WHY IT MATTERS //
The parable of the sower is a parable about what happens to the seed i.e the word of God when it lands on different kinds of soil, i.e. a picture of a person’s heart condition. Last week we studied why Jesus speaks in parables and why a calloused heart, i.e. a heart that is waterlogged prevents the fresh revelation (the Spirit) of God to flow through which brings understanding of the secrets of the Kingdom of heaven. But a person with a calloused heart is ever hearing and seeing but not understanding. In this week’s chapter, Jesus gives the explanation of the parable of the sower and reveals what the different kinds of soil represent.
WHAT IT'S TALKING ABOUT //
The Gospel of Matthew doesn’t name an author, but early scholars unanimously agree that Matthew, one of the 12 Apostles, was the author. Most likely it was written around 50-60 A.D. This book was written in Greek, so the readers must have been Greek-speaking, but many were probably also Jewish. Matthew’s main focus throughout the book is to show that Jesus is the messiah (Christ in Jewish). Jesus shared the parable of the sower during his ministry in Galilee, after he has commissioned the 12 Apostles.
Matt 13:18-23 NIV
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means:
19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path.
20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.
22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”