In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus begins teaching in a series of parables. His first, “The Parable of the Sower,” tells of a man sowing seed throughout his field, with some seed landing by the wayside and being snatched up by the birds, some landing in thorny ground, and being choked out by the weeds, some landing on stony ground, and being scorched by the sun, and others landing on the good ground, and bearing fruit.

It’s one of the most basic parables that has spawned books, blogs, sermons and teachings. You may be very familiar with this parable, and much of what you know about this parable is probably true. However, we need to go back to study the Parable of the Sower because that parable is the key to understanding all of the Lord’s parables. Jesus said so in Mark 4:13.

Understanding this parable, and the symbolism thereof will shape the way you interpret the Kingdom Parables (the parable of the leaven, the mustard seed, the treasure in a field and the pearl of great price) in Matthew 13. To see how this parable sets the stage for the Kingdom Parables, join Pastor Leland Acker and Life Point Baptist Church on April 14. Hint: The current state of Christianity is no surprise to the Lord.

In Mark 4:1-20, we learn three things through this parable. We learn about the sower, we learn about the reactions of the world, and we have our hearts revealed.

In verse 14, Jesus said, “The sower soweth the word.”

Matthew 13 identifies the sower as Christ Himself. Verse 14 in our passage today identifies the seed as the word. So, we see that our Lord Jesus Christ sows the word throughout the world (the field, also a symbol in this parable).

The word is the Gospel, how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures, that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the scriptures. The Gospel includes the proper application of repentance and faith in Christ to benefit from salvation.

The Bible says the sower sows the word. He spreads the Gospel. And with the sower being our Lord Jesus Christ, we see that the primary mission of Christ not only included fulfilling the Gospel, but also spreading the word of the Gospel. During His earthly ministry, our Lord spread the word of the Gospel, as Mark 1:14 tells us Jesus came forth preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.

For 3 1/2 years, Christ preached the Gospel as He conducted His ministry on Earth. Ever since then, He has spread the Gospel through His churches, whether that be through churches sponsoring missionaries, or whether that be through church members evangelizing the lost themselves.

Furthermore, the Lord sowed the Gospel seed indiscriminately. Seed was sown on good ground, thorny ground, stony ground, and by the wayside. Everyone got a chance to hear the Gospel. Likewise, the Gospel is being spread to all parts of the world today.

Seeing Christ as our example, and following the commands of scripture, we too should sow the seed of the Gospel. As the sower sowed the seed throughout the entire field, good ground or not, we, too, are to spread the Gospel to all people. We are to preach the word to everyone, not just those we deem worthy. We are to preach the word to everyone, whether they are receptive, would make good church members, or whether they wouldn’t. This is what the Lord commanded in Mark 16:15, when He said, “Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.”

And as we preach, we should remember that we are not responsible for their reaction. Throughout this parable, you see the varied reactions to the Gospel. Some discard the truth as soon as they hear it, some are too distracted by the things of this world, some really dig the religion for a while, but never allow the Gospel to take root in their heart, and others fully receive it. We should not be surprised or discouraged by the rejection, and we should celebrate those whose lives are changed by the Gospel. However, we should never limit our efforts because we don’t feel that the soil is primed for planting, so to speak.

In the Parable of the Sower, the Lord showed us the different reactions the world has toward the Gospel so that we would understand what to expect as we spread the word. However, the Lord also gave us the Parable of the Sower so that we could examine our own hearts, and see whether we are ones who discard the Gospel, who are too distracted by the things of this world to allow it to take root, or whether our faith is superficial. The way we make this determination is to examine the fruit in our lives. Has the Gospel changed you?

That is an extremely important question, “Has the Gospel changed you?” Keep pondering that question and look within yourself for the fruits of that change. Meanwhile, we will continue our study into the parables of Christ over the next few weeks.

If you have any questions about the parables, or about salvation, feel free to contact us below.