Matthew 13:18-30
"Listen then to what the parable of
the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the
kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and
snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed
sown along the path. The one who received the seed that fell
on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once
receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts
only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because
of the word, he quickly falls away. The one who received the
seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the
word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of
wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who
received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who
hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop,
yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is
like a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while
everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among
the wheat, and went away. When the wheat sprouted and formed
heads, then the weeds also appeared. "The owner's servants
came to him and said, 'Sir, didn't you sow good seed in your
field? Where then did the weeds come from?' "'An enemy did
this,' he replied. "The servants asked him, 'Do you want us
to go and pull them up?' "'No,' he answered, 'because while
you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with
them. Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time
I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie
them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and
bring it into my barn.'"
Matthew 13:36-43
Then he left the crowd and went into
the house. His disciples came to him and said, "Explain to
us the parable of the weeds in the field." He answered, "The
one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is
the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the
kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the
enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of
the age, and the harvesters are angels. "As the weeds are
pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end
of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and
they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin
and all who do evil. They will throw them into the fiery
furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of
their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
The story of different types of soil
meant a lot to Jesus’ audience. They would have been able to
relate to planting and harvesting and they would have
encountered the same problems that Jesus described. However,
many people today live in the city and have never had any
experience with planting and harvesting.
The four soils are a very good analogy
for the types of people that we will encounter in every day
life and whom we hope to lead to Jesus Christ. People are
going to respond to the gospel in different ways.
In the story the person who gives the
gospel is the sower. At the time, it was Jesus who was
sowing the gospel. Now that duty has been entrusted to all
Christians. Your church, your pastor, & you - are the people
who are sowing the seed. The seed is the gospel. It gets
scattered everywhere, without concern for where it lands, as
long as it lands on soil. So you should tell people about
your faith, regardless of how it may be received because
there is always a chance that the good news will take root.
The soils are the different types of
people. There are four different types according to the
parable. Let’s examine the differences between hard soil,
rocky soil, weedy soil, and good soil.
Next Section -
Hard Soil
