Many times, the parable confounds the wise of the world as it uses subject matter that is considered “beneath” their concern, but the parable can be a great source of understanding to the poor of this world as it uses a poor, working man’s knowledge.  Our Lord even told His disciples (which is relevant for us today), “Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.” (Mark 4:11-12)

To the disciple of Christ, God reveals the mystery of the kingdom of heaven through this manner of teaching, but to those that are without, it appears as just foolishness and vain jangling.  When the preaching of the gospel today is proclaimed in much demonstration of the Spirit and with power, it is the power of God unto salvation unto them that believe, but to them that perish, it is just foolishness. (I Corinthians 1:18) Therefore, when looking at the parables that Christ spoke, they should show forth the power of God to us as the household of faith.

In addition to this, the parable of the sower is vitally important to our understanding of Christ’s teachings.  He declares this great importance to the disciples, “And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?” (Mark 4:13)  Our Lord Himself makes it plain that if we do not understand the true teaching of this parable, then we cannot understand any of the rest that follow.  This is the first parable He gave, and we must rightly divide what He teaches to the glory of God, edification of the saints, and in this case, the utilization of further understanding in other teachings.

We will attempt to journey through the four pieces of ground that our Lord talks about in this parable and show forth that all pieces of ground represent His children at different seasons in their lives.  The walk of a child of God has different appearances due to the current state of discipleship (or lack thereof), and these 4 plots of ground show forth the different seasons that we find ourselves in over the course of our natural lives.  Then, knowing the dangers and pitfalls from Christ’s explanation of the parable, we can then proceed with the proper course of action for rectifying problems and above all, bringing forth acceptable fruit to God. 

Before launching into this effort, we must first lay the foundation found in II Timothy 2:19, which states, “Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his.  And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.”  While this parable does talk about children of God at different seasons, this parable (or any other teaching of the Bible) should not be used to try to prove in our daily lives who is a child of God and who is not.  We see positive evidences in different respects, but the final chair of authority of this matter sits in heaven, and we should be content to leave it with Him.

Way Side

The first plot of ground mentioned is the way side or what we might think of as fallow ground.  In the three gospel accounts, the way side has seed sown by the sower that gets plucked up by the fowls of the air.  Since the ground is fallow (having no depth or furrow to lodge in), it becomes an easy target for birds to carry away.

When Christ begins the explanation of the parable, He declares that the seed is the word.  This word is preached (sown) by the sower in a “broadcast” fashion.  The expression “broadcast” is an old farming term that means scattered in every direction.  If a farmer sowed seed in his field in a “broadcast” manner, his scattering will find many different areas of ground.  Some of the seed will land in furrowed areas and others will land outside the furrows in thorny, fallow, or stony ground.  The sower proceeds in this manner, and the gospel minister today has little idea sometimes what kind of ground he sows to in the congregation.  There may be a little of all types in one congregation, but the preaching is done in this way.

Now, some declare that the word sown by the way side cannot be a child of God as Satan carries it away.  However, our Lord plainly declares that the word sown is sown in the heart. (Mark 4:15) The word that the minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ preaches and proclaims will find no lodging (even temporarily) in the heart of a goat.  When Stephen preached to some in an unregenerate state in Acts 7, it found no lodging but rather cut them right down TO the heart.  The preached word will NEVER go IN the heart of one that is not of the Lord.

So, why does Satan or the wicked one carry it away?  The reason Satan carries off the preached word is because the plot of ground lacks understanding. (Matthew 13:19) When God regenerates one of His children by His Spirit, God does not immediately endow His child with profound knowledge of all or many spiritual things.  It takes much time, study, meditation, and pressing into the kingdom to learn of what has been done for us and what our behaviour should be (breaking up the fallow clods of this body). 

Now, we need to discern the difference between the heart and the mind for the application of certain concepts in this parable.  The word sown in the heart shows forth that the heart can receive this word.  The heart naturally is hard and stony, but spiritually (after regeneration) made a heart of flesh. (Ezekiel 36:25-26) We use the mind for the service of the Lord.  Paul declared at the close of the discussion on the warfare of a child of God that his mind served the law of God.  (Romans 7:25) So, the difference between the heart and the mind is that the Lord makes one new, and we use the other in service to that new-found life.

