THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER
December 10, 2006 PM
Sermon Outline
MK 4:3-9 & 14-20
INTRO: I am inclined to think that the parable of the sower is the best known of all of the parables of Jesus. It is set against the background of real life in the time and place of Jesus' teaching. The word picture presents readers with a sight which was likely common to that region and which some have suggested might well have been suggested by what Jesus was seeing near where He was teaching ... a farmer was planting seed in his field. Whether or not that was the case, the lessons suggested by this parable are timely. As I think about the parable and the fact that Jesus would be teaching many things about His kingdom by using parables, I wonder if the key to understanding future parables is to be found in the simple explanation He gave of it.
I. THE SOWER
A. Who might he have been?
1. notice that Jesus does not give us a specific identity
2. he is simply a man fulfilling the responsibility of his calling
B. From a bag, perhaps slung over a shoulder, he is "broadcasting" seed
1. today's modern planters place the seed very accurately in good soil
2. the "broadcast" method would have sent some seed into unlikely soil
II. THE SEED
A. In His explanation Jesus is very specific about the seed
1. Mk 4:14 - says, "The sower soweth the word"
2. Mt 13:19 calls it "the word of the kingdom"
3. Lk 8:11 - "the seed is the word of God"
B. The seed, therefore, is good seed
1. any problem with the quality of harvest cannot be attributed to the seed!
2. 1 Cor 3:6 & Gal 1:11,12 - the apostle Paul planted "certified" seed
3. scripture indicates, however, that not all were converted! but the problem was not with the seed
III. THE SOILS
A. The "soil" represented human "hearts"
1. Mk 4:15 - "...sown in their hearts"
2. "hearts", of course, referred to the intellect, or mind
3.this reminds of Rom 10:17 ... faith involves God's word & human intellect
B. Seed on the way side
1. the "way side" was hard packed ... either roadway or paths in fields
2. the word made no impression - found no way of entry
3. almost immediately birds (Satan) swooped down to devour the seed
4. there are people in whose hearts the word of God makes no impression
5. they think of it as irrelevant, unimportant, unneeded, not credible, etc.
6. Acts 17:32a - only a curiosity at best!
C. Seed on the stony ground
1. this was thin layer of soil covering limestone
2. seed germinated, sprang forth as a plant - but without roots it withered
3. Mk 4:16 - there was an immediate gladness, joy in these hearts
4. but there was not a continued growth - no root system
5. when the cost of discipleship becomes apparent, they fade away
6. Col 2:6-8 - notice the "beware" in v. 8 - thus the need for good roots
D. Seed among the thorns
1. one writer notes this is ground which has been "scraped" clean
2. but the roots of noxious weeds remain just below the surface
3. so, as the seed germinates, the roots of weeds begin to grow - and to choke the good plant ... robbing it of vital nutrients - never bears fruit
4. weeds - "cares of this world - deceitfulness of riches - lusts of other things entering in" - here are "weeds" which are all around us!
5. a plant ... but no fruit - is this the real problem experienced by so many Christians today?
6. Lk 8:14 - I suggest to you that this verse strikes very close to home! - the parable is not some abstract story about the distant past - it is a lesson in the realities of discipleship ... then, and now
E. Seed on good ground
1. the truth? there will be a fruitful harvest
2. the promise? 1 Cor 3:6 - "...but God gave the increase"
3. the challenge? you and I are seed planters - but if we do not plant the seed, we cannot expect a good harvest
CLOSE: I wonder if some of us are struggling with that thorny soil? Do we need to do some radical "weeding" in our lives so that we can really bring forth fruit for the Master?
Cecil A. Hutson
10 December 2006