The Sower

That same day, Jesus and His disciples left the house, moved to the shore of the Sea of Galilee, and sat down. And large crowds were gathering there, with people coming from town after town. Such large crowds gathered around Jesus that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.

And as the crowds continued to gather, Jesus began teaching the people about the kingdom of heaven in a series of parables. He began saying, “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

“Some seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. And the seedlings sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root and no moisture.

“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with the seedlings and choked them, and they yielded no crop.

“Still other seed fell on good soil, where they sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—some bearing thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and some a hundredfold.”

Then Jesus added, “They who have ears to hear, let them hear.”

Jesus spoke the word to the crowds with many such parables, to the extent that they could understand. Jesus did not tell them anything without using a parable. But later, privately, He explained everything to His disciples. They asked Him, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”

Jesus replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of God—has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken away from them. To those on the outside, I express everything in parables, so that,

‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or may not understand.’ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise, they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them, and they would be forgiven.’”

“But blessed are your eyes because they see, and blesses are your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and they longed to hear what you hear but did not hear it.”

In speaking in parables, Jesus also fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: “I will open My mouth in parables; I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Do you not understand this parable? Then how will you understand any of the parables?”

“Now, this is the meaning of the parable of the sower: The farmer sows the word; the message of the kingdom. Some are like the seeds along the path. They hear the message of the kingdom but do not understand it. Then, the evil one (Satan; the devil) comes and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

“Some are like the seeds sown on rocky ground. They hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But they themselves have no root, and they believe for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

“Others are like the seeds sown among the thorns. They hear the word, but as they go on their way, the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful; their fruit does not mature.

“But others are like the seeds sown on good soil. These have noble and good hearts. They hear the word, understand it, receive it, cling to it, and by persevering, they indeed bear fruit, producing a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold

(See Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20, 33-35; Luke 8:4-15)

(Referenced: Deuteronomy 29:4, Psalm 78:2; Isaiah 6:9–10, Isaiah 42:20, Jeremiah 5:21, and Ezekiel 12:2; Joel 3:13)

(Editor's Note: "Kingdom of...": In these series of parables of Jesus on the kingdom of God, the Gospel of Matthew uses the term "kingdom of heaven" while the Gospels of Mark and Luke use the term "kingdom of God." In these passages, the two terms are the same and the term which is used is at the preference of the writer.)

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