The reason that this is so important is that our minds (what we serve with) can become clouded if the flesh (clods of ground) start crowding in.  The heart is alive and changed (with Christ as its image), but the mind can be overrun by the body if we do not serve the Lord in newness of life.  “For thus saith the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem, Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.” (Jeremiah 4:3) Breaking up this fallow ground means that we clear the clods out so that the mind has its understanding and vision clear for the plow of service.  So, this account shows that the joy of the service (coming from the preached word) is taken from the heart.  The heart is still intact, alive, and holy, but the joy of the Lord has been stolen, making our minds cloudy and our service weak.

Sometimes in my life I am blessed to be in the Lord’s service carried away above this world in the mountain of our God.  Then, sometimes just moments after the service ends, I find myself again without understanding (in the mind) for not applying the instruction that I heard.  We are commanded to grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (II Peter 3:18) If we do not increase our understanding, we are ill-prepared to stand against the wiles of the devil and are subject to having the preached word stolen from us for not keeping it in memory (or in mind) as we should. (I Corinthians 15:2)

We cannot lose our eternal home, beloved, but our joy of His salvation is subject to be removed based on our laziness.  So, the way side ground can be representative of a babe in Christ (in understanding), but fallow ground can also come about due to lack of cultivation.  As stewards of the mysteries of God, it is required that we be faithful in our duties.  If we “rest on our laurels” so to speak, the ground can become hardened and unreceptive to the preached word.  Then, we will find ourselves in paths that are not pleasing to our heavenly Father.

Stony Ground

The stony ground is probably where I meet most of the Lord’s children outside the Lord’s church, and I am apt to find myself very quickly in the stony ground if I am not careful.  The stony ground comes about primarily from lack of cultivation.  When you find a farm that has rocks in the field and furrows, you will also find a lazy farmer.  Rocks and stones seem to continually find lodging in this low ground of sin and sorrow.

As with all the pieces of ground, this particular plot MUST be children of God.  When Christ explains the parable, He declares that they on the stony ground are they that hear the word and receive it with joy. (Matthew 13:20) Now, the Holy Scriptures declare that joy is the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22-23) Fruit is a manifestation of the root or cause of the matter, so this plot must be born of the Spirit to be able to manifest joy.

As we differentiated the heart and mind above, we now will seek to do the same with joy and happiness.  Happiness is an emotion that all men have as a result of something going according to their desires.  When a natural man gets his way (whether it be more money, fame, or friends), he will be happy about his circumstance.  However, joy is not synonymous with this emotion.  Many times, joy accompanies happiness, but true joy comes from within and comes from an overflowing of a glad heart.  Consider a funeral service for a loved one.  Naturally, there is nothing to be happy about.  How could the flesh have anything to glory in on this occasion? 

However, joy can come if one sees that their loved one has been relieved of all suffering, affliction, and tribulation.  Indeed, sorrow results over the loss of the fellowship, but joy also results at the calling of another precious child of God to heaven and immortal glory.  The crucifixion of Christ similarly follows this situation:  much sorrow exists in thinking of that event because our sins put Him there; but, much joy also exists in thinking of what great things He has done for us and how much we have to look forward to.

Seeing then that the stony ground must be speaking of children of God, how is it applicable?  Our Lord says that these receive it with joy, and then the sun withers them; for, they have no depth of root or earth.  When looking at the natural realm, a plant that springs up from amongst the stones has no strength, and it can easily be dashed.  When viewing the spiritual realm, no depth of earth comes when we fill our minds with the stones of life.  By filling our minds with the notions of man, we do not put self aside for our Master.

Notice that our Lord says the reason these fell away from lack of depth was because they were offended when afflictions arose for the word’s sake. (Mark 4:17) The Lord’s children that reside in stony ground are easily offended, and they do not earnestly contend for the faith once delivered to the saints. (Jude 3) It takes great discipline of mind to put self aside and shamelessly follow the Lamb.  It takes great humility and stripping of pride to not only love your friends but love your enemies as well.

