The Parable of the Sower Explained – Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8
There’s this story Jesus told. Ancient, brief, and unforgettable. A farmer goes out to scatter seed. Some fall on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some into good soil. That’s it. Just an image. Yet for two thousand years, people have wrestled with what it means.
In this video, we’ll first look at the parable itself. Then we’ll listen to commentary, voices from around the web, people trying to articulate its significance in their own words. Different perspectives, different insights.
And as you watch, don’t just consume it passively. Ask yourself: why has this simple story endured? Why do people keep returning to it? What might it be saying to you?
Share your biggest takeaway in the comments below. Because the meaning of this parable, like the seed itself, grows as it’s shared.
Let’s first have a look at the parable of the sower, which can be found in Matthew 13, Mark 4, and Luke 8.
Get your Bible. Step into the parables of Jesus yourself.
The Parable of the Sower – Matthew 13 – Mark 4 – Luke 8
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge.
He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.
But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that, “‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’.
Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them.
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.
The Parable of the Sower Explained by content creators around the web
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@thefaithcircle Cliffe Knechtle shares Jesus’ telling of the parable of the sower from the Gospel of Mark #cliffeknechtle #christiantiktok #jesus #parableofthesower #gospel
@lance.luitjens The Parable of the Sower… #foryoupage #votd #foryou #christiantiktok #godisgood #jesus #inthespirit247
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@ceo_of_limitless The Parable of the Sower.#bible #parable #thesower #investment #business #entrepreneurship #focus #trust #discipline #belief #success #wealth
@livebyfaithtoday The Parable of the Sower visualized from Luke 8:1-14! Go read it! #readyourbible #growinginchrist #osas #freegrace #analogy
@ernie0429 Parable of the sower, (correctly explained)
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The Word has been sown by our beloved saviour, Jesus Christ. King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Will it be taken away, choked, withered… or will it take root in you?
Get your Bible. Step into the parables of Jesus yourself.
#jesus #jesuschrist #bibleverse
There’s this story Jesus told, ancient, brief, and unforgettable. A farmer goes out to scatter seed. Some fall on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some into good soil. Yet, for 2,000 years, people have wrestled with what it means. In this video, we’ll first look at the parable itself. Then, we’ll listen to commentary, voices from around the web, people trying to articulate its significance in their own words, different perspectives, different insights. Share your biggest takeaway in the comments below because the meaning of this parable like the seed itself grows as it’s shared. Let’s first have a look at the parable of the sewer which can be found in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke 8. Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables and in his teaching said, “Listen, a farmer went out to sew his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew, and produced a crop, some multiplying 30, some 60, some 100 times. Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the twel and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside, everything is said in parables so that they may be everseing but never perceiving and ever hearing but never understanding. Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven.” Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sews the word.” Some people are like seed along the path where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others like seed sown among thorns hear the word. But the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop. Some 30, some 60, some 100 times what was sown. The word has been sown by our beloved Savior Jesus Christ, King of Kings, Lord of Lords. Will it be taken away, choked, withered, or will it take root in you? Stop trying to grow your garden on a sidewalk. Hello and welcome to the morning dry verse of the day. Today’s verse is from Matthew 13:4. A farmer went out to sew his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. So this week we’re going to do something different as we have a week-long series studying the parable of the swer. We’ll discuss how this affects both the non-believer and the believer. So first the non-believer, their heart is hard like the path. Maybe because they’ve been burned by a church, betrayed by a Christian friend, or seen too much hypocrisy. Life’s traffic has trampled the soil of their heart into a hard path where nothing can grow. Second, the believer. You can believe in God and still have soil like concrete. Maybe you’re more rooted in your church traditions than in God’s actual word. You believe, but you’re not receiving. Because you don’t understand his word, and you don’t spend time in it. I liken it to this. Your spouse signs you both up for a gym membership, but you’d rather go golfing, shopping, or binge watch Netflix. You never really actually walk into the gym because you’re not sold on it. you’re not sure you really need it. That’s like hearing the word but never letting it change you. It’s there but it never gets in. Jesus said the birds are the enemy. Satan loves it when God’s word just sits on the surface because then he can swoop in and snatch it up before it sticks. Here’s the truth. The seed is always good. The problem is the soil. If you want the word to grow in your life, you’ve got to be willing to work the ground. That means tilling it up, breaking up the hard places, and fertilizing it with time in scripture, prayer, and worship. Romans 12 says to be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That’s how you slowly start to soften your soil. For some of you, the first step is tilling up that hard ground, and it’s forgiveness. God’s already forgiven you. So, who do you need to forgive? God’s ready for you to reap a harvest, but you have to stop planting seeds on the sidewalk and you have to hand him the shovel. As always, if you like my content, share it, follow me, and check out our website and new book at it 247.org. Have a great day. Keep walking in the spirit. Growing the seeds, Matthew 13:3-23. In his teaching, Jesus told this story. Listen, a farmer went out to sew his seed. And as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside where they were trotten underfoot and and the birds of the air came and ate them up. Other seeds fell on stony ground where they had not much soil. These shot up at once because the soil was shallow, but when the run sun rose, they were scorched and because they had no root or moisture, they withered away. Still other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with them and choked them, and they yielded no grain. But some seeds fell into good ground and brought forth grain growing strongly and increasing and yielding 30 or 60 or 100 times more than was sown. And after Jesus finished