Understanding the Parable of the Sower. Mark 4:14-20.
The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them. And these are the ones down on the rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, But the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.
Dear Royal Priesthood,
The parable of the sower is really the one that sets the stage for the teaching of Jesus. He wants to communicate that hearing and even assenting are not sufficient. One must bear fruit.
Seed (v. 14). The summary of everything in the teaching of Jesus is the word. Word is a loaded word because it speaks of the communication of one’s mind and heart. Put another way, God’s word is the communication of God’s desire. When you know that it is God speaking, how do you respond?
Surface (vv. 15-19). It is expected that the sower is not sowing in different fields all at once. In the same field – in this case, it could be the same crowd or, in our setting, congregation, there will be all the different responses to the word. Lack of Desire (v. 15). Some people are like the compacted soil on a path. They are indifferent to the word and it finds only a hostile surface in them. Lack of Depth(vv. 16-17). Some other people have a facade of enthusiasm and interest in the word, but the word never influences them beyond the surface.
The first sign of opposition and possible suffering is their cue to bail out. Below the surface, they are hard, impenetrable rock. Lack of Direction (vv. 18-19). Yet other people hear the word but they have many other interests that simply crowd out the word – the desire for fame, the love of money, and the quest after riches leave no opportunity for the word to take root.
Simplicity(v. 19). It is all as simple as good soil. That is all one needs for seed to germinate and yield produce. Fruitfulness may not be uniform in that some may yield more than others but the farmer is happy with soil that yields a harvest. As is often said, the quantity may vary but let there be quality. Are you yielding fruit?
Your Loving Pastor Chris.