Introduction
The
“parable of the sower” (Matt. 13: 18) occurs in all three synoptic
Gospels (see Matt. 13: 3-9, 18-23; Mark. 4: 3-20; Luke 8: 5-15) but
not in John. Now as standing at the head of the Lord’s teaching
concerning “the mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens” (Matt. 13:
11) this parable clearly has a dispensational aspect. Of course,
many today would connect it with the preaching of the Gospel of the
grace of God, and it is true that the parable has an application to
all sowing of God’s Word whenever that sowing takes place. However,
it could hardly be understood at the time in relation
to the Gospel now preached for the
simple reason that the Lord had not died. The Lord says to the
disciples “Do ye not know this parable?” (Mark 4: 13), and He
clearly expected them to have at least some concept then
of the teaching contained within it. Now
with what would they connect sowing in the parable if not with the
proclamation of the kingdom—for just prior to its telling in Luke 8
the Lord had gone “through [the country] city by city, and village
by village, preaching and announcing the glad tidings of the kingdom
of God” (v1)? Indeed, we learn from a subsequent parable in Matt. 13
that “He that sows the good seed is the Son of man” (v37). However,
in the parable of the sower itself, the words, “Behold, the sower
went out to sow …” (Matt. 13: 3) are presented in the abstract—which
leaves room for Christ’s servants (comp. John 4: 35-38) to fall
within its scope. Indeed, the seed—“the word of the kingdom” (Matt.
13: 19)—was also put out by John the Baptist and the apostles (see
Matt. 3: 1, 2; 10: 7). Again, is it a mere coincidence that Luke so
arranges his material that after the parable in chapter 8, the
disciples themselves are seen in chapter 9 going out “to proclaim
the kingdom of God” (v2)? This pattern of instruction by parable
followed by preaching is also seen in Mark (see Mark 4: 1-20; 6:
7-13) where it states that He had chosen the disciples so “that he
might send them to preach” (Mark 3: 14).
The primary meaning of the parable therefore, relates
to the proclamation of the kingdom as foretold by Israel’s prophets
rather than “the glad tidings of the grace of God” (Acts 20: 24)
based upon the death and resurrection of the Lord. This is seen most
starkly in Matthew’s account, for while elsewhere the seed is “the
word” (Mark 4: 14) and “the word of God” (Luke 8: 11), in Matthew it
is “the word of the kingdom” (Matt. 13: 19, my
emphasis). So while the parable can be rightly applied
to what is preached today, its interpretation relates
to its original setting.
Other matters
deserve notice. In both Mark and Luke, the seed is the message
preached and the four soils correspond to the state of soul found in
the hearers. In Matthew, however, the seed stands for men who have
come under the influence of the Word: “this is he that
is sown” (Matt. 13: 19, my emphasis; see also vs. 20, 22, 23).
Indeed, it is taught elsewhere that good seed refers to “the sons of
the kingdom” (v38)—those who would inherit the kingdom. That
inheritance was naturally the birthright of Israel (see Dan. 7: 27)
although an evil generation would forfeit that right (see Matt. 8:
12). Indeed, in going out from the house and sitting down by the sea
to deliver the parable (see Matt. 13: 1) the Lord was indicating
that a wider scope was now in view and that the good seed included
any, whether Jewish or not, who heard and understood
the Word sown in their heart (see v23). This stands in contrast to
the earlier limitation of the preaching to the “house of Israel”
(Matt. 10: 6). Here the sower goes out to sow, casting out the grain
unrestrictedly.
Careful readers of
the parable will also notice that there are three sorts of
unfruitful soil and three grades of fruit from the good
ground. In Scripture, the number three (or what is
threefold) suggests what is fully described (comp. Matt.
28: 19; 1 Thess. 5: 23; 1 John 2: 16 etc.). Hence the parable of the
sower gives a complete account, both of the bad soil
and also the good.
