some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty

Matthew 13   Jesus Teaches in Parables

 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. ² And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.

³ And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; ⁴ and 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.”

An Explanation

¹⁰ And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ Jesus 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. ¹⁴ In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says,

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.

The Sower Explained

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; ²¹ yet 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.”

Jesus frequently taught in parables. When asked by His disciples why He used that form of teaching He replied with a quote from the prophet Isaiah in verses 14 and 15. The truth is Jesus is the Word made flesh(John 1:14) and so He could have debated scripture and taught at a deep scholarly level which only the well educated may have understood. Those though, the highly educated religeous elite are the very ones the prophecy speaks of. Jesus mission and so His message was for all people, as the angel declared when Jesus was born. Luke 2:10-11

¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people; ¹¹ for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 

Jesus taught in parables so that ordinary people could understand the principles of the kingdom. This particular parable, The Sower, is one that is very meaningful to me. In my own life I can see the representation of each of these different seeds Jesus speaks of. In Luke's account of this same parable Jesus begins the explanation of the parable by saying:  “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God.(Luke 8:11)  The first illustration of the seed that was sown by the road could probably apply to most people at some point in their life.

 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. For most people, at least those of us who were raised in this western culture where there was a consistant level of exposure to Christian values and teaching, at least through the 50's, 60's and early 70's, there is likely a period of time when we heard the word but had no understanding or revelation of Jesus.

The second type of seed is one that I can truly identify with in my own life. 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; ²¹ yet 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.    Having beed raised in a good church attending home, I had a foundation of Christian morals and values. As a young adult and newly married I was a member of a different church than the one I grew up in. I began to recieve the gospel message with joy. I would say that it was at this point in my life that I first truly recognized my need for Jesus as my savior. Unfortunately it was very true of me that I had no root. When difficulties arose in my life I ran from God rather than to Him. I went through a divorce and began a period of about 4 or 5 years that included a second failed marriage.

Even in that time though, there was a sowing of the seed, the word of God into my life. I would say that during that time while there was this drawing by God my life was represented by the seed among the thorns. I was far to entangled in the ways and things of the world, trying to survive and get by in my own strength to allow the seed of God's word to find a place to grow in my life.

In 1986, at the age of 28, with two failed marriages I was depressed and  hopeless. I was desperate. The sowing of the seed of the word of God continued. Looking back at that time I can truly testify to the truth of 2 Timothy 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself. It was in 1986 that I met my wife Dawna. We were two hurting and broken people. God was indeed faithful and His constant sowing of His word into our lives fianally, by His grace, found good soil. We were married and began attending a church where we weren't judged for our past mistakes. There in that place and under God's grace I finally had the revelation that I needed Jesus, not only as savior but also as Lord of my life. I had had enough of striving, enough of having no root, enough of living entangled in the cares of the world. Like a pair of prodigals Dawna and I returned to God. He met our steps toward Him by running to us. He has continued to pour out His blessing ever since. 

Our struggles and difficulties never did stop. We've been through some extremly hard and trying times. Today I join with Paul in his declaration in Romans 8: ³⁷ But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, ³⁹ nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.  I tried it my way. Through the constant sowing of the seed of His word in my life my hope and His promise is that I now can be counted among the seed sown in good soil. My desire is to produce 30,60 or 100 fold for the kingdom of God. 

I want to end with a final thought about sowing and the seed of the word of God. We are called by Jesus to join in the work of sowing the seed. We should not concern ourselves with the condition of the soil on which we sow. It is the Holy Spirit's job to bring revelation and fruit from the seed. I want to leave you with an additional picture of the seed bearing fruit. I love to see wildflowers and even fruits and vegetables that spring up and grow right by the road. We would often take our children for walks along the railroad tracks when they were young. There among  the thorns we would find and reap a great harvest of delicious berries. While seed that springs up by the road, in rocky soil or among the thorns may not flourish like that in well cultivated soil. There is still a beauty to be seen in each life that blooms and produces fruit no matter where it springs up.

Thank You Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus, Holy Spirt for Your faithfulness. Thank You for the constant and continuous sowing of Your Word. Thank You that You care for and nurture every seed that springs forth. Lord may I be faithful to join You in the work of sowing and nurturing. By Your grace may I even be privileged to join in the harvest. May Your word produce 100 fold.  Amen