SOW

PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Although our Lord gives several parables in this chapter, He interprets only two of them: the parable of the sower and the parable of the wheat and tares. His interpretation is a guide to the symbolism in the other parables. For instance, in this parable of the sower, the birds represent Satan. Now when He uses the symbol of birds in another parable, we may be sure that they do not represent something good. We need to be consistent and follow our Lord’s interpretation.

The parable of the sower is the first of the Mystery Parables and may be considered as the foundation for all of them.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow [Matt. 13:3].

I’ll just run ahead and give you our Lord’s interpretation of the sower. He will tell us later that the sower is the Son of man and that the seed represents the Word of God.

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 [Matt. 13:4–8].

Sowing seed was a familiar sight in Palestine. They would sort of scratch the surface of the ground with a very crude plow. Sometimes they didn’t even do that much. Then the sower would go out and fling the seeds upon the earth. Even today in our land in the springtime, all the way from Pocatello, Idaho, to Pensacola, Florida, and from Minnesota to Muleshoe, Texas, you will see farmers sowing wheat, corn, and cotton. It is a very familiar sight—of course, we use machines to sow the seed, while in that day it was sown by hand.

As I have mentioned, the sower represents the Lord Jesus—we learn this from the parable of the wheat and tares (v. 37). The Lord Jesus is the One sowing the seed, and I feel that this defines His work today in the world. He was the King, but He laid aside His regal robes, and today He is doing the work of a farmer, sowing seed—but He is still the King.

The seed, we learn from verse 19, represents the Word of God. The field symbolizes the world (v. 38). Notice that it is the world, not the church. We are talking about a world situation. I think the picture is something like this: Here is the church in the world, and outside there are multitudes of people who have not received Christ. The Word of God is given to this one, and the Word is given to that one, and the Word is given to another. One accepts, another does not accept. Our business is to sow the seed, although not everyone will receive it.

The Lord Jesus has charge of this great program of sowing seed. He has given me a little corner to work in, and my business is to sow seed. I want to be specific here. This is the day for sowing seed. I don’t want to split hairs, but the “harvest” is not the picture for today. But someone says, “Didn’t Christ say, ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest’?” Yes, and let’s look at it again: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:36–38).

This passage occurs just before the Lord sent out His apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The age of the Law was coming to an end. Harvest time comes after seed has been sown. For fifteen hundred years, approximately, under Law, the seed had been sown. Then the harvest came, and a new age, a new dispensation, came in. At the close of one age there is a harvest, and at the beginning of another age is the sowing of seed. But I want to emphasize that the harvest at the end of an age is judgment. We will see that in some of the parables which follow.

However, in our day we are to be sowing the seed of the Word of God. I rejoice when I receive a letter from someone who has listened to my teaching of the Word by radio. Some folk listen for a year or more, and finally the seed germinates and brings forth fruit. It is my business to sow the seed while I am in the world, and it is your business also, my friend.

Now notice where the seed falls. It falls on four types of soil, and three–fourths of the seeds do not grow—they die. There was nothing wrong with the seed, but the soil was the problem. You can argue election all you want to, but in this parable there is a lot of free will exhibited. The condition of the soil is all important as far as the seed is concerned.

Now let’s look at our Lord’s interpretation of the types of soil on which the seed fell. In verse 4 He says that some of it fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate it up. In verse 19 He explains to His disciples the meaning of it—

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 [Matt. 13:19].

The birds represent the evil one—the Devil takes away the seed sown by the wayside. This is something which ought to cause every church member to examine his own heart. My friend, don’t apply this to the other fellow, apply it to yourself. Someone has written a clever little poem which says:

When you get to heaven

You will likely view,

Many folk there

Who’ll be a shock to you.

But don’t act surprised,

Or even show a care,

For they might be a little shocked

To see you there.

The wayside soil apparently represents church members, professing Christians. They heard the Word of God, but it was not the hearing of faith. The Word was not mixed with faith—or if it was, it was a formal, intellectual faith which simply nodded the head. In other words, to folk like this, Christianity is a sideline. Belonging to the church is like belonging to a lodge or a club. These folk are in deep freeze. Not only do we find them in our churches, but some of them have fallen away from the church and are in cults and “isms.”

