The Parable
The Purpose of Parables
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’
The Parable of the Sower Explained
Animation Video
The Objects Used in the Illustration
Seed. The seed is the word of God (Mark 4:14; Luke 8:11) or work of the kingdom (Matthew 13:19). It is the incorruptible seed (1 Peter 1:23) that we receive the new birth. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached to us. It is the word of the truth of the gospel that bears fruit since the day we heard and fully knew the grace of God in truth (Colossians 1:5-6).
Sower. The sower that sows the seed is our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 13:37), either by himself, or by His ministers or fellow-workers with God (1 Corinthians 3:9).
Ground. The ground where this seed is sown is the hearts of man. Man's heart is like soil that can be cultivated, can be improved, and can bear good fruit. The Bible describes the follow ground (Jeremiah 4:3; Hosea 10:12-13) or the field of a lazy man (Proverbs 24:30-31).
Four Types of Ground
Satan (Mark 4:15) or the devil (Luke 8:12) is represented by the fowls that came and picked up the seed by the way-side. “The devil is our enemy, and he goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to attack and eat” (1 Peter 5:8). “The people hear the teaching about God's kingdom but do not understand it because the Evil One comes in an utmost haste to take away what was planted in their hearts” (Matthew 13:19; Mark 4:14; Luke 8:12). Note that the devil opposes every thing, like burning arrows (Ephesians 6:16), that tends to the salvation of the soul. He steals the preaching; he robs us of the word of truth; and he twists the word.
They take no heed to it, take no hold of it; they do not come with any design to get good, as the highway is never intended to be sown.
There are people who immediately receive the word of God with joy and continue believing and obeying it. A conscience, which is touched by the word, makes man serious about obeying it. But there are also others who tend to prove that their hearts will not retain it. Their conscience has not been reached, thereby no roots to grow. They hear the gospel and find it new or pleasing. So they profess to be greatly delighted with it. Yet their hearts are not changed. They receive a good impression of the word, but they are not lasting. “They did run well, but something hindered them (Galatians 5:7). When trials and persecution comes they are immediately offended and fall (Matthew 13:20-21; Mark 4:16-17; Luke 8:13), like the seed without grain that withers away before heat of the noonday sun, because nothing is rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17). The roots are not deep in Christ Jesus, nothing to build our lives on him, and nothing to make our faith stronger (Colossians 2:7).
It must also be considered that the good ground may still have some stones in it or some thorns around the corner; but there were none should prevail to hinder its fruitfulness. Believers, in this world, are not completely free from the remains of sin. But we are so glad to know we are freed from the reign of it. “He saved us because of His mercy, not because of any good things we did. He saved us through the washing that made us new people. He saved us by making us new through the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5). “Being justified by His grace, we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:7).
Although many hearts of men fall under the category of way-side, stony ground, and thorny ground, although it may be painful to realize that friends and families alienate themselves from the word of truth, about the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, God has remnant who are the called, chosen and faithful (Revelations 17:14), for God’s Word shall not return to Him void and it shall accomplish what God pleases (Isaiah 55:10-11).
Search My Heart, O Lord!
God invites us to break up our fallow ground, and not to sow among thorns (Jeremiah 4:3). We must not to sow seeds of repentance in unfit soil, but just as the farmer prepares the ground, by clearing it of rocks and thorns and shrubs, and exposing it to the sun and air, before sowing seed, so we must regard repentance as a serious matter, preparing a broken and a contrite heart (Psalm 51:17). This is how we break up our follow ground: a contrite and humble spirit. God will not despise it; He will dwell with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Let us not suppose ourselves to be firm in the love of God, and in the knowledge of his truth; that regards us as secure, and that will be therefore disposed to rely on our own strength. Otherwise, we fall (1 Corinthians 10:12). Let the Lord search our hearts as David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts, and see if any wicked way is in me; and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalms 139:23-24).