The Parable of The Sower and The Seeds

The Parable of The Sower And The Seeds                                                Pg 1

Scripture: Luke 8:4-15 (Mark 4:3-9),( Matthew 13:3-9)

 And when a great crowd came together and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable: 5 "A sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell along the path, and was trodden under foot, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell on the rock; and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns grew with it and choked it. 8 And some fell into good soil and grew, and yielded a hundredfold." As he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." 9 And when his disciples asked him what this parable meant?

Luke 10-14 he said, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of God; but for others they are in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy; but these have no root, they believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And as for what fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature.   15 But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.

 Why study this parable? We need to know  when, where, and how Gods word is successfully secured in ones heart and soul, and how it is taken away or how it does not flourish. This parable is a simple explanation of those matters. The faith, the message and ministry of Jesus and His followers, is what I believe is represented by the seed.

Meditation: Jesus' parable gives a warning. A seed can't mature into fruit without the proper conditions for growth. Jesus' parable of the sower is aimed at the hearers of his word. There are different ways of accepting God's word and they produce different kinds of fruit accordingly. There is the prejudicial hearer who has a closed mind. Such a person is unteachable and blind to the things of God. Then there is the shallow hearer who fails to think things out or think them through; such a person lacks spiritual depth. They may initially respond with an emotional fervor, but when it wears off their mind wanders to something else. Another type of hearer is the person who has many interests or cares, but who lacks the ability to hear God’s calling or comprehend what is truly important. Such a person is for ever too busy to pray or too preoccupied to study and meditate on God's word. They may work so hard that they are too tired to even think of anything else but their work. Then there is the one whose mind is open. Such a person is at all times willing to listen and to learn. He or she is never too proud or too busy to learn. They listen in order to understand. God's word has power to change and transform us into the likeness of Christ. God gives grace to those who hunger for his word that they may understand his will and have the strength and courage to live according to it. It is not an easy thing in the world today. Commitment and perseverance is needed to make the word of God foremost in our lives

Verse by verse – There is one consistent word repeated in each verse what is it & what does it mean?

Luke 8:5  "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.

Who is the farmer? Jesus, How is this so?    What is he doing?     How is the seed scattered?        Randomly, continuously and faithfully    Why?

Who represents the path?  Those who are non responsive, do not take it in, and have no understanding of it. Why?

Who tramples on it ? hardened and indifferent  hearers. It is despised and trampled under foot by them. Why?

Who are the birds? The devil and his angels, that have their dwelling in the air; and frequent places of public worship to hinder the usefulness of the ministry. Explain?

Luke 8:6  Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture

What is representative of the rocky ground? Those whose hearts are, hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, and continue in it despite the preaching of the word to them because they have no grasp of the word and what it means. The grace of God being refused by the lack of desire for it. And why is that?     What is meant by “when it came up”?

Luke 8:7  Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.

Who are the thorns?  Such hearers who have their hearts filled with worldly cares, and sensual lusts and pleasures: Those carnal things crowd out the word, and make it useless and unprofitable; so that though it took place for a while, and was professed, yet with the passing of time it was neglected and died Because?              Do we hang out with the thorns?

Luke 8:8  Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear."

Who are they that are the good soil? Such hearers who have good and honest hearts, made so by the Spirit of God; who receive the word in the love of it, have a spiritual understanding, and real experience of it; some increase even a hundred fold for the word of God is more fruitful in some of those gracious hearers, than in others: And why is that?

What does the word “fell” mean in this context?                                                                                                                  Pg 2

In the whole of scripture God's word is not just a spoken word. It is a doing word, a creating, life-giving word. It is like a life-bearing seed. Where do we encounter that word? Well, I think if we are sufficiently sensitive, we encounter it unceasingly in every experience of our lives, whether that experience is joyful or sad, a success or a failure, pleasant or painful.

