The Parable of the Sower

Intro: I’m excited to share with you all this morning. We are gonna talk parables. A parable is not a real story. A parable is not a real story, but inside it contains a very real truth. Its a story that has a point. Jesus used parables often. Stories are memorable. The parable we are studying today is in 3 separate gospels. He used them also to hide truth from those who lack faith. Only by looking at the parables through the power of the Spirit can we comprehend the deep kingdom truths that they entail.

This parable that we are going to talk about has been on my heart for the past month or 2. It’s a parable you likely have heard before. We will read this story today in Luke 8:4-15

Luke 8:4–15 ESV

4 And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant, 10 he said, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’ 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature. 15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

Let’s Pray.

Lord make our hearts the good soil this morning. Help us to hear, understand, and obey your Word daily.

The parable of the sower, or the seeds, or the soils. Jesus called it the parable of the sower in Matthew so we will go with that. This parable, or story with a purpose. It has a very real truth within that I believe God desires us to grasp this morning.

Each time we consume God’s Word, fruit should be produced.

There have been many conversations that I’ve had over the years about this passage about which type of soil or person has recieved salvation and which hasn’t. But this morning we are not going to focus on that. If you have placed your faith in Christ’s death burial and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sins you are saved and he begins to transform your life and mold it into the person He wants you to be. That is a good soil response to the gospel.

Many treat this passage as solely a salvation passage, how to judge if you or someone else is saved or not. I think this parable is a little more complex than that and has a deeper application that we can pull from the text. I do not think it is only talking of your response to the gospel here. I believe it is teaching that...

Each time we consume God’s Word, fruit should be produced.

Getting into the parable now. Mark puts it well in chapter 4:3 “Listen!” NASB “Listen to this!” KJV “Hearken; behold”. In the book of Mark it is the only time in parable when Jesus reminds them to listen at the start and end of the parable. In ch 4:9 Mark 4:9

Mark 4:9 ESV

9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

If we understand the significance of this passage it effects how we see the rest of scripture. To not just hear it, but obey it.

James 1:22 ESV

22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

That is the driving thought in this parable as well. So as Jesus put it and Mark recorded it, listen! or Hearken! ἀκούω!

Lets define a couple of terms in the parable before we head further in.

Luke 8:5 ESV

5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.

Sower: the person who is casting the seed far and wide. The person that shares the Word. In the immediate context this sower is Jesus. He is speaking of himself casting the seed out in every circumstance He is in. As we imitate Christ, we inherit the family business of sowing seed wherever we go. And the reality is, it is not our job to determine the soil type of a person, but to cast the seed on every soul. What is that seed?

Seed: The seed being sown is the Word of God. Plain as day in Luke 8:11

Luke 8:11 ESV

11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Mark 4:14 ESV

14 The sower sows the word.

Matthew 13:19 ESV

19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path.

So in Matthew the Word of the kingdom. The seed is God’s Word. And the seed is cast on various locations. Different soils. What are the soils?

Soils: They represent different responses an individual can have to hearing God’s Word.

So this very well entails an individual’s response to the gospel. In Luke in particular he emphasizes this response for salvation. The seed is God’s Word which includes, but is not limited, to just the gospel. The Word we hear does not stop at the saving gospel. The response the Word calls for could be a response to hearing a challenge from the Word Sunday morning, or at Bible study, or at youth group, or at camp, or in our personal time in the Word. Directly from the chief sower. Seniors, God has cast the seed of His Word in your life time after time. What are you going to do about it? You have heard God’s Word. You know God’s Word. What are you going to do about it? How are you going to respond?

Each time we consume God’s Word, fruit should be produced.

Jesus says people respond to hearing the Word in 4 different ways. Every time we hear it we have a choice to make. How am I going to respond?

The first response is nonexistent or a downright refusal to listen. The first response is no response at all. The hard soil, the path.

Luke 8:5 ESV

5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it.

The path or the “wayside” was where people walked in between the fields. Like a pivot track or an access road nothing can grow in them because they are constantly packed down. They didn’t put the seed into the ground, they scattered it. So on a packed down, hard as rock path this would not be conducive for growing. To make matters worse, the seed was easy pickings for the birds and they snatched it right up. Let’s read Jesus explanation.

Luke 8:12 ESV

12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

These people let Satan take away the truth. They hear it and forget it just as easily. Matthew 13:19 says “the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. So the hard soil=hard heart. It is not that the devil didn’t give them a choice, these people have already chosen not to listen, so all truth they hear runs off of them like water on wax paper.

