“…Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched: and because they had no root, the withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” Matthew 13:3-8
“Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.” Mark 4:3-8
“A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorn sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold…” Luke 8:5-8
Jesus’ Explanation of this parable is:
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” Luke 8:11-15
My Summary & Reflection
Jesus’ explanation of this parable is clear. His teachings are compared to the seed and Jesus himself is the sower. For the seeds that fall by the way, these teachings are heard, but not believed. Jesus says that the devil takes the word out of the listeners’ hearts, so that they will not believe and be saved. As for the seeds that land on a rock, these are the teachings that find a willing believer, but their beliefs are rootless and the listener will fall away from their beliefs at the first sign of temptation. Lastly, those on good ground, are willing believers who hear Jesus’ teachings and keep them with patient observance even in the face of temptation.
I think of it like this, the seed by the way side touches your ears. You hear what Jesus is saying, and it goes into your short-term memory where it will quickly be replaced by the next set of data that you come across. For the seed that lands on a rock, those teachings find their way to your brain, where you can process and understand them intellectually, but they never become a part of who you are. Lastly, the seed that lands on good ground finds its way into your soul, where it becomes a defining part of who you are and begins to form your core beliefs and attitudes. It is that seed, those teachings, that become the guidepost for your life.
So, how do you prepare your soul to receive the teachings of Jesus? We’re not able to sit at his feet like the disciples and listen to Jesus preach. But, we are able to read the word as contained in the bible and to prayerfully contemplate that which he would have us understand. So, maybe by studying the word either individually, or with a bible study group, or with our church or given family we can prepare our soil, which is our souls, to receive the teachings and to know how to “bring forth fruit with patience.” The word can be implanted in us with strong roots that resist all temptations. And we can become believers who will not forget what we have learned and that continue to grow in our spiritual journey.
Your Reflection
- Are these teachings reaching your soul or are they simply in your ears or your memories?
- How do you prepare your soul to receive the teachings of Jesus?