Luke 8:4-15: Parable of the Sower

In Mark 4:1-20, Matthew 13:1-23, and Luke 8:1-15 Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who was sowing seeds. Some fell on the footpath and some fell into rocky soil while others fell into thorn bushes. None of these seeds flourished due to the condition of the soil in which they landed except the seeds that fell into good soil.

Sometime thereafter, the disciples asked the Lord about the parable and He explained that the seed was God's word which we now have in the Holy Bible. The different soils represent the hearts of people with various lifestyles and circumstances which is why it is sometimes called the parable of the soils because the soil is the main subject of the parable.

The condition of our heart determines whether or not the word of God takes root or how deep the roots grow. Jesus explained that our lifestyle or circumstances that surround our daily lives can interfere with spiritual growth.

The Footpath

When gardens are planted there must be paths in and around it in order for the farmer to be able to plant seeds and care for the plants. The setting described here is one of a farmer who has prepared a plot of land for planting and is walking along the paths carrying a bag of seeds, scattering them about the prepared soil.

The soil along the paths becomes packed down by the farmer who traverses them many times while preparing the soil. Seeds that fall along these paths are quickly snatched up by birds or crushed by the farmer as he walks over them. Our hearts can also become trodden down with so many worldly concerns and interests that the words of God become crushed or is unable to penetrate. Then Satan comes along and distracts us even further while he snatches them away.

Rocky Soil

When a farmer scatters seeds they often land outside the prepared soil between rocks and other obstacles. Prepared soil is moist and soft but seeds that sprout on ground that has not been prepared have to go deep into the soil to find moisture. Rocks prevent the seeds from taking root and growing down into the soil so that when the sun comes up the seed withers and dies.

The rocky soil represents persons who gladly receive the word of God but their hearts are full of obstacles that hinder its growth. When the time of testing comes they inevitably fail and fall away because the word of God did not penetrate deep enough to withstand the conflict.

Thorny Soil

In the parable of the sower, seeds fell into an area filled with thorny plants or bushes. Wild bushes and other plants usually absorb all of the moisture and nutrients from the soil so that if the seed sprouts at all it will probably not produce anything.

Those whose lives are consumed with an assortment of distractions spend their time, efforts, and attention towards trying to survive and grow among them. These distractions (thorny bushes) stand between us and the nourishment our spirit needs to grow and bear fruit. They consume the time we need for Bible study and distract us from applying what we learn to our daily lives.

We should try to clear our lives of unnecessary distractions in order to improve the quality of our "soil" giving God's word plenty of room to grow. Bible study and prayer should not be worked into our daily routine but rather, our daily routine should be arranged around our Bible study and prayer.

The Good Soil

Before planting, the soil must be prepared. Things such as rocks, clumps, and weeds have to be removed so the seeds can sprout and establish deep roots in order to absorb the nutrients they need to grow and bear fruit.

However, without a gardener to cultivate the ground and care for the plants they don't stand much of a chance. They would soon be invaded by birds and animals then anything that remained would soon be strangled and overshadowed by weeds that block out the sun and consume any nutrients left in the soil.

In the parable of the sower, God is the farmer and our hearts are the soil. According to many Scriptures, God works on our hearts throughout our lives the way a gardener works in preparing soil. However, when a gardener has done all he can do for a plant and it still fails to yield, it is removed- Luke 6:6-9 gives a good illustration.

"Then Jesus told this story: "A man planted a fig tree in his garden and came again and again to see if there was any fruit on it, but he was always disappointed. Finally, he said to his gardener, 'I've waited three years, and there hasn't been a single fig! Cut it down. It's just taking up space in the garden.'

"The gardener answered, 'Sir, give it one more chance. Leave it another year, and I'll give it special attention and plenty of fertilizer. If we get figs next year, fine. If not, then you can cut it down.'"

Conclusion

There are a number of things in this world that interfere with our ability to receive the word of God which works in us what is needed in order to be conformed to the image of Christ. God creates circumstances in our lives to get our attention and makes us realize that without Him we don't stand a chance. He works to remove the debris that interferes with His word and digs around in our lives to alter the hardness of our hearts.

The Bible clearly says that all who come to Christ will suffer persecution and many Christians don't understand why some things happen in their lives. We may never fully understand but one illustration that sheds some light is a glass of water with sediment at the bottom. The sediment is virtually undetected until the glass is shaken at which time the sediment rises and can be seen.

Therefore, when trouble comes and our lives are shaken we should look closely for any "sediment" that may arise in our heart and ask God to remove it so that by the power of the Holy Spirit we may grow and bear fruit in Christ Jesus to the glory of the Father.

"...every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire." Matt. 7: 19