Today we come to what many commentators believe is the first of the parables that Jesus taught. And as we see in the story, the crowds have become so large, and there was such a desire for healing and to see miracles that people were being crushed, and so Jesus got into a boat just off shore so that He could teach the people. The point is, that He wanted to teach them the truth of the gospel of the kingdom. Healing had it’s place, and miracles had their place, but that was not the primary purpose of His ministry. It was to present the saving news of the gospel. And so we see that the large, pressing crowds actually interfered with that by their desire to see some miracle, or receive some miracle, yet they were really uninterested in learning the truth.
So Jesus employs a method of teaching called a parable. Parable’s teach a spiritual truth through a physical illustration. You must have spiritual insight to understand. You must have spiritual illumination. Without such divine illumination, we would be in darkness. He speaks in parables because the people that are in attendance are only interested in physical things; healing, miracles, being fed, being entertained. Jesus’s ministry must have sometimes seemed like a spectacle; it was entertaining, dynamic, exciting. Demons acting out. Paralytics being raised up and jumping for joy. The crowds were attracted to that. But that is not the kind of attraction that Jesus wants, so He uses parables to teach them, which are a method of teaching which present a deeper spiritual truth to those who are spiritually attuned, while at the same time obscuring the truth to those who are not ready to listen spiritually. Now we will say more about that in a moment. But let’s look at this parable, which Jesus says in vs.13 is important to understand if we are to understand all the parables.
The good news concerning this parable is that Jesus gives the disciples the explanation of it in the latter half of the passage. Not every parable is given with an explanation. But once we learn the principles involved in this one, it should be easier to understand the later ones.
In many other parables, Jesus starts off by saying something like “the kingdom of God is like…” and then the gives the analogy through a similitude. But in this case we see that Jesus does not say this is “Like the kingdom of God.” But He just starts off by saying, “The sower went out to sow.” However, in vs 11, Jesus says, “to you has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God.” So we know that this parable teaches what He calls the mystery of the kingdom of God. A mystery is a spiritual principle that is revealed through spiritual revelation. It is veiled to those who are not spiritual. Look at vs 11, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN.” That was a partial quote of Isaiah 55.
In other words, those multitudes that were seeking a spectacle, that were seeking some excitement, who were there for the miracles but were not interested in spiritual truth, they were not spiritual, therefore they could not glean the spiritual truth of the parable. But for those like the disciples who had a heart for spiritual things, they were given the understanding of the mystery. Now that is an important principle which underlines the message of the parable as we shall see. You must have spiritual insight to understand. You must have spiritual illumination. Without such divine illumination, we would be in darkness.
So Jesus gives the parable. It’s a simple story of a sower who sowed seed, and some fell on the hard packed path alongside the field, and it was immediately eaten up by the birds. Other seed fell on rocky ground with a little soil on top. It sprang up immediately, but when the hot sun came out it withered and died. Other seed fell on soil and sprung up, but so did thorns and weeds and they choked out the life of the plant so that it was unfruitful. And then some seed fell on good soil, and produced a crop which yielded 30, 60, and hundred fold.
Now if that was all that Mark had recorded about that parable, then I think most of us would be in the dark about what was meant by it. We might surmise that Jesus was teaching that we needed to be more careful with our resources. If we don’t use our resources carefully, then we will waste much of it, and we will not get as big of a return for our investments, whatever they may be. That makes sense to me. And it makes sense in a natural world that is focused on physical things. I would bet that was the general consensus of the crowd as they heard this parable. How to increase your investments. How to be a good steward of your resources. How to live your best life now. Sounds like familiar sermon fodder, doesn’t it?
Well, Jesus concluded the parable with an important statement, which indicated that there was much more to the story. In vs.9 He says, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” What He is saying is “He who has spiritually attuned to hear, hear! listen! Listen carefully, intently. There is more here than meets the eye.”
Well, thankfully, the disciples recognized that there had to be more to the story than what was on the surface. So while most of the crowd went away satisfied with the superficial aspects of the story and the supernatural events that they had witnessed, the disciples asked Jesus privately for the meaning of the parable. And that teaches the principle of spiritual illumination. Jesus who is the truth, or the Spirit of Truth, must illuminate our hearts if we are to understand spiritual things. The secret to being of the kingdom of God is that such life must be of the Spirit and not of the natural. And that is born out even in the method of the message of the gospel. So Jesus gives us the meaning of the parable in vs.14-20. Remember now, in His explanation starting in vs 11, Jesus has already said that this is a mystery of the kingdom of God. These are spiritual metaphors of the kingdom of God that are presented in this parable.
