Jesus Christ’s Parable of the Sower and the Seed, as originally presented to those who heard this parable, can be found in the following three passages in the Synoptic gospels:
Our Lord’s summary of The Parable of the Sower and the Seed, as presented to His disciples, can be found in the following passages:
At the end of this short study article, we will attempt to combine the Lord’s summary of all three accounts in the Synoptic gospels for a fuller understanding of Jesus’ Words and message concerning His parable.
Underlined Scripture passages are my own emphasis.
When it comes to properly understanding The Parable of the Sower and the Seed, it is incumbent to acknowledge the following concerning the seed as representing the Word of God, the sower as one who proclaims the Word of God, and how the Word of God is received by others:
“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” – Luke 8:11
“The sower soweth the word.” – Mark 4:14
The Word of God could be considered specifically synonymous with the saving gospel of Jesus Christ, and hearing this Word of God can lead those who hear to salvation, coming by grace through faith in the finished work of Messiah Yeshua.
“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” – Romans 10:17
Proper Understanding of The Parable of the Sower and the Seed is Found in the Gospel of Luke
In studying The Parable of the Sower and the Seed, I believe the key to properly understanding Christ’s parable is primarily found in the gospel of Luke; for notice the following Scriptures of Luke 8:13-15 and what they convey to the student of the Word concerning Messiah’s parable through four key points.
Here are our four keys as presented in the gospel of Luke.
The Unsaved Hearers of the Word of God – Luke 8:12
“Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” – Luke 8:12
Therefore, those who are represented by the seed that was sown on the “the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved” are the unsaved.
Tragically, they, as countless others through the centuries have, will give in to “the devil, [that] taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved,” thereby ultimately rejecting the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ that they heard but never fully understood (Matthew 13:19).
The False Convert Hearers of the Word of God – Luke 8:13
“They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” – Luke 8:13
This temporary and superficial belief that False Convert will have “for a while” is obviously a misleading belief, for no one who truly believes and has received the indwelling Holy Spirit will ever “fall away” from their faith. Additionally, no true Spirit-indwelt believer will ever “fall away” from their faith because of “temptation” or “testing.” Though they may stumble for a season, usually in their early walk, they will never reject their Savior nor can they ever “fall away” – it just cannot happen.
However, a False Convert, because of their false confession and false belief, will invariably “fall away” from the faith they once professed, unless they continue to deceive themselves while deceiving others of their profession of faith; a truth that will horrifically follow them into the Great White Throne Judgment, when Christ will “profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” (Matthew 7:21-23).
We see this falling away from the faith once professed in countless False Converts today, and sadly, this is increasing in the latter days, just as Paul prophesied (1 Timothy 4:1).
The Carnal Christian Hearers of the Word of God – Luke 8:14
“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” – Luke 8:14
Carnal Christians are renown for “bringing no fruit to perfection,” for they walk in the flesh and not in the Spirit as they should (1 Corinthians 3:1-3, Romans 8:1-9, Galatians 5:16-26). Just as our Lord says, often it is because they “are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life,” hence, their carnality in this world, their appetite of the flesh, and their unfruitfulness for the Salvation Kingdom.
The Fruitful Spirit-Indwelt Hearers of the Word of God – Luke 8:15
“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
Every true Spirit-indwelt believer in Jesus Christ, who sincerely loves and earnestly desires to please their Lord for what He has done for them, will “keep” the Word in their hearts and minds and “bring forth fruit with patience.” That is, they will seek to save the lost through the life-giving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, witnessed in their outward and inward righteous behavior and love for others, and their own personal testimonies, because of their deep love for their Lord and Savior.
Luke 8:18 – The Lighted Candle and False Converts
Jesus offers The Parable of the Lighted Candle to help supplement The Parable of the Sower and the Seed; in particular, those who are False Converts represented by the seed of the Word that fell on the rock.
“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.
“For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.
“Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” – Luke 8:16-18
The Greek for “he seemeth” is 1380 δοκεῖ “dokeō” which means, depending on context, to be of an opinion, think, suppose, to seem, to be accounted, reputed, and is generally translated in English as think, seem, suppose.
Here appears to be confirmation from our Lord that False Converts never had, or “hath not” true saving faith after hearing and understanding the Word, for “from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have,” i.e., that profession of faith of a False Convert who deceived themselves and others that at one time they tragically and erroneously may have actually thought they had, they never truly possessed.
Messiah gives us a glimpse of these False Converts and what will occur for them at The Great White Throne Judgment, if they continue in their ways up until their end and refuse to come to saving faith on Messiah’s terms:
“Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
“Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
“And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.” – Matthew 7:21-23
A Combined Account of Christ’s Summary of The Parable of the Sower and the Seed
As promised, we will now attempt to combine all three accounts of Christ’s summary of these four groups of people, under their own subheadings with our underlined emphasis on our suggested keys to understanding the parable, and will offer commentary under each summary passage.
The Unsaved Hearers of the Word of God
“Those by the way side are they that hear as the word of the kingdom is sown and understandeth it not; then cometh the devil, Satan, cometh immediately and taketh away the word that was sown out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” – Luke 8:12, Mark 4:15, Matthew 13:19
The Word of God is indeed sown in the hearts of the unsaved when the gospel is preached to them, but they never truly understood it all along, and the Enemy will do all he can to take that Word that was sown in their hearts away from them “lest they should believe and be saved.”
