Parable of the Sower of God’s Word

Matthew 13:1-23 

The Parable of the Sower

1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 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.

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; and 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!"

The Purpose of Parables

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 for 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.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

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."

A parable is a means of placing one thing next to another, in juxtaposition, to compare the two to make an example for illustrating a doctrine or precept in a narrative.  It is a fictitious story that applies to human life to teach the duties of men and the things of God to the listeners.  Jesus often did this as it was written in Isaiah 6:9-10 as He quoted to teach the disciples why He spoke in veiled ways that only those who were His sheep and had been given ears to hear and eyes to see could comprehend and see the things of God for and against the hearers.  Most would listen but not really hear (Matthew 13:34-35) as a testimony against them for rejecting Him and refusing to repent and believe His plain words and miraculous deeds.  Only those chosen as the disciples were were given the spiritual explanation and could grasp the real meaning.  

The first parable therefore was of the sower of God’s word who cast it by the side of the road where the birds ate it before anyone could pick it up and eat it.  The sower then cast seed on rocky ground where it grew quickly but did not last long for lack of soil with nutrients to sustain growth and where the hot sun dried them up and they withered away.  Then seed was cast in the middle of a patch of thorns that choked the plants and kept them from growing well.  Finally, seed was cast on food and fertile soil that enabled each to produce differing amounts of fruit.  Jesus told the listeners, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  This made the disciples wonder why He would tell them what they could not understand instead of openly just teaching them as they expected.  The Lord let them know they were chosen and blessed to be able to see and hear the words of the kingdom of God which had been a hidden mystery buried in His word of the Old Testament from the beginning after man’s fall in the Garden of Eden until His arrival to reveal it to them (Ephesians 1:18, Colossians 1:27) as the hope of glory in the Messiah as promised and prophesied.  Yes, even the prophets and righteous people wanted to know and understand these truths but do not have them fully revealed to them.  There were those with enough knowledge to expect the Messiah and yearn for life after death, but held on by faith anyway to a hope without full understanding.  Now it had come to the called and chosen from the mouth of God’s own Son!  Jesus then explained fully the parable to these called to know and teach others.  The gospel word of the kingdom would be preached and some would have it snatched away by the evil one before it could grow in their hearts as the ones sown by the side of the road.  The hearers in rocky places without much soil to support growth would hear quickly with great emotion but just as quickly lose interest when times got difficult by the opposition to live out that word of the kingdom of God.  Any pressing times or persecution made them give up to avoid trouble right away due to lack of true commitment.  The hearers living in the thorns heard the message but let other earthly cares and the desire to gain wealth (pursuing health and wealth) keep them from keeping on according to the word of God to live for Him and His kingdom.  Only the few who heard the seeds of God’s word and planted it deep in their fertile hearts of faith and desire to please God let it take root in their hearts and souls.  These would be fruitful because they understood and made that word the direction of their lives to live for Him.  

What this means for us is the same as for them, only now we have even more understanding through the explanations of the apostles who were with Jesus he who were taught by Him to teach us in the scriptures of the New Testament in the sacrificial atoning blood of our Savior.  We then have no excuse not to produce much good fruit by avoiding emotional conversions, keeping the soil of our hearts fertilized with humility, recognizing and avoiding the distractions of life (1 John 2:15-16) that choke us from fruitfulness, and thereby patiently bearing fruit in ourselves and others according to the ability we each have been given for the sake of the kingdom.  He who has ears and eyes, see and hear what we have been shown and taught as with obedient and attentive hearts and minds we make disciples (Matthew 28:19-20)!