While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told them this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, where it was trampled, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the seedlings withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the seedlings. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprang up and produced a crop—a hundredfold.” As Jesus said this, He called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”- Luke 8:4-8 BSB

Warrior;
The Parable of the Sower, also known as the Parable of the Four Soils, is found in 3 of the 4 Gospels: Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8. These three books are called the Synoptic Gospels. The word “synoptic” comes from the Greek word synoptikos, meaning “able to be seen together.” According to Zondervan Academic: The Bible’s four gospels paint four portraits of Jesus. While each gospel follows him on the same journey, they recount it a little differently. They had their own methods, styles, purposes, audiences, and (probably) sources—making each portrait of Jesus uniquely valuable. Despite their unique qualities, the first three gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—share many of the same accounts of Christ, often shared in the same order and with the same wording. Because of their similar perspectives on Jesus’ ministry, together they’re known as the synoptic gospels. Jesus made sure this story was in 3 of the 4 Gospels, so He must have felt it was important. 3 of the 4 Gospel writers were under the feeling that it was important enough to add in their epistle. Since Jesus felt it was important enough to explain it, and the writers felt it important enough to write about it- we might want to understand its meaning. The Parable of the Sower and the Seed is about the condition of the Heart. Jesus was always concerned with the condition of the heart. He told us it is the condition of the heart that is what makes a man defiled. In Jeremiah we are told the condition of the heart in God’s eyes; The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jeremiah 17:9)

Leader, the Parable of the Sower concerns a Sower who scatters seed, which falls on four different types of soil: The HARD soil “along the path”, Rocky ground, Thorny ground, Good ground. We must learn the HIDDEN LESSON of this parable before we look at the obvious lessons. The most important lesson is this: IT IS THE SAME SEED. Did you get that? IT IS THE SAME SEED. The 4 soils are the FERTILITY of the Heart and the Mind. It is the condition of the soil that is analogous to the condition of the heart. But again, learn the lesson: IT IS THE SAME SEED! The HARD soil “along the path” prevents the seed from sprouting at all, and the seed becomes nothing more than bird food. Hardened hearts and closed minds. People keeping score, keeping records of wrongs, and pounds of flesh. Jesus would call this casting our PEARLS before swine. IN other words, giving the GOLD OF GOD to those who feel it is fairy-tale fodder. It will be scoffed at and pushed away. “But the people’s minds were hardened, and to this day whenever the old covenant is being read, the same veil covers their minds so they cannot understand the truth. And this veil can be removed only by believing in Christ.”- 2 COR 3:14

Conduit, the STONY soil provides enough soil for the seeds to germinate and begin to grow, but because there is “no deepness of earth,” the plants do not take root and are soon withered in the sun. These are the people that want easy believism. Usually have an emotional experience but are not doing the activity to delve deeper. This could also include ‘Jailhouse’ religionists- those whose lot in life dictates their distance to God. The worse their life is- the closer they are to God, the better their life gets- the more distant they become to God. The THORNY soil allows the seed to grow, but the competing thorns choke the life out of the beneficial plants. This is where people never pick sides. They never realize that you must pick a Kingdom. The Kingdom of God, or the Kingdom of the world; The Kingdom of Darkness, or the Kingdom of Light. The worries of this world and the gathering of its things, become the existential purpose. The Temporal becomes the focus, and the eternal becomes an afterthought. C. S. Lewis waxed eloquently when he stated, ‘Aim at heaven and you will get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither’. The GOOD soil receives the seed and produces much fruit. These people get it. These CHOSEN ONES know that we were NOT made for this world. We are the CALLED-OUT ONES, the ELECT. This is the practice ground; this is where we get our ORDERS from the Father. We were NOT made for this, we were made for what comes after this- this is where we learn how to become more Christ-like, where we get trained in our eternal work for the kingdom. This is AAA ball, getting us ready for the BIG LEAGUES! It is written: “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor”. (1 Cor 3:5-8) It’s ALL the same seed! GOD uses those who are WILLING and AVAILABLE! Share the WORD OF GOD and LET GOD BE GOD! “A PERSON’S reception of THE SEED is determined by the condition of ONE’S heart, not the Sowers ability.”