And this sounds awful right, this could never happen to me. This can only happen to an unbeliever to become this callous to the Word. As believers we must seek a tender heart. To not compromise on even the slighted issue because doing so hardens our heart, little by little, leaving our response to the Word nonexistent.

Ephesians 4:30 ESV

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

It is possible to ignore the Spirit, ignore the seed. That is not the way to respond when we hear the Word.

The second response possible is Superficial. On the rock.

Luke 8:6 ESV

6 And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

It grew up! It looks so good! This person is doing so well! As it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. This response has no root. There is no heart behind this response. No internal conviction from the Holy Spirit. It is this type of person we are to avoid in 2 Tim 3:5.

2 Timothy 3:5 ESV

5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.

They look good, but its only in appearance. There is no genuineness. This response is superficial. It is of no lasting worth, eventually what good was there shrivels up when the going gets tough.

Luke 8:13 ESV

13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.

Once there is any resistance or persecution they cave. The initial joy is lost and the individual falls away. The initial conviction you had was not yours it was someone else’s. When Matthew speaks of this response he says “yet he has no root in himself.” And again in Mark “and they have no root in themselves.”

Was it just your parents faith all along, or is it yours? Are you motivated by your pastor, your spouse, or a friend to do what is right? Or is it your relationship with the Lord. When we sin it leaves us shook. We sinned against God. Is it your relationship with the Lord? Or is your faith merely external, superficial? Does your faith have substance or is it superficial?

A third response to hearing God’s word is distraction. Growing in the weeds.

Luke 8:7 ESV

7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

I think of a cedar tree growing in a pasture. When they are little they don’t take up much space, hardly bigger than a tuft of grass. The grass if fine for a time, but as that cedar tree grows the ground beneath it becomes bare and useless. No grass will be found there anymore.

Luke 8:14 ESV

14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.

This is how I apply this passage. Don’t get sidetracked with worry, wealth, or wild women. Don’t get distracted. The results of getting distracted by the world is that you never reach your full potential for the Lord. It says that your fruit will not mature.

As we go along in our life being challenged by the Word. Your relationship with the Lord is most important. Investing in people, in souls is most important. Our pursuit of success or stuff or pleasure outside of God’s will, will leave our spiritual fruit in a measly state.

This is not the way. Do you want to have your cake, or do you want to have your cake and eat it too. Settling for a weedy existence is subpar and not the abundant life God wants you to have.

John 10:10 ESV

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The fourth response. The best response. Bearing much fruit. The good soil.

Luke 8:8 ESV

8 And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Responsive to the gospel and to God’s Word. Every time we have God’s Word sown on us. This is what we need. This seed grows deep roots in tilled not hardened ground. The birds can’t get to it. It has substance. When the sun comes out it does not wither. There are no weeds allowed to grow alongside to choke out the existence of good fruit. The crop the farmer dreams of having. Jesus our heavenly farmer dreams, desires for us to have this response not only in salvation, but every time we hear the Word.

Luke 8:15 ESV

15 As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.

When we hear the Word. At church or in our quite time, we need to allow it to do a work in us. To have a tender heart, an accepting heart to God’s truths. Do not let the enemy snatch away the seeds of God’s Word trying to penetrate the soil of your heart. Allow the Word to produce deep roots. Only then will we be able to stand firm and not shrivel when the trials peak over the horizon. What weeds are in your life? What are you letting distract you from God’s best? Those things will cripple your ability to produce mature fruit.

Conclusion:

Each time we consume God’s Word, fruit should be produced.

That is the response we need every time. It’s not a one time response to the gospel go on your merry way. It is the response we need to continually have.

John 6:67–69 ESV

67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?” 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, 69 and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”

The word of life. That is what our God has shared with us and desires to take deep root in us.

Seniors here today, and church family, lets ask ourselves some questions.

Is your heart hardened to God’s Word? Are you permitting yourself to be challenged by it?

Do you respond to the Word in a superficial way? Just emotionally, but there is no change in the heart?

It is someone else’s faith you are trying to piggyback off of?That doesn’t work. You need the strong roots that God can produce in you to keep you strong through trials and temptation.

Are you pulling out all the weeds, not letting any grow? The longer you leave a weed the harder it is to pull it and get rid of it. Any distraction, are you eliminating it? Any sin, are you killing it?

Are you allowing God’s Word to mold and grow you? Only then will you produce vibrant, mature, holy fruit. Be the good soil. Daily. Every moment. Be responsive to God’s Word, let fruit be produced.