Jesus tended to tell parables in bunches, and this is the beginning of the first of those bunches. You will notice that each of these texts is broken into two parts, with verses missing in between. Those are the verses we covered in our Introduction because they give Jesus’ reason for speaking in parables. Recalling that the reason He gave was that people with eyes that see and ears that hear will get the meaning, and the rest will not, you can easily see His application of that principle in these texts. Thus, we can say that Jesus anticipated that most people will choose not to hear His true message.
Mark 4:1-9; 13-20
Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”
Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
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Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”
Matt. 13:1-9; 19-23
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
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Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Luke 8:4-8; 11-15
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.”
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“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.
In Matthew’s Gospel, this event takes place right in the middle of a section that recounts the growing Jewish opposition to Jesus. Increasingly, Jesus is really only preaching to His disciples, and you can see that in this case. In Mark’s account, this is a time when Jesus is still teaching about the Kingdom, but problems are growing.
It’s important to note here that each of the four Gospels is aimed at a different audience. Matthew is writing primarily to a Jewish audience and ties the story of Jesus into the larger context of Jewish history and prophecy. Mark is writing to a largely Roman audience, who take little notice of Jewish tradition, and concentrate on action and deeds. Luke is writing to a largely Greek readership and brings in mostly straight history. John, who doesn’t record any parable per se, is writing from a heavenly viewpoint, and gives the spiritual and strategic view of things.
These distinctions are often very subtle.
Notice that the real point Jesus is making here, is that, for whatever reason, most people are not going to receive His message. In our time, preachers and even teachers tend to emphasize the obstacles to receiving the message; a preacher might preach a sermon on rocky soil, for example. It has been a long time since I heard a sermon about good soil, and the results of the seed falling there. A disciple who makes disciples, multiplying 30 times, or 60 times or 100 times.
Jesus is teaching that lesson, and it would seem that only His disciples are likely to take His point. Thus, for a disciple of Christ, this is a rather important teaching in troubled times.
“Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”
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