The Parable of The Sower
The Parables of Jesus • Sermon • Submitted
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The Parable of The Sower
The Parable of The Sower
Recap last session
What is a parable?
greek word “parabole”
Literally means “cast alongside”, “putting things side by side”, with the purpose to compare.
Jesus’ parables were stories “cast alongside” truth in order to illustrate that truth
The truth we hidden mysteries
Why did Jesus speak in Parables?
The reason Jesus spoke in parables was not so that they could understand more, it was to hide the truth
The message of Jesus blinds, deafens, and hardens because the truth hurts
Speaking in parables was a judgement on the people that were rejecting His teachings
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New wine into old wineskins recap
The Parable of The Sower
The Parable of The Sower
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3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.
5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil,
6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away.
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.
6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.
7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.
8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Luke 8:
Matthew 13
1 Again he began to teach beside the sea. 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:
3 “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.
4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.
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 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.
8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Context
Most people in the Roman empire were rural, peasant type people. (Country, poor farmers, low social status, herders.)
So this was very relatable to their current circumstance
Jesus often taught among this class people
Jesus in a boat was a relief from the crowd
9 And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him,
Also the setting with the sea and the shore created a great acoustic as Jesus delivered his message
4 types of soil
The Path
The Rocky Ground
The Thorns
The Good Soil
The Path
Fields had path ways where people would walk especially in those days
They were hard paths that were beaten down
They were dry. They had no soil. Any seed that landed on theses pathways had zero chance of growth
And then on top of the pathway having zero chance for seeds to grow you had birds that would fly around waiting
Whatever seed the birds didn’t get, according to Lukes account they would be trampled on by all the people walking by
This was the worst place for the seed to land
The Rocky Ground
Unlike the pathway, there was soil here but it was only a thin layer. Only on the surface
Hiding underneath the thin layer of soil was rocks
The seed would actually grow and spring up quickly
To the farmer it looked great
But the sun would scorch it because the soil wasn’t deep enough so the plant had no root.
It tried but it hit nothing but rock
The Thorns
So unlike the pathway and the rocky ground, there was enough depth of soil here
So here the seed would have the right conditions to begin to grow
But what the sower didn't see is the weeds or thorns that were underneath the soil also
The soil looks clean. Its look good for growth. It look full but underneath are thorns
If you know anything about weeds
The weeds grower stronger and choke the seed. Meaning they take all the nourishment from the soil. They block out the sun
Unless the seed is given the proper nourishment and conditions it cannot grow
The Good Soil
Here we have soil that has the perfect conditions for growth
It has enough depth of soil to protect the seed from being trampled and birds
No rocks underneath so the roots can dig down deep
No weeds or thorns hiding underneath the soil waiting to choke the seed
And here we have a produce of 30 fold, 60 fold, 100 fold. During this time if a farmer got 10 fold that was great
This parable has 3 components
The sower
The seed
The soil
It says nothing about the sower. And nothing about the seed. Only the soil
But we can make some assumptions because of scripture
Who do you think was the sower?
Jesus and his followers
37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.
Jesus was the first but certainly not the last to sow seed
What is the seed?
The word of God
11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
What is the soil?
The heart
12 They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Zion, and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord, over the grain, the wine, and the oil, and over the young of the flock and the herd; their life shall be like a watered garden, and they shall languish no more.
The sower is anyone who spreads the message of the gospel
Anyone who sows the seed
The seed is His word
Only God can create the seed
The Bible holds the seed
Our hearts is where that seed lands
The parable is all about presenting the gospel
The parable is all about presenting the gospel
The Parable explained by Jesus
14 The sower sows the word.
15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.
16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy.
17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word,
19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.”
Mark 4:14
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower:
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower:
19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.
What does Jesus mean by “does not understand it”?
The hard hearted person
The dull person
Says “theres no God”
Rejects the teachings just like the people Jesus was speaking to
Satan comes and snatches the seed away (False teachings, pride, comfortability, fear of what your friends or family might think
20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
What does Jesus mean by “He has no root in himself”?
Joy does not determine salvation (emotions!)
example of men in our group
Like the sower we cant see the rock
They looked saved
But troubles and hardships we see the real truth
60 When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?”
61 But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples were grumbling about this, said to them, “Do you take offense at this?
62 Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before?
63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe, and who it was who would betray him.)
65 And he said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the Father.”
66 After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.
Trials make true believers stronger. But trials also expose unbelievers
22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.
What are the “cares of the world”?
This here is the person into his lifestyle. His career or the pursuit of it. His relationships. His money. His ways
Primos friend last week
My friend
Friend of the world
4 You adulterers! Don’t you realize that friendship with the world makes you an enemy of God? I say it again: If you want to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of God.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
John MacArthur - The good seed is not native to our soil the weeds/thorns are.
They’re use to being there
They live there
The good seed is alien
Thats why it has to be cherished
As long as you allow the weeds and thorns in your life they will grow
23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Matthew 13:
What does Jesus mean by those “hear the word and understand it”?
The good soil is the person who hears and accepts the word. Holds on to the word. Allows the word to grow in their lives
To produce something
Every believer produces different amount of fruit but we all bear fruit
What’s the issue here? The sower, the seed, or the soil?
When things are not going the way you want you don’t question the seed, question the soil.
it is about the condition of your heart
What can we learn from this parable? How can we apply this to our lives?
Just spread the seed
Plow the field
Good seed doesn’t mix with bad soil
What are some areas in our lives, past or present, that were or are in bad s
1 Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers.
2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night.
3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.
1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.
3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers.
4 The wicked are not so, but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.
Psalm 1:
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.