The Parable of the Sower

[HKHaugan]

The Parable of the Sower (Mt.13:3-9, 18-23))

 The first thing we want to remember is that the parables are meant to touch the heart. What the heart is willing to receive and trust is what will motivate the spirit to put it into action. This is why the first parable of note in Matthew is the Parable of the Sower. It is a parable about the Word of God. It contains the seeds, its words, and is spread along four areas, the path, the rocky places, the thorns and the good soil. Visualize, if you will, a farmer in the days of Jesus, with a bag of seeds, walking along casting seeds, and noting where they fall (vs.3-9). See how Jesus explains it (vs.18-23).

 First, the path.

“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path (vs.19).”

 The path is the hardened soil due to it being walked upon which is what a path is, beaten down compacted soil. The Word is preached, heard, taught, read, but the heart is hardened and unwilling to embrace the seeds that fall upon it. The hardening can come from some past relational hurt in a church or from a family member or from some overly religious zealot or from some intellectual challenge from an impressive professor or teacher. After all, they argue, isn’t the Bible just an old book written by men, outdated and irrelevant in the modern world? The evil one, satan, is quick to act when the Lord touches the heart. He has numerous strategies to lure our minds and hearts into rationalization and self-justification and getting us to assume we are in control of our lives.

 Second, the rocky places.

“The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away (vs.20-21).”

 The issue here is rootlessness. When the Scripture is lifted up and it touches your heart, that is a different kind of joy, a recognition of the peace Jesus brings. But if it is just emotional and the heart falls away, like people who jump from one preacher to another because of how they deliver a sermon, or how good the music is, or based on the kind of people attending. That kind of heart loses its ability to extend the hand of fellowship to another hurting person. Obviously then, there is no root. You can hear wonderful ideas and be impressed, even overjoyed, but the heart lacking the will to see them through, to decide to follow where they lead, is the problem. Then too, if it’s just about my needs and finding a ‘right’ place for me, the rocky ground obscures the soil upon which they lay. Troubles and persecution will quickly expose the inner condition, the self-centered heart.

 Third, the thorny places.

“The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful (vs.22).”

 Two very real obstacles are mentioned here, the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. Both are chasms into which it is easy to fall. The first, the worries of this life; it is this life that is the toughest of the first three. It is about the body in which we live, the aloneness that can be gripped by fear of economic and social destruction. It’s about social rejection, health and physical survival, all of which are daily pressures. The first two places, the path and the rocky places prepare us for the real problem, survival; fitting in, finding our place in the sun, status, recognition, acceptance, self-worth which fall prey to the idol of wealth, its monetary riches and social standing. Think of the professionals whose lives are driven by ‘success’ and their families and friends end up as casualties on the battlefield of self-advancement, not to mention the disillusionment and depression following the final recognition of their mistaken goals that can’t be undone. That’s the choking; the guilty ‘shoulda, coulda, woulda’s.’ There is nothing left but the bitter fruit of regret and remorse in this life’s closing moments.

 The good soil.

“But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown (vs.23).”

 The good soil is hearing and understanding the Word. It’s listening spiritually and understanding spiritually. It starts with realizing who is telling the parable, namely the Lord Jesus. That it is His Word directed personally at our individual heart. That He is the living Word, risen from the dead, alive and ready to be our heart’s companion. That His Word is what makes the heart find its meaning, purpose and significance. It is the understanding of being an image of God who is hearing from the Son of God. “Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the Word of God (Rom.10:17).”

 This means that ‘this life’ can only be lived fully when we have a personal relationship with God and let Him guide our choices and decision making from one day to the next. Then the path, the rocky and thorny places are not avoided but recognized and dealt with in a spiritual relationship with the Lord as the Holy Spirit directs us through His Word. Those negative places can be where we learn in depth what it means to live spiritually as opposed to self-centering sin and the pressures of the fallen world atmosphere we encounter every day.

 We have to face the fact that the temptation to make choices based on accumulating wealth and social acceptance is driven by fear of not surviving physically and socially, the very things that are momentary traps when real life choices have to be made. The thing about approaching our life spiritually is that we are not driven by the internal fear but by the Holy Spirit who lovingly nudges us in the moment choices have to be made.

 One more thing. It is not the major choices that are the important ones. It is the minor ones while we are on our way that build character when we are guided spiritually. Jesus clearly says, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much (Lk.16:10).” This covers everything from our financial to social choices occurring from one moment to the next. In them we may need Jesus to our Savior or we may need Him to be our Lord or inevitably, both. The Holy Spirit will be the deciding personal guide. He is the personal gift who brings our Savior and Lord into focus.