February 11, 2025 | Be God's Family
The Parable of the Four Soils
Scripture: Matthew 13:1-23(NIV)
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Devotional
In this selection from Matthew 13, Jesus teaches a parable about the “Sower and the seed.” He tells parables to the people, but He explains them only to the disciples. One would naturally wonder why. Later in the chapter, Jesus tells the disciples His reasoning. He explains, “Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of Heaven, but to them it is not given…” (v. 11). “I speak to them in parables because seeing, they see not; and hearing, they hear not, neither do they understand” (v. 13). He teaches them that when the Word is sown, it falls upon four types of soil, representing the life and heart of each human being.
The first soil is a hardened path. When the “seed” falls upon this soil, Jesus teaches that it has little chance of penetrating into the ground. He compared this soil to people who have closed their hearts and minds to things of God.
The second type of soil is shallow and rocky. After hearing the Word, some may at first accept it, but lacking perseverance and depth, they “wither away” and return to their disobedience to God. In Psalm 95:8-10, God says, “Do not harden your hearts…do not be a people whose hearts go astray.” And in Hebrews 3:15 God proclaims, “Today, if you hear [God’s] voice, do not harden your hearts….”
The third type of soil is thorny. Jesus teaches that when the “seed” falls among thorns, it will not grow and produce fruit, but instead will be choked by worldly concerns. Seed sown in thorny soil is consumed more by the world and represents a heart too preoccupied and distracted by worldly matters to receive God and do His will.
The fourth type of soil is fertile. It is good ground where the “seed” can grow and produce abundant fruit. John Bunyan wrote in his Pilgrim’s Progress that "Hearing is but as the sowing of the seed" and "talking is not sufficient to prove that fruit is indeed in the heart and life. Fruit is the evidence of a new heart and a changed life. It is made evident in our obedience to God's Word.”
C.S. Lewis suggests every one of us examine our hearts and test our own actions in these matters. “What can we do? Jesus said it with the first word of the Parable of the Sower— “Listen!”
How is your heart’s “soil” today? What areas of your life do you need to reexamine and prune?
Poem
Understanding
Psalm 119:25-32
Clay
Trampled and weary
Treaded upon and hard
Robbed
Barren
Dust
Blown and thin
Landing then scattered
Deceitful
Unfruitful
Soil
Open and undiscerning
Receiving both seed and tares
Overgrown
Choking
Loam
Balanced and tended
Watered and rich
Established
Faithful
