The Sower and the Seed – Matthew 13:3-23
The first parable about the
kingdom of heaven is about the Sower, the seed and the soils. Perhaps Jesus
from the boat saw a farmer sowing seed in a field. He would use this “natural”
event to teach the multitudes and his disciples about the “spiritual” kingdom
of heaven.
In biblical times, a farmer would
have a bag of seed that he would throw out by hand to the ground. They didn’t
have machines that tilled the soil and made straight rows for the seed as we do
today. The seed would grow where it was tossed. Apparently in the field, there
were hardened paths that the sowers had walked on making the soil compressed
and hard. There were also rocky sections and places where thorns were growing.
Then there were sections that were fertile ground with no obstacles. If a wind
came up, it would scatter the seed that had been tossed. In the “spiritual,”
the wind of the Holy Spirit scatters the seed of the Word to humanity.
Luke in 8:11 says
that “the seed is the Word of God,” and Mark calls it “the Word.” Matthew
says it is the “message of the Kingdom.”
Jesus is sowing the Seed of His
Word from the boat to different types of hearts. The Seed of God, Jesus, who is
the Word of God in fullness, had to be removed from earth in His physical form
so the Holy Spirit could be poured out on all flesh and scatter the Seed of His
Word to the four corners of the earth.
The Sower
Jesus is the Supreme
Sower as the Living Word of God. All Truth is in Him. His “seed” began in a small
(humble) section of the land of Israel. For the seed to grow, it must be
planted in the ground. Jesus had to die in His flesh body, so the seed of His
Word could grow and multiply through the Holy Spirit of Truth and His disciples.
John 13:16: “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide
you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He
hears He will speak and He will tell you things to come.” The kingdom of
God began in little, humble Israel. Jesus, the Savior of the world, planted His
seed of Truth in the small nation of Israel in the hearts and minds of both
Jews and Gentiles in the land. His Word has now spread throughout the world.
God does not despise small beginnings, and He loves humble hearts.
Jesus will reveal the mysteries
of the kingdom of God to His disciples who will in turn cast the Seed of Truth
to others. Those who love and follow Jesus become sowers of truth also. Before
one can be a sower, however, he or she must first be a receiver and eater of
the Word. Then they can be a sower of the seed of God’s Word, and God
mysteriously will do His part in making it take root and grow in the hearts and
minds of some who receive it. The Word of God is powerful and can give
spiritual life and reproduce itself by the power of the Holy Spirit.
In the natural, God sends the
rain, dew, and the sun to cause earthly, sown seed to grow. In the spiritual,
He sends the dew and rain of His Holy Spirit to water the sown seed of the Word,
along with the Light of the Son to cause His spiritual seed to grow. Mankind
does not have the power to make the seed grow in the hearts of the hearers. The
power of God must do this. The life placed within the Seed of the Word is by
God Himself! The task of the believer is to know and understand the Truth and
send it forth to others as clearly as possible. God will give the increase.
Not everyone will receive the
seed of truth we sow by faith. That is not our concern. We are to continue sowing
and God will produce the results. God wants that none will perish, but there
will be those who reject God and His Truth as Jesus indicated in this parable.
The Seed of the Word will not be received by the hardened heart, but to those
who are spiritually sensitive and open to receive it more revelation of truth will
be given. (see Matthew 13:12) Those who receive and understand Jesus’ parables
are truly blessed.
There is another sower – the
devil. He will sow false truth and twist God’s Word to change its meaning in
order to manipulate and weaken God’s people. God told His people in the Law
that they were not to plant mixed seed. Deuteronomy 22:9-11: Do not plant
two kinds of seed in your vineyard; if you do not only the crops you plant but
also the fruit of the vineyard will be defiled. There are two types of
spiritual seed that can be sown – the good seed (Truth) and the evil
seed (untruth). If you mix these, the fruit of the vineyard (Christ’s
Church) will be defiled. The devil is not only in the world sowing untruth,
he is also in the Church sowing untruth. For this reason, we are to hunger and
thirst for the truth of the Word of God. When Jesus was speaking His parables,
there was a gross rebellion of unbelief and spiritual misunderstanding of God’s
Word.
God’s Word will divide the believer from the unbeliever, then
multiply and unite believers by the power of the Word and the Holy Spirit. Unity
can only come through pure truth. If false truth is being spoken, it will
divide rather than unite. Love for Jesus, faith and obedience to His Word will
indicate whether one is in the kingdom of God or not.
In this parable, Jesus made the
distinction between the crowds and His disciples. His disciples at times didn’t
fully understand Jesus’ words, but they followed Him by faith and asked Jesus
to interpret His words for them when they didn’t understand. Jesus gave His
disciples further revelation but not to those who rejected Him and His
teachings. Some of the hearers even accused Him of being satanic.
This parable of Christ is
an important one in its depth of teaching about the seed of the Word being sown
and how it works in the field of spiritual life. The soil conditions will
affect its growth in the heart of the hearer.
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