The Sower: Luke 8:4-8
“4) When 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.”” Luke 8:4-8 NASB1995
At this point in His public ministry, great multitudes were seeking Jesus. They were coming from many cities and regions. As Jesus gazed upon them, they represented four kinds of soil. It was then that He told the parable of the sower.
He talked about the farmer who took his bags of seed and broadcast it into the field. He was called “the sower.”
It appears that he was planting the same seed, but the yield was drastically different. The seed represented the gospel message, but the harvest was radically different because it fell on four different kinds of soil.
The first kind of soul was beside the hard packed road. It had no soil to cover the seed so it laid on the surface. As soon as the seed hit the ground, the birds of the air gathered and ate up the seed.
Other seed fell on rocky soil and spouted quickly. But as the sun beat down on the rocks, the ground was heated and all moisture was depleted. The small plants quickly withered away.
Still other seed fell among the thorns. The little plants started well, but were soon choked out by the thrones and weeds.
But other seed fell on good soil and grew up and produced an abundant crop a hundred times as great. Mark 4:8 says “thirty, sixty and a hundredfold.” That’s an abundant harvest.
Before looking at the interpretation Jesus presented about the four kinds of soil, let’s make a few observations about the sower.
First, he was very diligent. He kept sowing his seed knowing the birds, rocks and thorns were going to consume some of his precious seed. It’s part of life. Some seed fails to produce a harvest.
Second, he didn’t get distracted. He could have stopped sowing and spent his time chasing birds or picking rocks, but instead he kept sowing. There is plenty of time during the year to prepare the soul, but during planting season you need to focus on planting. Don’t miss planting season!
Finally, he understood the law of sowing and reaping. Paul talked about it in Galatians 6:7-8. The law has two parts. First you reap “what” you sow. Your seed determines the kind of fruit you harvest. Paul said you can sow flesh seed or Spirit seed. They produce radically different crops.
Second, you reap “as” you sow. If you sow sparingly you will reap sparingly. If you sow abundantly you will reap abundantly. (See 2 Corinthians 9:6)
The sower in the story was very smart, he used the best seed and sowed very abundantly. He kept sowing right through the whole planting season.
What kind of sower are you? Are you diligent or distracted? Are you sowing quality Spirit seed or worthless flesh seed? Are you sowing abundantly or sparingly? The harvest is coming. It will expose you!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
“4) When 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.”” Luke 8:4-8 NASB1995
At this point in His public ministry, great multitudes were seeking Jesus. They were coming from many cities and regions. As Jesus gazed upon them, they represented four kinds of soil. It was then that He told the parable of the sower.
He talked about the farmer who took his bags of seed and broadcast it into the field. He was called “the sower.”
It appears that he was planting the same seed, but the yield was drastically different. The seed represented the gospel message, but the harvest was radically different because it fell on four different kinds of soil.
The first kind of soul was beside the hard packed road. It had no soil to cover the seed so it laid on the surface. As soon as the seed hit the ground, the birds of the air gathered and ate up the seed.
Other seed fell on rocky soil and spouted quickly. But as the sun beat down on the rocks, the ground was heated and all moisture was depleted. The small plants quickly withered away.
Still other seed fell among the thorns. The little plants started well, but were soon choked out by the thrones and weeds.
But other seed fell on good soil and grew up and produced an abundant crop a hundred times as great. Mark 4:8 says “thirty, sixty and a hundredfold.” That’s an abundant harvest.
Before looking at the interpretation Jesus presented about the four kinds of soil, let’s make a few observations about the sower.
First, he was very diligent. He kept sowing his seed knowing the birds, rocks and thorns were going to consume some of his precious seed. It’s part of life. Some seed fails to produce a harvest.
Second, he didn’t get distracted. He could have stopped sowing and spent his time chasing birds or picking rocks, but instead he kept sowing. There is plenty of time during the year to prepare the soul, but during planting season you need to focus on planting. Don’t miss planting season!
Finally, he understood the law of sowing and reaping. Paul talked about it in Galatians 6:7-8. The law has two parts. First you reap “what” you sow. Your seed determines the kind of fruit you harvest. Paul said you can sow flesh seed or Spirit seed. They produce radically different crops.
Second, you reap “as” you sow. If you sow sparingly you will reap sparingly. If you sow abundantly you will reap abundantly. (See 2 Corinthians 9:6)
The sower in the story was very smart, he used the best seed and sowed very abundantly. He kept sowing right through the whole planting season.
What kind of sower are you? Are you diligent or distracted? Are you sowing quality Spirit seed or worthless flesh seed? Are you sowing abundantly or sparingly? The harvest is coming. It will expose you!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
Sent from my iPhone
