“Behold, the sower went out to sow.” So begins one of the most familiar of Jesus Christ’s parables in a series of parables of the kingdom. Parabolic language uses similes, metaphors, and imagery to tell a story of familiar things in order to make a point regarding eternal issues. In an era when one’s external practice of religion meant everything, Jesus began with a parable that unmasks the heart.
The heart is a curious thing. Jeremiah warned us that it is “deceitful” and “desperately wicked,” and then asks, “Who can know it?” Who can know his own heart? Most would object to the prophet’s assessment of their heart. Others may not know their hearts, but surely, yes, surely we know our own hearts! I’m sure that Solomon, at least early in his life, had that kind of mind. After the Lord had been so gracious in establishing his kingdom and allowing him to build a magnificent temple as God’s appointed dwelling among His people, surely Solomon never imagined that his heart would grow so cold and calloused that he would abandon the Lord and even engage in idolatry.
Surely, Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve, never imagined that he would become so insanely jealous and bitter that he would kill his brother Abel. Surely, Saul whom Samuel anointed as Israel’s first king never imagined that he would turn so far from the Lord that he would stoop to necromancy—consulting with the dead! We know that Peter declared that he would never deny his Lord; yet not once but three times when Christ needed him most, Peter showed that he did not know his own heart. Surely, Judas Iscariot, as he followed Jesus for three years, witnessed countless miracles, heard God the Son teaching, and visibly spoke with the Messiah, surely, he couldn’t imagine that the day would come that he would betray Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.
I dare say, every one of us could add our names after a surely, having done that which we thought we would never do. So desperately deceitful is the human heart that there is no limit to its distorted acts. And God knows all of that; more than we know ourselves about ourselves. Therefore, out of His kind mercy, He sent His own Son to redeem us from the wicked end of our hearts.
The kingdom of God is all about this work of the Redeemer, delivering us from bondage to sin and Satan, and then reigning over us as our only King. Though extending far beyond the heart into the eternal realms, the kingdom nonetheless is about the heart under a new King. But such kingdom transformation does not come about easily. The heart puts up quite a struggle, battling against the solitary reign of Jesus Christ over it. Yet the heart that belongs to Christ will continue to bear evidence of His kingly rule. There’s still plenty that stick with the same kind of external religion that Jesus saw among the religious multitudes of His day. But none enter His kingdom where He is not king in the heart. His gospel exposes the realities of our hearts. The way that you respond to the gospel tells everything about the condition of your heart. How is that the case?
The first parable—though not the first that Jesus used—offers a common scene that all of His hearers had witnessed firsthand. The sower went out to sow. With a seed bag slung across his shoulder, the sower walked across his plot of ground broadcasting seeds with a smooth, semi-circular movement of the hand and arm. He distributed the seeds indiscriminately, knowing that some of the seeds would likely not produce fruit; not because of poor seeds but due to the condition of the soil. Nevertheless, he sowed with confidence, knowing that the life in the seeds would reveal where the soil had been prepared to receive it.
Jesus does not answer a lot of questions that we may have about this parable. He has one basic aim: to explain the condition of the heart where the gospel seed has been sown. Ultimately, what He says about the soils exposes the realities of our hearts. Consider what He teaches us about our hearts.
As the sower went about his task of faithfully distributing his seeds, “some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.” The plots of ground owned by the various farmers in that agrarian society had paths along the edge, and even sometimes, through the plots for people to travel across. Over time, the dirt paths became almost as hard as concrete. Instead of nestling into the dirt as the seeds fell upon it, the seeds bounced upon the solid surface of the paths. They quickly became birdfeed!
