THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST: The Sower and the Seeds

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the birds of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, some an hundred. He said unto them, He that has ears to hear, let him hear.

– Mark 4:3-9

There was a farmer who went out to plant seeds in his field. This was a long time before farmers had tractors and other machines, so he had to plant the seeds by hand. He did this by making a cloth bag with a long strap so he could hang it from his shoulder. Then he would walk back and forth across the field taking handfuls of seed from his bag and scattering them on the ground. This is called sowing seed.

Let's pretend the field was next to a road in the country. Or the field could be a vacant lot in the city with a street next to it. Parts of the field were bumpy and stony, and there were patches of weeds and sticker bushes. In order to get the best crop, the farmer wanted to cover the field with as much seed as he could. So he started at the edge of the field and went right across moving up and down the field sowing his seeds everywhere on the field.

Sometimes a puff of wind would blow the seeds onto the road, or some of the seeds might miss the field when the farmer scattered them near the edge. Birds always notice when a farmer sows seeds in his field. They like to wait until the farmer moves away from the seeds so they can eat them. The seeds that fall on the pavement of the road are easiest for the birds to find, so they quickly gobble them up and the seeds don't even get a chance to sprout.

The seeds that fall on the bumpy and stony parts of the field got a chance to sprout, but when the sun came up, the baby plants couldn't get any water from the hard ground. If baby plants can't get any water, the heat of the sun dries them out and they get all crispy and die.

Some of the seeds fell in the weedy parts of the field. These seeds sprouted and grew at first, but later the weeds grew up around them and used up all the water and sunlight. Weeds always seem to grow faster than the crops that the farmer wants. So these young plants also died before they could make any food.

Lastly, (TaDa!) there were the seeds that fell in the middle of the field, where the ground was soft and moist. These seeds grew up big and strong and made good food that the farmer took home to feed everybody!

When Jesus told this story, He pretended to be the farmer. He also pre-tended that the seed was the good things that He wanted the people to know. These good things are called The Gospel.

The seeds that fell on the pavement were like the people who were sitting around where Jesus was teaching but were not paying attention. The good things that Jesus was telling them went in one ear and out the other! And the birds took them away so that they could not grow and do any good.

The seeds that fell on the hard stony ground were like the people who heard Jesus, and thought that the things He was teaching them sounded good, but they went right out and started playing games and goofing off with their friends. When they were finished playing, they had forgotten all about what Jesus had taught them, so, once again, the good advice didn't do them any good.

Remember the third group of seeds, the ones which fell in the weedy patches? They are like the people who heard Jesus' advice, and thought it sounded good like the second group. They took Jesus' advice, and tried to act like he told them to, and they were doing pretty well for a while. But they also wanted to play and goof with their friends, and their friends didn't want to do what Jesus said to do, so they gradually forgot Jesus' advice and just acted like their friends. So in a little while they were not doing what Jesus said at all.

But the fourth group listened to Jesus, then went home and told their friends and family the good news. They still played with their friends and all, but they remembered what Jesus had taught them, and helped their friends to understand Jesus, too. They lived their whole lives helping their friends to understand Jesus, and so they did a lot of good for all their friends and everybody else!

Thus, we learn that:

1. We, like the Sower (Christ at first) have the responsibility to proclaim the message of the kingdom, the gospel, to the world. It is the Word of God that will produce results.

2. We will be aware that not everyone will receive it by faith. That is not our business; our business is to continue to proclaim the good news.

3. The evidence of those who receive it by faith and act on it is that their lives will change and they will produce righteousness. The evidence of saving faith is a growing spiritual life.

4. The advance of the kingdom, the spiritual life, does not occur instantly, but over time. But it makes continual progress. Those who believe, like the disciples, do not instantly understand it all. But the Spirit of God, using the Word of God, illumines their understanding daily. Eventually, stumbling disciples will become bold apostles.

5. It is our task to know and understand the message well, so that we can present it as clearly and meaningful as possible. The rest is not up to us. And if we do that, we know that only some will receive it. We dare not consider some who share God’s word and see only a small response to be less spiritual or talented than those who share God’s word and see great responses. God gives the increase.