Parable The Sower

17/07/2009 by John Marsden.

Luke 8:5-15

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When he said this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

His disciples asked him what this parable meant. He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see;  though hearing, they may not understand.

“ This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

• This parable says that seeds sown in the ground represent the word of God. Some of these seeds are quickly stolen, some die in the heat, some are overtaken by weeds, and some take root and grow into a bountiful crop.
• We will look at what each of these types of ground represents and how we can be the good soil that receives the word of God and produces fruit so that we can be profitable in the kingdom of God.

ALONG THE PATH 

Trampled On

… it was trampled on…

·         The first type of ground mentioned in this parable was that which is along the path, the ground on which people walk and travel. Seeds sown along the path will not grow because they are exposed to the elements—birds could eat the seeds or the feet of those traveling along might trample upon them.

·         In the same way, some people’s hearts are like the ground along the path. Their heart is exposed to all the harsh elements of the world and all the deception of the devil with no understanding or knowledge of God or any type of discernment.

·         When such an exposed heart hears the word of God, the seed of the word has no opportunity to take root, because something comes along and quickly squashes all hope and all truth. It may be pride or rebellion or some other sin within the person that hardens them, preventing them from hearing the truth that could set them free. In any case, such a person will not become fruitful for God and His kingdom.

Taken Away

… the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

·         Another danger of being one “along the path” is that the devil will quickly come and deceive you, preventing you from believing the truth and being saved.·         Satan can snatch the word of truth from people by deceiving them into thinking they do not need a Saviour or that they are good enough on their own. He may distract them with temptations and sins so that they quickly forget the word of God that was spoken to them. He could also deceive them into believing the gospel to be a lie, telling them that there are many ways to get to God.·         If you want to witness to people who seem totally hardened towards the truth and completely unreceptive to Jesus, pray for them. Pray that their hearts would be softened and open to the gospel. Pray against sin and rebellion that prevents them from believing the word, and pray against Satan’s deception that blinds their eyes.
ON THE ROCKS 

Quickly Sprout

Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root.

• The second type of ground mentioned in this parable is the rocky ground. Seeds that fall on rocky soil do not grow into great crops or giant trees. Their sprouts can easily be destroyed by wind, heavy rain, the hot sun, or dryness, because their roots do not go very deep.
• In the same way, people whose hearts are like rocky soil may appear to receive the gospel of truth readily and excitedly, but they form no deep roots in God. They are not trees firmly planted by the river of God, or else they would flourish as the Bible promises.
• Why might a person who is like the rocky soil want to quickly respond to the gospel with joy? If the person sharing with them shares only a “prosperity” gospel—like you will be blessed and receive abundance and have favor and be happy all the time—then they will expect Christianity to make their lives easier and more comfortable. They will quickly find out otherwise.

Quickly Wither         

They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

·         A person whose heart is like the rocky soil has a belief that is merely superficial, and as soon as any difficulties or temptations or troubles arise, they will retreat back into their old, worldly ways of thinking and behaving.

·         Have you ever heard the expression, “This is not what I signed up for?” Those who are fair-weather Christians, serving God only when it is convenient, comfortable, or easy, will quickly fall away when their faith is tested.

·         God wants everyone to know Him and love Him, but He wants the faith of His people to be genuine and steadfast. Satan does not play fair; he will tempt us, and our faith in God must be deep and strong in order to resist him.

AMONG THORNS

Lost in Distractions

The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures…

• Once a person becomes born again, his life does not immediately become simpler and free of distraction. He will still have the realities of work, school, jobs, family, friends, enemies, and all the various time commitments of life to deal with.
• If we do not make God our first and foremost priority, rooting ourselves firmly in His word and spending time in His presence, the cares, desires, and worries of this life will distract us from Him.
• These distractions are represented in the parable by the thorns that grow up alongside the plants sown by the farmer. We must work to guard our hearts against getting distracted by the pleasures and pains of this life, and we can only do this by spending time with God and in His word.

Lacking in Maturity

… and they do not mature.

·         God desires that all His children grown into spiritual maturity. That is why He gave us teachers, pastors, prophets, encouragers, leaders, etc. If we try to do things all on our own without God’s help and the help of those He sends to us, we will find the truth of the gospel choked by all the things of this world, and we will never grow into all that God wants us to be.

·         To glorify God we must be disciples of Jesus and remain in His word so that we can bear fruit, which brings glory to God. If we never grow, we will never bear fruit and we lose out on the opportunity to bring glory to God through our own lives.

ON GOOD SOIL

Receive

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word…

• The final people mentioned in this parable are those who are represented by the good soil. These people hear and receive the word of God and allow the seed of truth to take root in them.
• Jesus says these people have a noble and good heart. Now, the Bible says that there is no one who does good (Romans 3:12); only Jesus can come inside of us and cleanse us and make us good. Those who allow Him in, though, will be made good and noble children of God.

Retain

… retain it …

·         We must work hard to retain the word of truth that is presented to us, not only the gospel of salvation, but all the truth contained in the word of God.

·         We hold onto the seed that is planted in us and allow God to nourish us with His presence. We get rooted in the word by reading our Bibles, memorizing its words, and meditating on them.

·         As we do this, the deception of the devil will not steal away the truth from us, we will not be tempted to fall away in the heat of various trials, and we will not get distracted by the cares and desires of this world.

Reproduce

… and by persevering produce a crop.

·         As we grow into spiritual maturity, God will cause streams of living water to flow from us and we will be fruitful in His kingdom.

·         As we remain in Jesus, we can ask God for whatever we need and He will give it to us, so that we can bear much fruit and give God glory.

Have a great day

John

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