saying this, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” All right. So I’ll make a couple of comments on that. I’ll turn to Jonathan, I think, to begin with to discuss a particular the symbolic reference of this particular story. One of the things I found particularly mysterious about this and this is echoed in many other parables. So there’s the wheat and the weeds for example and the seed growing of itself, the mustard seed and the yeast. There’s an insistence in Christ’s parable accounts that the right metaphor for idea is seed. And I think that’s brilliant speaking psychobiologically because it’s a real mistake to think of an idea like a sentence in a book or an idea like a uh an element in a Excel spreadsheet. An idea is in truth something alive. And if you can plant an idea, an idea is alive in that a sophisticated idea contains far more than you could ever possibly imagine. This is one of the things that soulja nitsen revealed in his critique of communism up to souljitsen. This is roughly speaking. Most critics of the communist empire criticized it on the basis of its implementation. And soulja nitsen was the really the first credible intellectual to come out and say no no no from evil seeds evil fruit grows. The reason that communism fails everywhere it’s tried isn’t because it’s implemented improperly, which was what all the radical leftists still say. It’s because there’s no way of making something edible grow if you plant poisonous seeds. And what Christ is pointing out here is that ideas are like seeds and that you want to plant the proper ideas. And I would say the biblical corpus, one way of thinking about the biblical text is it’s the seed from which western culture itself grew. And if we lose that, we’ll be in this situation where um we this these other seeds fell on stony ground where they not had much not not much soil. These shot up at once because the soil was shallow but when the sun rose they were scorched and because they had no root or moisture they withered away. That’s the situation we’re in now. So that’s some of the explication around the idea of the seed. Yeah. Do you want to do you want to just read the parable or do you want to read because in this particular parable Jesus then gives the explanation and he not only does he give the explanation but he also puts a little preamble where he basically says that these things are hidden to most people that in fact the mysteries that he’s that he’s bringing about most people cannot see them cannot hear them that the generation is blind and that he’s gathered these disciples around him in order to reveal these mysteries to them and then he gives the explanation. But what’s interesting is that even in the explanation, right? Even as he explains it, the mystery still remains. It’s not as if it’s it’s it’s uh because he says like the kingdom of of heaven is this. Then he explains that it’s about he makes it about basically receiving the word and then how the word grows in the world and he talks about distraction. He talks about uh you know the cares of the world that takes that away. Um and so it doesn’t com it still also doesn’t completely explain what it is that the the parable is about. But that’s also what the parable is so powerful. This parable I think is one of the the most powerful parables to explain what it is that Jesus is. When we talked about at the beginning in in John when it says the light comes, the seed comes all of these elements of heaven, right? something that comes from above. And the seed is a it’s like a pattern without body. That’s the best way to understand it. It has little body. It’s not completely invisible, but it can help you understand what a pattern without body is. Then it encounters potential. It encounters the that which it can grow in and then it grows. So what Jesus is describing is like it’s a description of reality. does have moral consequence, but he’s actually describing how meaning functions and how how how order and variability. That’s right. Exactly. So, there’s this possibility of descending order and then it it manifests itself in all sorts of places and some of those places are dismal and nothing much happens and other places are magnificently fruitful. And that’s also the dance between that a priority order and the randomness of the world. Yeah. And you so you could you could actually apply to something that’s completely amoral. So you could think there’s an idea. I like that flying car. There’s a flying car idea, but the world does not afford that possibility. There’s the the the ground is not good for that thing to land in. So the the idea just is like it remains up in the air. A bird comes and catches it and picks it back up into the air. So it never lands. And so we have things like that where they the you need both the idea, the right idea, and you need the right potential for the world to exist. There’s an interesting dance here. Darwinian models of creativity indicate that the way creativity works is that there’s a hyper production a hyper production of potential solutions to a problem. So that would be the abundance. You can imagine that happening in a prito distribution manner, right? But then there has to be a selection mechanism after that. So you want a plethora of possibility. That’s even what happens on the evolutionary front and then careful selection from that. And that’s what’s being referred to here is that we want a plethora. We want an abundance. We want to set the pattern of heaven in a productive dance with the possibilities of the world. Much will become manifest disproportionately so. And then there has to be a discriminating judgment applied to that so that only the best can be harvested. And that’s Christ as judge. And that’s the burning sword that bars the gates to paradise. And so or selection like just selection even in terms of Darwinian idea or selection. Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. So that’s another elaboration of it’s a principle of grace too. Isn’t that I mean that John Paul II said your being increases in the measure you give it away. So there’s a paradox at the very heart of the gospel that our instinct is always to hang on to what we have to be happy. I need go back to our wealth, pleasure, power, honor. I need to fill myself up and hang on to them. But that’s exactly how you’re going to lose them. Whatever you receive as a as a gift, you have to give as a gift. And then it increases in you 30, 60, and 100fold. And then when you get that, you give it away too. And you get caught in this loop of life and and abundance. And then the opposite instinct is going to cause all the trouble. And I’m clinging to what I have. And then I lose it. You kill what you cling to. Right. So So the little you have will be taken away. Exactly. Well, so you see, I saw in the AC Academy, John, maybe you could comment on this. There’s two kinds of professors. There’s professors who cling to their ideas and want credit for them. They don’t they’re not generous to their graduate students. They don’t give them authorship. If they have an idea, they guard it. They feel that everybody’s going to steal it. They don’t share it. They’re stingy. They’re hard to work with. And the the capability of those people to generate ideas plummets across time. Then you have the other sort, this was my adviser, who just gives every idea away. And the