Notice the multitude that followed Christ in John 6.  He fed them with natural loaves in the miracle of the feeding of 5,000, and He fed them with spiritual loaves in the teaching of Himself as the bread of life.  During His sermon, He reproves their prideful attitude for holding on to Moses and the law as their strength and comfort.  Finally, many of them say, “This is an hard saying; who can hear it?” (John 6:60) Then, a few verses later we read, “From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.” (John 6:66)

These disciples quit following after the Lamb of God, for they could not remove their own selfish pride.  It is a hard saying sometimes to forget the things of the flesh (rocks).  We have our own notions of the way things ought to be, and we demonstrate much pride if we continue holding on to them.  When someone thinks highly of himself, he will not enjoy hearing how worthless and wretched we were by nature, and we had absolutely nothing to do with our eternal redemption.  Sometimes, our minds have a rock in them that says, “You’re not so bad; there is a spark of good in everyone.”

These rocks need “chunking” into the ditch and out of the field.  When labouring in the vineyard of the Lord, sometimes our minds need cleaning before we can properly focus on the field of labour in the kingdom.  After we remove the stones, then we will not be offended when persecutions and afflictions arise.  Rather, we can rejoice as the Apostles did that they were counted worthy to suffer these reproaches for His name’s sake. (Acts 5:41)

Thorny Ground

Thorny ground in the natural world comes as a direct result of sin.  One of God’s first curses was upon the ground.  He cursed it so that it brought forth thorns and thistles, and man has to work the ground to earn the bread that he eats. (Genesis 3:17-19) In a spiritual sense, we must work our ground to lay aside the sin that doth so easily beset us and run our race with patience looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith. (Hebrews 12:2)

We have laboured to prove that the way side and thorny ground represent children of God in different seasons, and we contend the same for the thorny ground.  When looking at the accounts, both Matthew and Mark use the term that the cares of life choke the word so that it becometh “unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:22, Mark 4:19) In Luke’s account, the term used is that it brought “no fruit unto perfection.” (Luke 8:14) These terms talk of the same thing, and some might use them to prove that this lack of perfect fruit and unfruitful state is descriptive of the non-elect.  However, let us consider another passage that has similar language.

“And beside all this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.  For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.” (II Peter 1:5-9)

Here, Peter instructs the disciple of Christ on what to do.  After God imparts the faith in regeneration, we need to be up and about the Master’s business to add some things for His glory and our benefit.  What is the end result of not doing these things?  The end result is that we are barren and UNFRUITFUL.  We have no knowledge, and while we may have once known about the work of Jesus Christ purging us from our old sins (different season of life), the current state is such that we are blind and without this wonderful knowledge.

Consider the plant that grows up among thorns.  It has some springing forth (under the preaching of the gospel or sowing of the seed), but the thorns choke out what shoots forth.  These things that choke out are referred to as the “cares of this world” or the “deceitfulness of riches.”  Certainly, we have examples of the Lord’s children that have fallen into this circumstance.  The thorns in the world kept them from following and attending to the preaching of the gospel in spirit and in truth.

Consider the case of the rich, young ruler in Mark 10.  We need not have to wonder whether he is a child of God or not, for the Scriptures boldly proclaim that Christ loved him.  Therefore, we do not question that state of the man.  However, even though he seems earnest in his venture to seek out the place of our Lord, what does he do in the end?  He runs to Jesus seeking something, but what he finds directly conflicts with the riches he has gained in this world.  The riches that he had blinded (deceived) him and turned him away from the plain teaching of Christ to leave the wealth of the world behind to follow the Lord.  He sorrowed because the world’s wealth was his prime motivation, whereas others, like Moses, left the riches of the world to suffer the reproach of Christ. (Hebrews 11:25-26)

Having addressed the phrase “deceitfulness of riches,” let us look at the other phrase “cares of this world.”  The thorns also describe the cares of life, and certainly many things pull our attention in many places.  We all have cares and trials, but the thorny ground refers to those that let those cares keep their attention.  If thorns and the plant grow together, the thorns are positioned in such a way to focus the attention downward instead of upward.  We are worried about getting pricked instead of looking to be fed.