Jesus explained this portion of the parable in Matthew 13:19. “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.” What is this seed that the sower has been sowing? Jesus calls it, “the word of the kingdom.” We know it quite simply as the gospel. It’s that solitary message that contains “words of eternal life,” as Peter put it (John 6:68). So what does the gospel involve? Paul simplifies it in 1 Corinthians 15:3-5, that the gospel has to do with Jesus Christ, God’s Son, dying for our sins, actually being buried after His death, being raised on the third day affirming that God had accepted His sacrificial death for us, and then Christ appearing to others after His bodily resurrection. The entire New Testament is devoted to fleshing out this simple message. It is the message of sinners being declared righteous through Jesus Christ. It’s the message of God’s acceptance of sinners believing in Christ because He accepted on their behalf, both the obedience of Christ to the Law and the death of Christ as satisfaction of the Law’s demands against transgressors. Those believing in Christ, having turned from their sins, receive Him as Prophet, Priest, and King in their lives. They have no other master; they have no greater affection for anyone; they have one grand purpose—to live for His glory.
That gospel message is proclaimed and heard. But when it is not understood, when there’s no inward comprehension that grasps the gospel by faith, then even what has been sown on the heart is snatched away. There’s a disconnection that takes place. The gospel is heard, maybe even plainly heard. But it doesn’t make any sense to the heart. The hearer may be able to dissect its parts and even diagram its propositions but it never takes root. We see this so often in the four Gospels. Jesus would teach the word of the kingdom and accompany it with miraculous signs. Yet the religious leaders would storm out in protest, trying to find a way to get rid of Christ! Either on the same day or just before speaking this parable, Jesus healed the withered hand of a man in a synagogue. Instead of being awestruck and believing, “the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him” (12:14). Go figure! The only way that you can explain this is by admitting these men had hardened hearts. Even the gospel seed sown in their hearts was quickly robbed by the devil because their hearts were so hard. What does this kind of hardness look like? (1) There’s no perception of one’s own spiritual need; he knows nothing of the conviction of sin. (2) His pride resists even the insinuation that he is helpless and needy before God. (3) He refuses to admit there’s anything wrong with his sin or that there are consequences to it. (4) He will not be taught by anyone—even the Son of God! (5) He will do things his own way in spite of what God has spoken in the gospel.
There’s no more dangerous position to be than that of having a heart that is hardened to the gospel. Only the great mercy of God can shatter the hardness so that life might be implanted through the gospel.
The sower scattered other seeds where a shallow amount of soil covered hard limestone rock. The seeds could quickly germinate; they had only one way to go, and that was up; but that was the extent of it. The searing heat of the sun, combined with the lack of moisture and hard rock under-layer, would quickly kill the newly sprouted plant. “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.” Here we find one of the most common pictures of our generation. This picture describes the multiplied thousands and millions that made decisions in evangelistic campaigns, revival meetings, and high-pressure witnessing situations. They gave a temporary illusion that they were “on fire for Christ.” But it was only temporary. In spite of their baptism and church membership, they fizzled rather quickly and turned from Christ. Hear the explanation of our Lord.
“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” I’ve seen it so much that my heart aches at the thought of this picture. The gospel is proclaimed and heard. Those hearing the gospel seem to be genuinely moved by it. They may be able to give good explanation of why Christ had to die, and even why they need a Savior. They respond in some way: praying a prayer, walking forward at a preacher’s prompting, raising a hand acknowledging a decision, filling out a decision card, requesting baptism after a private decision. Whatever they do, they profess that they are saved. Jesus says they hear the word “and immediately receive it with joy.” So, it’s no regretful decision to be a Christian. Here is enthusiasm and excitement. The person gladly claims to be a believer. They can be questioned and answer every question with clarity.
Then the tests come. “And when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away.” There’s no question as to whether or not tests will arise; they will happen and they will happen “because of the word”—that is, the gospel. One professes to be a believer, so a supposed friend begins to make fun of him. Another professes Christ and then is ostracized by the popular crowd. Another claims to be Christian and loses out on a promotion at work. In the first century, and in much of the world today, one claims to be a Christian, and he may be hounded, arrested, beaten, threatened, harassed, and maybe even killed. That tends to thin down shallow professions of faith in Christ! The afflictions and persecutions we face in our cultural setting lack some of the harshness that others have faced over the centuries; yet they still come in different ways. All of us that profess Christ are tested over whether or not the gospel has taken root in our lives. All of us will feel the acute pressure of the world opposing Christ and His followers. If the gospel is not firmly rooted in our hearts, the day will come when we bail out!
