The Parable of the Sower
Math. 13:18-23 & Luke 8:1-15
I have heard many teach & preach this parable, in the context of obtaining and keeping salvation, when in fact, this parable has nothing to do with losing salvation. The Bible teaches that losing salvation is not possible, for it violates the basics of grace and faith.
The most important rule of thumb in understanding any of our Lord’s parables is context. And the context of importance regarding any Biblical parable is, who is the Lord talking to when He tells it. Who is the audience?
While Jesus explains the parable’s meaning to His disciples, the original audience we find in Luke 8:4, “And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable.” And likewise in Math. 13:2, “And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.”
Within this context, we can begin to understand the point of the parable. Within any large audience who hear the Gospel, one of four things will happen, each listed in the parable. When the disciples inquire as to the meaning of the parable, Jesus tells His disciples plainly in Luke 8:11, “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.”
From the start we know the parable is about the Word of God, the Gospel. What follows is what happens to the Word once sown. We find four groups in the parable symbolized by four soil conditions and the seeds respective growth.
The first group are those who hear the word and ignore it, or don’t believe it, “trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it,” never giving it consideration, “lest they should believe and be saved.”
The second group is those who believe, but when tempted or faced with persecution, “stumble.” They quickly fall away. The word of God does take root, but like many zealots, they start on fire for God, but because their faith is shallow, or “they have no root in themselves,” they are unable to continue productively, only retaining what they believe.
The third group, the seed takes root among the thorns, Christians constantly struggling with the things of this life. They love God and are faithful, but the stuff of daily life overwhelms them: family, bills, obligations, desires, etc. Or they have succumbed to chasing wealth, or never-ending pursuit of pleasure. Christians in this group are always fighting two battles, which prevents them from being productive in their faith. Choked, because they are unable, or unwilling to choose one over the other. Instead of seek first, they battle for both, unable or unwilling to separate themselves from the weeds of the world.
The last group is those Christians who receive the word, are secure in their faith, by continually nourishing themselves with the things of the spirit, reading, praying, being around others in the faith, and applying what they learn to their lives. They are productive throughout their Christian lives.
This parable describes what happens when crowds of people hear the Word of God. Many who come to listen are interested and leave as they came. We can divide the others who believe into three other categories. That is the message to both the crowd and the disciples: this is what is happening as I speak, and this is what is going to happen when you begin to preach the word. So it was, and so it is today.
Christians face many battles, a significant number of which are health issues, both physical and mental. And even though these things can hinder or even hide a person’s faith, they cannot remove the seed of the word planted in one’s heart.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39.
