From our Sunday service on August 17, 2025, Matthew 13, with Isaiah 6, Mark 10, and Galatians 5. This is part 1 of our Parables of Christ series. Watch the full message: The Parable of the Sower – The Parables of Christ #1 on YouTube.
Today we’re starting a new series on the parables of Christ. We’ve been in the Old Testament for a while, so I think it’s a good opportunity to jump ahead into the New Testament and learn some teachings from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself.
Our first parable is the parable of the sower, in Matthew 13. There are a lot of places we could start, but this is a great one. It’s one of the best-known parables, and it’s also the one where Jesus explains why he chooses to teach in parables. That makes it the perfect starting point.
Today we’ll approach the passage a little out of order. First we’ll answer the question, “Why parables?” by looking at Jesus’s answer when his disciples ask why he teaches in such a mysterious way. Then we’ll look at the parable itself without interruption.
For context, the day Jesus gave this parable was a hectic one. He had faced opposition from the Pharisees and scribes. He had cast out demons and drawn massive crowds. He was teaching at a house where hundreds wanted to see him, and his family was outside asking for his time and attention, which he had to turn down. In all this chaos, Jesus said, “I need to get away from the hubbub of the city.” So he took his followers down to the Sea of Galilee, got into a boat, and began teaching them the parable of the sower.
God wants you to understand how the gospel is planted in the hearts and minds of those around us.
Why Parables?
What is a parable? Let’s see what Jesus says to his disciples, starting in verse 10.
And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
Matthew 13:10–17
To summarize before we look at it in detail: there are some stubborn people in this audience. If Jesus taught them directly what they were doing wrong, they wouldn’t listen, and that would only harden their hearts more. Others are ready to learn from him. Because they’re ready, they’ll take the time and effort to understand, and their hearts will be changed. There is also a prophecy that some people won’t understand and some will, some will reject and some will follow, and Jesus must fulfill it. Those are his three reasons for speaking in parables.
Where does the word come from? “Parable” is a Greek word, parabolē, from the verb paraballō, which means literally “to place beside.” It is the Greek equivalent of our English word “comparison.” The modern literary equivalent would be a juxtaposition, where you take one concept and set it next to another so you can learn about one or the other. Jesus takes a concept everybody is familiar with, in this parable farming, and uses it to teach about his kingdom. Everybody there knew about farming, because food was important. You couldn’t go to the supermarket and buy preserved food in bulk, so you had to be careful about where your food came from. In all these parables you will see something familiar set beside something unfamiliar, so that the familiar thing can explain the unknown.
Let’s go through the reasons in more detail. The first is intrigue. A parable keeps a lesson engaging. Have you ever been bored because somebody was just talking about something rather than teaching it? I went to Bible college and had teachers who knew a lot about the Bible but had no way to make it interesting. A parable does the opposite. Instead of just presenting what you want to say, you spice it up a little. You can’t understand a parable without using a little of your brain, and that keeps people engaged. It also means that Jesus would draw in only those who truly wanted to follow him. Those who wanted to learn would be engaged enough to listen, analyze and take away a meaning.
The second reason is selective understanding. A parable assumes the hearer is already searching for the truth. It reminds the reader of a truth he already knows and expands on it. For the closed-minded, a parable is a silly, meaningless story. Have you ever met an atheist who knows a lot about the Bible and uses a parable out of context? “Don’t they talk about farming or something weird? That’s so random.” That’s exactly what the parable was placed there for. The hardened heart says, “Why is he talking about farming? That is irrelevant.” But the heart that was ready to hear Jesus gave it a chance and took away the lesson.
Why does that matter? It doesn’t further harden the hearts of those who aren’t interested in the truth. If the Pharisees were there, Jesus didn’t want them to understand the parable. They would say, “Look how dumb this guy is, talking about random stuff. This isn’t spiritual at all.” Rather than attacking them and making them dig in their heels even more, their hearts are left exactly as they are, while the heart that was interested is uplifted. Jesus uses parables to confuse his audience so that only those who truly want to follow him can understand.
Jesus wasn’t the only person in the Bible to use parables. When King David sinned with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan told him a story about a man who steals another man’s sheep, as a picture of David stealing Uriah’s wife. So parables run all the way through Scripture, and understanding how they work is very beneficial for our Christian walk.
The third reason is prophecy. Isaiah 6 told us Jesus would confuse some people.
…Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.
Isaiah 6:9–10
In order to fulfill the prophecy about the Messiah, there would have to be people who did not understand his teaching. So we have three reasons: parables keep hearers engaged, they selectively teach those who are willing to hear, and they fulfill prophecy.
The Parable Told
With that answered, let’s look at the parable itself, starting in Matthew 13:1.