consequence of that is that he gets a tremendous amount of positive feedback and enthusiasm on the part of others. And neurohysiologically that enthusiasm that’s incentive reward. It produces dopamine and dopamine produces neural growth. And so if I share an idea with you and you’re enthusiastic about that and I regard that as rewarding, my brain will increase the number of resources devoted to the system that generated that idea. And so if you give things away and you you get a positive social consequence of that, the source of the ideas itself is going to make itself more manifest. And that’s the the well that never runs dry. The great modern po the great modern pagan Gerta used to put it even more radically but with an even more Christian inflection where he said die and become and that’s um precisely this thought of the relinquishing of self that is in fact the key to the expansion of well the self you’re relinquishing in principle would be the limited and comparatively dead old selfact you relinquish every time you have a new idea. Yeah. And it’s also, you know, with great power comes great responsibility, right? Is the flip side. It’s the positive reinstatement of that in a way. Right. Right. You’re all that’s you you pay for your talent with your generosity. And that’s how the cosmic stales scales stay balanced. Right. It’s also how you don’t get stuck in a useless cycle of guilt around what you have in a way that becomes solopscistic and self- serving. Right. Right. Right. or that opens you up to exploitation by people who claim false victimization. Right. So, John, I I’m I’m trying to not launch into an ongoing discussion about relevance realization, but you’re definitely what this is. This is what it’s talking about. I believe it l my work and and maybe that’ll come up. I’ll try and weave. I have I I want to add a dimension to this. I think this is all sorry for the pun very fruitful. Uh but um I want to I want to stop a little bit um and because I I’m interested in the cogsai of parables and the issue there’s a problem that’s also implicit in why he’s doing it this way. Um and my lesson here is largely drawn from Kirkugard uh um with like why write it why parables. One may be well they’re simple people and stuff but no that’s not what’s going on. It’s and you know that’s not what’s going on because Jesus keeps saying if you have ears hear there’s an issue about a resistance to understanding that the parable addresses. Now that means that there’s a truth in there that is in some way threatening to how people normally naturally natively see the world and assume an identity in the world. There’s a threat in the parable. Right? And so I like to try and I I I like to try and this is you know the parable that that Kirkagard gives of the wild goose. There’s this wild goose and it can fly and it flies in and it talks to all the tamed geese and it’s telling them about flying and they love it and they love it and eventually right they they but they get to sick of it and then then they get angry and they want to drive them away. And now if the if the story stopped there, we all would say, “Oh, well, you know, the wild goose is Socrates or Jesus, and we identify with them, and we want to be like them and but that story doesn’t end there. The story is, but the wild goose couldn’t fly away because he had spent so much time with the tamed geese that he had forgotten how to fly.” And you go, whoa. And there’s a shock in there. And what you realize is you easily identified with Socrates or Jesus because he’s it’s unclear in the parable who’s because Kirk is always talking about both, right? And the point is who what identity are you projecting into the narrative? Because that’s what narrative is about. It’s about practicing perspective taking. It’s about practicing assuming identities. What identity are you naturally automatically projecting into the parable? And then how is it challenging that? How are how is it threatening to the way you normally understand the way you normally see? And you you’re invoking creativity. You’re invoke. So, right, an insight, but an insight isn’t just that, right? An insight, and this goes back to the frame breaking. And I I sorry, I just want to make one very brief thing here. Yesterday, I misstated something and I want to apologize for it. I misstated that you and I published a paper together on breaking frame. That’s not right. What what was right is that you and I shared Colin D. Young who was a TA and Joe Flanders who was an undergrad and we were sharing ideas through them and you you wrote an acknowledgement on that that I inspired the the experiment especially around like breaking frame. I just wanted to give them due credit. But I felt I realized, oh, I made a mistake and I just wanted to. So, there’s a parable that’s I’m going to interject another parable here that’s relevant to what you said because it has this it it it speaks of the complexity of breaking frame because one of the things you might ask is well, if there’s a pathway to enlightenment, why don’t people just follow it? Because that sounds like a good deal. And it’s because there’s a sacrificial loss that But that’s that’s that’s what I was trying to get at. I was trying to get at that exactly that’s exactly it. This isn’t the creativity. I’m not I’m not I’m trying to elaborate. I’m not trying to challenge your idea. It’s not just the creative of an idea. This is to be born again. This is the creation of a new way of seeing and being and it requires the death of the old. Exactly. And there’s a challenge to the identity. And that’s so you see that reflected in the idea of the post tyranny desert sojourn of the Egyptians. They get out of the tyranny, but then they’re in the desert. There’s a cost to a creative transformation. And the cost of the creative transformation is the death of the old. And that’s part of the crucifixion and resurrection idea. This is portrayed in this parable. I believe if I’ve got this right, parable of the swer and the seed. What can strike us is the generosity, even recklessness with which the swer casts the seed on all kinds of soil, even the rocky terrain that seems most unpromising. Jesus explains that the seed is God’s word which is meant to take root in the hearts of all, none excluded. We who hear this parable and apply it to our own lives may well feel challenged to become a better and more receptive terrain for the working of his grace. Yet the parable of the swer can also make us think about Jesus himself who in his death and resurrection became the seed that fell to the ground and died in order to bear rich fruit. The image of the swer we can think of the famous painting by Van Go is thus one of hope in the promise of a coming harvest. Today and every day, let us ask the Lord to open our hearts to his saving word and its power to transform and enrich our lives and enrich the world in which we live. The parable of the swer illustrates how different individuals respond to the message of God. defending eternal security which is the gospel part 18 does the parable of the swer show that somebody can lose their salvation. Now before we even dive into the parable of the swer we need to understand what a parable even is. As we can see right here a parable is a short story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson. As you can see right here from not by works