The second group are represented by the rocky soil.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended [Matt. 13:20–21].

These rocky–ground folk are the opposite of the first group. It was the Devil who took the Word away from the wayside hearers, but the flesh is the culprit with this group. Instead of being in deep freeze, they are in the oven—warm, emotional, shedding tears, greatly moved. These are what I call Alka–Seltzer Christians. There is a lot of fizz in them. They make as much fuss during a service as a rocket on a launching pad, but they never get into orbit. I classify them as the Southern California type. They have great zeal and energy during special meetings, but they are like burned out Roman candles after the meetings are over.

I stood on the rear end of a train, years ago, going through Kansas. Someone had thrown a paper onto the railroad tracks. As our train sped past, the paper fluttered up into the air and went in every direction. As soon as the train had gone by, the paper settled down on the track and was soon dead still. As I looked way back at the paper lying there, I thought, “That is just like a lot of so–called Christians. When there is a sensational meeting in progress, they really get enthusiastic, but they have no real relationship with Christ. It is just an emotional high.” They are the rocky–ground folk.

The third group of hearers is like thorny 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 [Matt. 13:22].

With these folk the world crowds out the Word of God. The Devil got the wayside folk, and the flesh took care of the rocky–ground folk, but the world chokes out the Word for this class of hearers. The cares of the world move in. Sometimes it is poverty, and other times it is the deceitfulness of riches. It is quite interesting that folk at each end of the social spectrum—extreme poverty and extreme prosperity—are folk who are the most difficult to reach for Christ. I find that a great many people have let the cares of the world crowd out the Word of God. These three types of soil do not represent three types of believers—they are not believers at all! They have heard the Word and have only professed to receive it. My friend, it is well for all of us to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are really in the faith.

Thank God, some seed falls on good ground, and our Lord interprets this for us—

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty [Matt. 13:23].

These are the hearers who receive the Word and understand it. Some of them don’t bring forth much fruit—only thirtyfold, but some bring forth an hundredfold!

There must be an understanding of the Word. The Ethiopian eunuch, you remember, was reading the Word, but he didn’t understand it—although he wanted to understand it. So the Spirit of God put Philip there as a hitchhiker. He took a ride with the Ethiopian and gave him a ticket to heaven. He explained the Word to him—that the One who was led as a sheep to the slaughter was the Lord Jesus Christ, that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The Ethiopian believed and received Him.

Philip was sowing the seed of the Word of God. This is a Kingdom–of–Heaven situation as it reveals that the Sower, the Lord Jesus Christ, is sowing the seed of the Word of God in the world and that the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearts of those who want to believe.

After our Lord had given the parable of the sower, He said something quite interesting—

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear [Matt. 13:9].

Well, if we have these things on the side of our head called ears, can’t we hear Him? Yes, but notice the question and His answer—

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? [Matt. 13:10].

Someone has said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. This is a good definition. But the word parable is from the Greek paraboleµ. We get our English word ball from it. You throw something down beside an object to measure it. For example, it’s like putting a ruler down beside a table to measure it. That ruler is a parable; it is put down for the purpose of measuring. Our Lord gave parables to measure heavenly truth which He could set before us.

Why did He do it?

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given [Matt. 13:11].

If a man wants to know the Word of God, he can know it. He who wants to know the truth can know it. But you can shut your ears to it. There are multitudes of so–called broadminded people who shut their ears to the Word of God. If you don’t want to hear it, you won’t hear it, my friend. Not only would you fail to hear it, but you wouldn’t understand it if you did hear it. You must have the kind of ear that wants to hear the Word of God.

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath [Matt. 13:12].

If you know a little truth and you want to know more, the Lord will add to it. If you don’t want to know the truth, the Lord will see to it that you won’t get it. You see, the Lord will never shut the door to one who wants to hear. He makes it very clear that this is His reason for speaking in parables. Those who don’t want to hear will not understand them.

The Lord drew His parables from commonplace things, things that were at the fingertips of the people in that day. He gave them great spiritual truths illustrated by things they knew and could see. Someone has put this concept in verse—

He talked of grass and wind and rain

And fig trees and fair weather,

And made it His delight to bring

Heaven and earth together.

He spoke of lilies, vines and corn,

The sparrow and the raven.