The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 13:1–9
Here Jesus uses a really good technique. Earlier that day he had a lot of interruptions: his family trying to get to him, the Pharisees and scribes rebuking him, and crowds so thick nobody could get into the house. So Jesus, in his wisdom, goes out to the sea and gets into a boat on the Sea of Galilee. People can no longer overcrowd him or argue with him. His voice carries over the water, so everybody can see him and hear him without interruption.
A sower is a planter, somebody who plants seeds. Did everybody get that? It doesn’t seem to be a very cohesive thought. Jesus just tells a story about a farmer who scatters seed, and sometimes it fell on the road, sometimes in rocky places, sometimes among thorns, and sometimes it grew. The people who weren’t thinking about it would say, “That’s how farming works. We learned this at seven years old working with our dad on the farm.” Then Jesus says, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” In other words, those of you who are able to understand it, take it and learn from it. The response is left to the audience.
Something I hadn’t thought about until I studied for this message is that this parable is possibly a response to what had happened that day: the Pharisees and scribes rebuking him, the conflict with his family, and a bunch of people following him who all wanted different things. It’s possible that the parable is about the different attitudes and perspectives of the crowd. Some were dismissive, like the Pharisees and scribes. They were hard soil. Some were enthusiastic but shallow. They were the rocky soil. Some were distracted by the world, perhaps those who were following the Messiah only because they thought he would overthrow the Roman Empire. That was the thorny soil. And some were truly receptive and truly listening. That was the good soil.
Overall, this parable illustrates how the gospel is given into the world and how people respond to it. The farmer is God, sharing the good news of salvation through his people and through Christ with all who will hear it. The farmer doesn’t distinguish between the qualities of soil when he scatters his grain. If you went over every section of a hundred-acre field asking, “Do I want to put seed here?”, you would waste your time. You scatter seed over the whole field, knowing some of it won’t make it and some of the ground will never take root. God is the same way. He’s not picking and choosing who gets the good news. He doesn’t look at the heart and say, “I won’t give that person an opportunity because they’re stubborn.” He spreads the gospel to everyone. It’s not his responsibility to pick who gets it. It’s the responsibility of the person who receives the gospel to decide how to respond.
The Hard Soil
Now the parable explained. Let’s jump down to verse 18. I’ll refer to the line in the original parable and then read Jesus’s explanation, so we don’t lose our place. First, the roadside soil, from verse 4.
Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. 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.
Matthew 13:18–19
The wayside is a roadside. You’ve seen deer tracks in the woods, where the ground gets trampled down. On a college campus you have your nice concrete sidewalks, and then a corner where people cut through and trample the grass. In architecture they sometimes use this to decide where to put the next walkways, because wherever people walk, the ground gets compacted and hard, and no plant can take root there. So the farmer is on the side of his property, where people travel all the time. Some seeds fall on the hard, compacted road, and there’s no chance they’ll take root. This represents people who cannot understand the word because they are completely indifferent to the gospel.
Who could this be? It could be an atheist who thinks the idea of God is ridiculous, so he doesn’t consider the gospel because of his preconceptions about the world. It could be somebody who sees all the evil in the world and concludes it must be God’s fault, and because of his preconception of justice won’t consider the gospel. It could be someone whose heart has been trampled down by pain, perhaps betrayed by a church leader in childhood, and who harbors resentment and says, “I want nothing to do with it.” Or it could be a cultural Christian who grew up in church and says, “I’ve always been a Christian. I’ve always been a good person. I don’t need to respond to the gospel.” All these conditions trample down the heart so that there’s not even a chance for the gospel to take root.
If this is you, ask yourself: have I dismissed Jesus without giving him a fair hearing? Have I dismissed the idea of God based on a preconception? Have I never actually stopped to consider what Jesus offers and teaches about salvation? Everybody is a sinner. Nobody can save themselves. Your good can’t outweigh your bad. The only way to heaven is through Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, who died on a cross for our sins and rose again on the third day, and through faith in him we can have eternal life. That’s the gospel. Maybe you haven’t stopped to consider it. If not, I challenge you today to reconsider and open your mind to the possibility. Sometimes doubt is more about protecting ourselves from being hurt than about real intellectual observation. Sometimes we’re afraid to rethink things because it will hurt to be wrong. If that’s the way we are, we’ll never grow. We have to keep an open mind and understand that maybe we haven’t figured it all out yet.