ministry metaphorically it means a comparing comparison of one thing with another. Now, if you were going to take one thing away from this video, it’s this right here on how to interpret a parable. As we can see in the bottom, understanding the historical and cultural setting, analyze the immediate context of the parable. And right here, I cannot stress enough, do not become obsessed with the details. Identify the main idea or principle of the parable. Though, please understand the purpose of a parable is to teach a overarching principle or spiritual lesson. So now with that foundation being laid, let’s go ahead and go into the parable which can be found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. But for the sake of this video, Luke does the best job showing to you guys who’s actually saved and who’s not. So let’s talk about this with verse four. And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to him from every city, he spoke by a parable. A swer went out to sew his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside, and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Now some fell on rock, and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. Now some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it, but others fell on good ground. Sprang up and yielded a crop of hundfold. Now when he said these things, he cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Now what’s awesome with this parable right here is that Jesus actually explains it for us. Now the parable is this. The seed is the word of God. Now verse 12 right here is the key to this parable. Understanding who’s actually saved and who’s not. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear. Then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved. This is the group of individuals who never receive the word of God. They never believe therefore they are never saved. But now as we will see with the next three categories of individuals it will have nothing to do with their salvation. Rather, it will be about their fruitfulness. Verse 13, but the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. They believe, therefore, they are saved. They sprout up. But these have no root, who believe for a while, and in time of temptation, they fall away. Therefore, this category of individual bears no fruit. Now, we can see the third category of individuals in verse 14. Now, the ones that fell among thorns are those who when they have heard, they believed, they sprung up, they are born again. but go out and are choked with the cares, riches and pleasures of life and bring forth no fruit to maturity. So as we can see right here that Jesus is emphasizing the maturity and fruit productions of these three different categories of believers. Now finally in verse 15 we can see the last category of believers but the ones that fell on the good ground are those who having heard the word with a noble and good heart keep it and here’s the key right here guys of the entire parable bear fruit with patience. So now in summary, as we can see right here, the seed is the word of God. The only category of individuals are the ones who hear the word but they never believe. Therefore, they are never saved. But now the next three categories are about believers. Those who hear the word of God, they believe, but now it’s about their production of fruit. The next three categories has nothing to do with a believer being saved and then losing eternal life, losing their salvation. Rather, it is about their maturity and fruit production. Because again we need to remember that this is a parable which is meant to teach a overarching spiritual principle or lesson. Because now for those who misinterpret this parable right here trying to say that those who fall on the rock who do not have deep roots and likewise those who fall amongst thorns and are choked out. If you try to say that those are believers who then lost salvation then you must continue with that same logic and say that the last category the one who fell on good ground also will lose their salvation eventually as well. Because with that interpretation and logic, you must pull the parable to the fullest extent. Because eventually with that last category that grows to maturity and produces fruit, we’ll also eventually die physically. Because once again, let me repeat this is a parable. We as humans are not physical plants in physical soil producing physical fruit. Rather Jesus is using an illustration and the purpose of this parable is to illustrate the importance of your environment. So the first category are non-believers. They never believed. They are never saved. But now the next three categories are all believers. They are all born again. But now Jesus is emphasizing the fruit production and maturity of each believer depending upon their environment. And with this he is encouraging us believers with ears to hear to be that good soil to allow the roots of the word of God to go deep inside of your heart to not allow the thorns of this world to choke you out but rather allowing the word of God to grow you to maturity where the natural result and byproduct will be fruit production. Now what’s interesting is that we can see in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 that Paul actually gives three different categories of believers. We have the spiritual people, the carnal and the babes. So as we see in verse one, and I brethren could not speak to you as spiritual people. Right there is the category of individuals who allow the word of God to grow to maturity that allow fruit production. The spiritual people, mature Christians. But we see the next category. But as to carnal, these are individuals who are not growing to maturity, who are not allowing the word of God to produce fruit in their own lives. But we also have a final category that is the babes in Christ. Now obviously that category are baby Christians, new believers. Now let’s continue in verse two. I fed you with milk and not with solid food. For until now you were not able to receive it and even now you are still not able. And right here in verse three, he rebukes them for you are still carnal. You are immature. you are not producing the fruit that you should be producing. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men? And then later down in chapter 3, we can see Paul bring up the judgment seat of Christ where we as believers will either receive our rewards or lose our rewards. Verse 13, each one’s work will become clear for the day will declare it because it will be revealed by fire and the fire will test each one’s work of what sort it is. Now if anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved. Yet so as through fire. Now, finally, we can see a perfect example of this in the Old Testament between a friend of God, a mature believer, a spiritual person, and then a carnal believer, and that is between Abraham and his nephew Lot. Now, as we clearly know, Abraham is known as a friend of God. He is a spiritual mature person, a believer who follows by faith and not by sight. And because of his obedience, blessings pour forth. But now on the other side of the spectrum, you have Lot, a carnal believer where he is still considered a righteous man. Peter calls him righteous because he believes upon Yahweh and it was accounted to him as righteousness just like Abraham in Genesis 15:6. But Lot is