The Secret of the Sower, the Seed and the Soil

Bible Book: Matthew 13 : 18-23

Subject: Evangelism; Missions; Outreach; Witnessing; Soul Winning

Introduction

This first parable dealing with the Sower, the Seed and the Soil, and the second parable dealing with the Wheat and the Tares is the foundation upon which all the other parables stand. Jesus interprets the first two of the seven parables because they are not only foundational but they are informational as well. Jesus’ interpretation of these two parables gives us an insight into how we are to interpret the other five.

Let’s read the interpretation of the first parable in Matthew 13:18-23. Jesus said, “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 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.”

There are four different responses to hearing the message of Christ. The result of these four different responses produces all kind of religious people being mixed in with Christians in the Kingdom of Heaven and in our churches. The Kingdom of Heaven began with a small mixture of wheat (the saved) and tares (the lost) and has very rapidly grown into a multi-billion dollar business involving super churches with over 50,000 members, many denominations and multiplied millions of people around the world. The Kingdom of Heaven includes both good fish (the saved) and bad fish (the lost) mixed together. They are not to be separated and judged until Jesus comes again. The work of separating and judging is not our job description. All the separating has been assigned to God’s angels and all the judgment has been assigned to Christ.

The first Sower was Jesus beginning with John the Baptist. Since then all followers of Christ are to be empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses for Him, going forth sowing the precious seed. The seed of course is the gospel of Christ. The soil is the hearts of the listeners. The condition of the heart determines the response.

Jesus makes it very clear that the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of four kinds of responders. Each person who hears the gospel has a different response. Just as water gives life to a withering rose, God’s word produces life in the hearts of sinners.

There is always a response to the word of God. It is impossible to come under the influence of the word of God and ever be the same. The very nature of the word of God demands some kind of response because God’s word will not return unto Him void.

The Bible says, “For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it”, Isaiah 55:10-11. The same sun that melts ice hardens clay and the same word of God that humbles hearts and makes people better people also hardens hearts and makes people worst people.

I. Procrastinating Hearers

First, the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of PROCRASTINATING hearers of the word of God. This is the person who receives the seed by the wayside. This is the hard soil.

Let me read again, Matthew 13:3, “Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.” Jesus gives us the interpretation in Matthew 13:18-19, “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.” The devil gets this crowd. Like a bird flying off with seed that falls along the wayside the devil will steal the seed from your heart.

All four of these hearers must be church members. Or at least they are interested enough in hearing the gospel that they go somewhere they are able to hear the word of God being preached or taught. It’s a dangerous thing to hear the word of God and then put off responding to it positively. “Procrastination” simply put means “to put off intentionally and habitually”.

The wayside was not always the wayside. At one time seed could have produced fruit on this ground. But over time no attention had been given to it. It had been neglected, perhaps through procrastination. It had not been plowed. It was unused soil and subject to all kinds of abuse.

I feel like most lost people who hear the gospel preached today don’t say no to it. They just put off saying yes. This is one of the devil’s biggest tricks. He will not try to keep you from accepting Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. He will just get you to put it off. The devil may agree with everything the Bible says. He may agree with everything the Holy Spirit is saying to you. But if he can just get you to procrastinate! If he can just get you to put it off, he knows the next time it will be easer to get you to put it off and the next time even easer, until finally you just won’t care anymore.

Procrastination is the shortest way to hell. The Bible says, “How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation”, Hebrews 2:3.

The Bible says, “He who is often rebuked, and hardens his heart, will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy”, Proverbs 29:1.

In the first chapter of Romans you will find one expression three times: “Wherefore God gave them up. Wherefore God gave them up. Wherefore God gave them up.” Why did God give them up? Because of the hardness of their heart.

You can take the poison of “procrastination” until at last the word of God can only have a negative effect on you. The same sun that melts ice hardens clay, and the same word of God that humbles hearts, saves you and makes you a better person, can also harden your heart and make you a worst person. You can spurn the love of God and trample beneath your feet the blood of Christ only so long.

You may be educated, refined, cultured, successful and high in this social world. You may even be a church member and read your Bible, but if you are persistent and continuous in resisting the teachings of Jesus, and your attitude of opposition is willful and deliberate in the sign of God, you are trifling with the patience of God.

We know by every known law of the mind, that every time we resist the truth, the next time we hear the truth our resisting power has become stronger and the truth bears weaker on our mind. The end result of procrastination is crossing God’s deadline. There may be millions church doors open; there may be millions of church bells ringing; there may be millions of choirs singing; there may be millions of evangelists preaching; there may be millions of Christians on their knees praying; there may be millions of invitations being given, but the Bible says that such a person, “must let alone his redemption forever.” If you have any positive feelings at all about the word of God; if you have any desire to accept Christ, thank God, because it’s not too late. Please accept him right now. To wait another second is to continue to procrastinate. Don’t be a procrastinating hearer of the word of God. The devil will get you with this strategy every single time.

II. Passive Hearers

Second, the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of PASSSIVE hearers of the word of God. This is the person who receives seed on the stony soil.

Let me ready again Matthew 13:5-6, “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.” Jesus gives us the interpretation in Matthew 13:20-21, “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.”

Stony ground was a shallow layer of soil on top of a layer of solid rock. The shallow soil accelerated the growth of the seed. It very quickly manifested itself, but since it had no real roots it didn’t last very long. It couldn’t withstand the heat of the sun so it very quickly withered away. The word “passive” means “inactive or offering no opposition or resistance”.

There are people in our churches today who enjoy the good feeling of a praise and worship service on Sunday but are inactive during the week. When the devil puts a little pressure on them, or tempts them with the sins of the flesh, they are unable to put up much opposition or resistance. They seem to bloom real quickly but when a little pressure is put on them they wither away just as quickly.