What if you meet someone like this? First, don’t be discouraged by their rejection of God. When somebody rejects God, they’re not rejecting you. Jesus says, “If they hated me, they’re going to hate you.” Instead of debating every point and arguing, patiently show love through your actions. Don’t trample down the soil further. Do good to them, love them, and do a little something to hydrate that soil for the next season of planting. The beautiful thing about a farm is that most farms don’t open for only one year. Every season the seed is sown again and again. We are not the ones who save people. We can share the gospel, but the saving is done by the Holy Spirit, by Jesus Christ, by God. It’s not our job to convince people to be saved. It’s our job to show them Jesus and hydrate the soil so God’s word can be planted, take root and grow in their lives.
The Rocky Soil
Now the rocky soil, from verses 5 and 6 of the parable.
But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; 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.
Matthew 13:20–21
This person hears the gospel, gets excited, loves the idea of it, and begins to believe in his heart. But before he makes a choice and commits to full faith, he hits difficulty and gets discouraged. Not everybody’s salvation experience is hearing the gospel one day and immediately believing. For most people, conversion isn’t “I heard the gospel one day and I got saved.” A lot of people hear the gospel, like it, and, as the Bible says, taste and see that the Lord is good. They start going to church and listening. They’re interested and want to learn more, but they haven’t yet made a decision. Then the difficulties of life come. It could be finances, persecution, or someone in the church saying something that offends them. Before they make a decision of faith, they’re offended, and the root that had started dies.
One important thing about this parable is that salvation is tied to producing fruit. Salvation is not the plant sprouting. The Christian isn’t fully realized until he makes a profession of faith and fruit is found in his life. Stony places are ground with only a shallow layer of dirt over bedrock. There’s no room for the roots to grow and no reliable source of water. When the difficulty of life comes, the plant withers from a lack of sustenance. A walk with God cannot be sustained without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what waters our growth. Someone who tries to walk with God without fully believing won’t find the strength to persevere in the long term. They’ll give up and walk away having never reached saving faith. Those who never surrender to Christ in faith never receive the baptism of the Spirit that waters their souls, and without the Holy Spirit you cannot grow. These people walk the walk and talk the talk. They try out the morals of Christianity, yet in the end never decide to commit.
Who could this be? Maybe someone who believes the teachings of Christ benefit society but isn’t convinced that Jesus is God and saved their soul. Maybe someone who believes Jesus is God but considers themselves a good person: “Do I really need Jesus to save me? I think I’ve done enough good works.” Or maybe the emotional responder at youth camp. As a kid I saw this a lot. They get excited about the emotional swing of church camp, they see everybody else changing their lives, and they go forward and say, “I want to be a part of this.” Then they get home and realize it was just an emotional high, not a commitment out of dedication to God. Instead of persevering into faith and being saved, they fall away before they’re saved.
If this is you, consider whether your faith is more about convenience than commitment. Are you willing to follow Jesus even if it costs you friendships, opportunities or comforts? Don’t just sit on the edge of faith and in the pew and say, “I like the culture here. I like the teachings here.” You cannot live a transformed life without surrendering in faith to Christ. A true Christian fully understands their complete dependence on God for righteousness and realizes our good works are no better than filthy rags. If you believe in your heart that you’re a good person and don’t really need forgiveness, you need to change your heart.
If you meet someone like this, talk with them, but don’t be condescending. Remember that you were like them before you were saved. Encourage them to dig deeper, study the Bible with them and pray with them, and model perseverance in faith. Sometimes people need to see what rooted faith looks like in someone else before they can choose to root in themselves. People will walk the walk, sit in the pew, donate to the church and enjoy the church presence, but they won’t get saved until they see someone who’s all in for Christ. When you see a believer truly committed and surrendered, saying, “God, I will do whatever you want,” there is nothing more encouraging. I hope each of us desires to be like that, to encourage others to want Jesus because they can see that we have everything we need in him.
The Thorny Soil
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.
Matthew 13:22
The thorny ground is the heart wrapped up in the materialistic traps of this world that sap away the blessings of the kingdom of heaven. This one is common as well. It’s so hard to say “I want to commit to Christ” when it means giving up your comfort for it. For an example in Scripture, turn to Mark 10.
And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
Mark 10:17–22
This man saw the ministry of Jesus and the gift he was offering. He asked, “How can I inherit this?” Jesus said, “Follow the commandments.” He said, “I’ve always done that. I’ve always been a moral person.” Jesus said, “There’s one thing you lack,” because he knew his heart. “Give the riches you’ve been hoarding to the poor, and then you can enter my kingdom.” It was good for the man to commit when all he had to do was be a moral person. It was good to believe when it didn’t mean losing something. But the rich man walked away, because God was calling him not to hoard wealth for himself, and he refused to accept that. This is someone who gets excited about Christianity but refuses salvation because he can’t get behind God’s standard. He walks away because in his heart he truly believes wealth and pleasure are more valuable than what Jesus offers. “I work for that. That’s mine. I deserve that.” He went away and never accepted Christ as his Savior.
