Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23
Matthew 13:1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea.
Matthew 13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
Matthew 13:3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a Sower went out to sow.
Matthew 13:4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
Matthew 13:5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
Matthew 13:6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
Matthew 13:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
Matthew 13:8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Matthew 13:9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
The Parable of the Sower Explained
Matthew 13:18 “Therefore hear the parable of the Sower:
Matthew 13:19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.
Matthew 13:20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy;
Matthew 13:21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
Matthew 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
Matthew 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
By the parable of the Sower, Christ illustrates the things of the kingdom of heaven, and the work of the great Husbandman for His people. Like a Sower in the field, He came to scatter the heavenly grain of truth. The most precious truths of His grace were sown abundantly. Because of its simplicity the parable of the sower has not been valued as it should be.
From the natural seed cast into the soil, Christ desires to lead our minds to the gospel seed, the sowing of which results in bringing man back to his loyalty to God. He who gave the parable of the tiny seed is the Sovereign of heaven, and the same laws that govern earthly seed sowing, govern the sowing of the seeds of truth.
By the Sea of Galilee a company had gathered to see and hear Jesus—an eager, expectant throng. The sick were there, lying on their mats, waiting to present their cases before Him.
It was Christ’s God-given right to heal the woes of a sinful race, and He now rebuked disease, and diffused around Him life and health and peace.
As the crowd continued to increase, the people pressed close about Christ until there was no room to receive them. Then, speaking a word to the men in their fishing boats, He stepped into the boat that was waiting to take Him across the lake, and bidding His disciples push off a little from the land, He spoke to the multitude upon the shore.
Beside the sea lay the beautiful plain of Gennesaret, beyond rose the hills, and upon hillside and plain both sowers and reapers were busy, the one casting seed and the other harvesting the early grain. Looking upon the scene, Christ said—
“Behold, a sower went out to sow.
Matthew 13:4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
Matthew 13:5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
Matthew 13:6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
Matthew 13:7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
Matthew 13:8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Christ’s mission was not understood by the people of His time. The manner of His coming was not in accordance with their expectations. The Lord Jesus was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. Its imposing services were of divine appointment.
They were designed to teach the people that at the time appointed One would come to whom those ceremonies pointed. But the Jews had exalted the forms and ceremonies and had lost sight of their object.
The traditions, sayings, and dictates of men hid from them the lessons which God intended to convey. These sayings and traditions became an obstacle to their understanding and practice of true religion.
And when the Reality came, in the person of Christ, they did not recognize in Him the fulfilment of all their types, Jesus the Substance of all their shadows. They rejected the antitype and clung to their types and useless ceremonies.
The Son of God had come, but they continued to ask for a sign. The message, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” they answered by demands for a miracle. Matthew 3:2.
The gospel of Christ was a stumbling block to them because they demanded signs instead of a Saviour. They expected the Messiah to prove His claims by mighty deeds of conquest, to establish His empire on the ruins of earthly kingdoms.
This expectation Christ answered in the parable of the sower. Not by force of arms, not by violent interpositions, was the kingdom of God to prevail, but by the implanting of a new principle in the hearts of men.
He answered and said to them: “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.” Matthew 13:37. Christ had come, not as a king, but as a Sower; not for the overthrow of kingdoms, but for the scattering of seed; not to point His followers to earthly triumphs and national greatness, but to a harvest to be gathered after patient toil and through losses and disappointments.
The Pharisees perceived the meaning of Christ’s parable, but to them its lesson was unwelcome. They only pretended they did not understand it.
To the multitude it was a greater mystery. The new teacher, whose words had so strangely moved their hearts,disappointed their ambitions. Even the disciples did not understand the parable, but their interest was awakened. They came to Jesus privately and asked for an explanation.
This was the desire which Christ wished to arouse, that He might give them more definite instruction. He explained the parable to them, as He will make plain His word to all who seek Him in sincerity of heart.
Those who study the word of God with hearts open to the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, will not remain in darkness as to the meaning of the word.
John 7:17 ‘’If anyone wills to do His will,’’ Jesus said, ‘’he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority.’’
All who come to Christ for a clearer knowledge of the truth will receive it. He will unfold to them the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, and these mysteries will be understood by the heart that longs to know the truth.
