The Seed and the Soil

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

“Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” (Matthew 13:3-12; 18-23 NASB)

The parable of the sower is found in three of the four gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke. Each record of the event sheds its own particular light on Jesus’ intriguing teaching. Common to all three is the presence of a sower, the seed being sown and the ground, or soil, receiving the seed.

Two of these three elements are without variation: both the sower and the seed sown are identical in every instance. It is only the location or condition of the soil upon which the seed falls that varies: beside the road; rocky places with but a thin layer of soil; thorn infested soil; and good soil.

We might wonder why a sower would be so indiscriminate with the sowing of his seed. He seems to scatter it everywhere! Is it carelessness? A thoughtless squandering of precious seed? I think not and am inclined to view it as liberality. A generous outpouring without prejudice. For the seed, we are told, is the word of the kingdom. (v19) God is abundantly gracious, withholding not even his only Son, that his brothers and sisters might be reconciled to his Father, and theirs, and saved from sin—not from the consequences, for these work for our ultimate good—but from the live sin in us. That all the wrongness in our hearts would be no more. 

As pointed out earlier, the seed that fell beside the road is different insofar as there is no reference as to the condition of the ground, or soil, upon which the seed fell. Only its location. It’s nearness to the road seems to be the chief peril. Jesus points to two factors that come into play in this circumstance: a lack of understanding and the influence of “the evil one.” 

A road is that part of the terrain which is widely traversed, a common path used by many. The thoughts and ways of the world are in widespread evidence here. A powerful influence against the message of the kingdom of heaven. Perhaps it is this influence, the prevailing “wisdom” espoused by the culture of the day, that the devil uses to unseat the seed of truth from the hearts of those beside the road. 

My own heart was once in such a state. When I read the Bible I read the words but didn’t grasp their meaning. It was the same when various Christians spoke using evangelical catch-phrases that made no sense to me. I set their words against the mindset of the culture of my youth. And I did so with but little effort at gaining a true understanding of either.

I have since learned that getting to a place of understanding takes deliberate effort! This effort, a dogged determination to get at the bottom of a matter, is part of what I believe is the practical means involved in resisting the devil. (James 4.7) The seed that fell beside the road fell where no such effort at understanding was to be found.

The rocky soil with little depth is perhaps an even more dangerous place to be in than beside the road. For there is an initial embracing of heaven’s message without having thought the matter through. Belief is whimsical, temporary. Subject to rejection should life deliver other than smooth sailing. 

There is a sobering question I imagine Jesus asking all who would follow him: Would you follow me if I, myself, were your only reward? It is a question demanding no quick, off-the-cuff reply. The word of the kingdom contains promises of tribulation and peril. Have we not read our New Testament? How could it be otherwise? Indeed, how are true sons and daughters, men and women who increasingly grow into the likeness of their Elder Brother, formed if not through such painful blessings?

And in their falling away, what is that they are falling away into but the terrible abyss of unbelief and its eventual, inevitable companion—at least for those who think it through—despair.

Those who live amongst the thorns appear to me to be trying to live with one foot in the kingdom and one in the world. I see no outright rejection of the kingdom. Yet neither is there an embracing. I fear that many of us who claim to be followers of Christ are in this unhappy state, this in-between place that throttles our fruitfulness: the development of the character of Jesus Christ in us. To embrace the message of the kingdom is to believe on Jesus and do what he says! The way of the kingdom lies through the thorns. 

At last we come to the good soil, the man or woman who hears the message that Jesus brings, believes the One whom God has sent, and does what he commands. These individuals bring forth “fruit” in varying capacities. In other words, the self that God gave them at their creation has depth of character, a marked similarity with that of their Lord: “…some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

At this point, one might well wonder what it is that makes up the “good soil” capable of bearing a hearty crop of character fruit. 

Perhaps a clue is given to us in our Lord’s mysterious answer as to why he spoke to the crowds in parables: To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.

Whoever has what? we might rightly wonder. Jesus’ words invite speculation. And so I shall…

Jesus’ invitation to follow him was met with one of two responses. Either the individual invited eagerly did so, or they rejected the offer. I believe their choice was in proportion to the hunger in their soul to know God. I think it possible that it was this hunger, this desire, this faith to believe that God satisfies the deepest longings of our hearts that Jesus was referring to. That those of his children that long for their Father shall not be left unsatisfied but, with the faith they possess, will be given even more faith, together with eyes that increasingly see, and ears that increasing hear.

Sadly, there are those who allow what little desire they do have to lie dormant and lifeless. The fearful warning Jesus speaks, is that they stand to lose what desire and faith they do have—not because he would take it from them but, I believe, because they will have made it altogether easy for the evil one or the world to do so.

How are we, then, to affect the soil of our own hearts that it might be like the good soil in the parable?

We can ask. 

God is gracious and kind, the Father of all. If we will but ask him for faith, for increased desire and longing to know him, will he not be glad to do so? For he has promised to give good things to those who ask him. (Mt. 7.11)

We can think. 

In the letter to the Romans, Paul points to another means: Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its own mould, but let God re-mould your minds from within… (Rom 12.1-2 JB Phillips) 

It is an exhortation to combat the influence of the world that is so prevalent, and everywhere all around us, by yielding ourselves to God… in part by the thoughtful, reflective, prayerful reading of his word, being diligent to think it through for ourselves with the Spirit’s help. For it is the Spirit’s joy to lead us into truth.

We can obey.

Doing what Jesus says for us to do is the key to understanding. 

May the mind of Christ prevail in us and the soil of our hearts be good soil yielding a bountiful crop to the glory of God and our eternal good!

~m