The Setting and Purpose of the Parable
In both
Matthew and Mark’s accounts, the telling of the parable follows the
Jews ascribing the Lord’s miracles to Satan, the Lord’s subsequent
warning about the sin against the Holy Spirit, and the laying aside
of His natural ties (see Matt. 12: 22-37, 46-50; Mark 3: 22-35).
Matthew also speaks of the conduct and last condition of the wicked
generation that opposed Him (see Matt. 12: 38-45). All this suggests
that a significant turning point has been reached in the
relationship between Israel and Her Messiah. Luke relates these
things after the parable of the sower (see Luke 8: 19-21; 11:
14-26; 12: 10) and instead connects the parable directly with the
Lord’s preaching and ministry (see Luke 8: 1-4). All three Gospels,
however, give the reason for the Lord speaking in parables as based
on Is. 6: 9-10: “For this cause I speak to them in parables, because
seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear nor understand;
and in them is filled up the prophecy of Esaias, which says, Hearing
ye shall hear and shall not understand, and beholding ye shall
behold and not see; for the heart of this people has grown fat, and
they have heard heavily with their ears, and they have closed their
eyes as asleep, lest they should see with the eyes and hear with the
ears, and understand with the heart, and should be converted, and I
should heal them” (Matt. 13: 13-15; see Mark 4: 11-12; Luke 8: 10).
John also quotes Is. 6: 9-10 (see John 12: 40) but omits any
reference to parables (indeed, the word parable is absent
altogether from John) because in writing, he assumes Christianity,
while the others focus on the promised kingdom. The parable of the
sower is thus presented against the background of the nation to whom
were “the promises” (Rom. 9: 4) rejecting Christ but at the same
time leaving a door open for anyone who would respond to His claims,
for “He that has ears, let him hear” (Matt. 13: 9). Now the Lord
could have gone on to also quote vs. 11-13 from Isaiah 6 which speak
of Israel as a nation having the kingdom publicly in a
future day, but His focus was the day of His rejection when the
kingdom has taken on a mystery form. This form is a
secret only known to the initiated—which
is why He tells His disciples that “To you is given [to know] the
mystery of the kingdom of God; but to them who are without, all
things are done in parables” (Mark 4: 11). Thus while the other
parables in the series in Matthew 13 (see vs. 24-52) depict the
kingdom in this period, the parable of the sower describes how
individuals will enter in.
The Jews, of
course, thought they could get into the kingdom merely on the basis
of natural ties—an idea repudiated by John the Baptist
(see Matt. 3: 9) and confirmed by the Lord (see Matt. 8: 11, 12).
The parable of the sower brings in what is moral—a
field is sown because there is no crop in it, and without the seed
being sown, man (even a Jew) can never bear fruit for God. However,
as in natural husbandry, one has not only to consider the seed, but
the ground as well—man’s spiritual condition. The seed was one and
the same whatever the ground, but the differing character of the
ground was exposed when it came into contact with the seed. Every
type of ground described is said to typify persons who ‘hear’ the
Word, but as Luke observes, there is a pressing need to “Take heed
therefore how ye hear” (Luke 8: 18, my emphasis).
While a “great crowd” (Luke 8: 4) heard the parable, only a few (see
v9) cared enough to seek the interpretation. Their hearing was
different—they wanted to acquire what had been said for themselves.
Rather than how ye hear, Mark 4: 24 has “what
ye hear” (my emphasis) and in the context of “with what measure ye
mete, it shall be meted to you” (v24) this different emphasis
teaches that the hearers were to pay close attention to what they
heard because it was incumbent on them to serve it out to others.
The Seed Sown on the Wayside
In all three Gospel accounts, four
types of result from the sowing are given. The number four in
Scripture relates to what is universal in this world, hence four
seasons, four corners of the earth etc. (see Gen. 8: 22; Rev. 7: 1).
All men, universally, therefore fall within these four sorts of
result.
Now the first
category of seed is that which “fell along the way, and it was
trodden under foot, and the birds of the heaven devoured it up”
(Luke 8: 5). Luke alone gives “trodden under foot”, which is one
word in Greek (katapatew)
and occurs elsewhere only in Matt. 5: 13; 7: 6; Luke 12: 1 and Heb.
