The Sower
Mark 4:3-20
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN." And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
Since this is one of the longer parables, I am only specifically listing the passages from Mark. The parable can also be found in Matthew 13:3-9 & 18-23 and Luke 8:4-15.
The seed in this parable is the word of God as heard or read or seen by a person. When someone hears the word of God spoken, or reads the bible, or sees the actions of a true Christian, then the “seed” of Christianity is sown into that person. If that seed of Christianity is allowed to grow, it will extend its roots downward and grow upward, producing “fruit” in the person’s life.
Satan does not want that seed to grow. He will come against it directly and indirectly. There are nearly infinite variations used, but it boils down to three basic tactics.
Satan will snatch that seed away. The word of God, once put into your life, cannot be “removed”. IE: You cannot “unheard” or “unread” something. Instead, what satan does is discredit it. Through the application of worldly wisdom, or the influence of others in the persons life, the seed sown can be disregarded. This is effectively “stealing away” the seed that was planted. This is a person who hears the gospel, sometimes on multiple occasions, but does not pursue it, does not believe it, or openly scoffs at the notion of salvation through Christ Jesus.
Satan will come against it directly. Notice in the second example that the seed grew quickly, but had no root. Jesus later explains that affliction or persecution arise “because of the word” that was sown into the persons heart. Satan will attack people new to the faith as they can be easy targets if they are not careful. The plant withers and dies. This is a person who has begun to follow the faith, but after problems arise decide that it is not worth the effort, and thus fall away from the faith. They have not made a true commitment to Christ.
Satan will sow his own seeds (of weeds) around us. In the third example, the seed has grown, but satan’s seeds have also grown up around it. Worries, money, lying and worldly desires have grown up around the Christian and choked out their spiritual growth. They are no longer a good witness for Christ. Through reading the parable, it would appear that the person in this third example is, in fact, a true follower of Christ and therefore “saved”, but they are not being productive in expanding the kingdom of God. This is a “second best” option for satan. He may not have prevented this person from accepting salvation, but at least they are not bringing others to Christ.
When satan fails in his three basic tactics we see the results in the fourth example. Here the person has accepted the word of God as truth, has allowed the seed to extend its roots deep into their spiritual being, and they have kept their surroundings free from satans “weeds”. When this happens, we see the results. They bear fruit “thirty, sixty and a hundredfold”. The fruit here, I believe, regards the expansion of Gods kingdom – IE: bringing other people to a saving knowledge of the gospel.
Luke has a slightly different ending with the seed that produces fruit. He writes (Luke 8:15) “That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
We are to be honest and have a good heart. We are to hold the “seed” tightly. We will bring forth fruit “with patience”. The truth shall set you free (John 8:32). Don’t let satan steal your seed. Don’t worry if you don’t see growth immediately. Keep satans “weeds” away from you and allow your spiritual roots to grow, and you will eventually see outward results.
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold." And He was saying, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that WHILE SEEING, THEY MAY SEE AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND BE FORGIVEN." And He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
Since this is one of the longer parables, I am only specifically listing the passages from Mark. The parable can also be found in Matthew 13:3-9 & 18-23 and Luke 8:4-15.
The seed in this parable is the word of God as heard or read or seen by a person. When someone hears the word of God spoken, or reads the bible, or sees the actions of a true Christian, then the “seed” of Christianity is sown into that person. If that seed of Christianity is allowed to grow, it will extend its roots downward and grow upward, producing “fruit” in the person’s life.
Satan does not want that seed to grow. He will come against it directly and indirectly. There are nearly infinite variations used, but it boils down to three basic tactics.
Satan will snatch that seed away. The word of God, once put into your life, cannot be “removed”. IE: You cannot “unheard” or “unread” something. Instead, what satan does is discredit it. Through the application of worldly wisdom, or the influence of others in the persons life, the seed sown can be disregarded. This is effectively “stealing away” the seed that was planted. This is a person who hears the gospel, sometimes on multiple occasions, but does not pursue it, does not believe it, or openly scoffs at the notion of salvation through Christ Jesus.
Satan will come against it directly. Notice in the second example that the seed grew quickly, but had no root. Jesus later explains that affliction or persecution arise “because of the word” that was sown into the persons heart. Satan will attack people new to the faith as they can be easy targets if they are not careful. The plant withers and dies. This is a person who has begun to follow the faith, but after problems arise decide that it is not worth the effort, and thus fall away from the faith. They have not made a true commitment to Christ.
Satan will sow his own seeds (of weeds) around us. In the third example, the seed has grown, but satan’s seeds have also grown up around it. Worries, money, lying and worldly desires have grown up around the Christian and choked out their spiritual growth. They are no longer a good witness for Christ. Through reading the parable, it would appear that the person in this third example is, in fact, a true follower of Christ and therefore “saved”, but they are not being productive in expanding the kingdom of God. This is a “second best” option for satan. He may not have prevented this person from accepting salvation, but at least they are not bringing others to Christ.
When satan fails in his three basic tactics we see the results in the fourth example. Here the person has accepted the word of God as truth, has allowed the seed to extend its roots deep into their spiritual being, and they have kept their surroundings free from satans “weeds”. When this happens, we see the results. They bear fruit “thirty, sixty and a hundredfold”. The fruit here, I believe, regards the expansion of Gods kingdom – IE: bringing other people to a saving knowledge of the gospel.
Luke has a slightly different ending with the seed that produces fruit. He writes (Luke 8:15) “That in the good ground, these are such as in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, hold it tightly, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
We are to be honest and have a good heart. We are to hold the “seed” tightly. We will bring forth fruit “with patience”. The truth shall set you free (John 8:32). Don’t let satan steal your seed. Don’t worry if you don’t see growth immediately. Keep satans “weeds” away from you and allow your spiritual roots to grow, and you will eventually see outward results.
posted by MarkD at 1:01 PM
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