The Parables of Jesus Pt. 1 The Seed & The Sower Introduction
Good evening everyone!
I would like to look at one of the parables of Jesus with you this evening. It comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 13. Tonight, I want to bring the first part of the parable in front of us, and then we will look at Christ's explanation in the next post.
You may be asking "What is a parable?" and that is a great question. A parable is teaching that uses everyday things from life to illustrate heavenly truth. Jesus Christ often used parables that his hearers could readily understand. Jesus used objects or practices that they were familiar with in order to help the people better comprehend spiritual realities.
Matthew 13:1-9 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.
Notice the centrality of Jesus Christ....
Let's consider the setting for this parable. It was by the sides of the Sea of Galilee. The shore was covered with warm yellow, fine grained sands. The water is a vivid deep indigo blue at that time of year. The surrounding fields were filled with ripening grains like wheat and barley. Nearby, luscious grapes were growing and olive trees were full of maturing fruits. It was a scenic setting, with warm sunshine, sounds of lapping water and refreshing breezes.
Next, consider the vast numbers of thronging crowds who were following Christ. There were so many people that Jesus had to sit in a boat anchored a short distance from shore.
Christ is seated in the boat ready to speak..
The focus falls upon the man in the boat, Jesus Christ. He gathered the people around him so that they could hear His teaching. The word "gathered" is a word that means a businessman conducting a complete inventory of all his possessions, to account for each one and to inspect their condition.
The people stand in the presence of Christ...
May I say that some professing Christians have become too casual in their thinking about God? If Christ were seated among us this very moment, what would you be doing? Well, every person in the Bible that was ever in the presence of God was flat on their faces before Him.
Thus, I think it is important to note that these people stood attentively to hear Jesus speak the word of life to them.
There are some unique aspects of this parable. First, teaching using a sower and seed, planting and harvest would be something most of the people easily understand because they lived in an agricultural society and a fishing economy.
There are 4 kinds of soil mentioned.....
The "wayside" is ground that is by the side of a well traveled road. This is not an ideal place to grow anything. The soil is packed down and suffers from too much salt. They often took old salt that was no longer useful for seasoning, and spread it on the roads to kill weeds and keep the dust under control. Fowls descended and devoured this seed because it never reached good soil where it could grow.
The "stony places" refers to soil that is full of rocks and not much depth of the good soil.
Some of the seed fell among thorns. The word used means bramble bushes. Bramble bushes are a tangled, dense, interwoven mass almost impossible to get through, and full of very sharp thorns that cut and tear. Thorns are hard to eradicate and cause much pain if you pull them out by hand!
The last soil mentioned is the very best. It is called "good ground." This soil is full of nutrients. It is tillable, thorn free and moist. It is the best growing material for plan life.
There are 4 different results for the seed...
The seed sown by the wayside was eaten up by a bunch of birds.
The seed sown by the stony places germinated and then was burned by the sun and died.
The seed sown among the thorns also germinated but was crowded out by the bramble bushes.
The seed sown in the good ground germinated, grew, matured and produced a bountiful harvest.
There was 1 sower and 1 type of seed being sown.....
It is of interest to note the explanation of this parable by Jesus. We will only consider one aspect of this tonight: the sower and the seed.
Mark 4:14 The sower soweth the word.
The seed that was sown was the same with all 4 soil types. The seed is the word of God. However, Jesus does not say that He is the sower, nor is there any definition given to say who the sower is. I think this is by design.
The apostles were sowers of the word of God.
1 Corinthians 9:10-11 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
I would like to look at one of the parables of Jesus with you this evening. It comes from the gospel of Matthew, chapter 13. Tonight, I want to bring the first part of the parable in front of us, and then we will look at Christ's explanation in the next post.
You may be asking "What is a parable?" and that is a great question. A parable is teaching that uses everyday things from life to illustrate heavenly truth. Jesus Christ often used parables that his hearers could readily understand. Jesus used objects or practices that they were familiar with in order to help the people better comprehend spiritual realities.
