The Setting, 13:1-2
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. (13:1-2 NRSV)
It is just as easy to see too much in an incidental remark, as to see too little. On the "too much" side, some interpreters see profound symbolism in Jesus' sitting "by the lake/sea," while the "too little" crowd dismiss any significance, saying that it simply "happened that way." One wonders if these verses were intended to give the setting for just the first parable or several. Verse 36 clearly indicates a change of scene, and it is possible that there were other changes of location earlier in the chapter.
The Parable of the Sower, 13:3-9
3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!” (Matthew 13:3-9 NRSV)
Many scholars think that this was Jesus' most important parable and perhaps one that he told and re-told. It is one of only two that the gospel writers recorded an explanation from him. The other was the parable of the weeds among the wheat.
The story is short and straightforward. A farmer takes his seed and goes into his fields to sow. What happens to the seeds, all of which are presumed to be healthy, depends on the place where they fall. Four locations are mentioned, of which only the fourth produces good and lasting crops. Seed that fell on the other three—on the beaten path, on shallow soil with rocky subsoil, and among thorns—is prevented from realizing its potential.
Jesus will later explain the details to his disciples, but Matthew doesn't record that explanation right away, because he wants us to focus for the moment on the more general, overall meaning. Irrespective of what each of the three unfruitful locations represent, the point is that even the best of seed can only produce, if it falls on the right ground. Right away, we see that Jesus is foreshadowing what he will soon explain to his disciples about why he uses parables. Like the farmer's seed, the same words of Jesus will be heard by different people, and each will hear them distinctively.
Quite a few hearers will not receive them in faith and with the understanding that God gives to sincere listeners. Therefore in the parable three-fourths of the seed does not produce. But a minority of his hearers will have hearts prepared by God to hear him rightly and understand, and believe, and begin to live transformed lives.
The story is short and straightforward. A farmer takes his seed and goes into his fields to sow. What happens to the seeds, all of which are presumed to be healthy, depends on the place where they fall. Four locations are mentioned, of which only the fourth produces good and lasting crops. Seed that fell on the other three—on the beaten path, on shallow soil with rocky subsoil, and among thorns—is prevented from realizing its potential.
Jesus will later explain the details to his disciples, but Matthew doesn't record that explanation right away, because he wants us to focus for the moment on the more general, overall meaning. Irrespective of what each of the three unfruitful locations represent, the point is that even the best of seed can only produce, if it falls on the right ground. Right away, we see that Jesus is foreshadowing what he will soon explain to his disciples about why he uses parables. Like the farmer's seed, the same words of Jesus will be heard by different people, and each will hear them distinctively.
Quite a few hearers will not receive them in faith and with the understanding that God gives to sincere listeners. Therefore in the parable three-fourths of the seed does not produce. But a minority of his hearers will have hearts prepared by God to hear him rightly and understand, and believe, and begin to live transformed lives.
Most of us are not pastors or evangelists. But what we say and do in the course of our daily living is nevertheless a kind of "preaching" to those who know that we profess to follow Jesus. We should seek to communicate the very words of Jesus in both the language of our speech and the language of our deeds. But even if we walk and talk like Jesus, and do it the same with everyone we know, only some will have the God-prepared hearts to learn and grow from it. We should concentrate on walking and talking like Jesus—that much we can control. We cannot control the results, which are in God's hands.
Many of us have loved ones—perhaps our own parents or children—who have no desire to believe in Jesus or to follow him. It may be inexplicable to us why they cannot see and feel as we do. But we should not give up praying for them, for God can touch a person's heart late in life just as well as he can early. And their apparent unresponsiveness should never cause us to wonder about the truthfulness or the power of the gospel itself. It is—and always shall be—"good seed." And we should never hesitate to scatter it on the "soil" of people's hearts with confidence. Let us cling to God's promise about his word in Isaiah 55:
10 As the rain and the snowcome down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, 11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
Check back on … for the next segment of Matthew 13.