Lets look at the first one; the sower. Who is the sower? The sower could have been Jesus. In fact, Jesus was certainly sowing. But the sower can be anyone who is of the kingdom of God. Seeds produce fruit after their kind. So in the kingdom of God one must be a part of the kingdom to be a sower. So anyone can be a sower of the kingdom of God providing he himself is first a citizen of the kingdom of God. The sower could be a preacher of the gospel. Preaching would certainly constitute sowing. God has ordained the gospel to be preached. Romans 10:14 says, “How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?” Though we may not all be pastors, yet we can all proclaim the gospel if we are citizens of the kingdom of God.
But it’s important to note that the main thrust of the parable is not about the sower. From a natural interpretation of the parable, you might focus on the sower. If he learned how to sow better, more efficiently, then he might not have wasted so much seed. But Jesus doesn’t seem focused on the sower, nor on his methods, or on his expertise. Simply that he sows wherever he goes. Our job is to sow the seed. Just do it. If you seem ineffective, it doesn’t matter as much as that you just do it. Sow the seed. God has His purposes even when the seed lands on poor soil. Our purpose is to sow.
The second thing which we need to notice is the seed. What is it? Jesus said it is the word of God. We sow the gospel of Jesus Christ. The gospel is a mystery to the world, but it is divinely powerful for the overthrowing of fortresses. Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” There is power in the word of God. The gospel is the power of God. As ambassadors of the kingdom of God we need to use the power of the gospel to achieve God’s purposes. The power or effectiveness of the gospel is not found in programs, or in methods, or in attracting crowds, but in preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, the word of God. The word of God has power inherent in it, even as a seed has in a tiny shell the germ of a mighty oak tree. Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God [is] living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”
The next thing we need to see is the soils. Jesus gives four types of soil. In farming, soil is an important aspect of how successful your farm will be. Farmers spend a lot of time and money on the soil. My wife is an avid gardener. And she is always complaining because we have poor soil. She used to be really jealous of our neighbor’s garden, because he had all this money that he would spend enriching the soil. We don’t even have a tiller. A lot of times Susie would just chop the soil with a hoe and try to break it up. The only time I ever saw Susie act a little bit larcenous, was when our neighbor had a great big pile of manure delivered to his garden. She really wanted to go over there and “borrow” a couple of shovel full’s of manure. I told her that coveting your neighbors manure was a sin. A stinky sin at that.
Soil though in this parable is a picture of the human heart. The heart is a euphemism for the soul of man. It encompasses your emotions, your intellect and your will. So Jesus is talking about the heart. It is not a parable of the sower. It is a parable of the soils. The variety of conditions of the heart.
The first heart is that which can be described as a hard heart. 2Cor. 4:4 says “the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” There is no spiritual illumination whatsoever. These people are just blind to the gospel. They turn a deaf ear. The word of God just bounces right off their hardened heart.
Jesus said these are the ones who are beside the road where the seed was sown. In other words, the soil has not been prepared there at all. It hasn’t been plowed, or watered, or fertilized. It is not broken up to receive the seed. It is still packed down hard. And so the seed lays there and the birds of the air come and eat it. Now this is another important principle for future parables. Birds of the air, Jesus says, are the devil and his angels. And they take away the word which was sown. Don’t discount the work of the devil in the presentation of the gospel. He is there to snatch away the word of God through distractions, through deceit, through every way possible, to keep you from hearing the word, lest it pierce your heart.
The second type of heart is the rocky heart. Notice vs.16, it says, “in a similar way…” I think that indicates that these two hearts are closely aligned. Now that makes sense doesn’t it? Because hard packed ground is similar to rocky ground. If you fall down on hard packed ground and it can feel like you fell on cement. And I suggest that they are similar in results. In either case, there is no real growth of the seed.
In this case, Jesus says that “the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, [are those] who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.”