not following by faith. He is a carnal believer. He is going after the world. And guess what? His actions bring forth curses upon his descendants. So as we can see with these two individuals, Abraham is the friend of God, the mature spiritual person where fruit comes forth, blessings come from his faith. But Lot on the other hand is still a believer but is a carnal individual where curses come from his disobedience. But yet you will still see Lot in heaven because he was saved. So now that wraps up part 18 of defending eternal security, which is the gospel, the parable of the swer. It does not show that you can be saved, born again, and then lose salvation. Rather, those three categories are about believers and their fruit production, their maturity. The only category in that parable that is not saved is the one who never believed. Therefore, they were never saved. Love you guys all so much. Continue to focus your eyes upon the Lord, for he is truly the author and the perfector of your faith. God bless. Remember, the just shall live by faith. How do you explain the parable of the sewer? So, let’s just go ahead and read it. We can find the parable of the sewer in Matthew 13. Now, the parable of the sewer starts like this. A sewer went out to sew. Now, for anybody that’s not aware what that means, sewing a seed is placing a seed into the dirt properly. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up since they had no depth of soil. But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundfold, some 60, and some 30. He who has ears, let him hear. Now, instead of explaining this parable, Jesus will actually go on to explain this here in a little bit. He goes and says, “Hear the parable of the swer. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. If we go back, this is the first one. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path and the birds came and devoured them. So the birds are representing the devil and his minions. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet he has no root in himself but endures for a while and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word immediately he falls away. This is the second one where it says the seed fell on rocky ground where they did not have much soil and immediately they sprang up. So this is like the seed opening and the root coming out but it not grabbing in the dirt. So even though the seed sprouted and it looks like a flower is coming, it has no root. Therefore, it has no nutrition to pull from the soil. He says, “This is the person who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. Yet, there’s no root in himself.” So, what happens when there’s no root? It will endure for a while. That seed will look like it’s got something coming out of it. But since there’s no root to drain the nourishment from the soil with when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundfold, in another 60, and in another 30. So, let’s take a look at these three different examples and talk about what Jesus is showing us. In the first example, we have ground that’s not bad soil with thorns, but it’s not good soil. And here’s where we see the birds in the tree. Snatch those away. Now, we know the birds represent Satan and his children who are always out here trying to mislead people. Now, Jesus doesn’t tell us that this is bad soil or rocky ground or thorny ground, but that the birds are the reason. So we will continue to preach the gospel to these people because these people are being confused by the enemy who swoops in to misrepresent Christianity or spread division. Now Jesus says other parables in this same chapter and they all go handinhand with this. So as we’re talking about this first one, I want to take you to the mustard seed and the levan parable later in Matthew 13. He put another parable before them saying the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and swed in his field. It is the smallest of seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches. Well, earlier the birds are the ones that swoop down and take away the seed. And Jesus says that’s Satan. Think about this. The kingdom of heaven is like a giant tree that starts with a little seed. Well, Jesus is one person who came into the world. And that one person, that one seed grew into a kingdom that has surpassed everything. Not just spiritually, but even physically. Christianity is the basis of Western civilization today. We have Christian nations that aren’t even Christian anymore, but they still hold to a Christian idea. And non-believers love the comfort that that tree offers. I think it was Richard Dawkins who just recently came out and said he’s a cultural Christian. The same man who wrote the book The God Delusion, who hates Christianity and is happy to see Christianity Declining, also said in the same interview this year that he’s glad that Europe is still a Christian nation, that he is Christian culturally because he loves the music and the way the churches look, and he does not want Islam to take over. So, the birds love to sit inside the branches and take a part of all the things that the kingdom offers. But at the same time, they are constantly swooping down and grabbing the seeds that fall. Now, next we see the one that’s on rocky ground. So, this isn’t bad soil like thorns and thistles, but it’s rocky. These people are struggling in life and they have things that they’re going through, but they’re seeking the wrong thing. So, when they hear the word, they immediately receive it with joy because they’re thinking about how it’ll benefit me. Wait, wait, wait. I don’t care about sin. Did you say Jesus saves and that all my problems go away? I want that. No, no, no. I could care less about anything else. I want that. Oh my gosh. He wants me to be happy. He has a plan for me and he loves me and he’s recklessly seeking me. I want that. I’m gonna go to church and I’m going to help everybody because I can’t wait to go to heaven. So they hear the word and immediately receive it with joy. Yet there’s no root. So they see the offer and the gift and what it will become and they run right past it rather than letting it come in, letting it be implanted and getting to know it so that it takes root. As Jesus said, “Apart from me, you could do nothing.” This is someone who believes in vain. How do I know? Look what he says. Yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. And when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, not on your own, but for the word, immediately he falls away. This is the person who hears the gospel. They want all the good news. They want all the benefits of Jesus. They run right past Jesus. They run right past grace. And they become a cultural Christian until one day they have to decide between the world and God. And since they were never rooted, they decide on the world. And then he moves on to the ground which has thorns. And we see this in the Bible saying, “No matter what you do, they will reject it.” They were given a heart of soil like all of us, but their love of the world has caused thorns and thistles to grow. And because of their love of the world and their love of themselves and their sins, no matter what you do, no matter how much you try to plant seeds, whatever is sown, it will not come through. And then there are those with good soil, the heart that is soft. And when they hear the word, they