The Parable of the Sower and the Seed

We studied Matthew Chapters 5-12 and saw that Jesus was trying to turn the Jewish people from the Law to grace.  The parable of the sower and the seed is about the same subject.  Jesus is sowing the gospel or word of grace to the Jews, who were entrenched in trying to keep the Law for salvation.  The whole overriding view of this parable is that the gospel, the word of grace, needs to be given to the unbelieving world.  Then the kingdom of God is opened up to them when they believe.  God comes to live in them.

Read Matthew 13:1-9  Verse 9 says, He who has ears to hear, let him hear (keep on hearing).  He is specifically talking about hearing the word of grace, which is the gospel.  Notice the time frames mentioned.

Matt. 13:10-13  The disciples ask Jesus why He spoke in parables.  Jesus said, "Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given."  Mark 4:11 substitutes the phrase kingdom of God for the kingdom of heaven referred to in Matthew, so they are the same thing.  Paul would have heard and studied this teaching, and defines the kingdom of God in Romans 14:17 as righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  When we understand righteousness by faith apart from our works, which is grace, we experience peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.  Also look at Romans 10:4-10.  Paul declares that the word of faith is actually the teaching of righteousness by faith apart from our works, which is grace.  So the parable is about sowing the gospel or word of grace to the Jewish people, who were stuck approaching God by the works of the Law, which brings us condemnation.  When we approach God by His grace, the mysteries of the kingdom of God will be made known to us.  The kingdom of God is within us.  If we approach God by our own works and effort, we will not understand the kingdom of God within us.
Verse 12 "For whoever has (ears to hear, specifically to understand grace), more will be given (more understanding of the mysteries of the kingdom of God), and he will have an abundance (of revelation); whoever does not have (ears to hear grace), even what (understanding) he has will be taken from him. 
Vs. 13 "Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing (the miracles) they do not see (perceive how the miracles are done), and hearing (the gospel), they do not hear, nor do they understand (the gospel or grace).  This is what Mark 4:13 means when Jesus said, "Do you not understand this parable (teaching)?  How then will you understand all the parables (teachings)?  If we don't understand grace, we will misinterpret the rest of scripture.

Vs. 14-15 A quote from Isaiah 6.  "Hearing (the gospel) you will hear and not understand (God's grace), and seeing (the miracles that Jesus did) you will see and not perceive (how the miracles were accomplished); for the hearts of this people have grown dull (over time).  Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand (understand grace) with their hearts and turn (change their way of thinking) so that I should heal them."  Notice the phrase "grown dull".  Hebrews 5:11-13 uses this phrase.  Hebrews was written to Jews who had turned to Christ, but were being tempted to return to the Law because of intense persecution from their Jewish brothers.  They had grown dull of hearing grace, and were unskilled in the word of righteousness by faith apart from the works of the Law.  So both Paul in the book of Romans, and the writer of Hebrews, which may have been Paul also, interprets this parable as being about righteousness or grace.

Jesus is describing how He accomplished His miracles.  As He preached the gospel, it caused faith to rise in the hearts of people.  As the people believe the gospel, His power is made available and heals them.  

Vs. 19  When anyone hears the word of the kingdom (of God, which is righteousness and grace), and does not understand it, then the wicked one (Satan) comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.  This is a non-Christian.  He heard the gospel, the word of grace, and doesn't understand it, so he is not born again by the Word of God.

Vs. 20-21 "But he who receives the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word (of the kingdom, the gospel) and immediately receives it with joy (understanding grace will bring joy), yet he has no root in himself (he does not become rooted and grounded in God's unconditional love for him, Ephesians 3:17), but endures (in the teaching of grace) only for a while.  For when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles (he goes back to a work or performance mentality).  The whole world operates on a performance based system or mentality.  But notice that he has received the word.  He is born again.  Tribulation is what takes place on the inside of us.  These are the trials that Paul, Peter, and James discuss in the epistles.  As we hear the gospel and believe it, that word of righteousness is challenged by our conscience that condemns us when we fail and also by our flesh, which is not yet redeemed.  Persecution occurs from others who oppose us as we walk out our faith.

Vs. 22 (same as Mark 4:18-19  "Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things (these desires are the lusts of the flesh described in Galatians 5) entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."  These are Christians who have received the gospel, the message of grace, but get caught up in the works of the flesh, and the message of grace becomes unfruitful in their lives.  They are not experiencing the love, joy and peace they were meant to.  The works of the flesh are sometimes appealing and enticing, but come with thorns, which cause us pain. 

The epistles were written to give clarification to what is written in the gospels. For example, the book of Galatians is written to admonish believers in the two areas listed in Matthew 13:20-22. These verses represent the two ditches on the side of the road of the Christian walk.  On the one side is legalism or a works mentality; on the other side is the works of the flesh, which cause us pain.  Galatians chapters 1-4 and part of chapter 5 admonish the believers not to fall back into a works mentality.  Galatians 5:13-26 admonish the believers not to fulfill the works of the flesh.  Paul is saying in Galatians 5 that if we spend our time practicing the works of the flesh, we will not inherit or walk in the kingdom of God, which is within us.  The kingdom of God within us is the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace, etc.  He is not saying that if Christians practice the works of the flesh that they will not go to heaven.  We have all practiced the works of the flesh at some point in our lives.

Vs. 23 "But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word (of the kingdom, which is grace) and understands it, who indeed bears fruit (they experience the love, joy and peace they are meant for, and share that with others) and produces, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

Keith Oliver