Sowing Seeds - The Parable of the Sower

Though Jesus used a few short parables in the Sermon on the Mount afterwards He began to use them often when He spoke. Parables are simply a story or a comparison used alongside a specific point to make the lesson clear to those who truly wanted to know the message. Parables confuse those who don’t really have a deep desire to know the truth of the story because it takes attentiveness and thought to grasp the meaning. Jesus explains in Matthew 13:13, “This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

In Matthew 13 Jesus gives us some parables that we can use to help us as we live out the life of a Christian; a life that at times can be frustrating and disappointing. The first one, which we will look at today, is the Parable of the Sower.

Most of us Christians know what the Great Commission is as was given to us, the church, until Jesus returns as found in Matthew 28:19-20. We are to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This command is for every single Christian. But most of us just don’t seem to have the gift of evangelism like Billy Graham did. Yet in our desire to be obedient we try. Yet we just don’t seem to be having any effect on the lost. So Jesus gave us the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13:3-9.

“And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.  And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.  Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.  Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.  Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.  He who has ears, let him hear.”

There are some really good lessons for us today in this parable. The primary point Jesus was teaching was that people are not all going to receive the message of the Gospel in the same way, because in their hearts the same desire for God is not the same.

First of all some people are going to hear the Gospel but have no response at all to it. They are represented in the seed that fell along the edge of the path. Birds ate the seed before it could even have any chance. These are people who just want nothing to do with it.

Then there are people who seem to be interested for a time. They hear the message and it sounds good. Maybe they have made such a mess of life that they sense they need to do something better. So they show up for church. They start to buy in. Probably even get baptized. But once the newness wears off they fade away. They never wanted to dig into the Word of God. They may have come forward in a service because of the emotional high church gives sometimes. But like the seed that fell on rocky ground, the seed does not take root. For lack of water that comes to seed planted in rocky soil, they soon wither and die.

The third type of person is the type who hears the message and then like the second ones in the previous paragraph start to do the whole church thing. They begin to take root. But the things of the world that dominate their lives choke out their desire for God. The things of the world are like the weeds in the third soil of the parable. Even if they receive water the seeds cannot grow because the weeds take the water and block the light that brings growth. There are many types of weeds. Some examples are attachments to money and materialistic things, careers, and even relationships. Not that these are intrinsically bad but when they take precedence over God they become idols.

The final type of person we see in the parable is the ones who hear the message and continue to grow and eventually bear fruit. The fourth soil represents them. It is fertile soil, which has been plowed and prepared for the seed. This type of soil will produce an abundant crop.

So what does all this tell us as Christians? It tells us that first of all there is nothing wrong with the seed. The seed is the Gospel of Jesus and it is always effective when planted into fertile soil. This takes the pressure off of us. Learn to share the simple message of the Gospel. You don’t have to have a degree from Seminary to share the Gospel. The message is simple.

Secondly this parable instructs us that we are sowers. In a sense we can plow the ground of people by developing relationships and building trust but at the end of the day it is not our job to change their hearts. Only the Holy Spirit can do that. We need to be faithful in getting as much seed out there as we can.

The third truth for us to hear in this parable is that the simple truth is some are just not going to accept the Gospel. This is painful for us, especially when it is our own loved ones. But we must learn to have faith and trust in the sovereignty of God. We are not going to understand or even agree with how this life goes sometimes, but when we get angry with God for things that are not in our control, we are elevating ourselves to a level we are not worthy of. We are in essence trying to become God.

So take comfort in the lessons taught in this parable. Be a sower. The seed is good. It is our privilege and a blessing to us to have the seed. But we must be faithful in spreading the seed and in trusting the One who causes the trees and plants to bloom and flower.