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Spring 1996
By: Michael Tao
"And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying,
Behold, a sower went forth to sow;
And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls
came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where
they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because
they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were
scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And
some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:
But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an
hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. " Matthew 13:3-8
In trying to learn from a parable, it is important to remember that we should be extremely careful in building any doctrines upon parables, because parables are symbolic and may have more than one interpretation. Doctrines are to be developed through evidences and supports in different parts of the Bible. However, there are several parables which have been personally interpreted by Christ, we can be quite certain about their meaning and implication. The parable of the sower is one of them. This parable is recorded in Matthew 13:3-8, Christ explained it from vv18-23; it is also recorded in Mark 4 and Luke 8. Now let us take a close look.
Christ here taught that a sower went out to sow his seeds, and there were four places where these seeds would land: by the way side, upon stony places, among thorns, or into good ground. He explained to His disciples that the seed is the Word of God, and there are four different kinds of results.
The first kind is compared as seeds sown but fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them. The implication is some people hear the word, and Satan comes immediately and takes away the word. These people resist the gospel, so the word of God never has a chance to grow, and they remain lost.
The intention of the sower is to have every seed brings forth fruit, as much as God gives out his word with hope and expectation on the receiver.
The second kind is compared as seeds sown upon stony places, and they sprang up quickly. However, due to lack of thickness of soil, there were no roots and they withered away in the hot sunlight. These are the people who are so excited about the Word of God, their spiritual eyes are opened by the Holy Spirit, they understand that they are sinners, and they need a Saviour. They indeed "have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come"(Hebrews 6:4-5). It is undoubtedly that some of them may have professed Christ, and even received baptism into the church. However when the trials come, they wither away immediately, because those seeds have "no root" in their hearts. It is hard to argue that these people are true believers. They returned to the world after their profession of Christ.
We notice that the trial they received, is described as the "sun" . Sun rises everyday, yet it sets at dusk; which is a natural phenomenon. It does not take the trial of "fining pot for silver and the furnace for gold (Proverbs 17:3)", and their heart "withered away". However, as the sun goes down at a time, trials all have their timing.
The third type is compared as seeds sown among thorns. These plants did not get enough sunlight, or air, or space, or nutrition to grow into maturity. They were choked by the thorns and became unfruitful. Christ told us thorns represented "cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in".
These Christians do not live a pure life style, they are entangled in the worldliness, and are unable to "run with patience the race that is set before us". Although they are deformed, yet still alive; Christians in sin are still Christians. Christ did not teach they would wither away or lose their salvation, and believers will not lose their salvation even if they are choked up by their selfishness, pride and lust. However due to their rebellion, God will deal with them according to Hebrew 12.
The last type is the seeds sown on good ground, which represents an honest and good heart (Luke 8:15). These were those which brought forth fruit "with patience" (Luke 8:15), in thirtyfold, sixtyfold or hundredfold. The description of "with patience" indicates that they have persevered and endured hardship through trial and persecutionss. These are the people who understand the Word, keep it in and live it out in their life. They bear clear testimonies for Christ, and they are useful to their Master. Certainly some are more serviceable than others, which indicates that the rewards in Heaven will unlikely be identical - "so run, that ye may obtain (1 Corinthians 9:24)".
