2. (3b-9) A simple story about a farmer and sowing seeds.

“Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the
birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much
earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But 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 sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and
yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him
hear!”

a. A sower went out to sow: Jesus spoke according to the agricultural customs
of His day. In those days, seed was scattered first and then it was plowed into
the ground.

i. Before one can be a sower, he must be an eater and a receiver. This

one came out of the granary – the place where seed is stored – and
from his Bible the sower brought forth seed.

b. As he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside . . . on stony places . . .

among thorns . . . on good ground: In this parable the seed fell on four
different types of soil.

i. The wayside was the path where people walked and nothing could
grow because the ground was too hard.

ii. Stony places were where the soil was thin, lying upon a rocky shelf.
On this ground the seed springs up quickly because of the warmth of
the soil, but the seed is unable to take root because of the rocky shelf.

iii. Among thorns describes soil that is fertile - perhaps too fertile,
because thorns grow there as well as grain.

iv. Good ground describes soil that is both fertile and weed-free. A
good, productive crop grows in the good ground.

c. He who has ears to hear, let him hear: This was a not a call for all to
listen. Rather, it was a call for those who were spiritually sensitive to take
special note. This was especially true in light of the next few verses, in which
Jesus explained the purpose of parables.

3. (10-17) Why did Jesus use parables? In this context, to hide the truth from those
who would not listen to the Holy Spirit.

And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He
answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the
kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be
given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be
taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see,
and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is
fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, and seeing you will see
and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing,
and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’ But blessed
are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many
prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what
you hear, and did not hear it.”

a. Why do You speak to them in parables? The way Jesus used parables
prompted the disciples to ask this. Apparently Jesus’ use of parables wasn’t as
easy as simple illustrations of spiritual truth.

b. Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom
of heaven, but to them it has not been given: Jesus explained that He used
parables so that the hearts of those rejecting would not be hardened further.

i. The same sun that softens the wax hardens the clay; and so the very
same gospel message that humbles the honest heart and leads to
repentance may also harden the heart of the dishonest listener and
confirm that one in their path of disobedience.

ii. “The parable conceals truth from those who are either too lazy to
think or too blinded by prejudice to see. It puts the responsibility fairly
and squarely on the individual. It reveals truth to him who desires
truth; it conceals truth from him who does not wish to see the truth.”
(Barclay)

iii. “Thus the parables spoke to the crowds do not simply convey
information, nor mask it, but challenge the hearers.” (Carson)

c. For whoever has, to him more will be given . . .but whoever does not
have, even what he has will be taken away from him: The idea is that those
who are open and sensitive to spiritual truth more will be given through the
parables. Yet to those who are not open – who do not have, these ones will
end up in an even worse condition.

i. “Life is always a process of gaining more or losing more. . . . For

weakness, like strength, is an increasing thing.” (Barclay)

d. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see,

and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand: In this sense, the
parables of Jesus were not illustrations making difficult things clear to all who
heard. They were a way of presenting God’s message so the spiritually
sensitive could understand, but the hardened would merely hear a story
without heaping up additional condemnation for rejecting God’s Word.

i. Parables are an example of God’s mercy towards the hardened. The

parables were given in the context of the Jewish leaders’ building
rejection of. In this sense they were examples of mercy given to the
undeserving.
 e. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: By speaking in parables
Jesus also fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah, speaking in a way that the hardened
would hear but not hear and see but not see.

i. The heart of this people has grown dull is more literally “fat”
instead of dull. “A fat heart is a fearful plague. . . . None can delight in
God’s law that are fat-hearted.” (Trapp)

ii. “They did not really see what they saw, nor hear what they heard.
The plainer the teaching, the more they were puzzled by it. They had
become so morally and spiritually diseased, that the only thing they
would notice was the attractive dress of a truth; for the truth itself they
had no liking and no perception.” (Spurgeon)

f. But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear: In
light of this, those who do understand the parables of Jesus are genuinely
blessed. Not only do they gain the benefit of the spiritual truth illustrated, but
they also display some measure of responsiveness to the Holy Spirit.

i. “You under the Gospel are made to know what the greatest and best
of men under the law could not discover. The shortest day of summer
is longer than the longest day in winter.” (Spurgeon)

4. (18-23) The parable of the sower explained: each soil represents one of four
responses to the word of the kingdom.

“Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and
does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his
heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony
places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root
in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of
the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who
hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word,
and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the
word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some
sixty, some thirty.”

a. This is he who received seed by the wayside: As the birds devoured the
seed on the wayside (Matthew 13:4), so some receive the word with hardened
hearts and the wicked one quickly snatches away the sown word. The word
has no effect because it never penetrates and is quickly taken away.

i. The wayside soil represents those who never really hear the word
with understanding. The word of God must be understood before it can
truly bear fruit. One of Satan’s chief works is to keep men in darkness
regarding their understanding of the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4).

ii. “Satan is always on the watch to hinder the Word . . . He is always

afraid to leave the truth even in hard and dry contact with a mind.”
(Spurgeon)
 iii. “People are now so sermon-trodden many of them, that their hearts,
like footpaths, grow hard by the word, which takes no more impression
than rain doth upon a rock: they have brawny breasts, horny heart-
strings, dead and dedolent dispositions.” (Trapp)

b. On stony places: As seed falling on the thin soil on top of the stony places
quickly springs up and then quickly withers and dies (Matthew 13:5-6), so
some respond to the word with immediate enthusiasm yet soon wither away.

i. This soil represents those who receive the word enthusiastically, but
their life is short-lived, because they are not willing to endure
tribulation or persecution . . . because of the word.

ii. Spurgeon made a good point: “I want you clearly to understand that
the fault did not lie in the suddenness of their supposed conversion.
Many sudden conversions have been among the best that have ever
happened.” The problem was not their sudden growth, but their lack of
depth.

iii. “Tribulation is a general term for suffering which comes from

outside; persecution is deliberately inflicted, and usually implies a
religious motive. Falls away is literally ‘is tripped up’; it is not a
gradual loss of interest, but a collapse under pressure.” (France)

c. Among the thorns: As seed falling among thorns would grow the stalks of
grain among the thorns yet soon be choked out (Matthew 13:7), so some
respond to the word and grow for a while, but are choked and stopped in their
spiritual growth by competition from unspiritual things.

i. This soil represents fertile ground for the word; but their soil is too
fertile, because it also grows all sorts of other things that choke out the
word of God. Namely, it is the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches that choke the word.

d. Good ground: As seed falling on good ground brings a good crop of grain
(Matthew 13:8), so some respond rightly to the word and bear much fruit.

i. This soil represents those who receive the word, and it bears fruit in
their soil - in differing proportions (some hundredfold, some sixty,
some thirty), though each has a generous harvest.

e. Therefore, hear the parable of the sower: We benefit from seeing bits of
ourselves in all four soils.

      Like the wayside, sometimes we allow the word no room at all in our
lives.

      Like the stony places, we sometimes have flashes of enthusiasm in

receiving the word that quickly burn out.
       Like the soil among thorns, the cares of this world and the
deceitfulness of riches are constantly threatening to choke out God’s
word and our fruitfulness.

      Like the good ground, the word bears fruit in our lives.

i. We notice that the difference in each category was with the soil
itself. The same seed was cast by the same sower. You could not blame
the differences in results on the sower or on the seed, but only on the
soil. “O my dear hearers, you undergo a test today! Peradventure you
will be judging the preacher, but a greater than the preacher will be
judging you, for the Word itself shall judge you.” (Spurgeon)

ii. The parable was also an encouragement to the disciples. Even

though it might seem that few respond, God is in control and the
harvest will certainly come. This was especially meaningful in light of
the rising opposition to Jesus. “Not all will respond, but there will be
some who do, and the harvest will be rich.” (France)

iii. “Who knoweth, O teacher, when thou labourest even among the
infants, what the result of thy teaching may be? Good corn may grow
in very small fields.” (Spurgeon)

iv. Even more than describing the mixed progress of the gospel
message, the parable of the sower compels the listener to ask, “What
kind of soil am I?”

B. Parables of corruption among the kingdom community.