Matthew 13:3-9
The parable of the sower is found in 3 of the 4 gospels (John being the lone exception), and it speaks volumes of the evangelistic approach of Christ’s finished work. In miniature, the story of the sower shows us the various responses that people might have towards Jesus, and it gives us deep insight into some of the finer points of the gospel message.
Let’s look at each of the four types of ground (4 being God’s number of creation), and how the seed either makes it to fruition or dies. Remember that the “sower went forth to sow”, meaning that Christ has gone out into the world to recruit. The types of ground are the hearts of the hearers.
1. Wayside (verse 4) – The wayside is the place where seed would fall under foot and wheel, having no chance to take root, much less to grow. Jesus said that this person does not understand the gospel (verse 19). No matter how simple that we make Jesus, some people are still not going to have their hearts tuned towards knowing of His love and favor. The wicked one (Satan) comes in and takes the seed away with Mark using the word “immediately” (Mark 4:15). He uses the fowls to eat the seed, with the fowls representing lost humanity (Luke 13:19), meaning that oftentimes the gospel seed is destroyed in people’s lives by their friends and family members who actually talk them out of meeting Christ.
2. Stony Places (verse 5, 6) – The stony places, “had not much earth” meaning that there is very little faith in the heart of the hearer. Mark uses the word “immediately” again (Mark 4:16), this time to show how quickly the person receives the Word, and “gladness” to show their attitude. This individual is excited about what they hear but they have little “depth of earth”. When the sun comes up they are “scorched” and they wither away. Mark goes into more depth saying that “when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended” (Mark 4:17). This person has received the good news of Jesus but they have not kept their eyes on His loveliness. When they meet troubles and afflictions, they do not know how to cope with these situations for they have already taken their eyes off of His loveliness.
3. Thorns (verse 7) – Thorns are never good, and Matthew gives us very little description, telling us that they “sprung up, and choked them”. There is some depth in the word “them” however, as we have been talking about seed. Obviously, the seed has taken root and they are now a believer, as the text does not say the thorns choked “it” (the seed), but rather “them” (the believer). Mark describes the thorns as the “cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things” (Mark 4:19). This describes a believer who has been overwhelmed by the cares of this life and has allowed the things of the world to choke out the wonderful grace and favor of our Lord’s finished work. Remember, Jesus bore the crown of thorns (cares of this life) in His head, so that the cares of this life would never have to press against your mind.
4. Good ground (verse 8) – Those in good ground (strong faith) will “hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit” (Mark 4:20). This is the believer who has accepted Christ and has a favorable opinion of who God is. They bring forth all of the fruit that a believer should bring forth with quantities varying from believer to believer, “some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold”.
Don’t be discouraged if all of the seed that you toss does not land on “good ground”. Some will be swallowed up by the enemy, while others will find open hearts that need a growth of faith. Still others will be consumed by people that desperately want Jesus, but the cares of this life press them until they run away from the very one that they should run to. Let’s lift Jesus higher so that the stony ground and thorny ground believers around us start producing the fruit that they were saved to produce.
The parable of the sower is found in 3 of the 4 gospels (John being the lone exception), and it speaks volumes of the evangelistic approach of Christ’s finished work. In miniature, the story of the sower shows us the various responses that people might have towards Jesus, and it gives us deep insight into some of the finer points of the gospel message.
Let’s look at each of the four types of ground (4 being God’s number of creation), and how the seed either makes it to fruition or dies. Remember that the “sower went forth to sow”, meaning that Christ has gone out into the world to recruit. The types of ground are the hearts of the hearers.
1. Wayside (verse 4) – The wayside is the place where seed would fall under foot and wheel, having no chance to take root, much less to grow. Jesus said that this person does not understand the gospel (verse 19). No matter how simple that we make Jesus, some people are still not going to have their hearts tuned towards knowing of His love and favor. The wicked one (Satan) comes in and takes the seed away with Mark using the word “immediately” (Mark 4:15). He uses the fowls to eat the seed, with the fowls representing lost humanity (Luke 13:19), meaning that oftentimes the gospel seed is destroyed in people’s lives by their friends and family members who actually talk them out of meeting Christ.
2. Stony Places (verse 5, 6) – The stony places, “had not much earth” meaning that there is very little faith in the heart of the hearer. Mark uses the word “immediately” again (Mark 4:16), this time to show how quickly the person receives the Word, and “gladness” to show their attitude. This individual is excited about what they hear but they have little “depth of earth”. When the sun comes up they are “scorched” and they wither away. Mark goes into more depth saying that “when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended” (Mark 4:17). This person has received the good news of Jesus but they have not kept their eyes on His loveliness. When they meet troubles and afflictions, they do not know how to cope with these situations for they have already taken their eyes off of His loveliness.
3. Thorns (verse 7) – Thorns are never good, and Matthew gives us very little description, telling us that they “sprung up, and choked them”. There is some depth in the word “them” however, as we have been talking about seed. Obviously, the seed has taken root and they are now a believer, as the text does not say the thorns choked “it” (the seed), but rather “them” (the believer). Mark describes the thorns as the “cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things” (Mark 4:19). This describes a believer who has been overwhelmed by the cares of this life and has allowed the things of the world to choke out the wonderful grace and favor of our Lord’s finished work. Remember, Jesus bore the crown of thorns (cares of this life) in His head, so that the cares of this life would never have to press against your mind.
4. Good ground (verse 8) – Those in good ground (strong faith) will “hear the word, and receive it, and bring forth fruit” (Mark 4:20). This is the believer who has accepted Christ and has a favorable opinion of who God is. They bring forth all of the fruit that a believer should bring forth with quantities varying from believer to believer, “some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold”.
Don’t be discouraged if all of the seed that you toss does not land on “good ground”. Some will be swallowed up by the enemy, while others will find open hearts that need a growth of faith. Still others will be consumed by people that desperately want Jesus, but the cares of this life press them until they run away from the very one that they should run to. Let’s lift Jesus higher so that the stony ground and thorny ground believers around us start producing the fruit that they were saved to produce.
