Matthew 13:1-13 - The Parable of the Sower

 

Matthew 13:1-13 – The Parable of the Sower

 

The parable has three main elements: the Sower, the seed, and the soils. The Sower represents the Lord, the seed is the Word of God, and the soils represent the hearers each with a different response to God’s Word.

 

God is sowing His Word in human hearts and looking for fruit. He is sowing His people in the world where they can produce a harvest. At the end of the age, He will separate the true from the false and the good from the bad

 

You are a seed containing His divine life, but a seed must be planted to produce fruit. Truth must not be hoarded; it must be shared so that others can be saved and built up in faith. Preaching the Word of God is like taking God’s seed- the Word of God and spreading it everywhere.

 

The wayward soil represents the callous heart. It cannot penetrate the soil and is hard as concrete.

 

The stony soil represents the casual heart. Some people appear to be converted and seem to experience explosive growth, but soon fall back into their old ways of living. Jesus is not speaking of losing one’s salvation, He says instead that such people never had salvation to begin with. Instead, they had only a shallow, emotional experience.

 

The thorny soil represents the crowded heart. The enemy here is not internal but external. The hearts are divided thereby crowded.

 

The good soil represents the converted heart, the person who hears the Word, allows its truth to sink in, and is genuinely saved.

Each parable of Jesus has a mystery for believers to know; but those who resist Him will not know. Jesus used parables because He did not want some in the Jewish crowd to understand His teaching. It veiled the truth from casual listeners and his opponents, but to the ones committed to following Him, the truth of these parables exploded in their minds.

 

Please read the chapter listed so that you can understand God’s Word better.

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Nelson’s Quick Reference Commentary.

Dr. David Jeremiah Study Bible.  J. Vernon McGee Through the Bible