Anchor My Faith

The Parable of the Sower

Scripture: Matthew 13:1,6-7; Mark 4:1-7, 9; Luke 8:4-6, 8

It appears that Jesus is finding it more and more difficult to be alone. Whenever he is crowds gather around him. This is true in today’s lesson: ^{Mt 13:1} “[On that day when Jesus] went out of the house and sat beside the sea, ^{Mk 4:1} he again began to teach ^{Lk 8:4} and people from town after town came to him, ^{Mk 4:1} and a very large crowd gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat in it on the sea, and the whole crowd was beside the sea on the land. ² And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching, he said to them:”

I imagine this to be a nice day when Jesus wanted to sit by the shore and listen to the waves wash in and think about pleasant things when instead people began to gather about him, growing into a crowd. He turns his attention to them and begins to teach and as he did, people from town after town came and the crowd continued to grow. To establish a better position with the crowd, Jesus gets into a boat and moved a little way out from shore, leaving the people on land rising from the shoreline. This arrangement provided separation between Jesus and the people, allowing for more people to see and hear Jesus as he taught many things in parables.

Jesus said to them: ^{Mk 4:3} “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, ^{Lk 8:5} and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. ^{Mk 4:5} Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil, ⁶ [but] when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, [and] ^{Lk 8:6} it had no moisture ^{Mt 13:6} it withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them ^{Mk 4:7} and it yielded no grain. ^{Lk 8:8} Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

A sower goes and sows seed in various places. Some of those seeds fell along the path where they were trampled on and eaten by the birds. These seeds never had a chance to grow to produce a harvest. They fell in a place that was unprotected with unprepared soil. When we share the gospel with others are they in a safe place to hear and has their heart been prepared to hear and receive?

Other seed was sown in a safer environment, but only a thin layer of soil covered a rocky layer. The seeds managed to take root, but because of the lack of depth of soil the roots dried out and the plants withered away when the sun rose and dried out the thin layer of soil. There are many who hear the gospel and at first are excited, but the heart was not ready to sustain growth and the influence of the world prevailed.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew faster and could endure harsher growing conditions, and were chocked by them and yielded no grain. In this case the soil was better that in the previous, but because of the presence of other stronger plants, the plants from the sown seed were eventually over come without producing any grain. Many people hear the gospel, but other things are more important, and the gospel yielded no benefit.

In the last case, some seed fell on good soil in a good environment and grew and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Some hear the gospel, whose hearts have been prepared and it takes root and bears fruit in the person’s life.

To underline the importance of what Jesus was teaching, he says: ^{Mk 4:9} “He who has ears, let him hear.” We must be willing to surrender a self-reliant heart and be willing to submit to God, if we are to grow and produce fruit.

Prayer

Father, as I think about this parable I think of how it might apply to these lessons that are posted. How many open the post, which records that they read, but they didn’t? How many quickly skim the material, but quickly forget what they saw? How many read, but allow the worries and activities of the day to crowd out what they read? I wonder, how many that show up as readers in my counts are benefitting from the lessons and producing fruit to God’s glory?