And words so natural, yet so wise

Were on men’s hearts engraven.

In the parable of the sower, we see what could be called a Kingdom–of–Heaven condition; that is, it exhibits God’s present rulership over the entire earth as He calls out a people to His name. And God is carrying out His program today through the church, the called–out body, composed of every true believer. Therefore, we have a Kingdom–of–Heaven condition today as God is carrying on His program of bringing folk to a saving knowledge of Christ.

¹

This chapter records the events of a crisis day in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He knew that the growing opposition of the religious leaders would lead to His crucifixion. This fact He had to explain to His disciples. But their logical question would be, “What will happen to the kingdom about which we have been preaching?” That question is answered in this series of parables. So, He first explained the truth concerning the kingdom, and then later explained to them the facts about the Cross.

Our Lord’s use of parables puzzled the disciples. He had used some parables in His teaching already, but on that day He gave a series of seven interrelated parables, then added an eighth. The word parable means “to cast alongside.” It is a story, or comparison, that is put alongside something else to help make the lesson clear. But these are not ordinary parables; Jesus called them “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11). In the New Testament, a “mystery” is a spiritual truth understood only by divine revelation. It is a “sacred secret” known only to those “on the inside” who learn from the Lord and obey Him.

In this series of parables, Jesus explained the course of the Gospel in the world. If Israel had received Him as King, the blessings would have flowed out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. But the nation rejected Him, and God had to institute a new program on earth. During this present age, “the kingdom of heaven” is a mixture of true and false, good and bad, as pictured in these parables. It is “Christendom,” professing allegiance to the King, and yet containing much that is contrary to the principles of the King.

Why did Jesus teach in parables? Two reasons were given: because of the sluggishness of the people (Matt. 13:10–17); and because it was prophesied in Psalm 78:2 (Matt. 13:34–35). Jesus did not teach in parables to confuse or condemn the people. Rather, He sought to excite their interest and arouse their curiosity. These parables would give light to those with trusting, searching hearts. But they would bring darkness to the unconcerned and unrepentant.

The seven parables describe for us the spiritual course of “the kingdom of heaven” in this present age. In them we see three stages of spiritual development.

The Beginning of the Kingdom (Matt. 13:1–9, 18–23)

The Parable of the Sower does not begin with “The kingdom of heaven is like” because it describes how the kingdom begins. It begins with the preaching of the Word, the planting of the seed in the hearts of people. When we say, “Let me plant this thought in your mind,” we express the idea of this parable. The seed is God’s Word; the various soils represent different kinds of hearts; and the varied results show the different responses to the Word of God. Jesus explained this parable so there is no doubt of its meaning.

Why compare God’s Word to seed? Because the Word is “living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12, sco). Unlike the words of men, the Word of God has life in it; and that life can be imparted to those who will believe. The truth of God must take root in the heart, be cultivated, and permitted to bear fruit. It is shocking to realize that three fourths of the seed did not bear fruit. Jesus did not describe an age of great harvest, but one in which the Word would be rejected. He was not impressed with the “great multitudes” that followed Him, for He knew that most of the people would not receive His Word within and bear fruit.

Fruit is the test of true salvation (Matt. 7:16). This would include holiness (Rom. 6:22), Christian character (Gal. 5:22–23), good works (Col. 1:10), winning others to Christ (Rom. 1:13), sharing what we have (Rom. 15:25–28), and praising God (Heb. 13:15). If a plant is to bear fruit, it must be rooted in soil and exposed to sunshine.

In the parable, the sun represents persecution that comes because of the Word. Persecution helps believers grow. But the sunshine will kill a plant with no roots. This explains why some “believers” do not last: Their faith was weak, their understanding was meager, and their decision was not sincere. It is possible to “believe” and yet not be saved (John 2:23–25). Unless there is fruit in the life, there is not saving faith in the heart.

Nineteen times in Matthew 13 we find the word “hear.” The Parable of the Sower is found in the first three Gospels, and in each one, the closing admonition is different. It is important that we hear God’s Word, because “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Jesus said, “Who hath ears to hear” (Matt. 13:9), “Take heed what you hear!” (Mark 4:24), and “Take heed how you hear!” (Luke 8:18)²

1 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 177–184). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 44–45). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

he Mystery Parables and may be considered as the foundation for all of them.

