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The Parable of the Sower - Bible Story

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Lisa Loraine Baker
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The Parable of the Sower - Bible Story

The Parable of the Sower: Bible Story and Lesson

The Parable of the Sower was told to the crowd gathered around Jesus. Jesus tells the story of a sower who scattered seeds on four different soil types. The first type of ground was hard, and the seed could not sprout or grow at all and became snatched up instantly. The second type of ground was stony. The seed was able to plant and begin to grow. However, it could not grow deep roots and withered in the sun. The third type of ground was thorny, and although the seed could plant and grow, it could not compete with the number of thorns that overtook it. The fourth ground was good soil that allowed the seed to plant deep, grow strong, and produce fruit.

Moral of the Parable of the Sower

Jesus used this parable to explain to his followers and the disciples how there are different responses to the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. The sower in the parable is Jesus, and the seed is the word of God (both Jesus's spoken word and today the Bible). The hard ground represents someone with a hardened heart full of sin who hears the word of God but does not accept it. Satan can keep this person from growing at all. The stony ground is someone who shows interest and awareness in the Gospel, yet his heart isn't fully convinced when trouble comes to his faith, which is not strong enough to stand. The thorny ground is a person who receives the Gospel but who has many other idols and distractions in life - worries, riches, and lusts, which take over his mind and heart, and he cannot grow in the truth of God's Word. The good soil is someone who has heard and received the Word of God and allows it to take root and grow within his life. This person represents true salvation that bears good fruit.

Jesus spoke the Parable of the Sower to teach how important the state of our heart is to receive the Gospel and how our choices and actions prove our salvation after hearing the Gospel. Read the full Bible passage of this story below and find related articles, videos, and audio sermons to help your understanding of this biblical lesson.

What Happens in the Parable of the Sower?

In His earthly ministry, Jesus spoke in parables to the crowds who gathered to hear Him teach (Matthew 13:3). Parables are stories used as illustrations to teach a deeper truth that becomes understandable to the audience, and this—the parable of the sower—is the first time Jesus used parables in their full sense as He taught. Previously, He taught in the synagogues and some of His teachings were parabolical in essence (Matthew 7:24-27). Those to whom He often spoke parables were outside the kingdom (Mark 4:11), for the realm of parables transcends the ordinary life to the spiritual. Ordinary life consists of daily, often rote activities, even vocational tasks. When we add a spiritual aspect to our activities, we sense the need to do everything from faith (Romans 14:23). The parable of the sower is one He shared while He sat in a boat just off the shore of the Sea of Galilee. The crowds were such that He had to separate Himself so all could hear His message (Mark 4:1). He sat as He spoke, as did Jewish teachers of the day, therefore alluding to His authority as a teacher and also preparing His audience for the lessons (see Luke 4:20).

The synoptic gospels each contain Jesus’ teaching of the parable of the sower (Matthew 13:1-9, Mark 4:1-9, Luke 8:4-8). In it, a sower goes out to sow (that is, one who sows seeds, e.g., a farmer). As he sowed, some seeds fell on a path and were trampled underfoot (Luke 8:5), and birds came “and devoured them.” Other seeds “fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil.” They sprang right up yet were scorched by the sun because of the lack of soil (no roots) and no moisture (Luke 8:6). Still, other seeds fell among thorns and were choked by them (Matthew 13:7). But the last seeds about which Jesus spoke fell on “good soil and produced various amounts of grain.” Jesus followed this parable with an interesting statement: “He who has ears, let him hear.”

The Main Message

Scripture is the best interpreter of itself, and Jesus Himself explains the parable of the sower in Matthew 13:18-23, Mark 4:13-20, and Luke 8:11-5 (He was the only One to use parables). By using an agricultural metaphor, which is how most of his audiences made their living, the spectators would grasp the story as Jesus led them to consider the spiritual meaning within the illustrative narrative.

Following is a list of the meanings of each term within the parable.

The Sower – Jesus Christ

The Seeds – The Gospel of the kingdom-the Word of God

The Bird – The evil one

The Soil – Our hearts and minds, we who are presented with the Gospel of God's Kingdom.

