What does it teach us today?

The Parable of the Sower (Mark 4) is one of the most well-known of Jesus' teaching stories. Like most of Jesus' teaching there is an obvious surface meaning but there is more to be gained by prayerful reflection. Jesus' parables both revealed and concealed truth at the same time. Parables provoke us to think. They suggest questions. They stimulate our imagination. As we ponder these things, we can receive fresh insight and helpful understanding.

On the face of it, the meaning is pretty clear, (although the disciples did require further explanation at the time!) The seed is God's word, and specifically the message of the good news of the Kingdom of God (the Gospel). There are four types of hearer, (the ground or soil), and therefore the impact of the message varies. First here is the rocky path (round the edge of the field). Here, the word does not take root. It is snatched away by birds, so it has no positive result. For a variety of reasons some people are not open to or interested in the gospel. In Matthew's version of the parable looks back to the days of Isaiah where the hearts of hearers had become hardened and the message which could potentially have brought help, became instead a judgement. It was the same with some of Jesus' hearers. They could not understand because they did not really want to hear. They had a habit of resisting God's word. To them, the message remained just a riddle.

The second type of ground was shallow. It produced an enthusiastic reception to begin with, but it did not last. Theirs was a superficial and short-lived response to the message. There were no roots. A hasty reception was followed by a quick rejection.

The third type of ground also yielded a positive response. But over the course of time other cares, concerns and interests prevented further growth. Jesus spoke of the choking effect of thorns and thistles. Luke's version of the parable mentions the deceitfulness of riches. Money and the acquisition of material things offer the promise of satisfaction and happiness. In reality, this does not deliver. It often provokes the desire for more and produces the fruit of discontent. Somehow there is never quite enough. That is why Paul wrote 'Godliness with contentment is great gain.' (1 Timothy  6:6). We have a glimpse of the rich young ruler who turned away from Jesus when he found out how great the cost of commitment was. Early in his ministry crowds followed Jesus. Towards the end of his ministry, people turned against him. They had other agendas.

The last type of soil was good soil which brought forth fruit thirty, sixty and a hundred-fold. Here the word did take root. Growth was vigorous and an abundance of fruit followed.

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Why did Jesus teach this parable? Why did the gospel writers include it in their accounts of Jesus' life? What points may we draw from this in our day? A few useful references are included at the end on the first two questions, but I will focus here on the third.

The parable is obviously not an instruction for farmers. That the seed ends up in different types of ground indicates that the gospel is for all. Jesus died for all and all need to hear whether or not they respond. Evangelism is necessarily a wasteful process. Not every seed produces fruitful plants. Whilst the state of the ground is fairly obvious to a farmer, it is not necessarily the same to sharers of the gospel. The Roman centurion whose servant was ill, the Syrophoenician woman and Zacchaeus the tax collector, were not on the face of it obviously good ground. But they certainly were! So, we too should not write people off when it comes to sharing the gospel. Of course, it works the other way around too. After a promising start, Judas turned against Jesus. The take-away point is that if we share the good news as widely as possible, sometimes we will be surprised! We leave the result in God's hands. Understanding this truth will help us to avoid both complacency on one hand and discouragement on the other. 

But what about the seed itself? There is good seed and there is not so good seed. To get a good result, the sower must sow good seed in good ground. Again this is not the particular point that Jesus himself was making here, but it is certainly suggested by further reflection on the illustration he used. Good seed must surely represent a Spirit-inspired proclamation or exposition of the facts of the gospel. At the heart of this is the truth that Jesus died for our sins, was buried and was raised from the dead. People need to hear that Jesus died on their behalf. Our message is Christ was crucified. Of course, they also need to hear other things as well, apart from the heart of the gospel. Some of these they will hear before the seed begins to germinate and others afterwards. When people hear the gospel preached something happens inside their hearts. It is more than understanding the facts; the Holy Spirit convinces them of the truth. Good seed does not have to be sophisticated or clever, just the straightforward truth.