Jesus, in speaking to His disciples before His once for all sacrifice for sins, said…
“And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.” – John 12:32
Indeed, all men and women are drawn to Christ on the cross when they hear the Word of God and the glorious gospel. And because of the consciousness God gave to each human being, understanding that we all have a sin nature and are in desperate need of the Savior, are drawn to the gospel message. What they ultimately do with that truth is the crux of the issue.
Though Satan has his role in blinding the hearts and minds of the lost as the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:3-4), in the end, sorrowfully, the decision to remain unsaved after hearing the Word is the personal choice these people make, and they will be without excuse on judgment day.
The False Convert Hearers of the Word of God
“They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root in themselves, which for a while endure for a time and believe, and in time of temptation, and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the world, they are immediately offended and fall away.” – Luke 8:13, Mark 4:16-17, Matthew 13:20-21
I personally have heard countless stories of False Converts – after hearing the Word and seemingly receiving it with joy – having no root, eventually find themselves offended and fall away from the faith they once professed. False Converts will often have the appearance of enduring for a time and believe – deceiving themselves and others – but the fact they fall away shows they were never really saved to begin with.
Though False Converts have always been found within the churches of Jesus Christ, we see this falling away of False Converts in the professing church exponentially increasing in these latter days. Needless to say, each and every time true believers witness such sorrowful events – often from people we truly love and care about – it breaks our hearts.
The Carnal Christian Hearers of the Word of God
“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard the word, go forth, and are choked with cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches, lusts, pleasures of this life, and other things entering in, choke the word and becometh unfruitful and bring no fruit to perfection.” – Luke 8:14, Mark 4:18-19, Matthew 13:22
I imagine that just about every true Spirit-indwelt believer has gone through a time of being a Carnal Christian, usually in their early walk. I know I have. It is honestly a frightening and terrifying place to be, because often the spiritual manifestation between a Carnal Christian and a False Covert in all appearances and forms is a razor thin line that only the Lord can truly discern.
These brothers and sisters urgently need our help and guidance in encouraging them to forsake the world and give themselves whole-heartedly to Jesus Christ’s gospel message and His Salvation Kingdom, loving and serving Him and loving and serving others.
They also need to heed the admonitions of both Peter and Paul:
“Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure” – 2 Peter 1:10
“Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” – 2 Corinthians 13:5
The Fruitful Spirit-Indwelt Hearers of the Word of God
“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word and understandeth it, receive it, and keep it, and bring forth and beareth fruit with patience; some thirty, some sixty, and some an hundredfold.” – Luke 8:15, Mark 4:20, Matthew 13:23
Salvation begins with an honest and good heart, understanding the gospel message, receiving it whole-heartedly, and continually keeping it in one’s heart and mind through a loving and holy lifestyle of righteousness in thankful service and obedience to our Creator, Savior, Redeemer, Lord, and King.
Laboring for our Lord’s Salvation Kingdom and fulfilling His Great Commission, loving and serving God and loving and serving others out of a pure heart and in thankfulness for what the Son of God has done for us, fulfilling our individual and collective God-called and God-ordained ministry for Messiah Yeshua and others that will ultimately bear much fruit for our Lord with patience, is where every Spirit-indwelt believer should desire to be!
Conclusion
One item of interest I believe we can ascertain from our Lord’s parable is that when the Word of God is properly conveyed to a hearer, they will initially instinctively and intuitively receive that sown Word of God in their hearts and the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ because they know deep down that the Word preached to them is true. Regrettably, however, humanity is born into inherent sin and is prideful and rebellious by nature – along with the horrific manipulation of demonic forces antagonizing and influencing unregenerate men and women – that the seed which was sown in their hearts can soon be lost and turned into outright rejection of that precious Word of God.
Through time, those who ultimately reject the Word of God will not only become blinded by our Enemy, but will recoil and become agents diametrically opposed to and hostile to the things of God, especially to His Word and His children who are saved by that glorious Word – the Word that was once sowed in their hearts – which they have rejected with a hardened heart, since they never received from God the indwelling Holy Spirit as they would have had they truly believed.
Yet, for those who do receive and believe the Word of truth and the gospel of Jesus Christ by grace through faith, their destiny is forever secured upon their true conversion, receiving the seal of the indwelling Holy Spirit of promise as their earnest of inheritance as adopted children of God.
“That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.” – Ephesians 1:10-14
The children of God who hear and believe the Word of God and keep that Word secure in their hearts and minds, being led and guided by the Holy Spirit, will have eternal victory and everlasting salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“[Jesus] said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.” – Luke 11:28
The fulfillment of divine promises and blessings true Spirit-indwelt believers will experience in this life and in the ages to come, from hearing and believing the Word of God and His glorious gospel, are incalculable and precious beyond anything we could ever hope or imagine.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” – 1 Corinthians 2:9
Thank you, Abba, Father God, for Your wonderful Son who loved us, paid our price on the cross, died for us, and rose again, that we might be called the children of God and be with our Lord in delightful fellowship and pure divine love forevermore!
“For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” – Galatians 3:26
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” – Galatians 4:6-7
“…ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
“The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” – Romans 8:15b-18
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May we all keep Answering the Call of The Great Commission, and giving an answer to every man and woman who so desperately needs Jesus and asks us, “Why Am I Here and What Is It All About?”
Love, grace, mercy, and shalom in Messiah Yeshua, and Maranatha!
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