Lesson 6 The Parable of the Sower The

Lesson 6: The Parable of the Sower

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Sower – The sower went forth to sow, as was common in those days – Initially, the sower represented Christ, who went out teaching and sowing the Word. – In application and principle, it is the responsibility of every Christian to be the sower, sowing the seed of the kingdom (cf. Acts 8: 4).

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Sower – Some Truths for the Sower • He must sow the seed and leave the increase to God (Isa. 55: 10 -11; 1 Cor. 3: 6). • He must sow at all times, not waiting until everything is favorable (Ecc. 11: 4 -6; 2 Tim. 4: 2). • He must sow, realizing that others may reap the harvest (John 4: 35 -38). • He must sow on all kinds of soil (Matt. 13: 3 -8). • He must sow with the right attitude (2 Tim. 2: 24 -28; Eph. 4: 15). • He must believe in the seed he sows (Rom. 1: 16).

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Seed – The seed was dispersed by the sower. – The seed is the Word of God (Luke 8: 11). – The seed, representing the Word of God, is that which contains life (John 6: 63; 1 Peter 1: 23). – The seed always produces after its kind (Gen. 1: 11; Gal. 6: 7). – The seed produced Christians only in the first century and will produce the same today. – The seed can be mixed (Mt. 13: 24 -25; Ga. 1: 6 -9).

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils – The soils denote the various sorts of attitudes that men have towards the gospel. – The success of the sowing depends upon the soils into which the seed falls. – Hearts must be prepared to seek and receive the Word (2 Chron. 19: 3; 30: 19; Ezra 7: 10).

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Wayside Soil (Matt. 13: 3 -4, 19; Mark 4: 15; Luke 8: 5, 12) – Hard path that is fertile, but packed & unplowed – The seed makes contact, but because the soil is so hard, it cannot penetrate. – The wayside soil represents: • One who does not believe, because… (Luke 8: 12) • He has chosen not to understand, because… • His heart has been hardened to the truth, because… • He is not interested in the gospel (Matt. 13: 19)

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Wayside Soil (Matt. 13: 3 -4, 19; Mark 4: 15; Luke 8: 5, 12) – The birds symbolize Satan (Matt. 13: 19) • Satan comes immediately (Mark 4: 15) and snatches the seed away (Matt. 13: 19) • Satan only takes the seed after the soil has rejected it • Satan is ever happy to cooperate with those who reject the truth (John 13: 27; Matt. 27: 4; Acts 5: 3 -4) • If the Word dwelt in the heart long enough for faith to result, salvation could follow (Luke 8: 12). • What methods does he use to snatch the Word away?

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Wayside Soil (Matt. 13: 3 -4, 19; Mark 4: 15; Luke 8: 5, 12) – What are some reasons hearts are hardened? • Pride (cf. Prov. 16: 18) • Prejudice, come with idol in heart (cf. Ezek. 14: 1 -5) • Fear of giving up things (cf. Luke 18: 18 ff) • Worldliness (cf. Eph. 4: 17 -18) • No love for truth (cf. 2 Thess. 2: 10) • Continually resisting the truth (cf. Ex. 8: 19 -20) • Habitually practicing sin (cf. Heb. 3: 13)

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Wayside Soil (Matt. 13: 3 -4, 19; Mark 4: 15; Luke 8: 5, 12) – Do you know any wayside soils? • Hear the Word with their minds already made up (cf. Acts 17: 21) • Hear but think the truth applies to someone else (cf. John 8: 33) • Hear but go out and live as they did before (cf. Jas. 1: 22 -25) • Hear but have allowed the world to trample hearts so long that they are untouched (cf. 1 Tim. 4: 1 -2)

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Stony/Rocky Soil (Matt. 13: 5 -6, 20 -21; Mark 4: 16 -17; Luke 8: 6, 13) – A thin layer of soil overlying a solid ledge of rock; fertility is not the problem, depth is – Plants spring up immediately (b/c lacks depth) – The stony/rocky soil represents: • One who lacks any strong convictions / earnestness • One who is an emotional, superficial, impulsive hearer • One, possibly, who is “won to Christ” on basis of frills • One who sees only pleasant elements of Christianity • One who does not count the cost (Lk. 14: 25 ff; 9: 23)

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Stony/Rocky Soil (Matt. 13: 5 -6, 20 -21; Mark 4: 16 -17; Luke 8: 6, 13) – The seed has no depth, therefore no root, without which no plant can survive – Christians must be rooted in Christ (Col. 2: 7; Eph. 3: 17) – One cannot afford for his faith to be shallow. – Faith must grow inward (and deeply) and not be merely outward.