They have no real root in the word of God. It’s just a “feel good” religion for them. They enjoy the “pep rally” but very rarely get in the game. When tribulation or persecution comes they are quick to stumble. As wonderful and exciting as a praise and worship service is, it cannot take the place of being grounded and rooted in the word of God. The fruit of a Christian is not another Christian. You can win someone to Christ and not be saved your self. The fruit of a Christian is not praise and worship. The fruit of a Christian is “love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control”, Galatians 5:22-23.

I thank God for an exciting praise and worship service, for the wonderful fellowship that we enjoy with other Christians, for the prayers of God’s people and all the charitable acts of love and mercy that the church provides. But nothing can take the place of the preaching and teaching of the word of God.

The devil got the procrastinating crowd but the flesh got the passive crowd.

III. Permissive Hearers

Third, the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of PERMISSIVE hearers of the word of God. This is the person who receives seed on the thorny soil.

Let me read again Matthew 13:7, Jesus said, “And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.” Jesus gives us the interpretation in Matthew 13:22, “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.”

When Jesus says “among thorns” He is suggesting that the soil is good but it has a lot of wild growth. This person tries to respond in a positive way to the preaching and teaching of the word of God but he permits the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of money to get the best of him. He has one foot in the church and the other foot in the world.

This professing Christian is really having a hard time learning how to be in the world but not of the world. The Bible says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever”, 1 John 2:15-17.

It’s not the cares of the world and riches that keeps this permissive crowd from becoming children of God. It’s permitting the cares of the world and the riches of the world to deceive them. The world system is put before Christ and His word, and like thorns choking out seed that is trying to grow, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches chokes the word of God out of their life, and they become unfruitful. It’s a matter of prioritizing what is really important. Jesus says, “But seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things (the necessities of life) shall be added to you”, Matthew 6:33.

The devil got the procrastinating crowed. The flesh got the passive crowd and the world got the permissive crowd.

IV. Purposeful Hearers

Fourth, the Kingdom of Heaven is made up of PURPOSEFUL hearers of the word of God. This is the person who receives seed on the good soil.

Let me read again Matthew 13:8-9, Jesus said, “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.” Jesus gives us the interpretation in Matthew 13:23, “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.”

The good soil is a believing heart that is open to the word of God. Not only in Matthew chapter 13, but much of the Bible was written in mysteries with the spiritual truth hidden from our natural understanding. Why is this? God wants to check out believers. I often quote St. Augustine when he said, “Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore, seek not to understand that you may believe, but believer that you may understand.”

The Bible is a faith book. The Bible says, “Through faith we understand”, Hebrews 11:3. We must believe it before the Holy Spirit will reveal it. God does not honor what we can think out, feel out, study out, or reason out. He honors what we decide to believe. The Bible is the basis of our Christian faith. The Bible says, “So then faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God”, Romans 10:17.

We will never have any more faith than what we know. Our faith will never exceed our knowledge of the word of God. So if you want more faith, get into the word of God more.

When a person hears the word of God preached or taught, or reads it for themselves, their understanding is going to be based on their belief system. Why do you go to church? Why do you like to hear the word of God preached or taught? Why do you take time out of your busy schedule to read the Bible? What’s your purpose?

In this first parable of the sower, seed and soil, only one of the four was a purposeful hearer of the word of God. And even then there are degrees of fruit bearing; some produced a hundred fold, some sixty fold, and some only thirty fold. Why? Because there are different measures of faith involved.

There are different degrees of spiritual growth.

The Bible says, “As newborn babies, desire the sincere milk of the word, that you may grow thereby”, 1 Peter 2:2. Too many new Christians try to eat and digest meat before they are mature enough to handle it. As a result they grow up a carnal Christian and never really learn the real truth of God’s word.

What’s the difference between a baby Christian and a carnal Christian? A baby Christian is a new Christian with the spiritual understanding of a baby Christian. That’s normal. That’s why he needs milk and not heavy beef for a while. A carnal Christian is an older Christian with the understanding of a baby Christian. He is trying to study and debate more mature things of the Bible and ends up confused and argumentative about the Scripture he does not understand. New Christians needs to get a good understanding of the simple things in the Bible first.

Let me put in another way. A baby Christian is a two year old thinking, talking, understanding and acting like a two year old. That’s normal. A carnal Christian is a thirty year old still thinking, talking, understanding and acting like a two year old. That’s not normal. That’s carnal.

Some of us fall into the trap of feeling like we need to explain everything in the Bible. Everything in the Bible is to be believed but not necessarily understood.

The Bible says, “Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out”, Romans 11:33.

Remember the text we used as a launching pad. “The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever”, Deuteronomy 29:29.

In Matthew 13:35, Jesus said, “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things kept secret from the foundation of the world.” He is talking about the seven secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. There is no reason why we cannot understand the 13th chapter of Matthew. Jesus has explained the mysteries and unlocked the secrets.

We have talked about the four types of people in the Kingdom of Heaven. They all appear to be church members. If not, all four are interested enough in hearing the word of God that they at least go to Bible studies, go to special services at different churches or busy themselves in studying the Bible. Their response to the word of God identifies them as one of four different kinds of hearers. All four of these people are part of Christendom, and therefore members of the Kingdom of Heaven, but only one, the purposeful hearer, is in the Kingdom of God. Each of these next six parables will make this point very clear.

The main teaching of this first parable teaches us that our attitude toward the word of God not only determines our salvation but how much fruit we bear.

Jesus said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, And My Words Abide In You, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples”, John 15:5-8.

Again Jesus said, “You shall know them by their fruits (not works, but fruits). Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them”, Matthew 7:16-20.