When a plant has no depth of soil, it has to grow up rather than down. But because it has no root, when the sun comes up they wither and die. This speaks to those people who hear the word, and they have a superficial, emotional response to the word. It’s quick, but it’s temporary. Because as affliction comes, or persecution comes, they quickly die off. I don’t think Jesus is necessarily talking about religious persecution in an organized fashion. I think it just means affliction in a general way. Your girlfriend doesn’t want to go to church with you. Your job doesn’t want to give you Sundays off anymore. Your friends want you to go out with them on Saturday night and you will get back late. It’s sort of rainy on Sunday morning. And so these superficial “Christians” who have no real spiritual life, quickly fizzle out.
I think there is a danger in evangelicalism today when we emphasize emotional, impulsive responses to the gospel, and then we declare them saved for eternity. You’re good to go. I think that Jesus is teaching here that sort of emotional response does not always constitute true salvation. And so we do those folks a grave disseverance if we tell them that that is all there is to salvation. No, the Bible teaches that we must count the cost. There is a cost to following the Lord. And when you are faced with that cost, whether or not you continue or desert the faith is indicative of the measure of your commitment to the Lord.
The third characterization of the heart is that of the thorny heart. Vs 18 "And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
Notice that this seems to be a plant that grows and survives, but it is unfruitful. Jesus gives three reasons for unfruitfulness in this person. First is the worries of the world. Man, which of us does not have to contend with the worries of the world? Notice, He doesn’t say the sins of the world. Just the worries of the world. Perhaps it’s your job. Maybe you’re facing a slowdown, a layoff, bankruptcy. Or perhaps it’s going the other way. It’s going great. There just aren’t enough hours in the day. You can’t get any good help. You’ve got more business than you can handle. Whatever it is, it has you so occupied, that you can’t spend any time on the business of the kingdom.
Or perhaps it’s your children. You’re so busy with your kids, your grandkids, your wife’s got you going, your husband has all this stuff going on and so you have to take up the slack with your kids. Maybe your family concerns are those thorny weeds that are springing up faster than you can take care of them. It’s like the verse in Hebrews 12:1 which says, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The point is that it may not be sin that is hindering you. It may not be something inherently bad. In fact, it may be something good. He who finds a wife finds a good thing, the Bible says. Children are a gift from the Lord. But good things can be hindrances to running the race. They can become thorny weeds that hinder fruitfulness.
Or perhaps it’s your children. You’re so busy with your kids, your grandkids, your wife’s got you going, your husband has all this stuff going on and so you have to take up the slack with your kids. Maybe your family concerns are those thorny weeds that are springing up faster than you can take care of them. It’s like the verse in Hebrews 12:1 which says, “let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The point is that it may not be sin that is hindering you. It may not be something inherently bad. In fact, it may be something good. He who finds a wife finds a good thing, the Bible says. Children are a gift from the Lord. But good things can be hindrances to running the race. They can become thorny weeds that hinder fruitfulness.
God didn’t design a fig tree to be a shade tree. He made it to bear fruit. And God designed us to bear fruit. John 15:16 "You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you.” We were designed to bear fruit.
Notice the other thorny thing, vs 19, the deceitfulness of riches. You don’t have to be a millionaire to have this one. It’s not money that is the source of all evil, but the love of money. And show me someone who doesn’t love money? Money is deceitful however, because it never satisfies. There is never enough. No matter how much you make, you always manage to have a lifestyle that is just beyond your budget. And so we are always looking for more, thinking that will be the answer to our problems.
Listen, I learned this lesson the hard way a number of years ago. Not that I am there yet, but I have learned something along the way so far. When I finally gave God control of my finances, He didn’t give me more, He gave me less. He showed me how to be satisfied with less. How little I really needed to be able to live. And I think that lesson is not just for me, it’s for all of us. If you think that you don’t have a problem with money, then you have fallen prey to the deceitfulness of riches. And in our culture today, we are rich beyond the wildest dreams of most of the other people in the world. God is not a respecter of persons. He doesn’t have different weights and measures for Christians in America but a different scale for those in North Korea. I doubt that the average Christian in N. Korea has much of a problem with the deceitfulness of riches holding back his fruitfulness.
And finally we come to the good soil; the good heart, the receptive, ready, obedient heart. “And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” Notice that all of the various hearts heard the word, according to the parable. But only this one does Jesus say accepted it. Now what does that mean? It means to apply it. To let it sink down into your soul and change your actions and attitudes. It’s like a seed that germinates and breaks open and starts to grow. It produces something. It isn’t just a passive hearing, but an active obedience to the word. The seed which is the word of God has to germinate, it has to grow, it has to grow roots, to be activated by the Spirit of God. That is what it means to walk in the Spirit. To obey the word, to act upon it. That’s how the seed is activated. You act upon it. Faith is not just hearing the word, but acting upon it.
