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The Parable of the Sower
All scripture is from the King James Version unless otherwise noted. Before beginning this study, I suggest you pray and ask God to guide you through this study. I also suggest that you do you own study of this material in order to ensure its accuracy.
It is important that we understand the Parable of the Sower. Speaking of this parable, Jesus Himself said: "Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" (Mark 4:13) Do you understand what He said? Let me quote the NIV. "Then Jesus said to them, "Don't you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?"" He said that we must understand this parable if we are to understand any other. If you don't understand this parable, you need to. Hopefully this study will increase our understanding.
What is a parable? The Greek is parabole and the Hebrew is mashal. The Hebrew title of the Proverbs is mashalai from mashal. Strong's Greek Dictionary defines parabole like this: "a similitude, i.e. [a] symbolic fictitious narrative of common life conveying a moral; an apothegm or adage."
Vine says: "[A parable] signifies 'a placing of one thing beside another' with a view to comparison… It is generally used of a somewhat lengthy utterance or narrative drawn from nature or human circumstances, the object of which is to set forth a spiritual lesson."
Funk and Wagnalls: "n. a short narrative making a moral or religious point by comparison with natural or homely things. — Syn. See ALLEGORY"
Dr. Strong says it is fictitious but Vine and the dictionary do not say it is fictitious. Actually, it can be either. A parable can be a real-life historical event or it can be a fictitious story. But in either case it has a moral or spiritual lesson. Parables are allegorical whether fact or fiction.
The Parable of the Sower is important because Jesus says you must understand it if you are to understand any other. All three Synoptics include this parable. We will use the parable in Matthew and will refer to the other two Synoptic Gospels as necessary. Let us not confuse the Parable of the Sower with the Parable of the Wheat and Tares. The former is about spreading God's Word while the latter is about those who belong to the kingdom and those who belong to the enemy. The entire Parable of the Sower including the explanation is in Matthew 13:3-24.
(Mat 13:3) And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying,
Behold, a sower went forth to sow;The sower here is one who sows by scattering or broadcasting. The Greek is speiron tou speirein (one sowing to sow). It is from speiro (Strong's 4687), which means to scatter, or sow (literally or figuratively).
(Mat 13:4)
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:The way side, or shoulder of the road, is packed down so tightly that seed will not penetrate the soil. The seed is then easy pickings for the birds.
(Mat 13:5-6)
Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: {6} And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.Rocky soil sometime makes it hard for plants to find purchase for their roots among the rocks. The seed germinates readily enough, but with no place for a hardy root system to develop, the plant quickly dies.
(Mat 13:7)
And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:Thorny weeds are usually very hardy. The lowly blackberry brier, for example, will thrive when even grasses won't grow; in a thicket of blackberries, little else grows. The thorns stifled the seed that fell here.
(Mat 13:8)
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.This is the end of the actual parable. Jesus will explain the lesson later.
(Mat 13:9)
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.It is extremely important to understand what this statement means. Jesus uses this same phraseology in several other places; He spoke these words seven times before the crucifixion and eight times after His resurrection. In each place it calls for one to open his or her spiritual ears. It signifies an underlying meaning not necessarily evident from a cursory reading. It also tells to look for a meaning other than literal. While a literal reading may be correct, it is the spiritual meaning that Jesus is pointing to. With our spiritual ears open, we will understand the truth Jesus was imparting.
Let us skip down to verse 18 for the explanation.
(Mat 13:18-19)
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. {19} 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.When He says "Hear ye" he is enjoining us to understand. He is saying "Understand therefore the parable of the sower."
We can see by verse 19 that the seed that was being broadcast was the word of the kingdom. Mark (4:14) tells us that the seed was the word and Luke (8:11) tells it was the word of God. The word of the kingdom and the word of God can be considered synonymous because a kingdom is the dominion of the king. God is the King (Psa 10:16, 24:8, 24:10, Isa 6:5, etc.) so the word of the kingdom of God is the Word of God.
The seed along the roadside on the hard ground symbolizes those who hear the word of God but do not understand it. This means those who do not receive it (see v. 20). Evil comes along and raptures (this is hyperbole) it away from them. The word rendered "catcheth away" is harpazei, which is translated 'rapture' by the Vulgate (the Latin Bible). Here in Matthew it is evil or the evil one who snatches away the word. In Mark (4:15) it is Satan; in Luke (8:12) it is the Devil. When you see the words "the wicked one" in the KJV, the word 'one' is not in the text, leaving the original to be 'the wicked'. It means the Devil or Satan
(Mat 13:20-21)
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; {21} 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.This person receives the word at once. But it never takes root and when something bad happens to him, he looses the word.
(Mat 13:22)
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.This is the one that fits many who claim to be Christians in our day. The many cares and snares of this world keep many Christians from being fruitful. They are Christians in name but when it comes to using the gifts given them by God for to edify the Body of Christ, they just do not have the time. Of course it is not always their fault. Many are not being taught the Word of God and they don't know any better. They are being taught the traditions of men and not the Word.
(Mat 13:23)
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.Even though much of the seed was cast onto unprepared ground, much of it still falls on the good ground where it germinates and grows into a mature plant. A mature plant puts out many more times the seed required to grow it. Relating this to the kingdom, when you plant seed, that is God's Word, into fertile ground, it will germinate and produce fruit.
The moral here is that all Christians should broadcast seed. It is not up to us to make it fall on fertile ground, we are just to broadcast it. When you plant a seed, it may fall on fertile or infertile ground. That which falls on fertile ground may not germinate at once. It may take some time. You may not even be there when the seed germinated. Our job is to plant seeds wherever we go. We are not responsible for where it lands or when it germinates; we are only responsible to scatter it.
This makes the question asked by many preachers, "How many people did you lead to Christ last week?" beside the point. You may have led some to Christ. Great! But if you did not, did you plant any seeds last week? That is your responsibility. Don't feel guilty if you led no one to Christ last week; rather feel guilty if you did not sow any seed.
This brings up one last point. The seed that fell on fertile ground grew and matured and produced fruit. Did that seed have to be taken into the hothouse to germinate? No, it grew right in the field.
Must one go to church and walk down the aisle at the invitation to be saved? No. Most preachers I have heard make it seem so. They talk like you did not do your job if no one came to church and walked the aisle at the invitation. That just is not true. Yes, people should make a public profession of faith. They can go to church and walk the aisle to profess their faith.
Don't think that when you plant a seed that the person must wait until Sunday to go to church to be saved. That person can be saved on the spot. I'm not saying that people are not saved in church and walk the aisle right then; it does happen, but it is not necessary. People can be saved elsewhere.
I heard a preacher on a missions program on Christian radio the other day say that so and so could hardly wait until Sunday to go to church to be saved. Why? Could not that person be saved at home?
Plant seeds and people will come to Christ. You might not see it and it might not happen on Sunday morning at the invitation, but it will happen.
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