Matthew 13:3
Then he told them about many things in parables, saying: "“A farmer went out to sow his seed."
The purpose of a parable was, in a subtle way, to illustrate an illumination in a way that would impart and unfold a truth so as to draw close attention to a particular point. Because of the blindness of the people, Jesus revealed truth couched in an illumination hidden among a parable. And those who are able to see and able to hear will receive that truth.
The parable of the Sower:
1. Birds ate it up seed that fell along the path. The birds represent the evil one, Satan. Throughout the biblical stories we see birds like these acting as agents of destruction and wickedness. The seeds that fell along the path were emblematic of some of the followers understanding of their faith. Ever hearing but never understanding. They never experienced expositional teaching about the nature of God. These are they who were exposed to unbelievers too soon and remained ignorant to the deeply rooted foundations of faith. Though they were seeing, they did not see. Though they were hearing, they did not hear or understand. They never received foundational guidance from mature Believers. When the evil one comes they fall prey to his lies. They'll believe his liberalism, his paganism, and his universalist views. And they'll never find root in the kingdom of truth whose foundation is Jesus Christ, because they're rooted in the shallow soil of their own agendas. In fact these are them who will work boisterously against Jesus' divine claims, even while participating in a churchlike community of "believers".
2. Some seed germinated among the rocks where there was very little soil for them to root, so when the weather turned hot and dry, they withered away. The people’s hearts became calloused, hard like the rocks they were planted among. They accepted the good news easily with joyful applause. But there was no depth in the persecutions. No real foundation for their faith. They received spiritual power, and the Holy Spirit was present among them, and they were enlivened by that energy, but their hearts were hardened by their old beliefs. They could hear, but they could not see. The scales of their lives were hard against the obedience and commitment that the truth was commanding from them. They wanted the excitement without the commitment. They did not turn away from their old habits and beliefs, but instead they tried to keep both for a while, but when the sun came up and you could see all that was truly going on, they fell away from the light.
3. Weeds and the desires for other things choked out the seeds that fell among them. They grew for a time but never came to fruition because they were starved for sunlight and fertile ground. They received the word, they fed on the mature soil of that garden and they even grew alongside the flowers of the field for a time. But then the enemy sowed weeds to grow among them. And these "tares" found space to root and spread, robbing the ground of fertility and blocking out the nurturing light of the sun. Ever seeing but never perceiving, soon this congregation of weeds choked and spoiled the believers whose faith eventually moved on to other things or died altogether.
4. And some seed fell onto good soil, cultivated, fertile, managed and nurtured ground, and they brought forth a harvest. Some seed produced more than others, but all produced more than what was sown.
They were able to grow in the good news, learning what prophets and righteous people longed to see. And learning from those scriptures enabled them to produce a better understanding. They became teachers, preachers, evangelists, prophets, compassionate servants and leaders, leaving behind a firm foundation that would make disciples of all who were growing among them. All this happened because they could see the truth and hear its wisdom. And because they accepted it and obeyed it they thrived.
Matthew 13:16
"blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear."
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