“Behold, a sower went out to sow.‘’
In the Ancient Near East the political landscape was very unsettled, and people dwelt chiefly in walled towns. The husbandmen went forth daily to their labour outside the walls. So Christ, the heavenly Sower, went forth to sow.
He left His home of security and peace, left the glory that He had with the Father before the world was, left His position upon the throne of the universe. He went forth, a suffering, tempted man; went forth in solitude, to sow in tears, to water with His blood, the seed of life for a lost world.
His servants in like manner must go forth to sow. When called to become a sower of the seed of truth, Abraham was told,
Genesis 12:1 Now the LORD had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you.’’
And what was his response?
“And he went out, not knowing where he was going.’’ Hebrews 11:8.
To Paul, praying in the temple at Jerusalem, came the message from God, “He said to me, ‘Depart, for I will send you far from here to the Gentiles.” Acts 22:21.
In toil and tears, in solitude, and through sacrifice, must the seed be sown. What an honour to do this for Him who died for us!
“The sower sows the word.”
Christ came to sow the world with truth. Ever since the fall of man, Satan has been sowing the seeds of error. It was by a lie that he first gained control over men, and thus he still works to overthrow God’s kingdom in the earth and to bring men under his power.
A sower from a higher world, Christ came to sow the seeds of truth. He who had stood in the councils of God, who had dwelt in the innermost sanctuary of the Eternal, could bring to men the pure principles of truth.
Ever since the fall of man, Christ had been the Revealer of truth to the world. By Him the incorruptible seed, “the word of God which lives and abides forever,” is communicated to men. 1 Peter 1:23.
In that first promise spoken to our fallen race in Eden, Christ was sowing the gospel seed. But it is to His personal ministry among men and to the work which He thus established that the parable of the sower especially applies.
The word of God is the seed. Every seed has a germinating principle. In it the life of the plant is enfolded. So, there is life in God’s word. Christ says, “The words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63.
“He that hears My word, and believes on Him that sent Me, has everlasting life.” John 5:24.
In every command and in every promise of the word of God is the power, the very life of God, by which the command may be fulfilled, and the promise realized. He who by faith receives the word, is receiving the very life and character of God.
Every seed brings forth fruit after its kind. Sow the seed under right conditions, and it will develop its own life in the plant. Receive into the soul by faith the incorruptible seed of the word, and it will bring forth a character and a life after the similitude of the character and the life of God.
The teachers of Israel were not sowing the seed of the word of God. Christ’s work as a teacher of truth was in marked contrast to that of the rabbis of His time. They dwelt upon traditions, upon human theories and speculations.
Often that which man had taught and written about the word of God, they put their own word in place of the God’s Word. Their teaching had no power to quicken the soul. The subject of Christ’s teaching and preaching was the word of God.
He met questioners with a plain, “It is written.” “What says the Scriptures?” “How do you read?” At every opportunity, when an interest was awakened by either friend or foe, He sowed the seed of the word.
He who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, Himself the living Word, points to the Scriptures, saying, “They are they which testify of Me.” And “beginning at Moses and all the prophets,” He opened to His disciples “in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” John 5:39; Luke 24:27.
Christ rebuked these practices in His day. He taught that the word of God was to be understood by all. He pointed to the Scriptures as of unquestionable authority, and we should do the same. The Bible is to be presented as the word of the infinite God, as the end of all controversy and the foundation of all faith.
The Bible has been robbed of its power, and the results are seen in a lowering of the tone of spiritual life.
In the sermons from many pulpits of today there is not that divine manifestation which awakens the conscience and brings life to the soul. The hearers cannot say, “Did not our heart burn within us, while He talked with us by the way, and while He opened to us the Scriptures?” Luke 24:32.
Christ’s favourite theme was the paternal tenderness and abundant grace of God. He dwelt much upon the holiness of His character and His law. He presented Himself to the people as the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Let these be the themes of Christ’s ministers.
Make plain the requirements of the law and the gospel. Tell the people of Christ’s life of self-denial and sacrifice; of His humiliation and death; of His resurrection and ascension; of His intercession for them in the courts of God. Of His promise, “I will come again, and receive you unto Myself.” John 14:3.
Let fresh truths from God’s treasure house flash into life. “Preach the word.” “Sow beside all waters.” “Be instant in season, out of season.” “He that has My word, let him speak My word faithfully.
NEXT TIME
We will continue listening to this life and death message of Jesus
Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
Proverbs 30:6 Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.