When Peter was blessed to walk on water with his Master, it is obvious that there were waves and tempests when he was walking on the water. (Matthew 14:22-33)  However, when did he sink?  He began to sink when he focused his eyes on those raging billows and waves.  The cares of life will never be non-existent for the child of God this side of heaven and immortal glory.  However, their existence is no excuse to take our eyes off Jesus.  One of the greatest pitfalls we can fall into is thinking that after baptism, confession, repentance, or any of these other acts of obedience that our life will become rosy, sweet, and blissful.  We will experience blissful seasons with whiffs of the world to come while pressing into the kingdom, but our lives are more difficult after these things as Satan tries to direct our eyes downward instead of homeward.

As the fallow ground needed breaking and the stones needed chunking, the thorns need uprooting.  When a thorn (weed) of riches or care springs up, we need to take it from our eyes.  We are all susceptible to idolatry of some form or fashion, and sometimes they come very quickly.  Weeds always grow faster than the plants we try to grow, and therefore, we need to be continually weeding the briars of life out and pressing toward the mark in our lives that Jesus Christ has set.

Good Ground

The good ground needs no explanation as to a gracious state by the Almighty as He bestows all good gifts and perfect gifts. (James 1:17) If we have anything in our lives that can be called good, then the root cause and source must be the source of all goodness.  However, this ground still has degrees of fruitfulness.  In all of the other plots of ground, we found that the fruit-bearing aspect was lacking, but even in the good ground, we find that some bring forth more than others (30, 60, and 100).

So, let us consider the parallel passages to discover how we can be more fruitful in our walk and service to our Master.  In the account of Luke 8, there is only mention of 100 fold fruit.  In Mark 4 and Matthew 13, they mention some 30 some 60 and some 100.  So, what is the difference?  Since Luke only mentions 100 fold fruit, let us look at the close of that explanation.

“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Luke 8:15) Notice this 100 fold fruit fulfilled three categories.  They heard the word, kept the word, and brought forth fruit with patience. 

When one hears the word of the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed in demonstration of the Spirit and with power, a tender heart from the Lord receives His word and desires to serve Him in gratitude for His goodness.  Notice that this good ground is ready for the preaching.  Good ground is ploughed, furrowed, and rowed up for the seed to take root in.  There is much preparation that needs to be done before even reaching the Lord’s house.  If we arrive in an unprepared state, we may be as one of the first three plots of ground.

However, if we receive the word with all readiness of mind, there is a blessing in knowing the things that the Lord reveals in His word through preaching.  Even those at Thessalonica believed under the sound of Paul and Silas’s preaching. (Acts 17:4) While they did not do much after that, there was still some evidence and fruit that Paul and Silas were seeing productivity in the work of the gospel at this place.  Therefore, those that hear the gospel and believe are those that bring forth fruit 30 fold.  Let us never be found minimizing the importance of believing in Jesus Christ under the sound of the gospel trumpet.  It has great importance to us as believers, and the glory of the Lord is magnified in this behaviour.

Still, the labour of love in discipleship does not end with receiving the word from the preaching of the gospel.  One of the predominant teachings of the Bible is that we should seek to serve Him at all times.  We should not serve Him one hour of one day every week.  So, after receiving the gospel with all readiness of mind, we need to keep it or apply it to our lives.  Shortly after Paul and Silas removed from Thessalonica, they encountered the folks at Berea.  These were more noble than those at Thessalonica for a very important reason.

Those at Thessalonica stopped at the point of believing in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Due to this shortened view, they did not keep the word by searching the Scriptures daily to see if Paul and Silas’s teachings were so.  After receiving the word, we need to keep it, and study to shew ourselves approved unto God. (II Timothy 2:15) In so doing, we should not be ashamed of what others might say, for we seek acceptance from on High and not from beneath.  The preacher cannot fully delve into all the aspects of the Bible in one ministerial lifetime.  Even if he could, not everyone would hear all of his efforts.  There needs to be attendance given by the hearers to the word at times other than the services and days of feasting.

So we see that hearing the word needs to be followed closely with keeping the word and being diligent in our efforts.  These that keep the word, having received it, and continue to search it are the 60 fold fruit.  So, one might inquire, “After hearing and keeping, what more must be done?” 

Hearing the word, knowing what to do, and keeping the word should make a difference in our walk.  When people see our mannerisms, behaviour, manner of conversation, and conduct with our brethren, they should see something different in us than what they see in the world.  One can sit under the sound of the gospel and keep the words of the gospel that are sown into the heart, but bringing forth fruit with patience manifests to others that the gospel has lodged in their heart.  Our Adamic nature that still resides in this body of death does not have patience, which makes fruit bearing inherently difficult.

