The Life of Christ (31)

1. The Life of Christ (31) The Parable of The Soils Matthew 13:1–23 (NASB95) 1That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. 3And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 5“Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6“But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7“Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 8“And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9“He who has ears, let him hear.” 10And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. 12“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. 13“Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. The Life of Christ (31)

2. The Life of Christ (31) The Parable of The Soils or Sower Matthew 13:1–23 (NASB95) cont. 14“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; 15For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’ 16“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. 17“For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 18“Hear then the parable of the sower. 19“When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20“The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22“And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23“And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.” The Life of Christ (31)

3. The Life of Christ (31) The Parable of The Soils or Sower Mark 4:1–20 (NASB95) 1He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. 2And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, 3“Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. 5“Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. 6“And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7“Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8“Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” 9And He was saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 10As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. 11And He was saying to them, “To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, The Life of Christ (31)

4. The Life of Christ (31) The Parable of The Soils or Sower Mark 4:1–20 (NASB95) cont. 12so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.” 13And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? 14“The sower sows the word. 15“These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. 16“In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. 18“And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, 19but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 20“And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” The Life of Christ (31)

5. The Life of Christ (31) The Parable of The Soils or Sower Luke 8:4–15 (NASB95) 4When a large crowd was coming together, and those from the various cities were journeying to Him, He spoke by way of a parable: 5“The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road, and it was trampled under foot and the birds of the air ate it up. 6“Other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. 7“Other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it and choked it out. 8“Other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great.” As He said these things, He would call out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 9His disciples began questioning Him as to what this parable meant. 10And He said, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is 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“Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13“Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14“The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. The Life of Christ (31)

6. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • Chapter 13 of Matthew contains several parables Jesus used to provide information about the Plan of God. • In Matthew’s account the explanation to the disciples is mingled with the teaching of the parables; Mark makes it plain that the disciples asked Jesus to explain the parables at a later time. • The crowds are mostly negative, not interested in learning about God or His plan and were like their leaders; because they are not interested in the truth, they are not given the interpretation of the parables. • If any in the crowd had been positive, they could have pursued Jesus and asked Him to explain the parables and He would have done so. • The crowd was so large that Jesus got into a boat so He might be seen and heard better and more effectively address the people. • A parable is a simple story that is common to human experience and was used to teach a doctrinal truth. • The parable attempts to explain a more difficult spiritual principal by comparing it to a more commonly understood situation. • The first parable is called the parable of the sower; however, the real emphasis is on the various types of soils so some refer to it as the parable of the soils The Life of Christ (31)

7. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The various aspects of the parable: • The farmer scatters the seed, which falls in various placed around the field, which has different types of soil in different places. • Paths run through and around unfenced fields and the soil. On the paths the soil is too hard for the seed to penetrate, so it remained on the surface and was eaten by birds. • Rocky places are those in which the bedrock (a large slab of rock and not just small rocks in the dirt) lies just underneath the ground. In these spots the soil is not deep enough for the roots to grow downward • The plant initially grows, giving the promise of a crop, but the summer heat is too much for the shallow root system and the plants wither because the soil cannot hold water. • Some seeds fall among the thorns along the edge of the field. The competition for sun and nourishment from the thorns is too much, so the plants eventually die. • Some seeds fall in good soil and produce various yields. The same seed produces a crop, some crop, or much crop, depending on the soil’s characteristics. The Life of Christ (31)

8. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The differences lie in the soils, not in the sower (communicator), the seed (Gospel and WOG), or his farming techniques. • The disciples and His followers approach Him in private and ask for an explanation of the parable. Mk. 4:10 • This interest in the interpretation of the parable separates them from the crowd and shows the thirst for truth that eventually leads them to salvation and spiritual growth. • They also ask Him why He speaks to the crowd in parables. • The reasons Jesus gives for speaking in parables are: • to conceal the truth from negative volition Mark 4:11. • to test the volition of the crowd. • to fulfill prophecy Isaiah 6:9-10 . The Life of Christ (31)

9. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • Jesus also warns that those who have a little doctrinal truth, but who are not interested in continuing to learn more, will eventually lose the truth that they do possess (Matt. 13:12b, Mark 4:25b). • Conversely, the one who has doctrine but wants more truth will be able to understand more because of the doctrine he already has (Matt. 13:12a, Mark 4:25a). • This is designed to demonstrate that one cannot remain neutral when it comes to the plan of God; the believer is either going to grow in the truth or will regress and lose the truth he does have. • The crowd did not have an understanding of divine viewpoint so it was like they were blind and deaf to Jesus’ words and works. • They could see and hear but did not understand what they were seeing and hearing because they did not humble themselves and believe in Christ. Matt. 13:13 The Life of Christ (31)

10. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • Having seen His miracles, they should have realized who Jesus was and should have had a desire to understand the things He was teaching. • Matthew 13:14-15 contains a quote from Isaiah 6:9; the Jews of Isaiah’s day were like the Jews of Jesus’ day, were negative, and did not want to know the truth. • Isaiah 6:9 (NASB95) • 9He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on listening, but do not perceive; Keep on looking, but do not understand.’ • The Messiah, who comes to reveal the Father, succeeds only in dulling what little spiritual sense many of the people had because they do not want to be spiritually healed. • The context of Isaiah 6 reveals that their spiritual dullness would continue until the land was forsaken and the cities and fields lie ruined, Isaiah 6:11. The Life of Christ (31)

11. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The same would happen to the generation that heard Jesus’ words; in their case, the Romans would destroy the city of Jerusalem and the nation and the people would be driven out of Israel (Lk. 19:41-44). • The end of Matt. 13:15 states what would happen if the crowd would only hear and understand what is being said by Jesus. • The disciples were blessed because they saw and heard with understanding what the prophets and many righteous men longed to see. • Jesus provides the correct interpretation of the parable, making it a model for interpretation of all parables in Matt. 13:18-23 and Mark 4:13-20. The Life of Christ (31)

12. The Life of Christ (31) The Parable of The Soils or Sower Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 Parable Interpretation The Life of Christ (31)

13. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The interpretation of the parable: • The sower is the communicator of the Word of God; it was Jesus in that day but now is primarily the pastor-teacher. • The soil by the road represents people who do not make the salvation adjustment (believe); the seed does not even germinate. • The evil one is Satan and/or his demons who snatch away the gospel; they work to blind men spiritually to their need for salvation • 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NASB95) • 4in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. • The soil in the rocky places illustrates the person who believes and is interested in God’s word for a short time. • The faith of this type of believer is not grounded in truth and when pressures and persecutions arise, they seek to avoid suffering for the cause of Christ and compromise with those that are negative in order to relieve the spiritual pressure. The Life of Christ (31)

14. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The interpretation of the parable: • The soil among the thorns represents those who have believed but let the cares and worries of this world (going to school, getting a job, paying bills) get in the way of coming to Bible class and growing in grace and knowledge. • Those among the thorns are also the types of believers that think getting ahead, making money to get rich or to buy more details of life is more important than pursuing the truth in Bible class. • What doctrine they do manage to learn is put aside, ignored, or forgotten and they do not produce divine good or lay up rewards in Heaven. • The seed sown in good soil represents a person who is positive and wants to learn the plan of God so badly that he does whatever is necessary to be in Bible class and grow to maturity. The Life of Christ (31)

15. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The interpretation of the parable: • These believers (good soil) choose to overcome the obstacles in their way, faithfully attend class, and grow to maturity. • The fruit refers to divine good production, which varies from believer to believer since the level of spiritual growth depends on several factors. • Luke 8:15 (NASB95) • 15“But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance. • The extent to which they (good soil) will grow depends on hearing the Word of God (WOG) in Bible class, being honest about what it teaches and what is demands from believers. • The good heart is one that is intellectually honest, humble, and willing to make whatever sacrifices are necessary to grow and please God. The Life of Christ (31)

16. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils or Sower • Matthew 13:1-23, Mark 4:1-20, Luke 8:4-15 • The interpretation of the parable: • These believers (good soil) hold fast to the truth they are taught in class and keep on applying the doctrine no matter what may try to slow them or stop them from doing so. • The amount of divine good production varies but one grain of wheat can produce 30 grains in some cases, 60 grains in others, and even 100 grains. • The more one desires the truth and the more willing one is to apply when the opportunities arise will determine his level of divine good production and eternal rewards. The Life of Christ (31)

17. The Life of Christ (31) • The Parable of The Soils / Soils The Farmer Represents the Commutator The Harvest Represents Divine Good Production