The parable of the sower - its lessons and relevance for us
A change of pace from the heavy but important stuff on the immortality of the soul. This is a lesson in the practical response to the gospel message when its preached. It has some bearing on the previous topic but its real relevance is in undercutting the ideas that underpin universal salvation.
A. An exposition of Jesus' parable of the sower.
I would encourage you all to go and read the parable in its entirety in Mark 4 and Matthew 13 for in these chapters Jesus both tells the parable to the multitudes and then expounds it to his disciples afterwards.
https://biblehub.com/kjv/mark/4.htm https://biblehub.com/kjv/matthew/13.htm
In broad strokes, the parable sets out a story of a man who sows seed
The seed falls in four different places and the end result for the seed differs based on where it falls.
- The hard path
- The stony/ rocky ground
- The ground full of weeds, thorns and thistles
- The good ground
This parable would have been very easy to understand for those of Jesus' era where the agricultural nature of the society would have presented very many examples of farmers doing exactly this. They would scatter the seed by hand and it would go in a variety of different directions and land on a variety of different quality soils and also on the path on which people trod as that passed through the countryside.
B. What happened to the seed?
The seed that fell on the path stood no chance of growing. Instead, the birds came and picked it all up.
The seed that fell on the stony ground sprung up but because it had no depth of earth, it was unable to do anymore than make a good start. Eventually it withered and died.
The seed that fell on thorny ground made a good fist of it initially. It grew but so also did weeds that grew with it. The weeds that grew with it were stronger than the plant that had grown from the sower's seed and so it choked it.
hen, finally, we had the seed that fell on the ground described as "good". This ground provided a perfect spot for the seed to grow and it grew and multiplied and brought forth varying degrees of abundance in its ear.
C. Meaning of the parable
So, what did Jesus say was the meaning of the parable?
The seed and the sower
The seed is the Word of God. The sower is God himself, acting through his prophets and teachers on earth, including Jesus, his beloved Son.
The ground
The word of God is spread abroad throughout the earth. This was done in a variety of ways across the years but today it takes the form of the Bible itself which is published online and free to anyone who wants to read it.
The ultimate purpose of the Sower is for the seed to germinate, take root and grow into the expected plant, providing food. So also, God expects that the word of God, once sown in us, will produce a response. The more enthusiastic and righteous we are in response, the more the word will grow and the more flourishing will be the end result. This is where the ground types become relevant.
The four types of ground
The ground is those people who hear or are exposed to the Word of God.
There are four ground types given which correspond to four different responses that these people have to the word that they here. This, here, is the lesson for us.
1. The wayside or path
The wayside is described first. It represents all who hear the Word of God but it makes no impression upon them. They are not suitable vessels for the Word and the Gospel message and so the message cannot take root. In effect, it goes in one ear and out the other, never taking up lodging and never bearing fruit.
2. Stony ground
The stony, rocky ground is next up. The seed, the Word of God, takes root in these people however there's no depth to their faith and conviction. When hard times come (in the parable, when the sun comes out and scorches the earth), they waver and fall. Their faith and trust in God is not enough to sustain them when things get tough. They were enthusiastic at first but it didn't last. It burned brightly and quickly and then was snuffed out.
3. Thorny ground
The thorny ground is described next. The seed, the Word of God also takes root here. The depth of earth is not a problem either for the seed grows and grows. However, something else also grows. The weeds that spring up alongside the seed pose an existential threat to the newly growing plant. If allowed to grow unchecked, the weeds will overtake the plant of the seed and choke the life out of it, killing it. These people are those, as described by Jesus, whose focus is split between many things in addition to the word of God. In Mark 4 he describes the weeds as representing "the cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches and lusts of other things".
So, it might be said that these people are those who are enthusiastic about the Word of God but not to the exclusion of all other things. They might place the Word of God on an equal importance to their jobs, their family, their careers, their wealth, their personal interest, their friendships etc. By placing the Word of God on the same footing and not prioritising it, they allow other interests to grow and gradually their interest in heavenly things wanes. It is very easy to be one of these people in this day and age in which we live. There are many distractions available to us which at best can pull us in a direction away from the Word of God and at worst are in direct opposition to it. Over time, our minds resolve the way of the things that are not of God and so the word in us dies. Note that this is in direct contrast to how a lot of protestants see their faith and beliefs. In their minds, once you've accepted Jesus into your heart, that's really it. It's not possible to lose it when once you had it but the parable makes it clear that this is so.
4. The good ground
The good ground, by contrast, allows the seed to grow unencumbered and unrestricted. The seed is nurtured in the ground and grows into the plant ready for harvest as the sower intended. Even within this ground, there are degrees of productivity from 30 to 60 to 100 fold increases in the crop. The people represented by the good ground are those in whom the Word of God grows truly and unencumbered. They have a right mind before God and the truth of the gospel message grows within them.
D. The Lessons in this for us
We all aspire to be the good ground. The question is whether our intentions at the beginning match our actions at the end.
Remember that even amongst Jesus' followers, many turned away from him so that by the end it was really just the twelve and maybe a select few more. The crowds had gone. No doubt amongst them were all manner of people who could be represented by the different types of ground. Some would have heard him once and then gone about their lives. Some would have gone with him enthusiastically for a while but then seen how hard a life it was and gone back to their own lives, leaving him behind.
Even amongst his disciples there was variation. Judas Iscariot was probably best categorised as being part of the thorny ground. He was a thief, he coveted money and thought he could make a quick buck betraying his master for money. The word did not grow in him because the thorns choked it out. The parable also provides an important rebuttal to the ideas of universal salvation. Not everyone who hears the word will be saved and even then, not even all who respond positively initially will be saved. Beware of those who promise salvation for all or who believe that the world will be converted eventually through preaching in this day and age. This parable and the entire history of mankind suggests it will be otherwise.
This is the lesson for us. To keep strong and maintain our faith until our master returns to this earth. The word must continue to grow in us so that we might be classified as the good ground of the parable. Let us all try not to be anything but the good ground for this
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