Commentary - Matthew 13:1-9

Bird's-eye view

In Matthew 13, the Lord Jesus shifts His public teaching method to that of parables. This is a significant moment. He is not telling folksy stories to make difficult concepts easier for the simple-minded. Quite the contrary. He is speaking in parables to conceal the mysteries of the kingdom from those on the outside, while revealing them to His disciples. This chapter is a collection of seven parables about the kingdom, and the Parable of the Sower is the foundational one. Jesus Himself says in Mark's account that if you don't get this parable, you won't get any of the others (Mark 4:13). It is the interpretive key.

The parable describes a sower who casts seed, which is the "word of the kingdom," onto four different types of soil. These soils represent four different kinds of hearts, four different ways the gospel message is received. Only one of the soils produces a crop. This parable, then, is a sober warning and an encouragement all at once. It prepares the disciples for the reality that the gospel will not be universally received with joy. There will be opposition, shallow faith, and worldly distractions. But it also promises that where the word takes root in a good and honest heart, the harvest will be super-abundant, far exceeding the initial sowing. It sets the stage for the nature of the kingdom's growth in this age: it grows in the midst of varied and often hostile responses.

Outline

Context In Matthew

Matthew's gospel presents Jesus as the great King, the royal son of David. In chapter 12, the opposition from the religious leaders has reached a fever pitch. They have accused Him of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, committing the unforgivable sin. In response, Jesus pronounces judgment on "this wicked generation" (Matt. 12:45). The turn to parables in chapter 13 is therefore a judicial act. The open, plain teaching of the Sermon on the Mount is now veiled. To the crowds, He speaks in riddles. To His disciples, in private, He explains everything. This is a division, a separation. The parables function to harden the hard-hearted and enlighten the teachable.

This first parable sets the theme for the entire chapter: the kingdom of heaven has been inaugurated, the seed is being sown, but its reception and growth will be a mixed affair until the final harvest. It prepares the church for the long haul of gospel ministry in a world that is not uniformly receptive. The kingdom doesn't arrive all at once like a political coup; it grows like a seed, contending with bad soil and weeds until the end.

Key Issues

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

The setting is important. Jesus leaves the confinement of a house and goes out into the open, by the Sea of Galilee. This is a public setting. The house can represent the inward life of Israel, the established religious order, and Jesus is moving out from that into the world. The sea is often a symbol of the Gentile nations, the unformed masses of humanity. He is taking the message of the kingdom to the world.

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.

The popularity of Jesus is still at a high point, despite the opposition of the leadership. The crowds are so large that for practical reasons, He needs to create some space. He gets into a boat, which serves as a floating pulpit. He sits down to teach, which was the posture of a rabbi, a teacher with authority. In Matthew, Jesus the King often sits to teach and to judge. The crowd stands on the shore, a mass of people waiting to hear the word. The physical arrangement itself is a picture of what is happening: the word is going forth from Christ to the people.

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

Here is the introduction to the new method. A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning. It is a comparison, a placing of one thing alongside another. He doesn't just tell one, but "many things." The first of these is foundational. "Behold", this is a call to pay close attention. Something important is being revealed. The central character is a sower, a farmer. His task is simple: he went out to sow. This is his work, his purpose. In the explanation later, Jesus identifies the sower of the good seed as the Son of Man (Matt. 13:37). So, Christ is the ultimate sower, and by extension, all who preach His word are sowers as well. The work of the kingdom begins with the proclamation of the word.

4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up.

The sower is broadcasting seed, casting it widely. Not every seed lands in a perfectly prepared garden plot. The first soil is the hard-packed path that runs alongside or through the field. This soil is impenetrable. The seed just lies on the surface. It cannot get in. The result is immediate failure. The birds, who Jesus later identifies as "the wicked one" (Matt. 13:19), come and snatch it away. This represents the heart that is hardened. The word is heard, but there is no understanding, no reception. The devil simply removes the message before it can have any effect. This is the hearer who is calloused, unteachable, and whose heart is a public thoroughfare for every passing thought, but closed to the truth.