Good ground needs to be prepared by ploughing or hoeing. God prepares people's hearts through their experiences of life, and what they see and hear. We should probably think of good seed taking root in good ground as a process rather than an event. We know that seeds need rain (or water) and we know that good ground needs nourishment or fertiliser. This is the same with the growth of spiritual seeds. Sometimes people need to unlearn wrong ideas about God. They need to see the Christian life modelled in others, and most especially the people of God: the church. When Philip the evangelist went to preach in Samaria he met with a very positive response. Perhaps one of the reasons was that Jesus had prepared the ground with his encounter with the woman at the well some time before. They were hearing about someone who was familiar to them by reputation. Good seed was reaching good ground. One of the reasons why the Alpha Course has been so successful in many places is the fact that it gives time to prepare the ground and to sow good seed over a period of weeks.

Just a final point on the matter of the ground. It may be that what is stony ground at one time may be good ground in the future. Life has its seasons. A person may reject the good news at one time in their lives but become far more receptive later. God knows.

The parable also reveals more about receiving spiritual truth. Behind the scenes, there is a conflict, a war. The birds of the air, which Matthew's version calls the wicked one, snatches away the seeds. This indicates that God's purposes are being opposed. Even those who receive the truth are vulnerable to the choking effect of things around them. This stimulates us to think about those things that are hindrances to good growth. A large element in helping Christians to get rooted is their becoming part of God's people, with good loving relationships and good role models. This way they will be less vulnerable to being enticed away by other attractions and wrong ideas. Again, this is not the point that Jesus was particularly making when he told the parable, although he certainly did demonstrate it in his life. He chose twelve men in whose life he invested time and energy. Away from the crowds he would explain things, answer their questions and open up their understanding. When they made mistakes - like Peter, or were slow to believe - like Thomas, he would explain. When Peter's mother-in-law needed healing, he responded with help. Jesus provided his disciples with pastoral care. If we then, are to protect people who have responded to Jesus from having the word stolen from them or choked out of them, then good pastoral care is important. For this to be effective the responsibility needs to be shared and distributed among God's people.

Finally, for now, the parable points towards the objective of fruitfulness, although it does not specify precisely the nature of this fruit. There are many ways to be fruitful and we are all called to be fruitful according to what God has called us to do. All can show the fruit of the Spirit; the character of Christ in us. But our daily lives provide us with many opportunities to serve God as we do things in a way that we know pleases God. There are also specific acts of service that God gives us to do and good works that he has prepared beforehand. 

Jesus spoke in another place about having chosen his disciples so that they would bring forth fruit that would remain. He also spoke about pruning so that they would be fruitful. In this parable, he speaks of different levels of fruitfulness, thirty, sixty and a hundred-fold. The way some people are called means that their fruit is more conspicuous. Others are more behind-the-scenes people. All are important and all are necessary. What matters is that we bring forth good fruit, in its season, according to the type of plant we are.

To summarise, the parable of the sower teaches us to share the gospel as widely as we have opportunity (all types of ground), to proclaim the straightforward message of the Christ crucified (good seed), to connect evangelism and pastoral dimensions (to prevent the activity of birds and weeds), and to work for the objective of fruitfulness (in its various forms).

In one sense the Parable of the Sower is itself like a seed. If we pay prayerful attention to it, it will continue to yield its good fruit of insight and understanding. May that be your ongoing experience.

Chris Moffett

Follow-up references

Mark 4:1-20 also paralleled in Matthew 13:1-23 and Luke 8:4-15; Michael Eaton's Slice on Mark 4 has more on Jesus and his parables. 

Psalm 1 where the psalmist contrasts the fruitfulness of the Godly with the destruction of the wicked.

John 15 where Jesus talks about the vine remaining in Jesus, pruning and fruitfulness

1 Corinthians 3:5-9 where Paul talks about planting in relation to churches and the contribution of others.

Galatians 5 describes the fruit of the Spirit.