#5 Top New Testament Passages: The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4:3-20)
“Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and it sprang up quickly, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched; and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. Other seed fell into good soil and brought forth grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” And he said, “Let anyone with ears to hear listen!”
When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that
‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:3-20)
This beloved parable is in each of the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew (13:1-23), Mark and Luke (8:4-15). It does not appear in John. Jesus uses this parable to teach about the Kingdom of God and God's activity in the lives of the hearers. Jesus uses a farming metaphor to create a sort of self-evaluative tool for his audience.
The parable deals with a farmer spreading seed by tossing the seed from the hand to the surrounding area. Jesus' listeners likely understood this, as they may have spread seed that way themselves. Some seed lands in less than ideal conditions, while others in ideal conditions. As you can guess, the seed that lands on a hardened path, rocky, or thorn infested soil, does not end up bearing fruit. The listener is urged to listen to the message hidden in the parable, if they have ears to hear it.
To help the reader of the gospel to understand, we are given a peek into to private teaching session with the disciples. The disciples are told that the soil represents human hearts, not the blood pumping muscle, but the center of our being and seat of our emotional life. Some hearts are hardened like a foot path. The good news about the Kingdom of God cannot penetrate the hardened heart. Satan snatches away any hope that might have taken root in that heart, just like a bird eating seed. Other hearts are shallow in faith. When persecution comes to these disciples, from those who oppose the gospel, they fall away. They bear no fruit for the Kingdom of God. Some hearts are filled with fears, doubts, worries and greed. These choke out any hope in the Kingdom of God that might come to maturity in those conflicted hearts. But the hearts that are fully open to God, with no competing allegiances, immaturity, or selfishness, these bear fruit abundantly for the God's Kingdom on earth!
The disciples are insiders with access to Jesus as their teacher. They are given secret knowledge that is not available to those who are outside the Kingdom of God. Now that may seem kind of snobbish and exclusive. Why would Jesus not want everyone to understand his teaching? The disciples ask why Jesus chose to teaching in parables, using metaphors rather than something more direct.
Jesus loosely quotes the prophet Isaiah, indicating that the crowds are not really there to turn to God in true repentance. (See Isaiah 6:9-10) They are gathered because they had heard about the miracles Jesus was performing. They have come for the spectacle, not to turn away from self-focused lives and submit to God in holiness and righteousness.
The parable acts as a filter or a test. Those who have spiritual ears to grasp what Jesus is implying about the human heart will have insight to understand. God will give it to them. They will either respond to God, or they won't. They will either come before Jesus and seek to follow him, or they won't. This might seem cruel, but I think Jesus is being prudent. He is wise. He waits to see who will respond to the parable and who scratch their heads and walk away. This puts the freedom of choice, and the effort for one's own spiritual health, in the hands of the listener, not the teacher.
Jesus taught many other parables, but the parable of the sower is generally the first. By doing so Jesus filters out those who aren't ready, who really do not desire to turn toward God. But for those who do, they are taught by the Master himself! For us today it is no different. If you move toward God, God will make himself know to you. The Holy Spirit will teach you. God will live in you.
When he was alone, those who were around him along with the twelve asked him about the parables. And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside, everything comes in parables; in order that
‘they may indeed look, but not perceive,
and may indeed listen, but not understand;
so that they may not turn again and be forgiven.’”
And he said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones on the path where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy. But they have no root, and endure only for a while; then, when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are those sown among the thorns: these are the ones who hear the word, but the cares of the world, and the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it yields nothing. And these are the ones sown on the good soil: they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty and sixty and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:3-20)
This beloved parable is in each of the synoptic gospels, that is Matthew (13:1-23), Mark and Luke (8:4-15). It does not appear in John. Jesus uses this parable to teach about the Kingdom of God and God's activity in the lives of the hearers. Jesus uses a farming metaphor to create a sort of self-evaluative tool for his audience.
The parable deals with a farmer spreading seed by tossing the seed from the hand to the surrounding area. Jesus' listeners likely understood this, as they may have spread seed that way themselves. Some seed lands in less than ideal conditions, while others in ideal conditions. As you can guess, the seed that lands on a hardened path, rocky, or thorn infested soil, does not end up bearing fruit. The listener is urged to listen to the message hidden in the parable, if they have ears to hear it.
To help the reader of the gospel to understand, we are given a peek into to private teaching session with the disciples. The disciples are told that the soil represents human hearts, not the blood pumping muscle, but the center of our being and seat of our emotional life. Some hearts are hardened like a foot path. The good news about the Kingdom of God cannot penetrate the hardened heart. Satan snatches away any hope that might have taken root in that heart, just like a bird eating seed. Other hearts are shallow in faith. When persecution comes to these disciples, from those who oppose the gospel, they fall away. They bear no fruit for the Kingdom of God. Some hearts are filled with fears, doubts, worries and greed. These choke out any hope in the Kingdom of God that might come to maturity in those conflicted hearts. But the hearts that are fully open to God, with no competing allegiances, immaturity, or selfishness, these bear fruit abundantly for the God's Kingdom on earth!
The disciples are insiders with access to Jesus as their teacher. They are given secret knowledge that is not available to those who are outside the Kingdom of God. Now that may seem kind of snobbish and exclusive. Why would Jesus not want everyone to understand his teaching? The disciples ask why Jesus chose to teaching in parables, using metaphors rather than something more direct.
Jesus loosely quotes the prophet Isaiah, indicating that the crowds are not really there to turn to God in true repentance. (See Isaiah 6:9-10) They are gathered because they had heard about the miracles Jesus was performing. They have come for the spectacle, not to turn away from self-focused lives and submit to God in holiness and righteousness.
The parable acts as a filter or a test. Those who have spiritual ears to grasp what Jesus is implying about the human heart will have insight to understand. God will give it to them. They will either respond to God, or they won't. They will either come before Jesus and seek to follow him, or they won't. This might seem cruel, but I think Jesus is being prudent. He is wise. He waits to see who will respond to the parable and who scratch their heads and walk away. This puts the freedom of choice, and the effort for one's own spiritual health, in the hands of the listener, not the teacher.
Jesus taught many other parables, but the parable of the sower is generally the first. By doing so Jesus filters out those who aren't ready, who really do not desire to turn toward God. But for those who do, they are taught by the Master himself! For us today it is no different. If you move toward God, God will make himself know to you. The Holy Spirit will teach you. God will live in you.
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