EP128: The Parable of the Sower

Today we kick off a brand-new series on the Parables of Jesus. In this episode we step directly into the Parable of the Sower and we look at why Jesus used this story as the “decoder key” for understanding the rest of His parables. We talk soil. We talk seed. We talk heart posture. We talk about why the Word is powerful but why our response matters.

This episode invites you to honestly reflect on your own “soil condition” and to ask Jesus to soften the ground of your heart so His Word can take deep root, grow, and produce real Kingdom fruit.

This is seed day.

Episode Transcript

(00:04):
The wooden cricket. Good morning family.
Today we begin a brand new arc. We just spent the last couple of
weeks walking with Jesus throughthe Sermon on the Mount daily

(00:28):
line by line, and now we move into the parables.
Parables are earth stories that reveal heaven reality, and Jesus
says this first one, the parableof the sower, is the one that
helps you understand the rest ofthem.
So today, this isn't random. This is Sea Day, and I'm

(00:52):
Lawrence, and welcome back to the Warden Cricket Podcast.
We're going to start with Matthew's account of this story,
and we'll find it in Matthew chapter 13 verses 3:00 to 9:00.
So you can turn with me there. It says this He told many
stories in the form of parables such as this one.

(01:16):
Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seeds.
As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a
footpath and the birds came and ate them.
Other seeds fell on shallow soilwith underlying rock.
The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow,
but the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they

(01:39):
didn't have deep roots, they died.
Other seeds fell among the thorns that grew up and choked
out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on the
fertile soil and they produced acrop that was 3060 and even 100
times as much as had been planted.
Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.

(02:02):
Jesus didn't teach this inside of silent synagogue walls.
He's on the shoreline, He There's wind, there's dust,
there's sandals flipping around.It's regular life going on all
around him, and he opens with Seed.
Seed looks small, but inside is future.

(02:27):
Inside is fruit inside his legacy, inside is Kingdom
reproduction. Now we see Matthew's explanation
versus 18 through 23. Now listen to the explanation of

(02:48):
the parable story. This is Jesus still reading.
This is the explanation found inthe book of Matthew.
But this is Jesus speaking. Now listen to the explanation of
the parable about the farmer planting seeds.
The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who
hear the message about the Kingdom and don't understand it.
Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was

(03:09):
planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil
represents those who hear the message and immediately receive
it with joy. But since they don't have deep
roots, they don't last long. They fall away as soon as they
have problems or are persecuted for believing God's Word.
The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear

(03:33):
God's Word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by
the worries of this life and thelure of wealth.
Sir, no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil
represents those who truly hear and understand God's Word and
produce a harvest of 3060 or even 100 times as much had been

(03:53):
planted. Same farmer, same seed,
different soil responses. That's a wake up call.
The word is not defective. The issue is soil heart posture.

(04:14):
We've all been in each of these types of soil for sure, and now
we're going to look at Mark's account of this same story.
So we go to Mark chapter 4, verses 3:00 and 9:00, and it
says this. This is Jesus speaking.

(04:35):
Listen, a farmer went out to plant some seed.
As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on
a footpath and the birds came and ate it.
Other seed fell in a shallow soil with underlying rock.
The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow,
but the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn't
have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among the thorns

(04:59):
that grew up and choked out the tender plants, so they produced
no grain. Still other seeds fell on
fertile soil, and they sprouted,grew and produced a crop.
That was 3060, and even 100 times as much had been planted
then, he said. Anyone with ears to hear should

(05:21):
listen and understand. Matthew feels like a gentle ask,
but Mark feels like a demand forattention.
Same parable, but different weight.
And in verse 14, the explanationthe farmer plant seed by taking
God's word to others. The seed that fell on the

(05:45):
footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have
Satan come at once and take it away.
The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the
message but immediately receive it with joy.
But since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long.
They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted

(06:07):
for believing in God's Word. The seed that fell among the
thorns represents others who hear God's Word, but all too
quickly the message is crowded by the worries of this life, the
lure of wealth, and the desire for other things.
So no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on the

(06:28):
good soil represents those who hear and accept God's Word and
produce a harvest of 3060 or even 100 times as much as had
been planted. Mark exposes something.
Satan tries to steal the seed immediately.

(06:50):
That's why passive faith doesn'twork.
We cannot coast and expect rootsto develop.
We're going to take a look at Luke's account of the same
terrible now, and we find this in Luke chapter 8, verses 5 to
9. And it says this A farmer went

(07:17):
out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his
field, some seed fell on a footpath where it was stepped
on. Birds ate it.
Other seed fell among the rocks.It began to grow, but the plant
soon wilted and died for lack ofmoisture.
Other seed fell among the thornsthat grew up with it and choked

(07:38):
out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on
fertile soil, and the seed grew and produced a crop that was 100
times as much as had been planted.
Luke adds detail here. Moisture.
That means ongoing supply relationship, daily presence,

(08:01):
not just one spiritual moment. Roots require watering, not
hype, continues in verse 11, 11215.
This is the meaning of the parable.
The seed is God's word. The seeds that fell on the
footpath represent those who hear the message only to have

(08:23):
the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent
them from believing and being saved.
The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the
message and receive it with joy.But since they don't have deep
roots, they believe for a while,and then they fall away when
they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the

(08:47):
thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly
the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and
pleasures of this life, and so they never grow into maturity.
And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good
hearted people who hear God's Word, cling to it, and patiently

(09:11):
produce a huge harvest family. Do you see the pattern across
all three gospels? Same seed, real spiritual
opposition, different outcomes. Why heart responsiveness?

(09:35):
Soil can change. Soil can soften.
Soil can be weeded. It can be watered.
Soil can become fruitful. This entire parable series daily
from now until Christmas. Is God turning the soil so when

(09:59):
we get to Advent, you won't justsee a baby, you'll see the seed
who becomes our Savior. And here's 4 honest checks that
we should do with ourself. Yeah, if you feel like you're on
the Hardin path, ask Where has pain made me cynical?

(10:21):
Where did disappointment pack the ground?
Flat If you fall into the category of shadow or shallow
soil, ask Where am I? All emotion, but no endurance.
If you feel like you're stuck inthe thorny ground.
Which worry, wealth or pursuit or distraction is choking out

(10:42):
the word the most for you and are in the good soil where the
word is actually growing and youneed to share that and you need
to display that. Jesus, soften the soil of our
hearts, Pull up the thorns, break the hard places, give us

(11:06):
deep roots and let your word grow in us.
Amen. And tomorrow we plant again,
another parable, another seed. Same soar in family.
You don't have to do faith alone.
If you're in Winnipeg or anywhere in the world, you can

(11:29):
join us at Calvary Temple online, in person or online.
I suppose it's a community whereJesus is lifted up and the Word
is central. So until tomorrow, friends and
family, be a bright light in a dark place.
Enjoy the rest of your weekend. Until tomorrow, I'm mouldy

(11:51):
Peace.