The Parable of the Sower

Luke 8:1-14  NIV

“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another,

proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God…

The Twelve were with Him…

While a large crowd was gathering

and people were coming to Jesus from town after town,

He told this parable:

 ^‘A farmer went out to sow his seed.

 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path;

 it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.

 Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.

 Still other seed fell on good soil

It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.’

When He said this, He called out, ‘Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.’

His disciples asked him what this parable meant.

He said, ‘The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you,

but to others I speak in parables,

 so that, ‘though seeing, they may not see;
though hearing, they may not understand.^‘

This is the meaning of the parable:

‘The seed is the word of God.

Those along the path are the ones who hear,

and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts,

so that they may not believe and be saved.

Those on the rocky ground are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it,

but they have no root.

They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.

 The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear,

but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures,

and they do not mature.

But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart,

who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.'”

The summary…

A sower dropped  seed on the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns, and the seed was lost;

but when seed fell on good earth, it grew, yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.

He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit,

while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes

so that it will be even more fruitful.”

John 15:1-2  NIV

“I am the vine; you are the branches.

If a man remains in Me and I in him,

he will bear much fruit;

apart from Me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not remain in Me,

he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers;

such branches are picked up,

thrown into the fire and burned.”

John 15:5-6  NIV

“Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit,

so you can identify people by their actions.”

Matthew 7:20  NLT

Our goal is to persevere, grow, reach maturity, and produce more fruit!

The person who thoughtfully hears the gospel,

understands its implications,

and then consistently grows and matures,

bears much fruit as a result!

This parable must encourage us to desire and depend on Jesus to plant us in good soil,

where we can persevere through adversity to maturity and fruitfulness,

Anything else is unacceptable!

“But their minds were made dull,

for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read.

It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.

Even to this day when Moses is read,

a veil covers their hearts.

But whenever anyone turns to the Lord,

the veil is taken away.”

2 Corinthians 3:14-16

Amen!