The Sower and the Soil

10 Parables of Jesus Devotional Series

The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:3-9
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. 4 As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. 5 Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. 6 But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. 8 Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”

The simple meaning of this parable is: the sower (Jesus) liberally scatters seed and it falls on four kinds of soil. The seeds fell on 1) the side of the road, 2) on the rocks, 3) on the thorny soil, and 4) on fertile soil. We all realize that on the first three kinds of soil the seed dies, but in the rich soil, it thrives.

But as is our normal focus which is on ourselves, we quickly make the Parable of the Sower the Parable of the Soil. We want to be the fertile soil.

We simply must think about the Sower.

If we read this passage from the sower’s perspective, we are better able to understand its’ purpose. As a gardener, I will tell you that I methodically plant seeds in the soil I’ve prepared for them. The way the story reads it almost seems that the spreading of seeds on all types of the ground is wasteful, but remember Jesus words in Luke 5:31, “ Jesus answered them, ‘It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.’” NLT.

Jesus came to rescue sinners. His intent was to bring salvation to all. There is a dual purpose in this story. The first to show Jesus came to share the gospel with everyone and the second to show us how the differing soils in our life can prevent us from allowing God’s truth to bring about our healthy growth.

Tomorrow we are going to look a little more at the soil types in light of Jesus' purpose.

Triple D: As Jesus plants seeds in our life, we can see how even our many attempts at our journey to spiritual, physical, and emotional health fall into the different soil types. Take a few moments and consider how your attempts at your health journey can be categorized?