But how can this happen? How can someone that seemed so excited about Christ and had even been so openly excited about Him, bail out so quickly? Jesus explained that it was a problem in the heart. The heart was so shallow with only a façade of faith in Christ, that the gospel could not produce any lasting roots. The translation has “firm” and “only” in italics to show they are not in the original but seemingly implied. I think that it’s better to translate it, “Yet he has no root in himself, but lasts for only a time.” The gospel doesn’t really go deeply into the heart. Everything is superficial; including the “hallelujahs” and “praise the Lord’s.”
Spurgeon told of a boy on the streets of London selling mince pies. He kept crying, “Hot mince pies!” A man bought one, and quickly discovered the pie to be cold, not hot! “Boy,” said he, why did you call these pies hot?” “That’s the name they go by, sir,” said the boy. So there are plenty of people that are called Christians, but they are not Christians—that’s the name they go by; but all the substance is drained out of them by other matters.” Spurgeon adds, “You see the shape of a Christian, the make of a Christian, and some of the talk of a Christian, but the fruit of a Christian is not there” [http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/sathorns.tx, p. 9].
How can this happen so often in Christian circles? (1) The work of the Law that should precede and accompany gospel-work has been neglected or treated lightly. There’s been no serious conviction of sin; no intense recognition of one’s condition before a holy God. There’s been no “tutoring” by the law, as Paul explained in Galatians 3, to lead the person to Christ. (2) Though the cross may have been mentioned, it’s not been understood as central to the sinner’s need. It’s more of an ornament to make him feel very religious instead of the solitary outpouring of God’s wrath upon the Son. (3) Christ has not been understood in His saving offices as Prophet, Priest, and King. In other words, the person has not reckoned that Christ’s word in the gospel alone saves, that Christ’s redemptive work alone atones for our sins, and that Christ’s alone reigns forever as Lord and King. So there’s nothing genuine and lasting. He’s not a Christian.
One of the most destructive problems for farmers is weeds, especially the noxious kind that choke out any productivity in a new plant. The thorns and weeds may be lurking beneath the surface, having been temporarily removed from view by a frost or superficial clearing. But as the newly scattered seeds begin to germinate so do the noxious weeds; and before long, the unwanted plants choke out the life and productivity of the farmer’s good sowing. “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.” Hear the explanation of Jesus Christ. “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” There’s no question that the seed was sown with a view to bearing fruit. The soil appeared to be ready to receive the seeds. And the seeds did germinate and begin to poke their blades through the soil. But before there could be fruitfulness, the noxious thorns wove their roots around the plant beneath the soil, and hovered over and wrapped prickly arms around the tender foliage above the soil. What seemed so promising becomes so disappointing. Mere foliage is never the farmer’s goal. He plants the seed to see fruit borne. That’s the same point of Christ in the story. As John MacArthur put it, “Salvation is manifested by fruit, not foliage” [www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg2299.htm, pg. 5].
Here again is another of the common pictures that we’ve seen among evangelical churches in the South. The gospel is proclaimed; people respond and seem to show such good prospect of becoming faithful believers. But they never settled their heart loyalty upon Christ alone. They wanted to be Christians and popular with the world. They wanted to be Christians and be shaped by the culture. They wanted to be Christians and be ruled by wealth and things. They never turned from their idols. They never abandoned other loves and heart affections for Christ alone.
If there’s no fruit then there’s no life. “It becomes unfruitful,” Jesus explained. The “it” to which He referred is the gospel seed. The gospel did not produce fruit in the life. “The message is not the problem…,” explains Ligon Duncan, “The heart is the problem—and Jesus is pressing that home to both us and to His disciples” [“The Sower: Told and Explained,” www.fpcjackson.org]. This choking by the weeds is what Spurgeon says happens when “any inferior pursuit becomes the master of our minds and the cause of God and truth take a secondary place… Whatever the pursuit is, short of the glory of God, it is a thorn and there is no use in it” [Spurgeon, pg. 8, 11].
