July 31, 2011- The Parable of the Sower

Setting the Scene

    As we start Chapter 13, Jesus has already has a full day. He has been harassed at every move by the Pharisees, yet He continues to teach and heal among those who are receptive. Jesus was even accused by the Pharisees of casting out demons in the name of Beelzebul, or Satan. One can only imagine the disappointment and discourage Jesus was feeling at this point. When His mother and brothers arrive, Jesus is quick to point out to the disciples that they are also His family in God.

    As the rather large crowd gathers, Jesus chooses to board a boat and speak from the waters in the Sea of Galilee as people stand on the shore. He begins to teach the crowd with a number of successive parables.

The Parable of the Sower

    Jesus tells the parable of sower who sows his seed. As the seed falls in a number of different soil conditions, the results are also varied. The seed falling on the path is immediately gobbled up by birds. Seeds falling on rocky soil produced plants, but the roots were shallow , and the plants quickly died on the heat of the sun. Seeds falling among the thorns also yielded plants, but they too died being choked out by the weeds. Only the seeds falling on good soil produced plants that yielded many times over.

Disciples Don't Get It...  

    The disciples questions Jesus as to why He speaks in parables. I stated in class that after the long day Jesus had already been through, you can almost feel a heavy sigh as He realizes even those closest to Him aren't understanding His message. Jesus explain to the disciples that they have been given the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven. He further explains that the secrets will be known only by those with sincere, obedient, God-seeking hearts.

    Jews were looking forward to the Kingdom of Heaven, but their viewpoint was very inaccurate. Jews believed God would establish and earthly Kingdom with the Messiah delivering the Jews from their enemies to help rule for a thousand years. Jesus had already been teaching otherwise, but most people weren't understanding that Jesus, the Messiah, had come to establish the Kingdom of Heaven through the sacrifice of His blood. A new age was about to begin...the Church Age.

Parable Explained

   Again, you just know Jesus had to be on some level  frustrated that even His hand-picked disciples didn't get His message either. He begins to break the parable down into what each element represents:

• The farmer, or sower, is initially Jesus Himself then His followers.
• The seed is the message of the Kingdom.
• The path is those who don't understand the message.
• The birds are the Evil One (Satan).
• The rocky ground is one who hears the message but quickly loses the meaning when troubles or persecution come.
• The thorny ground is one who hears but lets worries and the deceit of wealth make him unfruitful
• The good soil is one who hears and understands. He will be fruitful and continue to deliver the message to all in his path.

Jesus was emphasizing that the message of the Kingdom would receive a varied reception among different people. As His disciples, we are not to be concerned about where the seed fall...we need to just plant the seed broadly.