Our world today could be aptly described as an “instant gratification society.”  We desire everything yesterday, today is too late, and tomorrow is an eternity to wait.  Many of us experience trials far less in magnitude than our forefathers yet they seem to impact us as if they were great mountains to scale.  Even with furrowed ground that has the fallow clods broken up, the weeds, briars, and thorns removed, and all the rocks and stones chunked over the fencerow, things will still creep in.  Every farmer knows that one weeding is not enough.  The wind will continue to bring the rocks back into the field.  Without constant breaking and tilling, the clods will gather once more.

Therefore, after having been fruitful, we need to be patient and diligent to bring forth even more fruit.  To be the ground that brings forth fruit 100 fold takes patience and effort that I am afraid I have failed miserably at in my endeavours.  When a trouble arises shortly after the Lord’s service, our daily prayers, meditations, or studies, we should look past it toward our heavenly home that has righteousness dwelling there forevermore. 

When looking at discipleship, no one (save Jesus) suffered more in the flesh than the Apostle Paul.  II Corinthians 11 lays out the sufferings that he endured for the sake of preaching the gospel.  And yet, Paul willingly suffered shame, reproach, and affliction for his Lord, for there was nothing worth anything more to Paul than Jesus.  “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” (Galatians 6:14)

When we know and understand that Jesus has suffered for us like no man has suffered, we can then glory in the fact that what we have to bear is light and but for a moment.  When by faith we can see that our present sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, what could possibly be worthy of holding our affection away from Him?  He has prepared for us a home that far exceeds anything beyond our wildest imagination.

Therefore, knowing these things what manner of persons ought we to be?  Shortly after that question Peter tells us to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.  To him be glory both now and for ever.  Amen.” (II Peter 3:18) When we have heard the gospel proclaimed and have dedicated ourselves to keeping it, we need to constantly seek to bring forth more fruit.  This duty is never-ending (this side of glory), for growth should never cease.  When we diligently seek Him in all of our endeavours, He has promised to be with us in our efforts. (II Chronicles 7:14)

Finally, the glory for our growth in grace and knowledge should be focused on one singular Person as we bring forth more and more fruit.  We do it for His glory and not ours.  When one does these things and another gets the credit, a faithful disciple of Jesus Christ will not get bent out of shape for not receiving the credit.  To the gospel minister, the Lord gets the credit for good preaching.  To the obedient follower, the Master gets the praise for the acts and deeds of charity.  He and He alone is worthy of all glory, honour, and adulation.

Summary

So, we see from this parable that our Lord is not speaking to divide sheep from goats as He will do at the end of time.  Rather, He is showing the different periods that we endure and travel through in the course of our lives as His children.  We may become hardened by our own pride, or we may break it up in preparation for His cause.  We may idolize our weeds and thorns, or we may pluck them out of our lives to be fruitful for His name’s sake.  We may be beaten by the rocks of pride and stones of life, or we may tell them to be removed into yonder place to set our affection on the One who sits upon the throne.

The different seasons, phases, and levels of discipleship can be hard to see in accounts like this.  When considering regeneration, one is either regenerate or one is not.  There is no gradient or slope, but it is a binary situation.  However, discipleship resembles a graded curve that we should be seeking to go up and not slide down.  While our walk may be noble during one hour, it may be dishonorable the next.  We can never lose our relationship to God, but our fellowship with Him, in large part, comes from our obedience to His commandments and precepts.  “Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.” (Hosea 10:12)

Therefore, knowing these things, may we seek the higher ground that comes from bringing forth manifold fruit in His service.  Sometimes, He will even purge us when we bring forth fruit.  We think of purging that comes from being unfruitful.  However, He also purges us when we are bringing forth fruit for the sole purpose of bringing forth more fruit. (John 15:2) Therefore, let us not be weary in well doing, but let us ever without any recourse or shame earnestly follow our Lord all the days of our lives to bring forth much fruit for His glory.  Only then can we be called His disciples. (John 15:8)

Philip N. Conley

Written: October 19, 2006

Revised: October 25, 2006

Revised: January 23, 2007

Revised: February 1, 2007