understand it and they bear fruit. And here’s a part that you might not pay attention to because this one should be good for some of y’all to hear. Not all of you will bear the same amount of fruit. You’re not all going to look like me and I’m not going to look like Paul and you’re not going to look like Peter and you’re not going to look like David and you’re not going to look like Steve and you’re not going to look like Bethany or Kristen or Lisa. You will look like yourself and bear the fruit that God has planned in you. And that is the parable of the sewer. Now, what does that mean to us? It means that those that truly believe a seed has been planted and it began to grow. And it’s not up to you now. God gives the growth. First Corinthians chapter 3 says, “Some of us plant, some of us water, but it is God who gives the increase and the growth.” And there are some out there that heard the good news and they ran to all the benefits of Christ, but they never took root in who he is. The apostles walked with Jesus for three years. Paul went away for three years. Timothy was raised in the faith. Moses went away for 40 years. Before running towards all the benefits of God, take time to get rooted in the attributes of God because that which is rooted cannot be burned up by the sun or plucked away by the birds. God bless. In Mark chapter 4, Jesus tells a parable about a farmer who goes out to sew his seed. And the seed falls on four different types of soil. These different types of soil represent four different hearts, four different heart responses to God. Jesus said, “The farmer went out to sew seed, and some of the seed fell on the rocky path. Immediately the birds swept down, plucked it up, and flew away.” The second type of soil was not the hard path. It was rocky soil, and the seed fell among the rocky soil, and it sprouted up quickly. But when the sun came out, it scorched it and burned it and the seed died. A third type of soil was filled with thorns and the seed fell into the thorny soil. It sprouted up quickly, but then the thorns grew up and choked it out. And then Jesus said, “Some of the seed fell in a fourth type of soil, good, fertile, rich soil, and the seeds settled into that soil and came up producing a bumper crop.” Those four different types of soils represent four unique ways that we human beings respond to God, respond to his word. The soil represents the human heart. The human heart is the control center of a human being. The fourth type of soil is good, rich soil. It represents a heart that responds to God, that doesn’t argue, that doesn’t hide behind cute rationalizations. Instead, we respond to God’s truth. have a soft heart, an open heart that responds willingly and quickly to the love, the grace, the truth of Jesus Christ. Can be as mad as he wants, but you are surrounded by a hedge of protection. Okay? You are divinely protected by the most high. Jesus Christ lived and died for you. Okay? And you have his authority dwelling within you in the shape of the Holy Spirit. The enemy has no hold over you. Okay? You need to understand that in the season of your life, the Lord has positioned you in such a way where you are called to hear, right? You can hear what the enemy is saying, but you’re also called to discern when it is from the enemy. And I do believe that whoever I’m talking to, you have begun to truly be able to separate the two. Because you’ve been able to separate the two, it’s really causing the enemy to get more angry. It’s like this heaviness that you’re feeling is not just in your mind. It is something that is a physical burden. The Lord is breaking those chains off of you right now in Jesus mighty name. I heard the Lord say safe flight repair, safe flight replace. And then I had to look up what that was cuz I was like, I’ve heard this jingle before, but I don’t remember what this is applicable to. And I guess it’s like a windshield replacement. And he said to me, you can see the dust and the dirt, the grit and the grime, the enemy’s hand at this time, but I am protecting you. I give you authority to rebuke these things in my name. And then he said windshield wipers. Like you can see these things happening around you that are not of God. You may even be able to feel them if you can’t see them, right? Cuz we’re called to walk by faith, not by sight. This heaviness you feel is a spiritual heaviness. The Lord is really calling you to use the authority that he gave you. He can protect you. Absolutely. In this season of your life, he’s really calling you to acknowledge the authority that he placed within you and to utilize it, right? He’s bringing me to a place in the Bible where it’s like Jesus could command the skies. He said to me, “The sun is beyond the clouds. The sun is beyond the clouds. The sun is beyond the clouds. The clouds are the brain fog. The clouds are the mental torment. And if you are willing to look beyond these things that you’re experiencing, you will see the sun. You will feel the sun on your skin. I love that he just like gave me those words because wow, that’s very powerful. Like you will feel the sun on your skin. Your flesh will not be able to deceive you to the extent that it could without him. Some of you need to be reminded of the parable of the sewer. Okay? If you need to look into it, look into it. But the Lord led me to Matthew 8:18. It says, “Now when Jesus saw a crowd around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to him, “Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Another of the disciples said to him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Follow me and leave the dead to bury their own dead.” Are you joking? Are you literally joking right now? I thank you, Jesus. And it’s page 999. Like, wow. The Lord could not be. The next the next scripture after that is Jesus calms the storm. And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea. So the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep. And they went and awoke him and said, “Save us, Lord. We are perishing.” And he said to them, “Why are you afraid, oh you of little faith?” Then he rose and rebuked the winds in the sea. And there was a great calm. The men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this that even the winds in sea obey him?” Thank you, Jesus. Like, are you joking? I promise you I I flipped to a random page and he wanted me to read this cuz it was highlighted. Okay. So intentional. Now I’m hearing you don’t know the cost of the oil. You don’t know the cost of somebody else’s worship. My freaking um AC just blew to this page. It says the golden rule. So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. For that is the law and the prophets. Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction. And those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life and those who find it are few. You need to understand that this hedge of protection is not a place. It is you. Okay? Your body is the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. And where the Holy Spirit dwells, baby, nothing can touch it. The enemy is really trying to speak doubt right now over this word, but absolutely not. I rebuke you in Jesus mighty name. Now he’s saying your faith is often referred to as a tent because it’s something that you can pack up and take with you everywhere you go. Everywhere you go. Everywhere you go. Meaning no matter what it looks like around you, this hedge of protection is always with you. Trust that in this season of your life, the enemy can say whatever he wants to say. He can display whatever he wants to display. But everything that exists in this experience is illusionary. why we’re called to walk by faith and not by sight. Because everything that we see around us is going to lead us into deception if we do not have the Holy Spirit dwelling with us, dwelling within us, giving us perspective. I love you. Jesus loves you. It is as simple as that. You are protected baby. Parable of the sewer is one of the most important parables in the Gospels and it’s a great way to understand enlightenment and growth more broadly. It goes like this. There was once a person scattering some seed to grow some grain to eat. They were throwing it everywhere. Some of the seed landed on hard ground. It couldn’t take root, and so it came to nothing. Some of the seed landed on thin soil, started to grow, but was weak because it could not grow deep roots. Some seed landed in thorns and grew, but was choked by the rival plants. And finally, some seed landed on the good ground. It took root. It grew tall and had a great yield. Jesus himself gives the meaning of the parable when he says, “All who have ears to hear, let them hear.” But the parable is just as relevant today as it was in Roman Judea. Because if you’re trying to talk to someone about something they are not ready to hear, they will block it out. Sometimes we are too busy, distracted, or choked by the thorns in life to heed any advice whatsoever. There is a time and a place for the deeper thoughts in life, and you have to be in the right headsp space if we’re to get anything from a conversation. Wisdom and growth are only possible when we provide the fertile soil needed to grow. We can read as much as we want or watch as many inspirational TED talks as we can. But if we’re not ready, if we’re not ready to reflect on what we’ve heard, then nothing will get changed. When the gospel is shared, sometimes it falls on deaf ears and it isn’t received. But other times it falls on open ears and it is received and the Holy Spirit is implanted in each of the individuals. This soil represents the unbeliever. The person who rejected the gospel and never received the Holy Spirit. This soil represents a believer who truly believed and received the Holy Spirit, but because of their rocky environment when trials and tribulations in life came, they didn’t have any solid root and they withered away. This soil also represents a true believer who received the Holy Spirit, but because of the cares and riches of the world, they get choked out and aren’t fruitful. And the final soil also represents a true believer who received the Holy Spirit. But because of its good soil and good environment, it’s actually able to grow up, mature, and produce good fruit. All three of these soils represent true believers who received the Holy Spirit, which is a guarantee of their eternal life, but their maturity and earthly outcome was different because of their soils. The soils represent their environment or the heart posture that they have. This is why it’s important to surround ourselves with other believers, learn sound doctrine, and abide in Christ. The word of God says in Luke 8, starting off in verse 11, now the parable is this, the seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are they that hear. Then cometh the devil and taketh away the word out of their hearts. Notice this. Lest they should believe and be saved. A correct interpretation of this passage is contingent upon recognizing the sole condition for salvation, which of course is faith in Christ. Notice, those by the wayside heard the word of God, but they did not believe and therefore did not receive salvation. Jesus did not say lest they should pray, join the church, lest they should repent of their sins, be baptized, etc. Salvation, my friend, is always a matter of trust. Jesus said in John 3:18, “He that believeth on him is not condemned.” How clear, how straightforward. But he that believeth not is condemned already. Why? Because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten son of God. Those by the wayside did not believe. And therefore those by the wayside were not saved. Look at verse 13. They on the rock are they which when they hear receive the word with joy. and these have no root which for a while what believe and in time of temptation fall away. Verse 13 further establishes that the way in which an individual receives the word is by believing the word. Undoubtedly they on the rock were saved because they on the rock believed. Now the objection is often raised that the belief of this second group was somehow invalid due to their failure to continue in the faith. However, it is imperative to understand that salvation from the penalty of sin is an instantaneous event, a new birth which takes place the moment an individual believes on Christ. It is not, I repeat, it is not a process conditioned upon a continual exercising of faith. Jesus said in John chapter 4, starting off in verse 13, “Whosoever drinkketh of this water shall thirst again, necessitating what?” repeatedly returning to the well in order to quench that thirst. Watch this. I have to consistently and continually drink water in order to remain hydrated. That’s common knowledge. That’s common sense. Now, notice the contrast drawn by Christ. Look at verse 14. But whosoever keeps drinking of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. Is that what he said? No. Whosoever drinkkeeth of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. Notice, one drink of the living water, and you never thirst again. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Jesus said in John 5:4, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that heareth my word and believeth on him that sent me hath present tense possession everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life. If believeth on him necessitates continually believing on him in order to receive eternal life, then does heareth my word necessitate continually hearing his word? No. Friend, the moment an individual’s hearing is mixed with faith, they instantaneously pass from death unto life. Watch this. Salvation from the penalty of sin is conditioned upon a non-mmerritorious moment of faith. I’ll say that again. Don’t miss this. Salvation from the penalty of sin is conditioned upon a nonmeritorious moment of faith. The word of God says in Luke 8:14, “And that which fell among thorns are they which when they have heard go forth and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life and bring no fruit to perfection.” Notice that which fell among thorns is choked and brings no fruit to perfection. The implication being that the seed did germinate, did grow, yet they eventually became unfruitful as Matthew renders this parable in chapter 13 22. Now, in order to become unfruitful, they had to first what? Be fruitful. Signifying that this soil is also saved. Look at verse 15. But that on the good ground are they which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. The parable of the sewer highlights the varying responses to the word of God being preached. Those on the rock, thorns, and good ground are all saved despite the differing outcomes of perseverance and fruitbearing. Once