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 start a new series on the parables of Christ. We have been in the Old Testament for a while, and this is a good place to jump into Jesus’s teaching. We will start with the parable of the sower, one of the best-known parables He told, and we will take it a little out of order, beginning with why He taught in parables at all. God wants you to understand how the gospel is planted in the hearts and minds of those around us.
Why Parables?
The day Jesus gave this parable was a hectic one. He had faced opposition from the Pharisees and scribes, cast out demons, drawn massive crowds, and even had His family trying to get to Him. Then He went out of the house, sat by the sea side, and finally taught from a ship while the multitude stood on the shore. His disciples asked, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He said it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. There are some stubborn people in this audience. If Jesus taught them directly what they were doing wrong, they would harden further.
The word parable is a Greek word, parabole, from the verb paraballo, which means literally to place beside. It is the Greek equivalent of our English word comparison. Jesus takes something everybody is familiar with, in this case farming, and sets it beside His kingdom so the familiar thing can explain the unknown. The first reason He uses parables is intrigue. A parable keeps a lesson engaging. Have you ever been bored because somebody was just talking at you with no picture to hold on to? A story makes you lean in. The second is selective understanding. A parable assumes the hearer is already searching for the truth. It reminds the hearer of something he already knows and then uses that to teach what he does not yet know. It does not further harden the hearts of those who are not interested. If the Pharisees were there, Jesus did not want them to understand just enough to become more hostile. He was not 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. The third reason is prophecy. Isaiah 6 said, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. In order to fulfill the prophecy about the Messiah, there would have to be people who did not understand His teaching.
The Wayside
A sower went forth to sow, and some seed fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured it up. Jesus explains: 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. The wayside is a roadside, packed hard like a deer track in the woods, or like the worn shortcuts across a campus lawn. The seed never even enters the soil. Who could this be? It could be an atheist who thinks the idea of God is ridiculous, so he does not consider the gospel because of his preconceptions. It could be someone who has heard the word so many times that it no longer even registers, like seed bouncing off packed dirt. If this is you, ask whether you have dismissed Jesus without giving Him a fair hearing. If you meet someone like this, do not be discouraged by their rejection of God. When somebody rejects God, they are not rejecting you. Jesus says that if they have persecuted Him, they will persecute you. Keep sowing. The hardness of the path is not proof that the seed was bad, and it is not proof that you failed.
The Stony Ground
Some seed fell on stony places, where it sprang up quickly and then withered because it had no deepness of earth. He that received the seed into stony places heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it, yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while, and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. This person hears the gospel, gets excited, and begins to believe, but before he commits to full faith, difficulty comes and he withers.
One important thing about this parable is that salvation is tied to producing fruit. Salvation is not the plant sprouting. The Christian is not 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 is no room for the roots and no reliable source of water. A walk with God cannot be sustained without the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is what waters our growth. 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, and they walk away having never reached saving faith. 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 comfort? If you meet someone like this, talk with them, but do not be condescending. Remember that you were like them before you were saved.
The Thorns
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. This one is common. Think of the rich young man who ran to Jesus, knelt, and asked, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? He had kept the commandments from his youth, but when Jesus told him to sell what he had, give to the poor, and follow Him, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. In society today many will not become Christians because they cannot give up the pleasure, wealth, and enjoyment they already have. Even good things such as family, career, and hobbies can become thorns that choke the word. If this is you, ask what competes with Christ for your attention and affection. Even a full calendar of good things can choke the word until there is no fruit left. If you meet someone like this, do not lecture them about their idols. Gently show them the greater joy of life with Christ.
The Good Ground
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 do not have stubborn hearts that will not listen. They are not shallow, and they are not choked up with the world’s cares. They hear, understand, and bear fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Notice that the believer is identified by producing fruit. Galatians 5 tells us what that fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. If you are a true believer, you should see some of this fruit in your life. Notice also that some produce a little and some produce a lot. God does not say you are not saved if you produce thirty instead of a hundred. Notice also that it is the fruit, singular, of the Spirit, not fruits. It is not, I have some of these attributes some of the time. I love my wife. I got fifty dollars the other day and that made me happy. Things are going pretty good today, so I have peace. The fruit is a life the Spirit is actually producing, not a mood that comes and goes. It could look like a faithful grandmother who has quietly prayed and served for decades, or a missionary who left behind everything he has ever worked for to spread the gospel.
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, not just the ones that come easily? Are you producing what will last? The same seed is scattered, and the question this parable leaves us with is not whether the seed was good enough. The seed is always good. The question is, what kind of soil will I be? If you hear the word today, receive it, understand it, and let it bear fruit. God wants you to understand how the gospel is planted in the hearts and minds of those around us. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
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