5 And 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.

The second soil looks promising at first. This isn't a pile of rocks, but rather a thin layer of soil over a shelf of limestone, common in that region. The seed germinates quickly, "immediately they sprang up." There is an emotional, enthusiastic response to the gospel. But it's all surface level. The rock underneath prevents the roots from going down deep to find moisture and stability. When the sun comes up, representing trials, tribulations, or persecution because of the word (Matt. 13:21), the shallow plant is scorched. It has no root in itself, and it withers. This is the emotional "convert" who has no real change of heart. Theirs is a faith of convenience, a faith that thrives in the good times but cannot endure hardship. When following Jesus starts to cost something, they are gone.

7 And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out.

The third soil is fertile, but it is already occupied. The seed falls here and begins to grow, and it seems to be doing well. It has soil, it has roots. But there is competition. Thorns, which were already in the soil, grow up alongside the good plant. Jesus identifies these thorns as "the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches" (Matt. 13:22). The plant is choked out. It is rendered unfruitful. This represents the person who hears the word and receives it, but their heart is divided. They want Jesus, but they also want wealth, comfort, and the approval of the world. The spiritual life is suffocated by worldly anxieties and ambitions. The plant may still be there, looking like a Christian, but it bears no fruit. It is a life of spiritual barrenness, choked by divided loyalties.

8 And others fell on the good soil and were yielding a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.

Finally, there is the good soil. This is the heart that hears the word and understands it (Matt. 13:23). This is the prepared heart, the receptive heart. The seed takes root, it grows, and it produces a harvest. This is the only successful outcome. But notice the variation in the yield. Not every true believer is a Billy Graham. Some produce a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. All are fruitful, but not all are fruitful to the same degree. The point is not the precise amount, but the reality of a super-abundant harvest. The sower's work is not in vain. Despite the failures on the other three soils, the harvest from the good soil makes the whole enterprise gloriously worthwhile. This is the promise of the kingdom: where the gospel is truly received, it will bear much fruit for the glory of God.

9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus concludes with a common refrain, but one that is packed with meaning here. He is not talking about physical ears. Everyone in the crowd had those. He is speaking of spiritual perception, the ability to understand the true import of what He is saying. This is a call to self-examination. It is a challenge to every person who hears the parable. "What kind of soil are you? Are you truly hearing?" The parable itself acts as a filter. Those with ears to hear will press in for the meaning. Those without will just hear a simple story about farming and walk away unchanged. The responsibility is placed squarely on the hearer. God provides the seed, but we are responsible for how we receive it.

Application

The first and most obvious application of this parable is to examine our own hearts. When the Word of God is preached, how do we respond? Are we the hard path, where the truth makes no impression? Are we the rocky ground, all enthusiasm and no endurance? Are we the thorny soil, so cluttered with worldly cares that we bear no fruit? Or are we the good soil, receiving the word with understanding and bearing fruit in our lives?

This parable is also a tremendous encouragement for all who sow the seed of the gospel, pastors, evangelists, parents, friends. We are called to be faithful in the sowing, but we are not responsible for the results. The sower in the parable sowed liberally, casting the seed everywhere. Our job is to proclaim the gospel faithfully and widely. We must expect that there will be different responses. We should not be discouraged by the hard, rocky, or thorny ground. That is part of the program. We should labor on, praying that God would prepare hearts to be good soil, and trusting Him for the harvest, which will be glorious and abundant in His time.

Finally, this parable teaches us about the nature of the kingdom. It does not advance through coercion or political power. It advances through the simple, powerful act of sowing the seed of the Word. And its growth is organic. It contends with hostile environments, but where it takes root, it is unquenchably fruitful. We are to be about the business of sowing, and we are to trust the power of the seed, which is the very Word of God.