In society today many say, “Christians don’t believe in this, so I will not become a Christian.” These are people who can’t give up the pleasure, wealth and enjoyment of the world, and because they want to live in that sin, they say, “Jesus is not for me.” Many on the day of judgment will fall into this category. They’ll call Jesus Lord and believe some things he taught, but Jesus will say to them, “Depart from me. I never knew you.” They called him Lord their whole life and played the part, but behind the scenes they never truly intended to follow him. They wanted the perception of Christian morality that came with being a follower of Christ, without the intention of truly being like Christ.
If this is you, ask yourself what competes with Christ for your attention and affection. Even good things such as family, career and hobbies can become thorns that grow up and prevent saving faith in Christ. If this is you, you will know it 100% in your heart. I don’t want people to doubt their salvation because of this. Those who worry they might be in this category are definitely not in it, because you don’t worry about being in it if you don’t care. Those who reject God on this basis do it fully intentionally, and they will often try to bring you down to their level to make themselves feel better.
What do you do if you meet someone like this? Don’t lecture them about the idols they’ve set up before God. Instead, gently show them the greater joy of life with Christ. Help them see what they’re missing out on, not what they have to give up. People refuse Christ for this reason because they think they’ll lose more than they’ll gain. The only way to get to their heart is to show them that what Jesus offers is so much more valuable than anything God asks us to surrender.
The Good Soil
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.
Matthew 13:23
This is the good heart that is prepared to take the good news of Jesus Christ. True converts don’t have stubborn hearts that won’t listen. They aren’t choked up by difficulty or distracted by the appeals of the world. They say, “I will believe.” That conversion comes from a true understanding of God’s truth, and it doesn’t come without surrender and an obedient heart.
Notice that the believer is identified by producing fruit. Galatians 5 tells us what that fruit of the Spirit is.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance…
Galatians 5:22–23
If you are a true believer, you should see some of this fruit in your life. Notice that some produce a little and some produce a lot. God doesn’t say you’re not a true believer unless you produce a hundred times over. If you produce any fruit, you are a believer. Not all believers produce the same amount, but all should produce some, and when you have that fruit in your life, you can have assurance of your faith.
Notice also that it is “the fruit,” singular, of the Spirit, not “fruits.” It’s not “I have some of these attributes some of the time. I love my wife. I got fifty bucks last week and that made me happy. Things are going pretty good today, so I have peace.” It’s that I have all of them pretty regularly. If you don’t have all the attributes, then you’re not producing the fruit of the Spirit. So we need to look at our lives and see whether there’s an area where we’re lacking. The Spirit doesn’t grow one attribute at a time, but all together.
What could this look like? It could be the faithful grandmother who has quietly prayed and served for decades, leaving a legacy of faith for her family. It could be a new believer who turns their life around dramatically, bearing witness to God’s power. It could be the missionary who left behind everything he’s ever worked for to spread the gospel to people who’ve never heard it. It could be your average ordinary Christian whose daily life at work, at home and with friends is marked by love, joy, peace and longsuffering. They know they’re saved because they’re devoted to the teachings of Scripture and live them not just in public but in private. They love others, they’re joyful, they make peace with their enemies, and they are patient, gentle, kind, trustworthy and self-controlled.
If this is you, congratulations. Your walk is going well. Keep examining your fruit. Are you growing in all aspects of the fruit of the Spirit? Are you producing as much fruit as you possibly can? If you meet someone like this, learn from them. Pray for God to help you become more like them. Don’t envy the fruit in their lives, but let them inspire you. As Paul encouraged believers, follow them as they follow Christ.
What Kind of Soil Will I Be?
The parable of the sower reminds us that the gospel is powerful, but the response to it depends on the condition of the heart. The same seed is scattered and the same word is preached, but the heart determines whether it will produce fruit. Some hearts are hard and the word never penetrates. Some are shallow, excited at first but giving up when trials come. Some are spiritually overcrowded by distractions and the cares of the world. But some hearts are open, receptive and ready to grow. They hear the word, understand it, and produce fruit in abundance.
The question this parable leaves us with is not “Was the seed good enough?” The seed is always good. The question is, “What kind of soil will I be?” If you hear Christ’s word today, don’t let it bounce off a hardened heart. Don’t get choked up by distractions. Don’t let your walk wither under pressure. Instead, ask God to prepare your heart as good, soft, receptive soil, willing to surrender to him, so that his word can take deep root in you and produce fruit that will last forever. God wants you to understand how the gospel is planted in the hearts and minds of those around us. As Jesus says, “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
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