And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow [Matt. 13:3].

I’ll just run ahead and give you our Lord’s interpretation of the sower. He will tell us later that the sower is the Son of man and that the seed represents the Word of God.

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 [Matt. 13:4–8].

Sowing seed was a familiar sight in Palestine. They would sort of scratch the surface of the ground with a very crude plow. Sometimes they didn’t even do that much. Then the sower would go out and fling the seeds upon the earth. Even today in our land in the springtime, all the way from Pocatello, Idaho, to Pensacola, Florida, and from Minnesota to Muleshoe, Texas, you will see farmers sowing wheat, corn, and cotton. It is a very familiar sight—of course, we use machines to sow the seed, while in that day it was sown by hand.

As I have mentioned, the sower represents the Lord Jesus—we learn this from the parable of the wheat and tares (v. 37). The Lord Jesus is the One sowing the seed, and I feel that this defines His work today in the world. He was the King, but He laid aside His regal robes, and today He is doing the work of a farmer, sowing seed—but He is still the King.

The seed, we learn from verse 19, represents the Word of God. The field symbolizes the world (v. 38). Notice that it is the world, not the church. We are talking about a world situation. I think the picture is something like this: Here is the church in the world, and outside there are multitudes of people who have not received Christ. The Word of God is given to this one, and the Word is given to that one, and the Word is given to another. One accepts, another does not accept. Our business is to sow the seed, although not everyone will receive it.

The Lord Jesus has charge of this great program of sowing seed. He has given me a little corner to work in, and my business is to sow seed. I want to be specific here. This is the day for sowing seed. I don’t want to split hairs, but the “harvest” is not the picture for today. But someone says, “Didn’t Christ say, ‘Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest’?” Yes, and let’s look at it again: “But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest” (Matt. 9:36–38).

This passage occurs just before the Lord sent out His apostles to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. The age of the Law was coming to an end. Harvest time comes after seed has been sown. For fifteen hundred years, approximately, under Law, the seed had been sown. Then the harvest came, and a new age, a new dispensation, came in. At the close of one age there is a harvest, and at the beginning of another age is the sowing of seed. But I want to emphasize that the harvest at the end of an age is judgment. We will see that in some of the parables which follow.

However, in our day we are to be sowing the seed of the Word of God. I rejoice when I receive a letter from someone who has listened to my teaching of the Word by radio. Some folk listen for a year or more, and finally the seed germinates and brings forth fruit. It is my business to sow the seed while I am in the world, and it is your business also, my friend.

Now notice where the seed falls. It falls on four types of soil, and three–fourths of the seeds do not grow—they die. There was nothing wrong with the seed, but the soil was the problem. You can argue election all you want to, but in this parable there is a lot of free will exhibited. The condition of the soil is all important as far as the seed is concerned.

Now let’s look at our Lord’s interpretation of the types of soil on which the seed fell. In verse 4 He says that some of it fell by the wayside, and the birds came and ate it up. In verse 19 He explains to His disciples the meaning of it—

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 [Matt. 13:19].

The birds represent the evil one—the Devil takes away the seed sown by the wayside. This is something which ought to cause every church member to examine his own heart. My friend, don’t apply this to the other fellow, apply it to yourself. Someone has written a clever little poem which says:

When you get to heaven

You will likely view,

Many folk there

Who’ll be a shock to you.

But don’t act surprised,

Or even show a care,

For they might be a little shocked

To see you there.

The wayside soil apparently represents church members, professing Christians. They heard the Word of God, but it was not the hearing of faith. The Word was not mixed with faith—or if it was, it was a formal, intellectual faith which simply nodded the head. In other words, to folk like this, Christianity is a sideline. Belonging to the church is like belonging to a lodge or a club. These folk are in deep freeze. Not only do we find them in our churches, but some of them have fallen away from the church and are in cults and “isms.”

The second group are represented by the rocky soil.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended [Matt. 13:20–21].