Matthew 13:1-9 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.
Notice the centrality of Jesus Christ....
Let's consider the setting for this parable. It was by the sides of the Sea of Galilee. The shore was covered with warm yellow, fine grained sands. The water is a vivid deep indigo blue at that time of year. The surrounding fields were filled with ripening grains like wheat and barley. Nearby, luscious grapes were growing and olive trees were full of maturing fruits. It was a scenic setting, with warm sunshine, sounds of lapping water and refreshing breezes.
Next, consider the vast numbers of thronging crowds who were following Christ. There were so many people that Jesus had to sit in a boat anchored a short distance from shore.
Christ is seated in the boat ready to speak..
The focus falls upon the man in the boat, Jesus Christ. He gathered the people around him so that they could hear His teaching. The word "gathered" is a word that means a businessman conducting a complete inventory of all his possessions, to account for each one and to inspect their condition.
The people stand in the presence of Christ...
May I say that some professing Christians have become too casual in their thinking about God? If Christ were seated among us this very moment, what would you be doing? Well, every person in the Bible that was ever in the presence of God was flat on their faces before Him.
Thus, I think it is important to note that these people stood attentively to hear Jesus speak the word of life to them.
There are some unique aspects of this parable. First, teaching using a sower and seed, planting and harvest would be something most of the people easily understand because they lived in an agricultural society and a fishing economy.
There are 4 kinds of soil mentioned.....
The "wayside" is ground that is by the side of a well traveled road. This is not an ideal place to grow anything. The soil is packed down and suffers from too much salt. They often took old salt that was no longer useful for seasoning, and spread it on the roads to kill weeds and keep the dust under control. Fowls descended and devoured this seed because it never reached good soil where it could grow.
The "stony places" refers to soil that is full of rocks and not much depth of the good soil.
Some of the seed fell among thorns. The word used means bramble bushes. Bramble bushes are a tangled, dense, interwoven mass almost impossible to get through, and full of very sharp thorns that cut and tear. Thorns are hard to eradicate and cause much pain if you pull them out by hand!
The last soil mentioned is the very best. It is called "good ground." This soil is full of nutrients. It is tillable, thorn free and moist. It is the best growing material for plan life.
There are 4 different results for the seed...
The seed sown by the wayside was eaten up by a bunch of birds.
The seed sown by the stony places germinated and then was burned by the sun and died.
The seed sown among the thorns also germinated but was crowded out by the bramble bushes.
The seed sown in the good ground germinated, grew, matured and produced a bountiful harvest.
There was 1 sower and 1 type of seed being sown.....
It is of interest to note the explanation of this parable by Jesus. We will only consider one aspect of this tonight: the sower and the seed.
Mark 4:14 The sower soweth the word.
The seed that was sown was the same with all 4 soil types. The seed is the word of God. However, Jesus does not say that He is the sower, nor is there any definition given to say who the sower is. I think this is by design.
The apostles were sowers of the word of God.
1 Corinthians 9:10-11 Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.
If we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal things?
Jesus wants His disciples to sow the word of God into other peoples lives...
John 4:35-38
Points to Ponder......
35 Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest.
36 And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.
37 And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
38 I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours.
- The New Testament Christian is also a disciple of Jesus Christ and should be a willing sower of the good seed, the word of God.
- We must sow the seed of scripture into the lives of all kinds of people.
- We represent our Lord & Savior and must stand with Him and sow the word of God.
Well, that is probably enough for tonight. We will look at the full explanation of this parable from the lips of Christ, in the next post. Remember, if you are born again, you were saved to serve a new master, Jesus Christ. We have the happy privilege of sharing His truth with people who do not know Him.
I hope you will join me and be a happy sower of the seed working in the vast fields of this world, faithfully laboring for Christ.
Bob
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