Walking the Parable of the Sower: Good Soil
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My mom and I both tried to grow tomato plants this summer. Some turned out better than others. She recently asked a friend who is an avid gardener why the tomatoes never turned red. One plant even had 30 tomatoes that refused to ripen. Our friend shared, “The soil must not be good.” She explained how the tomatoes could not thrive and produce fruit without good soil.
Today, we are going to celebrate the truth that the gospel comes to those with good heart soil. Here is our final week on the Parable of the Sower, good soil.
Overview of the Parable
As a reminder: There are four types of soil found in this parable.
- Along the Path
- Rocky Ground
- Among the Thorns
- Good Soil
Lisa Loraine Baker, in her article, explains the meaning of each of these:
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.
How Jesus Explains This Parable
“Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear” (Matthew 13:8-9).
Jesus tells of the kind of soil we want in our gardens. After hearing about the three other kinds of soil, the listeners probably were getting concerned if there was any hope. Jesus begins with the word still to provide a hopeful conclusion to his parable. Even though many seeds landed in places that did not produce fruit, the seeds that fell on good soil produced many multitudes of crops.
Jesus finishes by sharing that whoever has ears, let them hear. We are invited to listen to Christ and pray for His Spirit to give us understanding in our own lives.
As I was reading this about the good soil, I was pondering a verse found in Matthew 7.
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it” (Matthew 7:13-14).
This past week I have been hearing about where some of the students in my former youth group are now. To be honest, some of them have chosen lives that are the opposite of what Jesus would want for them. It has broken my heart to hear of those who have rejected faith in Christ and His Word. I have often reflected on the parable of the sower and thought about just how difficult it is to truly receive and follow Jesus.
It can be discouraging when we see so many people around us who are not following Jesus with their lives. However, we should not be surprised because the Bible teaches us multiple times that many people will unfortunately reject Jesus. Just like there is a narrow gate, there is only some good soil. However, we can take heart and trust in our Good Savior, that He has come for the whole world out of His love for them. We are not responsible for the response of someone else’s heart, but we have been invited into the harvest.
“Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest’” (Matthew 9:37-38).
“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” (Matthew 13:22).
Seed (the gospel) on good soil (an open heart) refers to someone who hears the word and accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord. Many reject the gospel, however there are people who accept Jesus and then share that with others to also grow. Some call this term “multiplying your faith.”
What Is Sowing a Seed?
What does it mean to sow a seed? To be honest, our tomato plants that did not do as well were bought already grown and in pots. I was too intimidated and impatient to grow a plant from seed. Webster’s Dictionary defines sow as, “To plant seed for growth especially by scattering, to set something in motion, or to scatter (seed) upon the earth for growth.”
A farmer or a gardener is intentional with sowing by planting, but liberal with seeds by scattering. We are called into our lives with Jesus to be international in whom we invest in, share the gospel with, and mentor in the faith. But we also ought to be liberal in how and with whom we share the gospel. The gospel is for everyone, from our hairdresser, to the CEO of the company, to the stay-at-home mom and the teenager at school. It can be intimidating to share the gospel of Jesus because we scatter the seed in unknown territories. We cannot see the conditions of people’s hearts, but we give the gospel to them freely and pray the Holy Spirit does a work in their lives.
Luke Miller from Family Handyman explains, “Who wants to wait around for seeds to grow? You do! That is, if you want to save money; grow a greater selection of plants; and enjoy an ongoing natural process.”
Sowing a seed has benefits and can produce a lot of wonderful fruit. Luke also shares that timing is important with sowing seeds. I also believe that we are called to be innocent as doves and shrewd as serpents. We want to be wise in how we share the gospel. Our relationship building, approach, and heart behind sharing with others needs to be Spirit led. We need to ask God to help us not to be afraid to share the gospel or make excuses to ignore the opportunities. We also need to be discerning in how to best tell others about Christ.
The Gospel on Good Soil
If you share the gospel with someone who accepts Jesus, this person has good soil. But it does not end there. Jesus tells His followers to go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19-20). A disciple is a follower who is growing in the likeness of Christ. There is a difference between believing in Jesus for salvation and being a follower of Jesus. He might be someone’s Savior, but is He Lord?
Salvation is different from spiritual growth. Notice the production of fruit varied from 100, 60, and 30 times what was sown. We receive the gospel, but it is our invitation to grow in our faith by seeking Christ in the Bible, prayer, worshiping Him, obeying Him, loving others, sharing the gospel, and being in Christian community.
When God blesses us with the gift of walking through the gospel with someone, it is our joy and calling to then help them grow in their faith and produce fruit in their own lives for the glory of God. This then becomes a beautiful cycle of spiritual multiplication as this follower of Jesus goes on to share the gospel with others and mentor them. The Christian life in good soil has been planted by the gospel, but we are provided the tools to grow by the watering of the Word (Ephesians 5:26) and the refinement of the body of Christ.
We can stay stagnant in good soil, or we can grow and share the gospel to multiply in faith and produce 30, 60, or even 100 times what Jesus has already done in us for His glory.
Related articles
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Along the Path
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Rocky Ground
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Among the Thorns
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Romolo Tavani