10: 29—all but one of which refer to that which is viewed as
worthless or contemptible. We are not told who trod the seed
underfoot, but the environment in which the seed found itself was
clearly not conducive to germination—it was not valued or cared for.
Indeed, the wayside is likely to be ground that is hardened through
constant use, and this reflects a hearer who is impervious to the
Word.
However, the seed
was not only crushed, but “the birds came and devoured it” (Mark 4:
4). In the explanation given, the birds are emblematic of “Satan”
who “comes and takes away the word that was sown in them”
(v15)—Satan being, of course, “the ruler of the authority of
the air” (Eph. 2: 2, my emphasis). Mark tells us that this
action of the Devil is “immediately” (Mark 4: 15), while Matthew
writes that “the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown in
his heart” (Matt. 13: 19). The seed is sown, but because the hearer
does not care about it, the Enemy is able to come in and remove
it—it goes in one ear and out the other.
These wayside
hearers are those to whom the Word of God is unintelligible, for it
is “From every one who hears the word of the kingdom and does not
understand [it]” (v19) that it is snatched away. This, of course,
takes us back again to the quotation from Isaiah 6: “Hearing ye
shall hear and shall not understand” (v14). How solemn! As Luke
observes, Satan’s objective was that those who heard “may not
believe and be saved” (Luke 8: 12). The wayside hearer is therefore
not a believer—indeed, not even a professing believer
in Jesus as the Christ (as were those sown among thorns and on the
stony ground, where the seed germinated and grew. The Lord speaks
elsewhere of such: “He that has ears to hear, let him hear. But to
whom shall I liken this generation? It is like children sitting in
the markets, which, calling to their companions, say, We have piped
to you, and ye have not danced: we have mourned to you, and ye have
not wailed” (Matt. 11: 15-17). The context is the herald of the King
being in prison (see Matt. 11: 2), the Lord’s condemnation of those
cities not repenting at His Messianic works of power (see vs.
20-24), the rejection of the counsel of God for salvation by the
Jewish hierarchy (comp. Luke 7: 30 and vs. 31, 32), and the Lord’s
prayer thanking His Father “that thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to babes” (Matt. 11: 25).
The Seed Sown on Stony Ground
The next
category of seed presented is that which “fell on the rocky ground,
where it had not much earth, and immediately it sprung up out [of
the ground] because it had no depth of earth; and when the sun arose
it was burnt up, and because of its not having any root, it
withered” (Mark 4: 5-7). The Lord explains this as “this is he who
hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, but has no root
in himself, but is for a time only; and when tribulation or
persecution happens on account of the word, he is immediately
offended” (Matt. 13: 20, 21)—that is, he is stumbled, or as Luke
puts it, “in time of trial fall away” (Luke 8: 13). These are the
superficial or shallow hearers. There can be no downward growth into
rock, and thus the only growth can be upward, and may, temporarily,
be impressive. Thus unlike those on the wayside, they profess to
have faith—and, for a time, they appear to have it.
But having no roots, the ‘heat’ of suffering or persecution withers
the early promise, and “it was dried up because it had not moisture”
(v6). The problem is not with the seed—it is the same Word of God on
whichever ground it falls—but the problem lies with the hearer. Nor,
as in the first, is there any action of Satan—the failure of the
crop is traced back entirely to “but has no root in himself” (Matt.
13: 21).
The immediate
reception of the Word with joy must always be greeted with great
caution. Certainly, the Gospel should minister joy—but only
when presented to an already exercised conscience. When the
Lord took up His public ministry, He was preceded by John the
Baptist, whose mission was to “prepare ye the way of
[the] Lord” (Matt. 3: 3, my emphasis) and who preached “[the]
baptism of repentance for remission of sins” (Mark 1:
4, my emphasis). Kingdom blessing was not to be had without the
nation acknowledging its history of sin. This turning over of the
conscience—a needed work if real blessing is to be enjoyed—is
not a joyous matter, and convicting a person of sin does not
make him rejoice. Now where the ‘ploughing’ of the conscience has
not gone on (and that is impossible in “rock”—Luke 8: 6), the
instant reception of the Word with joy is a doubtful sign. Yes,
Zacchaeus, on meeting the Lord, “received him with joy” (Luke 19:
6), but he does not deny the accusation that he was “a sinful man”
(v7) and proved the working of grace in his soul by, meeting, and
also exceeding, what the law demanded (see v8; comp. Exod. 22: 1;
Deut. 14: 28, 29).