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Stony/Rocky Soil (Matt. 13: 5 -6, 20 -21; Mark 4: 16 -17; Luke 8: 6, 13) – Thus, when the sun was risen (tribulation and persecution arose because of the Word), the “shallow” soul folks “immediately” “fell away” • Those who respond to the Lord impulsively are prone to quickly fall. • The sun (tribulations/persecutions) destroys the shallow-rooted person, but makes stronger the deeply rooted Christian (cf. James 1: 2 -4). • Though these believed for a while (Luke 8: 13), they fell away. A child of God can fall away and be lost.

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Stony/Rocky Soil (Matt. 13: 5 -6, 20 -21; Mark 4: 16 -17; Luke 8: 6, 13) – Do you know any stony soils? • Hears the Word, obeys the Word quickly, and then falls away. • Have emotions stirred and make sudden impulse decision. • Obey without counting the cost & commitment involved and all one must endure. • Some people are easily excited, always starting projects but never completing them. Sometimes describes some Christians.

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Thorny Soil (Matt. 13: 7, 22; Mark 4: 7, 18 -19; Luke 8: 14) – The soil is fit/fertile, but it’s crowded. – The seeds of the thorns were already in the ground, implying inadequate preparation. – The thorny soil represents: • The pre-occupied hearer • A divided heart with divided loyalties (cf. Matt. 6: 24) • One who is so busy with other things he cannot be busy for Christ

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Thorny Soil (Matt. 13: 7, 22; Mark 4: 7, 18 -19; Luke 8: 14) – Thorns: The cares of this world (Mt. 13: 22) • These are the distracting anxieties/worries of this life • Day-to-day worries about living can distract (Prov. 30: 8 -9; Matt. 6: 25 -34). • Worry and anxiety in the example of Martha choked out the good part (Luke 10: 38 -42). • Sometimes we allow the lesser important to choke out the most important (Luke 21: 34 -35).

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Thorny Soil (Matt. 13: 7, 22; Mark 4: 7, 18 -19; Luke 8: 14) – Thorns: The deceitfulness of riches (Matt. 13: 22) • Riches promise happiness but they do not and cannot deliver (Ecc. 5: 10 -13). • Preoccupation with wealth leads to other problems as well (1 Tim. 6: 9 -10). • If materialism was a curse upon the church in the first century for Jesus to present a lesson on thorns, how much more is it a curse on the church today?

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Thorny Soil (Matt. 13: 7, 22; Mark 4: 7, 18 -19; Luke 8: 14) – Thorns: The desire for other things (Mark 4: 19) • There are many things in our lives that can (and often do) take precedence over Christ – family, educational pursuits, desire for popularity, career goals, etc. • Even things that are not intrinsically wrong must take a second place to the Lord (Matt. 6: 33).

The Parable of the Sower: The Narrative Mt. 13: 3 -8, 18 -23 Mk. 4: 3 -8, 14 -20 Lk. 8: 5 -8, 11 -15 • The Soils—The Thorny Soil (Matt. 13: 7, 22; Mark 4: 7, 18 -19; Luke 8: 14) – Thorns: The pleasures of this life (Luke 8: 14) • Christianity does not take the joy out of life, but it does demand that we put first things first. • Earthly pleasures cannot produce true happiness (Ecc. 2). • Hobbies, recreation, our “down time, ” etc. , are first with too many today (cf. 1 Tim. 4: 8). • Again, some of these things may not be wrong in and of themselves, but placed foremost in our lives will leave no room for God and His Word. • Those “pleasures” that are sinful most be avoided!!!