The Parable of the Sower, Matthew 13, Read Through the Bible Project

Van Gogh The Sower

There is nothing more powerful than a story–than a parable. It grows with the reader, and we continue filling in the gaps with out own life experience.

This, one of Jesus’s five major discourses is called The Parabolic Discourse, because of its collection of parables. The English word parable comes from the Greek parabole, which means “a placing beside” and thus is a comparison or illustration. The synoptic Gospels have 30 parables, John none at all.

This is a rich and fabulous parable.

Matthew 13

¹ That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ² Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.
Sitting was the normal position for teachers. His parables use a narrative analogy to teach a moral or spiritual lesson. They produce different results–hiding truth from those not eager or ready for it, communicating truth to the disciples.

³ Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴ As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵ Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷ Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸ Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹ Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
One of Jesus’s favourite sources of parables was the natural world, which he created.

¹⁰ The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

¹¹ He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

The secrets of the Kingdom, of how to live happily, of the knowledge of God, are not squandered but given to those who are willing to seek for them, and treasure them–like the first disciples were.

¹² Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.

Those who have and treasure spiritual truth will receive even more. But those who do not treasure and live it–even the little truth they have will be taken from them.

¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

¹⁴ In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

   “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
   you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
¹⁵ For this people’s heart has become calloused;
   they hardly hear with their ears,
   and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
   hear with their ears,
   understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

God will heal those who truly try to see and hear and understand spiritual truth.
A hard heart will stand in the way of seeing and understanding spiritual truth.

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷ For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Jesus seldom interpreted his parables, but here he does so, because his disciples asked him to!! We see the power of the request again.

¹⁸ “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

Distraction works upon incomprehension.

²⁰ The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹ But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

Shallow roots, which means the word heard with joy is forgotten in a time of persecution.

²² The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.

The word choked by hassles, worries, and giving too much importance to wealth. And who would have supposed that this text is 21 centuries old!!

²³ But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

But when the word is fruitful, its yield is exponential.
Typical agricultural yields were fivefold to fifteen fold, with a tenfold return considered a good yield.