The divine
objective in sowing is fruit in the harvest season,
and there will never be any fruit where there is “not much earth”
(Matt. 13: 5), “no root” (Mark 4: 17) and “not moisture” (Luke 8:
6). Fruit upward is dependent on root downward: “And the remnant
that is escaped of the house of Judah shall again take root
downward, and bear fruit upward” (Is. 37: 31). Of course, those who
have no root may display leafy growth in the spring, but in the heat
of summer such seedlings are dried up. There is a profession of
faith but nothing to sustain faith—the emotions are reached, but not
the conscience. It is a solemn lesson to learn that there is nothing
in the natural heart of man to provide a root for divine truth. The
intellect or the affections, may, for a while, be so moved by divine
truth as to cause “he that is sown on the rocky places” (Matt. 13:
20) to resemble those who receive the truth into good ground, but a
faith that endures, is a faith that has sent roots down into the
ground. It is the goodness of God, not anything in man, that leads
him to repentance (see Rom. 2: 4), for He grants it to man (see Acts
11: 18), and faith itself is the gift of God (see Eph. 2: 8). In the
instructions for their own preaching, the disciples had been told
that “brother shall deliver up brother to death, and father child;
and children shall rise up against parents and shall put them to
death; and ye shall be hated of all on account of my name. But
he that has endured to [the] end, he shall be saved”
(Matt. 10: 21, 22, my emphasis). This stands in contrast with: “who
believe for a time, and in time of trial fall away” (Luke 8: 13).
The Seed Sown Among Thorns
The careful reader will notice an
interconnectedness between the first three sowings: the “takes away”
(Luke 8: 12) of those on the wayside, the “fall away” (v13) of those
on the rocky places, and, in the category now before us, the “go
away” (v14) of those among the thorns. It is also apparent that
there is a progression in the parable—the seed that fell on the
wayside did not even germinate, the seed sown on the rock sprang up
rapidly but soon died, while the seed that fell among the thorns
grew almost to the stage where it might have borne fruit.
Thus “and others fell upon the thorns, and the thorns grew up and
choked them … this is he who hears the word, and the anxious care of
this life, and the deceit of riches choke the word, and he becomes
unfruitful” (Matt. 13: 7, 22)—or as Luke 8: 14 puts it, those among
the thorns “bring no fruit to perfection” (or completion).
So why is it said
of this last category that “it yielded no fruit” (Mark 4: 7)? The
seed “fell in the midst of the thorns, and the thorns having sprung
up with [it] choked it” (Luke 8: 7). Right from the start, there
were other things in the lives of those who heard—the “cares and
riches and pleasures of life” (v14) and “the lusts of other things”
(Mark 4: 19)—which crowded out the seed. See how pervasive the
distractions were: “the anxious care of this life, and
the deceit of riches” (Matt. 13: 22, my emphasis)! The
Lord’s instruction was “seek ye first the kingdom of
God” (Matt. 6: 33, my emphasis). One said “Lord, allow me to go
first and bury my father” (Luke 9: 59)—that is, look after him until
he dies—but the Lord replied, “Suffer the dead to bury their own
dead, but do thou go and announce the kingdom of God” (v60).