Parables always relate to truth. It’s no different with the parable of the sower. In the verses immediately before Jesus's explanation, His disciples asked Jesus why He used parables. Jesus told His disciples the secrets were plain to them because they were already of the kingdom, but regarding those “outside,” He used parables because the people are dull to the plain words of Scripture. They need illustrations (stories) to make them understand (Matthew 13:13-17). This explains His last statement during the discourse, “He who has ears, let him hear.” (Also see Isaiah 6:9-10)

The hearer can do one of four things with the biblical truth:

1. Reject it.

2. Get emotional about it and fall away when he faces objections.

3. Accept it but dismiss it as the world and its cares and the deceit of money take hold of him.

4. Take in the word fully and obey it, growing personally and by the fruit he produces when he shares the gospel.

So then, the main message is faith and the growth of it (or lack of it) when one is presented with the Word of God. 

What Is the Significance of the Soil Types?

Each type of soil represents one’s spiritual state, or rather, one’s readiness to receive the good news offered by Jesus. We are all culpable when it comes to accepting the Word; we have a choice of what to do with what we hear.

Any good farmer knows his soil must be tilled, fertilized, and watered before it can receive seeds and be a means of growth. Soil, as used in this parable, is people. 

The first person is hard (“tramped underfoot”). Therefore, the word will not “sink in.” Once we impart Jesus’ meaning into “soil,” we know hard, tramped on soil (people) will not receive the good news of the kingdom into their souls. It’s like when someone tells you to “talk to the hand.” That’s immediate rejection. They may be present when the Gospel is proclaimed, but they do not hear it; it does not in any way permeate their soul. It’s easy then for the evil one to come to snatch it away—as if it was never there—for hardened ground leaves no imprint.

The second soil (person) is rocky and unable to be tilled. He receives the word with joy (excitement and emotion) but does not let it root (no depth). He is like the man described in James 1:23-24, a hearer only but not a doer. He meets “tribulations and persecutions because of the Word” (the seeds) and then falls away (rejects the faith). The gospel brings no fruit in him because He does not yield to it; he has not read or studied the word nor let it build his foundation.

The third soil (person) is thorny. He hears the Word, but the thorns (the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches) are his undoing. They choke the word right out of him, and he is unfruitful.

All three of the above soil types describe people who do not fully hear the Word, for to hear it is to understand (believe) it, obey it, and live it.  

The good person (soil) not only hears the Word, but he also understands it. In the parable, to understand the Word is to believe it and obey it. This person “bears fruit, and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (Matthew 13:23). He takes what is sown in him and shares the gospel of the kingdom with others, many coming to faith because of his obedience as God works through him.

How Can We Get onto the Good Soil?

It’s not a matter of getting onto the good soil; it’s being the good soil! Romans 1:20-21 tells us God’s invisible attributes (His eternal power and divine nature) are clearly perceived by all, and we are without excuse when we do not recognize His presence. The regenerative work of the Holy Spirit prepares the soil—soil in which the Gospel is received, obeyed, and grown (John 16:8).

Once accepted, the Gospel can thrive within us as we become “doers” of the Word (James 1:22-27) and not hearers only. Along with doing comes daily (sometimes hourly!) prayer and reading and meditating on the Bible. Add to that the command to meet together as the church and “stir up one another to good works” (Hebrews 10:25) and also to abstain from willful, habitual sin (Hebrews 10:26).

May we obey the Lord and share His message with a lost and dying world (Matthew 28:18-20). We may see fruit while here on earth, praise God. But it may not be until heaven that we see the fruits of our labor for the gospel. Either way, God gets the glory. 

Photo credit: © Unsplash/Timothy Meinberg

Matthew 13:1-23

1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.
2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.
9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.
13 This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: “ ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.
17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Mark 4:1-20

1 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
9 Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
11 He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables
12 so that, “ ‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’”
13 Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
14 The farmer sows the word.
15 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
16 Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy.
17 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
18 Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word;
19 but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
20 Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Luke 8:4-18

4 While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable:
5 “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.
6 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.
7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.
8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”When he said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
9 His disciples asked him what this parable meant.
10 He said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, “ ‘though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand.’
11 “This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.
12 Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
13 Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.
14 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.
15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.
16 “No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light.
17 For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.
18 Therefore consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.”

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