THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN PART THREE: THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
The Oxford Dictionary defines a parable as “a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson.” Jesus made extensive use of parables in explaining the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven in down-to-earth terms to those who were unfamiliar with them. He used analogies of familiar activities that the farmers, shepherds, vinedressers and fishermen that heard Him could easily understand and relate to. Late in Jesus’ ministry, before He was betrayed, He told His disciples that the time was coming when He would no longer speak to them in parables, but would plainly reveal the Father and His ways to them (see John 16:25). He was referring to the time after His resurrection when the Holy Spirit would be poured out upon His disciples on the day of Pentecost. Of that day Jesus said, “…when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth.” (John 16:13).
Chapter 13 of St. Matthew holds a wealth of parables. The first of these is the Parable of the Sower. After
teaching this parable, His disciples asked Jesus why He spoke to the people in
parables. He told them, “Because it is given unto you to know the
mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given.” (Matthew
13:11). From very early in Jesus’
ministry it became clear that there was a dividing line between those who
wished to follow Him and become disciples, and those who merely wanted to see and
benefit from His works, but not walk in His footsteps. No matter how plainly Jesus would explain the
Kingdom to this latter group, they were just not going to get it. He said of them “…they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand.” As the Apostle Paul
explains, “…the natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can
he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians
2:14). Even Jesus’ disciples couldn’t
grasp the idea of His being betrayed and put to death, let alone that He would
rise from the dead. Later, after Jesus’
had ascended to heaven, and after the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them at
Pentecost, the disciple’s eyes and hearts were opened and they were able to fully
see and hear the mysteries of the Kingdom of God.
“And He [Jesus] spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went
forth to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls
came and devoured them up: some fell upon stony places, where they had not much
earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: and
when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they
withered away. And some fell among thorns;
and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: but other fell into good ground, and
brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
(Matthew 13:3-9).
In this parable, Jesus is the Sower and His seed is the
Word of God. Sowing seed in a field was
not an exact science in New Testament times.
The sower would put a large amount of seed in his/her apron, or in a
bag, and then walk down the field while “broadcasting” (or scattering) the seed
on either side as they walked. The
kernels of seed would fall randomly across the field as they went, with varying
degrees of potential for growth depending on where they landed.
Some of the seeds would be scattered outside the border
of the field. This was where the earth
had not been cultivated and was packed down by foot and cart traffic. The seed that fell there would be easy food
for the birds to find since the seed would not be able to bury itself into the
dirt.
Other seed would fall on stony ground where there was
enough dirt covering the stones to give the plants a quick start. The stone was just below the surface, so the young
roots could not reach deep enough to find the moisture in the soil and, so, the
sun would scorch the plants, and they would die.
Still other seed fell into soil that had thorny vines which
wrapped themselves around the plants as they began to grow and choked the life
from them.
Many of the seeds fell on good ground where their roots
grew deep and drank from the moisture that was in the soil, and where there was
no competition from weeds and vines.
These latter seeds germinated, sprouted, and eventually came to
maturity, produceding fruit in varying amounts.
This first parable of the Kingdom was a good place to
start in explaining some important things about the Word of God and its importance
in the Kingdom of Heaven. God’s Word is
the source of all spiritual growth, and of the fruit that God wants to sow in
our hearts. The ultimate product that
God wishes to see in you and me is unselfish love, unhindered joy, unshakable
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control
– this is the fruit that the Word will produce if we abide in Christ and let
His Words abide in us. Every type of
seed produces a different type of fruit.
The message of salvation isn’t the only crop that God is wishing to
grow. Once we are born again, God
continues to sow His Words in our hearts in order to perfect all of the Fruits
of the Spirit in His children.
We need to understand that for all the potential that
is contained in every seed, it comes down to how people receive it that
determines whether it will grow and come to fruition or not. Simply being exposed to the Word is no
guarantee of success. The priests and
religious sects of Jesus’ time knew the scriptures forward and backward and,
yet, it was they who conspired to kill the Lord. St. Paul knew the Word intimately having been
taught by the great teachers of his time, but he still sought to imprison and
have executed all those who were Jesus’ followers. The whole focus of this parable is the
production of good fruit as the result of sowing good seed. The quality of the seed is never in question,
and neither is its’ ability to produce good fruit. It is the condition of men’s hearts that will
determine the ultimate outcome and whether or not the precious seed will mature
and bear fruit or not.
“Hear ye
therefore the parable of the sower. When
any one heareth the Word of the Kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh
the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way
side.”
(Matthew 13:18, 19). There are very many
people who receive the Word of God by the wayside. They may hear a snatch of the Gospel while
they are scanning stations in their car, scrolling through the channels on
their television, or surfing the internet.
They may run across a Christian pamphlet or be approached by someone at
work or at the market who shares a bit of the Word with them. They may even be sitting in church listening
to a sermon. Regardless of how or where
it happens, these tiny seeds of truth have the potential to sprout and grow in
their lives. Too often, however, these
events come and go and because there is no understanding on the part of the
recipient, Satan is able to pluck the seeds away and devour them before they
have a chance to germinate and mature.
“But he who
received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the Word and immediately
receives it with joy; 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.” (Matthew 13:20, 21). Every farmer knows that large stones left in
a field will hinder the growth of some of his crop. Even today, as you drive through the New
England states you will see old stone walls standing between fields or
orchards. The stones of these walls were
tediously dug up and hauled to the edges of the fields where they were fit into
permanent barriers between properties.
In Bible times, many farmers may not have had the means to remove very
large stones and so were forced to leave them.
Jesus said when the seed would fall where these stones were, it would sprout
quickly because of the thin layer of dirt that lay over the stone, but they
would soon wilt. He likened this to
those folks who hear the good news of the Kingdom and receive the message
gladly, but when trouble arises because of their faith, they fall away. Smaller rocks and stones that lie on the
surface of the ground can be easily collected and removed when a field is being
prepared for planting. It’s the stones
that lie under the soil and close to the surface that cause a problem,
though. It’s only when the field is
being cultivated that the farmer becomes aware of them. It is true of our hearts, too. Those rocks that are on the surface are easy
to see and remove. Things like
addictions, filthy language, etc., can be spotted right away and surrendered to
the Lord. Later on in our walk, the Holy
Spirit will uncover stones of pride, unkindness, covetousness, etc., and we
will be given an opportunity to surrender those things as well and recover more
“good ground.”
“He also
that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the Word; and the care
of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the Word, and he becometh
unfruitful.”
(Matthew 13:22). St. Mark adds “the lusts of other things” to this list
of influences that cause us to become unfruitful. The mere presence of the thorns indicates
that they are sapping away the nutrients and stealing the light from the good
plants. Any gardener can tell you what
must be done - weeding! The things in
our lives that are competing for our spiritual health must be pulled up by the
roots! They cause us to be unfruitful if
we allow them to remain. St. Paul tells
us to “…set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth.” (Colossians 3:2). Paul goes on to say, “Mortify, therefore [put to death; destroy the strength of], your members which are on the earth…” (verse
5). We Christians must be willing to
make the hard choices in our lives. Either
we will serve the flesh, the devil, and the things of the world; or we will
serve the Lord, and the things of the Spirit.
Jesus made it clear that we CANNOT
serve two masters at the same time.
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