The parable of the sower (part 1)

Of all the parables that Jesus spoke, perhaps none is more powerful or well known than the one commonly referred to as “the parable of the sower.” Jesus himself showed how powerful this parable was in Mark 4:13 when, speaking of the parable of the sower, he said, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” In this simple parable Jesus illustrates some of the most basic truths about the nature of the kingdom of God as well as our own hearts. As we look at these truths we will discover that they are applicable to every one all of the time. Here is the parable of the sower as recorded in Matthew 13:3-8:

“Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

The first thing that strikes me when I read this parable is that Jesus said it was a “sower” that “went out to sow” seed. This word “sower” is another form of the word translated “sow” and literally means “one who sows or scatters seed.” In other words, this was not just someone throwing some seeds around – it was someone who did this all the time, on purpose, and with a depth of knowledge and experience about sowing seeds. This act of sowing was not merely left up to “the birds and the bees” but rather was engaged in deliberately by someone with knowledge and experience about the best methods and techniques for sowing seeds, their potential and their optimum growing conditions.

The next thing that stands out in this parable is seen in Luke 8:5, where we are told not only that the sower went out to sow seed, but that he “went out to sow his seed.” We know from nature that there are many types of seeds, for the simple reason that there are many types of plants. The obvious implication here is that the sower in this parable is not just sowing any seed, but deliberately chosen seed, designed to produce a specific crop. Luke 8:11 tells us plainly that the seed in this parable represents the word of God. From this we may gather that the act of sowing or planting of God’s word in our hearts cannot be merely left up to “nature” as it were, but must be done with deliberation and purpose – by a spiritual “sower” if you will.

In addition to the seed being specifically chosen by the sower, there were also several conditions that had to be met before a field could be sown with any seed. One of these conditions was that the seed was not to be sown with more than one type of seed. God stated clearly in Leviticus 19:19, “Do not plant your field with two kinds of seed.” In this same passage He also told them that they were not to mate different kinds of animals together or wear clothing woven of two kinds of material. Ultimately the reason for these commands was that God wanted his people to embrace purity in every area of their life.

From the very beginning of God’s relationship with his people He made it clear that they were a “Holy Nation” and that they were not to mingle, associate or make covenants with the other nations around them. Psalm 106:35 tells us, “But they mingled with the nations and learned their practices” and in Ezra 9:2 the scribe Ezra confessed, “the holy seed has intermingled with the peoples of the lands.” Notice that the result of this “intermingling” of God’s Holy “seed” with other seed was that Gods people “learned the practices” of the corrupt nations around them. And the same thing will happen to us if we sow the “field” of our hearts with both the “seed” of Gods word and the “seed” of the world.