Let me be quite candid. I shudder to think of how many I have baptized through the years that are clearly described by this portion of the parable. They seemed to be so serious about Christ. They pledged to follow Jesus. They heard the gospel laid out, and were told to count the cost and to take up their cross and follow Christ. But they professed Christ with divided loyalties in their heart. I’ve realized how fallible I am in discerning what goes on in anyone’s heart. I have enough trouble discerning my own heart much less someone else’s. Yet what I’ve come to see with certainty is this. When the gospel has truly taken root in a life it will produce fruit. If the professing Christian remains “unfruitful,” then he’s just like those hot mince pies that Spurgeon talked about. That’s just what they’re called; it’s not what they are. He may be called a Christian but without fruit, he is not a Christian.
What does Jesus mean about being fruitful? It means that the evidences of His indwelling life begin to surface in the true believer. The fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control—develop regularly in the believer. He doesn’t have perfect expression of these aspects of Christ’s character but he has growth in them; each of these areas pops through the surface of the life as evidence that Christ dwells within. It is shown in the way that he loves the brethren. John identifies this over and over in his first epistle as an evidence of true Christianity. He loves the brethren and loves to be with them and serve them. Along with that, he loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. Just as his Lord is holy, he wants to be holy in his walk. He delights in the gospel and in seeing others come to the knowledge of Christ. He longs to see Jesus Christ worshiped and glorified. More can be added, but I think this gives at least some measure of what our Lord had in mind with fruitfulness.
While we cannot measure the amount of seed sown by fourths and deduct that only one-fourth of the gospel seed took root and produced fruit, we can surmise that many hear the gospel without it taking root. By the same token, we can surmise that the gospel seed sown in faithfulness will produce fruit. “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” Jesus explains that this is seed “sown on the good soil.” What makes it good? He doesn’t address that in this parable. He just states the fact of it. He calls it good because this soil of the heart not only hears but understands and produces fruit. We can analyze this theologically and speak of the electing grace of God, the plowing work of the law, the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the effectual calling through the gospel by the Spirit, the grace given to repent and believe. But Jesus doesn’t consider that needed to make His point. There’s good soil and it produces good fruit.
We have two givens when considering what He means by “good soil.” First, “there’s none good who does good, there is not even one” (Rom. 3:12). He’s not speaking of one being inherently good and therefore eligible to receive the gospel by his own goodness. Second, “for by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). Jesus is not teaching works-righteousness by which one merits salvation because he has done so many good works. If that were the case, then he could claim partial responsibility for his salvation. He could boast before God. So, we must not take a picture that Jesus gives in a parable and create some kind of theological foundation that thoroughly contradicts the balance of Scripture.
Something has happened to make the soil good. I think that it is found in the distinction made between the first three soils and the last. The first heard the word of the kingdom “and does not understand.” The next two heard but nothing is said about understanding. Then comes the good soil: “this is the man who hears the word and understands it.” The gospel makes sense! He sees Christ alone as his Savior, Redeemer, and Lord. He sees that there’s no other rival to his affections for Christ. He sees that Christ has died to deliver him from sin’s penalty but also from its power. He sees that Christ saves him to make him a holy person that will always be marked by love and faithfulness to Christ. He understands that the gospel is not about making him happy but rather making him holy. Certainly, it is by grace that the sinner understands the gospel!
And such a person that hears and understands “indeed bears fruit.” It’s emphatic. When the gospel is sown on such a heart that hears and understands the price Christ paid and the demands of the cross for the disciple, he “indeed bears fruit.” There are no cookie-cutter patterns here. Some bear more fruit than others; but all in whom the gospel has taken root will bear fruit: “some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” That same fruit lacking in those with a shallow response to the gospel and those with divided loyalties in the heart will indeed be borne in the one that has heard and understood the gospel.
Four kinds of soils—four kinds of heart responses to the gospel; that’s what Jesus explained in this parable. He has described your heart. It’s found among these four soils. Only one, the last one, can be called a Christian. The rest either clearly reject the gospel or prove out over time that their profession was empty and vain.
If you see yourself in any of the soils other than the last, then God has shown mercy by bringing that to your attention. Call upon Him to show you mercy and give you grace to understand the gospel and follow after Jesus Christ. Plead for Him to save you and make you fruitful for His glory.
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