The Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13
The Parable of the Sower
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Reflection: After Jesus' encounter with the Pharisees, we see that his popularity has not decreased but increased. As he went out of the house, went down to the lake and sat in the boat, large crowds surrounded him. Jesus' message was attractive to the crowds because he was challenging the status quo and getting people to think about the reality of God's kingdom in a new way. Because he was preaching to an agriculturally based society the topic of scattering seed with the hope of a bountiful crop was especially relevant to his hearers. Notice Jesus tailored the message to his listeners so that it might perk their ears. So too as we preach and teach the Gospel it is necessary to contextualize what it might mean for our listeners today.
The basic pattern of a parable is to compare everyday earthly things side by side to show a deeper more meaningful spiritual principle. Since everyone could access the earthly meaning, the hope was they might have insight into the spiritual meaning. In this case the farmer went to sow his seed as he did on a regular basis. One of the principles of sowing seed, if you have done it before, is that you try to be as liberal as possible broadcasting it in every direction so that some will take root. Part of the assumption is that some of the seed will take root and some will not. That's just part of the deal. As we preach and teach the Gospel we also know that some will respond and others won't, that's just part of the deal.
In this story there are four scenarios and three cases in which there is a negative outcome. So we might call that a 75% failure rate, or a 25% success rate depending on how you are looking at it. Notice there are 3 different reasons for lack of produce, hard ground, shallow ground and thorny ground. All three environments were not conducive to seed reproduction. And yet then we get to the punch line where it says some seed fell on the good soil and produced 100, 60 or 30 times growth. Notice the exponential nature of the growth. Though only 25% of the seed fell into good soil, when it did there was tremendous multiplying reproduction.
Okay enough analysis, what might this mean for us? First, just like the sower was liberal in sowing the seed, we need to be liberal in sowing the seeds of the Gospel. We can't wait all day for perfect conditions but be ready to preach at any time and even out in the boat some time. Second, we need to realize that some will be open to the message and some won't, so we shouldn't be unnecessarily discouraged when we don't always see the fruit we would like. Third, we may want to do some time thinking about what it means for the seed to multiply. A fruitful seed is one that multiplies many times over. A fruitful disciple of Christ is one who multiplies their life in the lives of others. Though there were different yields they all multiplied plentifully.
Finally, we will soon learn that the seed is the Word of God. The word planted in the heart of a receptive person in the power of the Holy Spirit will not only regenerate that person, but they will organically want to lead others to Christ. Someone who has experienced the power of God's Word, the word of the Gospel of Christ, will want to be a fruit bearing Christian. They will want to worship, study and serve. They will want to share the Good News with others because it has first of all been Good News to them.
These are the principles by which Jesus taught the growth in God's kingdom to the people back then, and I believe they are applicable for us today! What do you think? Feel free to email me with your thoughts mike@gslcirvine.org.
Let's pray. Jesus thank you for sowing the seeds in our lives of your love and your kingdom, may we multiply many times over the grace you have so freely given us. Amen.
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
Reflection: After Jesus' encounter with the Pharisees, we see that his popularity has not decreased but increased. As he went out of the house, went down to the lake and sat in the boat, large crowds surrounded him. Jesus' message was attractive to the crowds because he was challenging the status quo and getting people to think about the reality of God's kingdom in a new way. Because he was preaching to an agriculturally based society the topic of scattering seed with the hope of a bountiful crop was especially relevant to his hearers. Notice Jesus tailored the message to his listeners so that it might perk their ears. So too as we preach and teach the Gospel it is necessary to contextualize what it might mean for our listeners today.
The basic pattern of a parable is to compare everyday earthly things side by side to show a deeper more meaningful spiritual principle. Since everyone could access the earthly meaning, the hope was they might have insight into the spiritual meaning. In this case the farmer went to sow his seed as he did on a regular basis. One of the principles of sowing seed, if you have done it before, is that you try to be as liberal as possible broadcasting it in every direction so that some will take root. Part of the assumption is that some of the seed will take root and some will not. That's just part of the deal. As we preach and teach the Gospel we also know that some will respond and others won't, that's just part of the deal.
In this story there are four scenarios and three cases in which there is a negative outcome. So we might call that a 75% failure rate, or a 25% success rate depending on how you are looking at it. Notice there are 3 different reasons for lack of produce, hard ground, shallow ground and thorny ground. All three environments were not conducive to seed reproduction. And yet then we get to the punch line where it says some seed fell on the good soil and produced 100, 60 or 30 times growth. Notice the exponential nature of the growth. Though only 25% of the seed fell into good soil, when it did there was tremendous multiplying reproduction.
Okay enough analysis, what might this mean for us? First, just like the sower was liberal in sowing the seed, we need to be liberal in sowing the seeds of the Gospel. We can't wait all day for perfect conditions but be ready to preach at any time and even out in the boat some time. Second, we need to realize that some will be open to the message and some won't, so we shouldn't be unnecessarily discouraged when we don't always see the fruit we would like. Third, we may want to do some time thinking about what it means for the seed to multiply. A fruitful seed is one that multiplies many times over. A fruitful disciple of Christ is one who multiplies their life in the lives of others. Though there were different yields they all multiplied plentifully.
Finally, we will soon learn that the seed is the Word of God. The word planted in the heart of a receptive person in the power of the Holy Spirit will not only regenerate that person, but they will organically want to lead others to Christ. Someone who has experienced the power of God's Word, the word of the Gospel of Christ, will want to be a fruit bearing Christian. They will want to worship, study and serve. They will want to share the Good News with others because it has first of all been Good News to them.
These are the principles by which Jesus taught the growth in God's kingdom to the people back then, and I believe they are applicable for us today! What do you think? Feel free to email me with your thoughts mike@gslcirvine.org.
Let's pray. Jesus thank you for sowing the seeds in our lives of your love and your kingdom, may we multiply many times over the grace you have so freely given us. Amen.
Comments
Post a Comment