THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER Matthew 13:1-23 Key Verse: 13:23 1. Read verses 1-2. Where was Jesus preaching? Why? Jesus was still preaching at Capernaum, from Peter s house. One day so many people heard him that he went out of the house and in to a boat on the lake so the people could sit on the shore and listen to him, without crowding him. Read verses 3-9. What are the 4 kinds of soil on which the seed falls? The four kinds of soil are the path, the rocky soil, the soil among thorns and then the good soil. What happens to the seed that falls in each kind of soil? Seed that falls on the stone path, cannot take root, and are gobbled up by the birds. Seed that falls on the rocky soil, takes root, but the soil is shallow. When the sun comes up the plants are scorched and quickly wither. Seed that falls among the thorns, take root and grow, but there growth is choked by the thorns. Seed that falls on good soil brings an abundance of harvest, 100, 60, and even 30 times. What does this parable teach about the importance of the soil? The environment where we try to plant the word of God, is critical. Without a foundation the word cannot grow. 2. Read verses 10-13. What did the disciples ask Jesus? v 10. The disciples came to him and asked, Why do you speak to the people in parables?
Why did Jesus speak in parables? Jesus spoke in parables, because the knowledge of the kingdom of heaven was not with the people. The peoples hearts were not ready to accept the kingdom of heaven, but those who were ready for it could hear the parables and understand them. Read verses 14-17. How was Isaiah's prophecy fulfilled? The Israel people were the recipients of the scriptures and the prophets. They also heard the words of the kingdom of heaven directly from Jesus. They could see his miracles. But they were ever hearing and never understanding, ever seeing but never perceiving. Isaiah prophesied that their hearts would be hard. Otherwise, the people would turn and be healed by God. What does Jesus teach about God's work and history? Those who open their ears and eyes to hear, are truly blessed. Since so many people hear and see but do not do anything. Jesus told his disciples that the prophets and men of the Old Testament, waited and longed to see Jesus day. Jesus coming was the whole purpose of God s redemptive plan. And now the disciples had that privilege to be their as witnesses to it. 3. Read verses 18-22. What do the seed and the soil represent? The seed is the word of God. It is in a literal sense accepting Jesus himself. The soil then represents the heart. What does it mean to have a heart like the path? (4, 9) To have a heart like a path means to have a closed mind or closed ears. That Jesus is ignored, and cannot take root, so the devil comes and snatches that person away. What might make one become like this? (15; Ex 5:2; Ecc 1:9) V15. For this people s heart has become calloused; People became like stone paths because their hearts were calloused towards God.
Exodus 5:2 The Pharaoh said, Who is the Lord, that I should obey him and let Israel go? I do not know the Lord and I will not let Israel go. The Pharaoh was proud and denied that he knew the Lord, so he refused to listen to him, his heart was heard. Ecclesiastes 1:9 What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun Maybe hard hearted people get so used to being hard hearted, it is almost impossible for them to change. What kind of attitude should a person with path-like heart soil have? A person with a path-like heart should have a humble attitude. They should have an open heart and be receptive to the word of God. 4. What does it mean to be like rocky soil? (5, 6, 20, 21) A rocky soil person is someone who hears the word of God and receives it with great joy. But after awhile their joy fades because they do not have any deep roots. When troubles and persecution come because of the word, they quickly fade away. What kind of attitude should a person with rocky heart soil have? (Ps 1:3; 2Ti 2:3) Psalm 1:3 He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yield fruits in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers. When we meditate on the word of God day and night, we develop deep roots and are planted by a stream. We are not uprooted when trouble or persecution comes because of the word. 2 Timothy 2:3 Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. When we endure hardship for Jesus, we grow deeper and sturdier roots in him. This should be our attitude, to stand firm in Jesus.
What does it mean to be like thorny soil? (7, 22) The person who is thorny soil is the one who heard the word of God, but was choked by the worries of life, and the deceitfulness of riches and therefore has become an unproductive Christian. What kind of attitude should a person with thorny heart soil have? (Pro 30:8,9; Php 4:6,7, 12,13) Proverbs 30:8,9 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise I may have too much and disown you and say, Who is the Lord? Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God. The person with thorny soil should not be worried about finances, but should be thankful and that God gives them exactly what they need. Philippians 4:6, 7, 12, 13 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I know what is to be in need, I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Paul is content and asks the people to be content because they know Jesus and therefore have nothing to fear. The attitude of the thorny heart should be one of trusting in Jesus to provide everything. The peace of God will take care of your worries. 5. Read verse 23. How are the good-soil people different from the others? (8, 23) The seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He then takes that word and produces an abundant crop of 100, 60, or even 30 times what was sown.
Think about the importance of hearing (Jn 5:24) and understanding the word of God (13,14; Ac 8:30,31). John 5:24 I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. Hearing the word means taking it, believing it and putting it into practice so that your life is changed. When you hear Jesus word, you really hear it when you put it into practice. Acts 8:30,31 Then Phillip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. Do you understand what you are reading? Phillip asked. How can I, he said, unless someone explains it to me? So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Understanding the word of God makes your eyes open and your heart un-calloused. Understanding the word here lead the Ethiopian to be baptized and to give his life to Christ. Think about the importance of producing a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. (Gal 5:22,23; Mt 28:19) Galatians 5:22, 23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who have the word of God planted in good soil grow an inner fruit of the Spirit as well as an outer visible fruit. So with Jesus word we must produce a crop to show that we have heard and accepted his word. Matthew 28:19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Those who the seed falls on are good soil, then can have confidence to carry out the world mission command. So that they can produce a crop of 100 times themselves.