The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:3,8, “Then he told them many things in parables, saying: a ‘farmer went out to sow his seed…still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.’”

The parable of the sower is about how a person becomes a fruitful follower of Christ. There must be a sower, seed and soil. This parable is about how the seed of God’s Word is planted in the soil of the heart. If the soil of the heart is good soil the seed sprouts and becomes a healthy plant. The same is true in spiritual things. When the seed of God’s Word falls on good soil it produces spiritual fruit.

The soil represents the human heart.  Jesus explained that there are four kinds of hearts (soil).

1. The hard heart (Matthew 13:19).  This is the person that does not understand the Word of God.  Can a hard heart be changed? (Hosea 10:12)

2. The shallow soil represents an emotional heart (Matthew 13:20-21). There is no depth or root.  The sun represents persecution.  Persecution can help us grow if we have roots in our spiritual life.  In this case the sun killed the plant.

3. The crowded heart (Matthew 13:22).  This represents the soil that is choked with weeds.  The weeds represent those influences from the world that choke the seed and keep it from bearing fruit.  Jesus identified these weeds as the care of this world and the deceitfulness of riches (v. 22).

4. The fruitful heart (Matthew 13:23). Compare Mark 4:20 and Luke 8:15. The secret of a fruitful heart is a hearing ear.  The Samaritan woman in John 4 is an example of the four kinds of hearts. Notice the changes in her heart as a result of Jesus counseling.