again, the sole condition for salvation is faith in Christ. And that salvation once received is eternally secure and cannot be lost. If you are not 100% certain that you’re going to heaven when you die, I encourage you, my friend, to watch the video in the description below. How to be saved from hell, the only way to heaven, and be saved today. God bless. The parable of the seed and the swer is one of the most misunderstood parables. Four individuals are represented by different grounds, wayside, stony ground among thorns, and good ground. The common teaching is that out of the four seeds that are sown, only one person gets saved. Whereas the Bible teaches that out of the four seeds that are sown, three people get saved, but only one bears fruit. The first seed that is swn upon the wayside obviously does not get saved. Since the Bible says that the devil cometh, taketh the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. The second that is swn upon stony ground gets saved, but they’re not rooted in God’s word. They believe for a while, but then they fall away. Matthew 13 clarifies this when it says that they endure for a while, but when persecution arises because of the word, they are offended. The one that is swn among thorns gets saved, but then the cares of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things entering in choke the word and they become unsaved, nor they become unfruitful. Lastly, the one that swn in good ground gets saved and bears fruit. Some 100, some 60, some 30. The moral of the story, not everyone gets saved and not everyone who gets saved bears fruit. Parable today in Mark 41-20 reminds us that we really need to listen carefully and obey what God is telling us to do. Jesus is stepping on a boat away from the crowds. It provided good acoustics. It gave him some safety away from the crowd that was pressing in and following him. And he tells them to listen because he knows their hearts. A lot of them are here because he’s doing cool things. He’s doing miracles. He’s doing healings. They want to see it. They want to participate in it. But not all are there to hear the message. The message of the gospel is why he came. He basically tells this parable. Not everybody understands. When the disciples are alone with him, he then tells them what it means. But this all hinges on verse 14. The farmer sws the word. I don’t know what the title of this is in your Bible. Mine is the parable of the sewers. It really should be the parable of the soils because the seed and the swer are the same. The swer is God and the seed is the word. And this parable is all about how it takes root in our lives. You just imagine like throw in some seed and some people hear it. It never takes root. Some people get so excited and they’re so joyful and we see this all the time. They’re like on fire, but it only lasts for a short period. There’s some people where they hear the gospel, but the world is so thorny and so it grows along these weeds and it never takes like deep root. And then I pray that all of you have this fertile soil where you hear the word and you’re changed by it. The question really is what is the type of soil of your heart? Is it rocky? Is it deep? Is it soft? Is it shallow, crowded, anxious, fearful, excited, joyful? I believe that we will see the condition of our hearts and other people’s hearts by the fruit that we produce. Verse 20 is so interesting. Others like seed sown on good soil. Hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop. Some 30, some 60, some hundred times what is sown. All who are in Christ will yield something. But your job isn’t to measure what kind of fruit you produce. Your job is to produce fruit. Your job is to walk in obedience with Christ. And he will give you the opportunity to sew fruit into people’s lives. God’s power, not yours. And I read a blog post about this. So, I just want to read the conclusion of this blog post. It’s found on this website called thingsofthesort.com. It says, “When God planted the trees at creation, he had the cross in mind. When the first seed died, the resurrection was already planned. When your heart cracks open to Jesus, your salvation was already sealed and eternity passed. That’s the kind of God we have. One who loves enough to break us, who dies to save us, who rises to give us life. If we won’t listen to that message, what will we listen to?” This is such a good passage. Tomorrow we’re going to read the rest of Mark 4 and I will see you here for the Bible study. Bye. Jesus says that the sewer, he goes out to sew the word is being sown, but many will deny it immediately because the God of this age has blinded their eyes. Jesus helps us understand these these next two soils. He said, “The sewer swed on the rocky ground and among the thorns.” And for a moment, it looked promising. It looked like it was going to to bear fruit. Looked like the sewer’s labor was not in vain. Though the seed sprang up and dwelled and endured for a little while, it had no root in itself. They will show many outward signs of being faithful followers of the Lord Jesus. They will be baptized and members of the church and and they will will give and even evangelize and do many good works and have the appearance of doing works for the Lord. But when the right amount of pressure comes, when the right amount of heat comes, they’ll decide that following Jesus wasn’t worth it after all. that they loved this life and their own life far more than they loved Jesus. They loved him but not enough to die or suffer for it. Let’s talk about the parable of the sewer. The story is about a sewer representing God throwing out seed representing the word of the gospel on four different kinds of soils representing four different kinds of hearers of that word. There’s the hard soil symbolizing the kind of person who has no interest in the things of God. There’s the rocky soil here that believes the word initially but in times of testing they fall away. There’s the thorny soil who also believes the word initially but ends up getting choked out by the pleasures of sin. And then finally you have the good soil that believes and understands the word and then produces all sorts of fruit. It’s pretty straightforward but there is a problem and that is all of us naturally are just like the bad soils. We harden ourselves to God’s word. We too struggle when trials come and we get tempted by the pleasures of sin. So the question is, how does God make us into good soil that hears and understands this word? Well, the answer of course is surely by his amazing grace. It’s through his grace that God takes naturally hardened, thorny, and rocky soil people like me and transforms us into good soil. Because through his word, God is able to open up ears where there were none. Indeed, in Psalm 40:6, the psalmist writes, “You have given me an open ear.” But in Hebrew, it says, “Ears you have dug for me.” Yes. When you hear that though you’re a great sinner, Christ is an even greater savior, ears are dug for you. When you hear of Jesus’s perfect life, death, and resurrection for the forgiveness of all your sins, ears are dug for you. That’s how God makes us into good soil. If you love Jesus, type amen, like, and subscribe for more. See you next time. If this moved you, the Bible will change you. Get yourself a copy and live the story.
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