Matthew 13:1-11,18-23
(Mark 4:2-20, Luke 8:4-15)
Introduction to Parables:
They were not simply analogies meant to clarify a point Jesus was trying to make. To some people they were meant to hide the meaning. A parable left unexplained by the author is more like a riddle without the answer.
Parable comes from the Greek word Parabole (para meaning ‘something along side of something else’). It is taking something external and abstract, comparing to something understandable and relatable.
Parables are meant to make a point to the audience concerning the topic of the context. We cannot assign meaning to every detail of the parable and pull out spiritual meaning (e.g. In the parable of the lost coin, the woman had to clean her house to find the coin, so we must also clean ourselves up before we can find the treasure of God’s Kingdom) The interpretation must also be consistent with the rest of Scripture.
In the parallel passage in Mark (verse 13) Jesus says that unless you understand the Parable of the Soils, you won’t be able to understand the other parables he shares. So this one is quite important in understanding a large portion of Jesus’ teaching.
The Parable:
Wayside Soil:
Paths around the edges of the fields that people walked on often in traveling between cities or getting to the fields.
Very hard ground that wasn’t plowed up.
Rocky Soil:
Not that it had a lot of rocks in it (a good farmer picks out the rocks), but that the soil was shallow with bedrock only a few inches below.
Plants growing here could not establish a good root system, depriving them of proper nutrition.
Thorny/Weedy Soil:
Weeds are never apparent when planting, they show up as your plant begins to grow.
Weeds take away the vital things a growing plant needs (sunlight, water, nutrients).
Good Soil:
Deep, nutritious, soft, clean soil ready to promote growth and an abundant harvest.
Remember that salvation is manifested by fruit, not foliage (John 15:2, 6). The harvest is what matters to the farmer; not a bunch of leaves in the field, but fruit. The only seed that produced fruit was that growing in the good soil.
Explanation:
Sower:
Immediately – Christ, Eventually – anyone who shares the gospel
Seed:
“The Word of God”, the gospel
Wayside Soil:
Gospel never penetrates the soul, so it is easily taken away by the world (it is possible that God will plow up the hard heart sometime after the seed is sown and is not taken away).
No matter how nice or “relevant” you are, there will always be people who are hardened to the gospel.
Rocky Soil:
Enthusiastic, emotional, immediate, superficial profession of faith that is lost because of the inability to go deeper.
Plants in shallow soil spring up quickly because they can’t establish a root system and the energy goes into building upward. When drought and heat (persecution) come, they are the first ones to die off.
This person didn’t count the cost in following Christ and the initial excitement is lost in the realization of the hard truths involved.
Thorny/Weedy Soil:
Superficial commitment without turning back on the things of the world.
A preoccupation with wordly things prevented proper growth and in time this person falls back to the world.
Good Soil:
Only seed to produce fruit.
Not all believers have equal amounts of fruit, but they do show much fruit.
Average harvests produced about a 7.5 yield. When Jesus told the disciples the good soil would yield 30, 60, 100 fold, he was telling them it would be a tremendous harvest. When the seed takes hold in good soil, there is a dramatic transformation that is evidenced by lasting, noticeable fruit over time through difficult trials. He doesn’t say the seed produced a couple of fruits that may be hidden behind a bunch of leaves making the plant look like the fruitless plants.
Jesus told this parable in response to the apparent downturn in His ministry that the disciples saw. The Jewish leaders were rejecting Him, and the disciples thought their mission would be hopeless. Jesus told them there will always be hard-hearted people and false-converts when sharing the gospel, but encouraged them with the promise of good soil and fruit-bearing seed.
Points to Ponder:
What kind of soil are you? If you have a hard heart, ask God to plow the hardness and soften your heart to be transformed by his Word. If you have a shallow soil heart, count the cost of following Christ and ask God to plow deeper and make your faith real and fruitful. If you have a thorny soil heart, repent from worldliness and ask God to cleanse you to receive the gospel with purity.
It is not the talent of the sower, but God working in the heart that produces fruit. There will always be discouragement in sharing the gospel (hard hearts and false conversions), but keep sowing faithfully.
Here is a Great Study Guide for the Parable of the Soils
Here is one of the best messages I have heard, on True and False Conversion, discussing the parable of the soils (Audio or Video).
3 comments:
You are correct on the etymology of the word parable, but there is more. The first half of "parabole" (parable) is para, meaning something along side of something else. But the second half of the word (bole) is the Greek verb "ballow" (like ball-oh) which is "to throw." We then get the literal meaning of parable which is "to throw something along side of something else," clearly to support, enhance, clarify, and illuminate.
While I can't parse the Greek, I can say that your summary of the "Soils" is concisely informative, with little extraneous comment. I'd love to see you bring it home a little more, though, with application to phenomena within the Christian subculture and our personal lives. Without needing to name individual ministries/ministers, you could examine the current trends towards a shallow faith. Good job, bud.
Ooh boy, getting pounded by the pastors. Thanks Kev for the extra Greek info. I hope to get more as I progress.
I would have liked to continue and discuss the Christian sub-culture in reference to the soils, but I am trying to keep these between 30 and 60 minutes and this is long enough itself. We did though slightly touch on what each type of soil might look like in our discussion time.
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