These rocky–ground folk are the opposite of the first group. It was the Devil who took the Word away from the wayside hearers, but the flesh is the culprit with this group. Instead of being in deep freeze, they are in the oven—warm, emotional, shedding tears, greatly moved. These are what I call Alka–Seltzer Christians. There is a lot of fizz in them. They make as much fuss during a service as a rocket on a launching pad, but they never get into orbit. I classify them as the Southern California type. They have great zeal and energy during special meetings, but they are like burned out Roman candles after the meetings are over.

I stood on the rear end of a train, years ago, going through Kansas. Someone had thrown a paper onto the railroad tracks. As our train sped past, the paper fluttered up into the air and went in every direction. As soon as the train had gone by, the paper settled down on the track and was soon dead still. As I looked way back at the paper lying there, I thought, “That is just like a lot of so–called Christians. When there is a sensational meeting in progress, they really get enthusiastic, but they have no real relationship with Christ. It is just an emotional high.” They are the rocky–ground folk.

The third group of hearers is like thorny 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 [Matt. 13:22].

With these folk the world crowds out the Word of God. The Devil got the wayside folk, and the flesh took care of the rocky–ground folk, but the world chokes out the Word for this class of hearers. The cares of the world move in. Sometimes it is poverty, and other times it is the deceitfulness of riches. It is quite interesting that folk at each end of the social spectrum—extreme poverty and extreme prosperity—are folk who are the most difficult to reach for Christ. I find that a great many people have let the cares of the world crowd out the Word of God. These three types of soil do not represent three types of believers—they are not believers at all! They have heard the Word and have only professed to receive it. My friend, it is well for all of us to examine ourselves to see whether or not we are really in the faith.

Thank God, some seed falls on good ground, and our Lord interprets this for us—

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty [Matt. 13:23].

These are the hearers who receive the Word and understand it. Some of them don’t bring forth much fruit—only thirtyfold, but some bring forth an hundredfold!

There must be an understanding of the Word. The Ethiopian eunuch, you remember, was reading the Word, but he didn’t understand it—although he wanted to understand it. So the Spirit of God put Philip there as a hitchhiker. He took a ride with the Ethiopian and gave him a ticket to heaven. He explained the Word to him—that the One who was led as a sheep to the slaughter was the Lord Jesus Christ, that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. The Ethiopian believed and received Him.

Philip was sowing the seed of the Word of God. This is a Kingdom–of–Heaven situation as it reveals that the Sower, the Lord Jesus Christ, is sowing the seed of the Word of God in the world and that the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearts of those who want to believe.

After our Lord had given the parable of the sower, He said something quite interesting—

Who hath ears to hear, let him hear [Matt. 13:9].

Well, if we have these things on the side of our head called ears, can’t we hear Him? Yes, but notice the question and His answer—

And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? [Matt. 13:10].

Someone has said that a parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. This is a good definition. But the word parable is from the Greek paraboleµ. We get our English word ball from it. You throw something down beside an object to measure it. For example, it’s like putting a ruler down beside a table to measure it. That ruler is a parable; it is put down for the purpose of measuring. Our Lord gave parables to measure heavenly truth which He could set before us.

Why did He do it?

He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given [Matt. 13:11].

If a man wants to know the Word of God, he can know it. He who wants to know the truth can know it. But you can shut your ears to it. There are multitudes of so–called broadminded people who shut their ears to the Word of God. If you don’t want to hear it, you won’t hear it, my friend. Not only would you fail to hear it, but you wouldn’t understand it if you did hear it. You must have the kind of ear that wants to hear the Word of God.

For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath [Matt. 13:12].

If you know a little truth and you want to know more, the Lord will add to it. If you don’t want to know the truth, the Lord will see to it that you won’t get it. You see, the Lord will never shut the door to one who wants to hear. He makes it very clear that this is His reason for speaking in parables. Those who don’t want to hear will not understand them.

The Lord drew His parables from commonplace things, things that were at the fingertips of the people in that day. He gave them great spiritual truths illustrated by things they knew and could see. Someone has put this concept in verse—

He talked of grass and wind and rain

And fig trees and fair weather,

And made it His delight to bring

Heaven and earth together.

He spoke of lilies, vines and corn,

The sparrow and the raven.

And words so natural, yet so wise

Were on men’s hearts engraven.

