| English: | parable | = story told to illustrate a moral or spiritual truth |
| Hebrew: | mashal | = similitude, proverb |
| Greek: | parabole | = similitude |
| Matthew 13: | 51: Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. |
| Matthew 13: | 3: ... Behold a sower went forth to sow. |
This verse means: look, see, turn your attention to; he went out of his way to sow.
The Master Sower is the Savior (see verse 37), but in this parable, other sowers (Apostles, ministers, missionaries, ordinary believers etc.) are also involved in sowing. They too go forth, out of their way, to sow. Sowing requires knowledge, will, effort, endurance and seed. The good sower has all of these.
He Sowed Unsparingly:
On the wayside, stony places, among thorns and on good ground. There are no reservations here, with deliberate tread the sower works, ensuring, every piece of land within his reach is covered with seed.
| Matthew 13: |
19: When any one heareth the word of the kingdom ... 20: ... the same is he that heareth the word ... 21: ... for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word ... |
Note:
From these verses, we can see, the good seed is the Word of God,
especially as it relates to the Kingdom of God. How little is heard,
these days, about
the Kingdom of God.
| Matthew 13: |
4: ... Some seeds fell by the wayside ... 19: These are those who hear the word of God and understand it not. |
Many souls fail to understand the message of the Kingdom of God in the Word of God. To them, it is a mystery; deep, irrelevant and not worthy of much attention. Before the sacred seed can germinate in their minds, it is snatched away by the Evil One. It is forgotten.
The Stony Places:
| Matthew 13: |
5: Some fell on stony places, where they had not much earth ... 20: The same is he that heareth the word and anon with joy receiveth it. 21. Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for awhile: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by they are offended. |
This, sad to say, is a common occurrence in the church. It needs little, if any, explanation. People give up productive work in Yahweh's field, for all kinds of trivial reasons. The most common is, they are offended, because of tribulation and often by a lot less. Be on your guard and do not let offenses blight the harvest in your life. If your spiritual roots go deep, you will not whither when tribulation arises because of the Word of God.
The Thorny Ground:
| Matthew 13: |
7: Some fell among thorns and the thorns sprung up, and choked
them. 22: He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becometh unfruitful. |
This is also a sad situation for a soul to get into: poverty on the one hand, and riches on the other. Look about you, in this world, and you will see how prevalent these two conditions are. Extreme poverty on the one hand and unhealthy wealth on the other. Aren't they choking spiritual productivity?
The Good Ground:
| Matthew 13: |
8: But other seed fell into good ground ... 23: But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit and bringeth forth some an hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty. |
This is when a truth from Yahweh's Word is heard and not immediately understood. No effort is made to investigate, examine and discuss the message. Because it is not easily grasped (or perhaps even feared), It is quickly rejected without further investigation. Are you, on certain occasions, guilty of responding to the Word in this way? Do you reject a truth, simply because you cannot understand it? Or, are you like the ancient Berean believers, who, with all readiness of mind, searched the Scriptures daily (Acts 17: 10-11)? These are important questions, because they classify your response to the Word of God. Beware of the wayside mentality, the one that rejects truth because investigation may prove too much of a challenge.
This reaction to truth is very common. Believers rejoice when new truth is presented. They are thrilled with it; but, it isn't long, before they are offended. Like marriages that break down, their love for truth collapses at the first difficulty. They become offended and give it all up. They bear no fruit, because they have no staying power, no spiritual stamina or depth of soil.
This condition, economically or spiritually, can be extremely dangerous. I am rich and increased with goods, I have need of nothing (Revelation 3: 17), is a common reaction to the Word these days. It is a fatal one based on pure arrogance! I’m too poor to produce any results, it's easy for the rich folk. This is nothing more than a flimsy excuse to imply, Yahweh's Word does not apply to the poor. Be very careful about self-pity!
This is the only praiseworthy reaction to hearing the Word of God. No matter what His message may be, when it drops into the soil of your mind, Examine it and make every effort to understand it. Prove it against the whole of the Scriptures. When you are sure, it is the Word of the Most High, then obey it.
This is the only response to Yahweh's Word, that will win His favor. If you do these things, you will bear fruit. Sometimes 100 fold: on other occasions 60 fold or even at worst 30 fold. Can you find a farmer who is producing harvests as bounteous? The benefits of investing in the things of the spirit are incalculable. No earthly business project comes anywhere near the earlier mentioned gains.