There is clearly, though, for us one place in particular where God's word is more deeply experienced and that is in the person of Jesus Christ. For Jesus is the Word of God. Everything that Jesus said, everything that Jesus did was God communicating to us through him. Not just his teaching but also his whole life, a life that embodied his message of peace, love, justice and nonviolence - in all of this Jesus was, and is for us today, the Word of God.

In the parable the seed of God's word falls where it will, There are many hardened hearts, and fleeting encounters where God’s word is not heeded. There are many weeds and thorns. These competing things, cast aside and smother the seed. But the seed must fall where it will if God’s word is to be heard. The continual and purposeful sowing of God’s word must take place wherever and whenever. How willing and open are we to let the word of God take root in our heart and lead us to live a more committed and authentic Christian life? Our study today exhorts us to hear, understand, and act upon God's word. If we genuinely desire to make a difference in our world, then it is not enough to "talk the talk," we must also "walk the walk."  And sow the seed. The Holy Spirit will guide the falling of it. We must be the sower of it.

Questions:

1. Is Jesus the sower? Can a minister of the gospel be the sower?

The soil, what is good soil? what is bad soil? We are either good bad or indifferent soil why is that?

2. Do the sower’s words fall on ears that are distracted, the birds get them ? the soil is too packed with other stuff? The smart phones, the many hard places in life? What are those hard places in life? Is there a promise of growth?

3., What about the rocky soil, the hardened surface, those who hear and do not respond? What happens there? The pace and the time burn it up? Some are tuning God out, why? What can we do? Some of Our Savior’s words reach those who respond for a time then become unresponsive, Is there another interest?  Are we seeking something else?

4. Seed cast among the thorns and dies for lack of care Why does it die? Is it because of a lack of care? A lack of interest? A compelling distraction? Is it choked out with too many other concerns? What are our weeds and thorns? Do we as Disciples of Jesus’ teachings have a responsibility there?

5. What determines if one hears and is moved by the word? The soil is good soil, has the sower prepared it? How is it received?   What was the draw that attracted you? How did you get in here?

6.What happened to each group of seeds? The natural progression of how things are. ? Do we as Disciples of Jesus’ teachings have a responsibility there?

7.  How did Jesus conclude his parable? Mat 13:9  Whoever has ears, let them hear."

8. What did he mean by that? Read Matt(13:11) This understanding is not from nature, or to be acquired by men's industry, but is the gift of God's grace, flowing from his sovereign will and pleasure; a favor which the disciples of Christ, as a chosen people, receive from the Lord, and which is denied others:

9.   Why do some listeners discover the truth in a parable and others do not? The desire to know God and the need to have him in our life creates a keen addiction.  And by the grace of God, wouldn’t  that make us keen to hear it?

10. Why do you suppose that this was among the first parables that Jesus told? Jesus wants us to know him sooner rather than later. Would that have had an effect on the prodigal son?

11. What kind of people today might be represented by the seed that fell on the path? (13:19) Too busy to listen?

12. Why couldn't those who received the word with joy stay faithful? (13:20- Is it because we are to easily distracted?

13. Then the seed that fell among thorns? What other things (or people) might the thorns represent? (13:22)

14. (Luke 8:15)To retain the word in our hearts is difficult. Why is perseverance necessary for all who receive the Word

15. What trials or tribulations are there to hinder the growth of a Christian?

16. How can one listen more faithfully and intently to the voice of God? What helps one to be responsive to God?

                                                               Closing Prayer

Father God, May your word take deep root in our hearts and in the hearts of those who receive the word. We have learned that Sowing of the word is free of the requirement to know who it falls upon. It delights in the sowing. It can fall on enemies as freely as friends...It can fall with tenderness and patience, or with penetrating persistence  But the sowing of it must take place, and fall it will, Your Holy spirit will guide in the spreading of it.  We pray that Your Holy Spirit will move many souls to receive the word and that it will flourish . Be with us now as we close this study and keep us in your love until next we meet, in Jesus holy name we pray. AMEN