Christ Jesus told this parable in Matthew 13:3-23; Mark 4: 3-25; Luke 8: 5-18. In summary, a Sower went out sowing seeds by throwing them on the ground. Some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on rocky ground without much soil so were scotched by the sun and withered away. Some fell upon thorns and were choked by them. Some fell on good soil and yielded bountiful grain, some hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold.
The grains which fell along the path, rocky ground and among thorns did not produce any yield except those which fell on good soils. We will discuss these in detail under subsequent headings. We will begin to examine the respective characters and references in the parable with God’s guidance.
What is the grain?
Throughout the passage in all the accounts, the seed or grain is referred to as the word of the kingdom and the word of God. In Matthew 13: 19; Luke 8: 11 seed or grain is the word of God. The sower spread his seeds so wide because he wanted a wider reach just as God wants his word to reach both the good and the bad in the world. However we are, God is interested to have us with him.
Symbolically God wants the whole world to receive his word and to benefit from his redemption without discrimination lest we will perish. It meant Christ Jesus came for us all. Romans 6: 10; 2 Corinthians 5: 14-15 say Christ died for all. Jesus said in Luke 5: 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. How do we treat the word of God or cause others to treat the word of God? We are accountable for our actions and will be judged according to our deeds.
What is the purpose of the grain?
God’s seed has many and unlimited purposes. John 6: 68 says you have the words of eternal life. Acts 5: 20; Philippians 2: 16; 1 John 1: 1 say it is the word of life. Matthew 4: 4 says man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. The grain of life therefore enables us to live. It also brings us blessings. Luke 11: 28 says blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it. It brings us power from above. 1 Corinthians 1: 18; Hebrews 1: 3 says it is the power of God.
It is a defense against the enemy. Ephesians 6: 17 says and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. If we receive the grain, we shall be combat ready for Christ Jesus against the enemy. When we obstruct it, it would yield elsewhere in others. 2 Timothy 2: 9 says the word of God is not fettered. Hebrews 4: 12 also says the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Do not be deceived, there are other fertile grounds waiting.
The grain which is God’s word is for our peace in God. 1 John 2: 14 says it is the overcomer of the evil one. It makes us victorious in Christ Jesus. Romans 8: 37 says in all these we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. The grain as God’s word opens us to the truth of life. 2 Timothy 2: 15 says it is the word of truth. It frees us from bondage. John 8:32 says ye shall know the truth and the truth will set you free. It gives us eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord and does not die. 1 Peter 1: 23 says it is an imperishable seed. These are just limited examples of the grain of God. We cannot quench the Spirit.
In Acts 12: 24 we are to ensure that the grain grows and multiples. Our primary duty is to disseminate the word of God to as many as we can. Acts 13: 44 says it is necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. In effect the word must reach all nations. What efforts have we made to propagate the word of God?
Who is the Sower?
God sows the seed of life every moment in our lives. In times of old, he sowed the seeds of life by his prophets as recorded vastly in the Old Testament. The books of Judges, Psalms, Ecclesiastics, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Daniel, Hosea, Amos, Micah and a host of them, to mention just a few attest to this. All by whom the word of God is evangelized also become Sowers for God. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 3:6, I planted and Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. Are you a sower for God?
In the New Testament, God sent Jesus Christ as his cherished seed to bear fruits in our hearts but we failed him. 1 Peter 1: 23-25 say you have been born anew, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; for all flesh is like grass and its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord abides forever. That word is the good news which was preached to you. The imperishable seed is Jesus Christ our risen Lord.
How does God’s seed yield?
1 Corinthians 15: 37-38 say and what you sow is not the body which is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or some other grain. But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and each kind of seed its own body. The expected yields are the respective assignments which God has given to us individually. Our yields give God the glory befitting from our respective assignments based on our capacities.
1 Corinthians 15: 46 says but it is not the spiritual which is first but the physical, and then the spiritual. Our yields make us the light of the world. Matthew 5:16 says let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your father who is in heaven. How do we glorify God in our physical and spiritual lives? What type of soils are we, a path, a rock with limited soil, a soil with thistles and thorns, or a good soil in the sight of God? Whatever be the character of our hearts, God knows and sees it all. We cannot hide it from him because our fruits shall expose us.
Paul says in Hebrews 2: 3-4 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard him, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his own will. We reject God’s word and he who he sent, Jesus Christ if our hearts are conducive for worldly cravings. We pray that the Lord would give us a heart for his word to thrive in his will.
Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ, we need a fertile heart to receive and grow your word for our eternity. Please forgive us of our past hearts of paths, rocks and thorns. Create in us a new heart which is ready to receive your word and to obey your will. Clothe us in your righteousness and lead us by your grace in your light. In your holy name we pray, Amen!!
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