Consider also the young man seeking eternal life who was told to
“sell what thou hast and give to [the] poor, and thou shalt have
treasure in heaven” who “having heard the word, went away grieved,
for he had large possessions” (Matt. 19: 21, 22). Again, “And one of
those that were lying at table with [them], hearing these things,
said to him, Blessed [is] he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of
God. And he said to him, A certain man made a great supper and
invited many … And all began, without exception, to excuse
themselves … I have bought land … I have bought five yoke of oxen …
And great crowds went with him; and, turning round, he said to them,
If any man come to me, and shall not hate his own father and mother,
and wife, and children, and brothers, and sisters, yea, and his own
life too, he cannot be my disciple; and whoever does not carry his
cross and come after me cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14: 15-16,
18-20, 25-27).
The Seed Sown on the Good Ground
Finally,
we have the seed that was sown on good ground: “and others fell upon
the good ground, and produced fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, and
one thirty” (Matt. 13: 8). This good ground is not described—apart
from it being good—but what is the remaining influence if not
the Holy Spirit? Again, how could it be good ground if it was
not prepared ground, for, “he who has begun in you a good
work will complete it unto Jesus Christ’s day” (Phil. 1: 6)? On the
wayside, the devil prevailed, on the rocky ground, nature prevailed,
and among the thorns, the world prevailed. On the good ground, the
Holy Spirit prevails, and the hearer is “born again, not of
corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by [the] living and abiding
word of God” (1 Pet. 1: 23) and “thus is every one that is born of
the Spirit” (John 3: 8). The good ground has depth and moisture,
and is not hard, trodden down, rocky, or
cursed with thorns. The reaction of the
hearer to the Word may be summed up as, “this is he who hears and
understands the word, who bears fruit also” (Matt. 13:23,
my emphasis)—which Mark gives as, “such as hear the word and
receive it, and bear fruit” (Mark 4: 20, my emphasis) and
Luke as, “these are they who in an honest and good heart, having
heard the word keep it, and bring forth fruit with
patience” (Luke 8: 15, my emphasis).
Of course, this
understanding, receiving and keeping do not stand
alone—they result in bearing fruit. Whatever may be
said of all the other seeds, only that which fell on good ground is
viewed as having any value in the time of the harvest. Bearing fruit
is a sign of reality towards God; everything else is worthless
profession. The observant reader will note that in Luke there are no
grades in the amount of the fruit produced (“bore fruit a
hundredfold”—Luke 8: 8), in Mark that there is an ascending scale
(“and bear fruit; one thirty, and one sixty, and one a hundred
[fold]”—Mark 4: 20), while in Matthew there is a descending scale
(“who bears fruit also, and produces, one a hundred, one sixty, and
one thirty”—Matt. 13: 23). In Luke, the seed is distinctly said to
represent “the word of God” (Luke 8: 11, my emphasis)
and since in that there can be neither progress nor decline, there
is only the maximum yield of fruit described. Uniquely, Luke also
speaks of bringing forth this fruit “with patience” (v15), for
whereas man works for immediate ‘results’ (which often prove
transitory) God takes time over what He is working on, and His
servants must exercise the same patience. If the seed is good, and
the ground is good, then fruit in time of harvest is certain to be
the result. By contrast, in Matthew there is a diminishing result,
because things are viewed there as committed to man’s
responsibility—the kingdom as in the hands of men. Indeed, there may
even be a dispensational aspect in which a decline in fruitfulness
is to be expected as the dispensation progresses. The reverse result
described in Mark is not each individual seed increasing its fruit
as time progresses, for while it is one seed that is sown (and Mark
emphasises this singularity throughout—see Mark 4: 4 etc.), three
seeds are portrayed as bearing fruit: “one thirty, and one sixty,
and one a hundred” (v8), and the explanation is given as “these
are they who have been sown on the good ground” (v20, my emphasis).
The lesson seems to be that service for God, where is truly
patterned on the great divine servant, will go from strength to
strength, and that later sowings of individual seeds will produce
higher yields in the day of harvest.
Conclusion
It is to
be hoped that the reader will have found enough in this brief
exposition to whet his spiritual appetite, and to search the things
described (and more) for himself. As the Lord Himself indicated,
this parable is fundamental to our understanding: “Do ye not know
this parable? and how will ye be acquainted with all the parables?”
(Mark 4: 13).
