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Parable of The Sower
Matt. 13:3-9,18-23 (Mark 4:1-20 Luke 8:5-15)

Matt 13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
  4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:
  5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:
  6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.
  7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
  8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
  9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

  18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.
  19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.
  20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
  21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.
  22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.
  23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.


Notes on Customs

      The sowing of seed in Palestine is different from that of the Western world. Our farmers will first plow their fields to break up the soil, then sow the seed and after disc or plow under the seed. But the Palestinian farmers would be to first sow and then disc or plow the ground. Plowing breaks up the soil and turns the seed under. The soil conditions at the time of broadcasting the seed did not matter since the plow would be used later.

      The fields in Palestine are rocky and in some areas the soil is very shallow because of the underlying limestone. Travelers, instead of walking around the boundary of a farm, would often make a paths through a fields; this is the "way side." Fields standing fallow would have weeds and thorns growing in them, they also would be plowed under. Thus the sower would sow seed among the weeds and thorns as well. What appears to the western mind, as bad farming is simply the customary Palestinian method for the given conditions. The sower intentionally sows in all the areas of his field.


Language Notes

      "The Seed." In the explanation given by Jesus the seed is identified as “The Word.” “The Word” is a common term for the gospel, for the truth, and as a title of Christ (John 1:1). The use of “the word” (the gospel) by Jesus only occurs in the interpretation of the parable of the sower (8 times in Mark, 6 times in Matthew, and 4 times in Luke), and nowhere else. In the Epistles "the Word" standing for "the Gospel" is common; the preacher preaches the word; the word is received, and that with joy; persecution arises on account of the word; the word is a cause of stumbling; the word grows; the word brings forth fruit.

      Verse 8. “Brought forth fruit,” is "yielding fruit." It is a continuous action of fruit bearing or production.

      Verse 19. “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understand not” - they listen but do not comprehend, grasp, or are not putting it together.

      Verse 21. "Tribulation." Comes from the word, which is to press, to squeeze, to crush. Our English word tribulation comes from the roller used by the Romans for pressing or crushing wheat. It can be compared to our steamroller.


Points of the Parable

      The allegorical interpretation given by Jesus gives a fourfold description of the field interpreted as four classes of people. This allegory would have the result of provoking the general audience to examine themselves and test the sincerity and devotion of their conversion. It has the effect of causing them to make a judgement of their belief, and dedication. It is a warning to the converted against a failure to stand fast in time of persecution and worldliness. The story taken as a whole has an end time application. This can be seen from the fact that the beginning describes a different point of time from its conclusion. It begins with the description of the sowing, and ends with the harvest. To the human eye much of the labor seems futile and fruitless, apparently resulting in repeated failure, but there is a joyful confidence knowing that God had made a beginning, bringing with it a harvest of reward beyond all expectation. In spite of every failure and opposition, from hopeless beginnings, God brings forth the triumphant end, which He had promised.


The Interpretation

      Jesus gives the interpretation to His disciples privately when they asked Him. The meaning He gave presents no liberty to add to, alter, or detract from His word. The meaning is direct, clear, and concise. The application presents itself with emphasis in the meaning of the interpretation.

      This parable, the parable of the Wheat and Tares (Matt 13:24-30, et. al.), and the parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10:1-5) are the only ones having allegories that Jesus interprets for us. In these three He explains the allegories He uses. There must be a reason for this. Could it be He is setting forth the pattern of interpretation for all of the other parables? Or, could it be that the remaining parables are so clear and obvious in their allegories that they need no explanation? Or, could it be that these were the only three which He used allegories and thus they had to be interpreted? The answer does not present itself in the Gospels. The answer seems to be with us; who read, study and try to learn from His parables. When allegories are employed, very few of the parables appear to be so obvious in their meaning that there is little dispute over their meanings. However, the fact is that when the system of allegorizing is used for the characters and/or elements of the parables, there arises great controversy and a multitude of representations (which are very often diametric in their explanations). It is common to if you read three interpretations you will find two or three different opinions, all equally sure of themselves. Using the allegory principle leads to confusion, and nearly always the allegories are only partially applied. They cannot be fully applied because of contradictions, either within the story itself, or with reality, or with the entirety of the Word of God. In many such cases authors will include a disclaimer; such as the allegory cannot or is not intended to be practical at all points. They are concluding for us that the allegorical method is faulty and cannot be fully applied. The allegory pattern just doesn’t work for. If Christ doesn’t tell us the allegory He is using, we are left only with suppositions and conjectures. If the use of the allegory is ignored it is surprising how parables become so simple, clear, and obvious. The last option to the question works best, that these are the only three parables in which He used the allegory and needed to explain them.


The Application

      It should be noted, that it is not the earth, which is fruitful, but the seed, the word. Man does not produce the fruit of The Spirit; none of us can make it happen. All we can do is to provide the best conditions for the seed and it will produce on its own, automatically without our devising it.

      The sown seed resulted in being either fruitful or unfruitful due to the soil conditions of the ground. It was not the seed itself that caused the results but rather the soil conditions upon which it fell. Three soil conditions caused the seed to fail and one caused it to produced. The productive ground was free from all the conditions of the fruitless ground. If we consider how the soil conditions reflect the heart and attitude of men, then we understand we must provide that good ground in the form of our having a good heart and attitude. We should invite God to plow up our lives, breakup the stony heart, and do weed removal. This all can be very painful to our egos and pride, but it will allow the fruit of God to produce richly and profusely in us. So the challenge is, will we submit and welcome his cultivating work in us?


Next: Parable of the Tares and Wheat




This page last updated September 14, 2004 at 11:19am





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