When I was in college at the University of Georgia, a former president of the Baptist Student Union who had gone off to seminary came back to speak in a chapel service. Using the parable before us today, he entitled his message “A Species Analysis of Dirt.”

 

As a science major learning to identify the species of everything from bacteria to broccoli to bears, I was all in with the title. It was also helpful, because we often call it “the parable of the sower” after v. 13, but it’s not just about the sower or the seeds – it’s about the soils. [DD] [DD]

 

 

 

Why did Jesus perch himself on a boat and tell this particular story, and why was it so memorable that all three synoptic gospels include it (compare (Mark 4:1–9 and Luke 8:4–8)? Several accounts leading up to chapter 13 reflect the theme of rejection: the religious leaders of the day opposed Jesus outright, and while curious crowds came out to hear the new teacher, few chose to follow him on the path of discipleship.

 

When the gospel of Matthew was written many years later, rejection was still a problem. Faithful followers had been spreading the gospel for 50 years or more, but the response was disappointing. Converts were few, especially among the Jews. 

 

Jesus – and the author of Matthew – used the parable in part to reassure faithful followers that their work was not in vain as they sowed the seed of the gospel. They would not always get a hoped-for response.

 

The story is grounded in ancient farming techniques that would have been commonly known. Carefully marked and cultivated fields or garden plots as we know them were not the rule. Rather, a small landowner would want to utilize as much of his property as possible. When planting time came, farmers would typically broadcast seed across whatever land might be promising. Plowing typically took place after sowing, turning the seeds under the soil along with whatever vegetation remained from the previous year. [DD]

 

Jesus pointed to realities of life that anyone who had walked through rural areas would have observed. Seed that fell on or near hardened paths were likely to be gobbled up by birds and never have a chance to sprout. 

 

Seed that fell on a thin layer of soil above a limestone shelf – commonly found in Palestine – would sprout quickly with sufficient rain but wither before reaching maturity because the ground would dry out quickly, with no room for a healthy root system. 

 

Wheat or barley tossed into scrubby areas might also get a good start, but even though the surface weeds and thorns might have been plowed under, they would come back and grow strong, choking out the once-promising grain. 

 

Finally, seed spread in good, deep soil with few weeds could be trusted to grow unhindered and produce the expected harvest. 

 

And that’s the story Jesus told in vv. 3-8. The only real surprise was in the remarkable harvest from the good soil: “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Farming in antiquity typically resulted in multiples of 7 to 10 times the amount of grain planted: a harvest of 30 to 100 times more would have been rare and memorable. 

 

Jesus told the story with no further explanation other than a warning: “Let anyone with ears listen!” (v. 9).

 

 

 

Despite the presence of crowds so thick that Jesus had to teach from a boat (vv. 1-2), v. 10 presumes a setting in which the disciples could come separately to Jesus and ask “Why do you speak to them (i.e., the crowds) in parables?” 

 

The word “parable” (parabolē) literally means “cast alongside,” as in two things that are set side by side for comparison. New Testament parables grew from similarly figurative Old Testament teachings. The Hebrew mashal was not just an explanation, but also carried the sense of a teaching that was enigmatic, like a riddle designed to provoke curiosity and further thought. 

 

Jesus told the disciples: “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given” (v. 11). Those who had proven receptive to God’s offer of grace could grow in understanding and assurance of a place in the kingdom, but those who rejected Jesus would lose the opportunity they once had (v. 12). 

 

Parables weren’t just illustrations designed to clarify a point – sometimes they did the opposite. Jesus spoke of himself as carrying on in the tradition of Isaiah, who God instructed to be faithful in preaching to the people of Jerusalem despite their stubborn refusal to hear the message or see their need for repentance (vv. 13-15, citing Isaiah 6:9-10). 

 

Parables weren’t designed to make people stubborn or to prevent them from entering the kingdom – but they could not be understood by those whose intentional stubbornness left them as outsiders. [DD] 

 

In contrast, Jesus said, those who chose to follow him were more blessed than prophets and saints of the past who would have longed to hear what Jesus was teaching them (vv. 16-17). 

 

 

 

Verse 18 brings us back to the parable in question and Jesus’ explanation of it. 

 

We should note that scholars through the years have proposed many ideas about how we should interpret parables. Early church fathers and their followers tended to read many parables as allegories. After the advent of critical scholarship of the Bible, it became common to argue that Jesus’ parables originally had only one central point, but that the gospel writers, reflecting early Christian traditions, added allegorical elements to them. In more recent years, it has become more common to acknowledge that parables can have different levels of meaning, and that readers naturally bring their own contexts to the text and interpret through different lenses. 

 

As Jesus explained it, the sower and the seed remain constant: what is different in each case is the type of soil on which the seed falls. Three types of soil yield little or no fruit, while one type of soil produces three levels of abundant fruit. 

 

The hard ground by the path describes those who are so resistant to the gospel that they don’t even try to understand it. Whatever interest might be sparked by a Christian friend or a moment of crisis is quickly swept away (v. 19). 

 

Some people are like shallow soil over a rocky shelf. They respond to the gospel quickly, but their faith is shallow, and withers when challenged by persecution or hard times. Persecution was more common in Matthew’s day than ours, but believers may still face ridicule from others. Or, they may have unrealistic expectations that God will protect them from harm, and fall away when the hard edges of life intrude through illness, divorce, or financial struggles (vv. 20-21). 

 

When high-pressure evangelists sell the gospel like fire insurance, drawing people down the aisle to escape the prospect of hell, it’s like seeding shallow ground. Meaningful faith must have roots that go deeper than a desire for a free ticket to heaven. It doesn’t last.

 

Jesus knew that some believers would hear the gospel and respond with all good intentions, but later be led astray by emerging temptations that choke out their faith. Children, for example, may trust Jesus in all sincerity, but they face growing temptations with every passing year. Promising faith may give way when “the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing” (v. 22).  

 

When the seeds of selfishness and materialism are allowed to grow unhindered, they grow deep. Overcoming human selfishness without deep spiritual roots is like trying to eradicate a stand of kudzu with a garden hoe. It’s a lost cause.

But there is good soil that makes room for strong roots to ground the faith. The good soil, Jesus said, would bring a harvest of 30, 60, or even 100 times more than was planted. In ancient times, that would be an amazing, miraculous crop. 

 

Jesus knew, and the author of Matthew knew, that rejection is a reality of life. We can’t count on every seed we plant to sprout or grow, to reach maturity or to produce fruit. And yet, we are called to sow with the promise of an ultimate harvest that is hard to imagine. 

 

The parable challenges us to look inward and work the soil of our own hearts so that we are not too hard to receive the word, not too shallow to give it root, not too encumbered with worldly cares to grow in faith and discipleship.

 

As we look to our own makeup, we also look outward. We are not to give up on others whose hearts are hard, for they may yet be softened by the rains of repentance. We cannot ignore those who quickly fall away, but must help them to transplant their lives and find room for deep roots. We dare not turn away from persons whose lives are overgrown with temporal concerns, but continue reminding them of eternal matters. 

 

Discouragement comes easy, but Jesus holds before us the promise of an abundant harvest. As Christ Himself continued to serve faithfully despite disappointment, so He calls us to sow good seed in a world of need.