they listen, but do not hear or understand.
Mat 13:14 So the prophecy of Isaiah applies to them: 'This people will listen and listen, but not understand; they will look and look, but not see,
Mat 13:15 because their minds are dull, and they have stopped up their ears and have closed their eyes. Otherwise, their eyes would see, their ears would hear, their minds would understand, and they would turn to me, says God, and I would heal them.'
Mat 13:16 "As for you, how fortunate you are! Your eyes see and your ears hear.
Mat 13:17 I assure you that many prophets and many of God's people wanted very much to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear, but they did not.
Mat 13:18 "Listen, then, and learn what the parable of the sower means.
Who is the sower? The sower in this parable is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know this because later on in the chapter as the Lord explains a different parable in which wheat was sown, and He tells His disciples, "...He that sows the good seed is the Son of man" (v. 37b). The Lord is the original sower. He is the One who first puts the seed in the soil.
Now what is the seed? In verse 19 Jesus says, "When any one hears the word of the kingdom...." The seed is the Word of God. In Mark’s recollection of this encounter (Mark 4:14) he records Jesus saying, "The sower sows the word."
Now the Bible says in James 1:21 that as followers of Christ, we have “received with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save our souls.”
So in essence, anyone who sows what Jesus first sowed is also a sower! Those of us who love Jesus, receive His message and pass it on, are sowers. The seed is the Word of God, and we are sowing the message of the Kingdom.
The reason Jesus leaves this parable is to show His disciples how men will respond to the Gospel. We've seen that there are four kinds of soils and the issue is the condition of the soil.
We know that the soil refers to the heart because it says in verse 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…”
Seed can be properly planted in soil that is broken up and cleaned of weeds and rocks. So, the key to the parable is that the response a person has to the Gospel depends upon the condition of that person's heart. And the condition of the heart determines how receptive a person is to the Gospel.
Now that Jesus’ disciples understand that the soil represents the condition of a person’s heart, He begins to unveil to them the various categories of heart conditions.
Interpretation of the “seed that falls along the wayside or path” (vs 4)
Mat 13:19 "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.
Jesus is saying the seed that fell on the wayside (the path) couldn't penetrate the hard-traveled-upon-ground, thus birds hovering nearby waited to snatch the seed when the farmer turned his back. Luke’s version of the parable notes that any seeds the birds missed were trampled by men (Luke 8:5).
This kind of soil illustrates the man who is hard-hearted. The Old Testament would call this man stiff-necked. He is unresponsive and indifferent; the Gospel just hits him and bounces off. Satan, represented by the birds, comes and snatches that seed away.
This is the person who says when you try to witness to him, “Get out of my face, I don’t want to hear it.” or “I don’t need a crutch—J.C. ain’t me!”
This is the interpretation of the “seed that falls on stony or rocky ground” (vs 5)
Mat 13:20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Mat 13:21 "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.
This again reminds me of my lawn. Because of the rocks, there is barely enough soil for the roots to find nourishment. As a result, the grass grows quickly and looks good and green but then just as quickly as it comes up, it dies.
Jesus says this describes the person who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy. This person doesn’t contemplate or think about what he or she is hearing. It's just a quick response…an emotional, instant excitement. There is no consideration of the cost of following Christ. There is no understanding of the significance of the Gospel in one's life.
I believe that this category includes many in our churches today. They come to church because someone told them that it would help them to feel better about life. It would make them feel better about their difficult circumstances. The music and the message would help get them through the week (that is, until they needed their next “fix”).
They start coming to church and they feel good about it. They may even testify about how happy they are since they’ve been coming to church. This person really seems to be growing. But it's all external because there hasn't been any true repentance or brokenness over sin—the limestone bedrock is there and no one sees that this person’s roots are shallow.
These are the kind of people who never deal with the real issues. They just jump on the Jesus bandwagon because it looks so good. Those kinds of people seem to be growing faster than everyone else. They appear to have real joy and real tears. But a few months later (sometimes a few days later), they are gone. They were just excited over all the euphoria.
Certain parts of my lawn looked healthy and vibrant and green and would sustain this look just as long as I kept it watered and fertilized. I would have to introduce to my lawn artificial nutrients—fertilizers—because the roots of the grass are not deep enough to get to the real thing. So it is with many of these kinds of church goers. They can only sustain their “joy” as long as they are being “fertilized.”.
Fertilization takes place as many churches offer a smorgasbord of activities and encourage everyone to get involved. Many churches are filled to capacity on Sunday mornings—the choir is off the chain and the people are getting their praise on but all this serves as “life support.” Remove the artificial respirator or stop fertilizing them and they die.
One of the proofs that your church is full of these kinds of people, those with shallow roots, is attendance of the Bible study and the prayer meeting. This is how you can have churches with 1000 members only have about 50 who come out to the prayer meeting or the Bible study.
I never hear church folk hollering slogans like, “I got to get my prayer on!” or “Is there Bible Study in the house?”
Jesus says:
Mat 13:20 "But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Mat 13:21 "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.