And notice the results; it bears fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. Now what is fruit? Well, Jesus doesn’t say. I have heard a lot of sermons about this parable. And practically none of them say what the fruit is. Perhaps because Jesus doesn’t say it, they don’t dare venture a guess. A couple of preachers, good preachers, by the way, say that parable is about winning souls. It’s a parable about evangelism and good hearted Christians will win souls, some 30, some 60 some 100. Well, I don’t think we can use those numbers to make that association. However, I will admit there are some elements of evangelism in the parable. Winning souls may certainly be a part of bearing fruit. But I think that is making a natural assumption. And as we said at the beginning, we can really go off track making natural assumptions as to the meaning of a parable. It’s the spiritual meaning that we need to be seeking and that comes from spiritual sources.
In the disciples case, their spiritual source for understanding was Jesus. He was able to tell them what the parable meant. If we wish to go beyond what Jesus said, then we have to use the only spiritual resource that we have; the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is the author of the Holy Scriptures.
So what is the fruit? Is it souls saved? Is it the number of notches on your spiritual gun stock? Souls saved may be a part of it, but it can’t be just souls. I suggest that fruit is spiritual fruit; and spiritual fruit is by definition fruit of the Spirit. Now the Bible tells us what is the fruit of the Spirit, doesn’t it? Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
So, at least according to Galatians, souls saved are not mentioned as fruit. But rather it gives characteristics and attributes of the Christian. Are these attributes the fruit that we are to be exhibiting? Well, that would seem to be what it says in Romans 8:28-29 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Notice that we are called according to His purpose, which is what? Paul tells us in the next verse, 29 “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
So then, can we say that the fruits of the Spirit in Galatians is the same character and attributes of Jesus Christ? Did He exhibit love? Agape love, sacrificial love, even to the point of laying down His life? Did He exhibit joy? Did He exhibit peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control? Of course He did. So it would seem that being conformed to the image of Christ is to bear fruit. Some will manifest these fruits more so than others. But good hearts, receptive hearts, bear the image of Christ to some measure.
Now lest we make a case of one verse, let’s look at just a couple of more examples in scripture. In Eph 5:8 we read, “for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.” Well, there we have Light used instead of Spirit. But if you remember my earlier application, this spiritual truth is derived from spiritual illumination. And the fruit of such spiritual light in our hearts produces the character and attributes of Christ; goodness, righteousness and truth.
Another is found in Phil. 1:10 “so that you may approve the things that are excellent, in order to be sincere and blameless until the day of Christ; having been filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.” What is this fruit of righteousness? I would say it is righteousness; sincere, blameless, approving that which is excellent. An apple seed produces an apple. So righteousness imputed produces righteous acts.
And that is born out in a final verse; Col 1:10 “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God.” So good works, or works of righteousness is the fruit that we bear, which pleases the Lord. And increasing in the knowledge of God. I would suggest that is a fruit as well. If we are to be conformed to the image of Christ, who is the image of God, then we have to know about Him. And the more we learn of Him, the more we come to know Him, and the more we know Him the more we love Him. And the more we love Him, the more we want to please Him. And that fruit pleases God. That is the fruit of maturity. It is the fruit of sanctification. Where we cast off more and more of the world, and put on more and more of Jesus Christ. When we live out our faith in obedience, we will be a living testimony to the power of the gospel. And by that means we will be much more effective in our preaching.
I hope that today you will examine your hearts. Everyone of us here today is represented by one of those four soil scenarios. Which heart do you have? A hard heart? A stony heart? A thorny heart, or a good heart?
What if you say, pastor, I am afraid I have a thorny heart, or a rocky heart. What is the remedy? What must I do to make my heart good soil that produces fruit which is pleasing to God? Well, I can tell you where to start. It starts with a broken and contrite heart. It starts with repentance. Simply call out to God to give you a new heart.
The Psalmist David found himself in a place where His heart had grown cold and sin had found it’s way into his soul. He prayed in Psalm 51, and this is where we all need to start, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. ... The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” Call upon the Lord today, and He will take that broken heart and make it fruitful, being conformed to the image of Christ.
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