In the parable of the sower, we see what could be called a Kingdom–of–Heaven condition; that is, it exhibits God’s present rulership over the entire earth as He calls out a people to His name. And God is carrying out His program today through the church, the called–out body, composed of every true believer. Therefore, we have a Kingdom–of–Heaven condition today as God is carrying on His program of bringing folk to a saving knowledge of Christ.

¹

This chapter records the events of a crisis day in the ministry of Jesus Christ. He knew that the growing opposition of the religious leaders would lead to His crucifixion. This fact He had to explain to His disciples. But their logical question would be, “What will happen to the kingdom about which we have been preaching?” That question is answered in this series of parables. So, He first explained the truth concerning the kingdom, and then later explained to them the facts about the Cross.

Our Lord’s use of parables puzzled the disciples. He had used some parables in His teaching already, but on that day He gave a series of seven interrelated parables, then added an eighth. The word parable means “to cast alongside.” It is a story, or comparison, that is put alongside something else to help make the lesson clear. But these are not ordinary parables; Jesus called them “the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11). In the New Testament, a “mystery” is a spiritual truth understood only by divine revelation. It is a “sacred secret” known only to those “on the inside” who learn from the Lord and obey Him.

In this series of parables, Jesus explained the course of the Gospel in the world. If Israel had received Him as King, the blessings would have flowed out from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. But the nation rejected Him, and God had to institute a new program on earth. During this present age, “the kingdom of heaven” is a mixture of true and false, good and bad, as pictured in these parables. It is “Christendom,” professing allegiance to the King, and yet containing much that is contrary to the principles of the King.

Why did Jesus teach in parables? Two reasons were given: because of the sluggishness of the people (Matt. 13:10–17); and because it was prophesied in Psalm 78:2 (Matt. 13:34–35). Jesus did not teach in parables to confuse or condemn the people. Rather, He sought to excite their interest and arouse their curiosity. These parables would give light to those with trusting, searching hearts. But they would bring darkness to the unconcerned and unrepentant.

The seven parables describe for us the spiritual course of “the kingdom of heaven” in this present age. In them we see three stages of spiritual development.

The Beginning of the Kingdom (Matt. 13:1–9, 18–23)

The Parable of the Sower does not begin with “The kingdom of heaven is like” because it describes how the kingdom begins. It begins with the preaching of the Word, the planting of the seed in the hearts of people. When we say, “Let me plant this thought in your mind,” we express the idea of this parable. The seed is God’s Word; the various soils represent different kinds of hearts; and the varied results show the different responses to the Word of God. Jesus explained this parable so there is no doubt of its meaning.

Why compare God’s Word to seed? Because the Word is “living and powerful” (Heb. 4:12, sco). Unlike the words of men, the Word of God has life in it; and that life can be imparted to those who will believe. The truth of God must take root in the heart, be cultivated, and permitted to bear fruit. It is shocking to realize that three fourths of the seed did not bear fruit. Jesus did not describe an age of great harvest, but one in which the Word would be rejected. He was not impressed with the “great multitudes” that followed Him, for He knew that most of the people would not receive His Word within and bear fruit.

Fruit is the test of true salvation (Matt. 7:16). This would include holiness (Rom. 6:22), Christian character (Gal. 5:22–23), good works (Col. 1:10), winning others to Christ (Rom. 1:13), sharing what we have (Rom. 15:25–28), and praising God (Heb. 13:15). If a plant is to bear fruit, it must be rooted in soil and exposed to sunshine.

In the parable, the sun represents persecution that comes because of the Word. Persecution helps believers grow. But the sunshine will kill a plant with no roots. This explains why some “believers” do not last: Their faith was weak, their understanding was meager, and their decision was not sincere. It is possible to “believe” and yet not be saved (John 2:23–25). Unless there is fruit in the life, there is not saving faith in the heart.

Nineteen times in Matthew 13 we find the word “hear.” The Parable of the Sower is found in the first three Gospels, and in each one, the closing admonition is different. It is important that we hear God’s Word, because “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17). Jesus said, “Who hath ears to hear” (Matt. 13:9), “Take heed what you hear!” (Mark 4:24), and “Take heed how you hear!” (Luke 8:18)²

1 McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Gospels (Matthew 1-13) (electronic ed., Vol. 34, pp. 177–184). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

2 Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, pp. 44–45). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.