They start off fast and then they run out of gas. This is what Jesus means when He says, “…he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; (but) when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”
Pastor John MacArthur describes this kind of person saying, “He faces suffering because he appears to belong to Christ, and experiences pressure from the expectation of living the Christian life. He feels overwhelmed by those who want to get him into a Bible study, prayer meeting, or a discipling relationship. He experiences persecution because people criticize him for becoming a Christian. Because there is no root in this person, he won't survive the persecution. The unreality of his initial response to the Gospel will become evident.
Let’s go on to the next kind of heart… in verse 22 Jesus gives the interpretation of the “seed that falls among the thorns” (vs 7)
Mat 13:22 "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.
This is the person who makes a profession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and soon after falls away because of the “cares of this world.” This is the person who hears the Word and plants himself in the church. But then something happens?
They get a new job, a new house or a new car. They get a new wife or new husband or start a new business. Something new happens in their life that makes them become preoccupied with that new something.
This person’s preoccupation could merely be with the new thing or situation itself. Or, the diversion away from the Word of God comes as a result of having to maintain the new thing or take care of the thing, or work to pay for the thing.
Jesus says, “…the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
I’ve known people who when they’ve hit rock bottom, vowed to serve Jesus and when they regained their footing and were blessed, came down with amnesia.
“…the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
The soil Jesus refers to in these parables refers to the heart of man. Now here is our problem: We can’t see what is in the heart of man. “Man looks on the outward appearance but the Lord looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7; Acts 15:8)
What is the solution?
Solution #1: We need to work to improve our seed sowing techniques.
We need people who are willing to sow seed! We need to get the seed out of the bag and into the ground. We need to get the seed of the Word of God into the hearts of men, women, boys and girls. We need sowers of the seed!
We need to focus on where we sow the seeds. Maybe our aim is off. We think we are throwing seeds on fertile soil but they keep rolling over to the ground where people have walked and compacted the soil—the seeds never get into the soft ground.
In Matthew 10 we find Jesus instructing His disciples to shake the dust of the towns that will not receive you nor hear their words off their feet. You can take the horse to the water but you can’t make him drink.
Solution #1 is working to improve our seed sowing techniques.
Solution #2: We need to make sure the ground is ready for the seed we are going to sow.
How do we do this? This is not our work; this is God’s work. So we need to pray that God would prepare the heart of the person before we introduce the seed of the Word.
Jeremiah 4:3 says, “For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: "Break up your fallow ground, And do not sow among thorns.””
Our evangelistic efforts need to be coordinated with our prayer ministry. Let them know about a month before you go into a certain community that they might bath that community with prayer—even do a prayer walk!
Perhaps we aren’t seeing the harvest that we should see because the soil or the hearts of those in our community are not being prepared for planting. Good soil produces a good crop.
Mat 13:23 "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 ultimate mark of salvation is fruitfulness. What is fruit? It's evidence of the nature of God indwelling you in the person of the Holy Spirit. Paul said that the fruit of the Spirit is "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23).
In other words, when you look at a person to see if he or she is saved, while we can’t see their heart, we can inspect their fruit. “Fruit” is God producing spiritual reality in a person's life, and is manifest in the attitudes and actions of a person. Again the fruit of the Spirit is "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] self-control"
* We don’t conclude a person is a Christian because they dress like one.
* We don’t say a person is a Christian because they raise their hands in praise.
* We don’t come to the conclusion a person is a Christian because they can pray real good or sound spiritual when they talk.
The fruit the Spirit produces in a Christian’s life is "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, [and] self-control" You show me a person who has no manifestation of fruit, and I'll show you somebody who's going to fade away like dying grass when the wind blows.
Fruit is always the proof of true faith. In John 15, where Jesus speaks of Himself as the Vine and those in Him as the branches, only the true branches brought forth fruit (v. 5).
Mat 13:23 "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."
Starting at the bottom, thirtyfold is three times the average yield of a seed. This lets us know that a Christian is to be very fruitful.
One way the Christian is supposed to be fruitful is by bringing people to Jesus. Paul wrote in Romans 1:13, “Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles.”
Another way a Christian is supposed to be fruitful is to bear the fruit of righteousness.
Ephesians 5:8-9, “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)…”
James 3:18 - “Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
The truth of the matter is that a true believer bears so much fruit that you do not have to look hard to find it. Many of us know people who said they said a prayer to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior but they are not producing fruit in their lives.
I’ve had people asking me to pray for a loved one like a son or daughter or husband who says they’re a Christian but doesn’t act like it—they ask me to “pray that they would grow” or “pray that they would be more committed.”
I would rather pray that God would save a person that is not producing fruit in their lives. A true believer produces fruit.
In fact, in John 15:2 Jesus says that if you are a professing believer and you don't bear fruit, God cuts you from the Vine (who is Christ). In verse six Jesus says this again this time letting us know where those unfruitful branches are disposed:
John 15:5 I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for apart from me ye can do nothing.
Joh 15:6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
A true believer will manifest fruit--that's the proof of salvation.
Home Assignment:
Go to God in prayer and ask Him to show you whether or not you are producing fruit in your life (you may already have the answer to that prayer request by now)
Go to a trusted Christian friend who will not steer you wrong and ask him or her the same question.
Determine how you can begin to bear more fruit.
