Mt 13 The Sower

“But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;
Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.” (20,21)

We have the parable of the sower in this passage. Here, the peculiar phrase “Yet he hath not root in himself” seems to throw the focus of the passage in a different direction. Note that this guy received the Word with joy, but it did not produce fruit in him. One wonders why. We can glean a few things from these few verses that will help us to see why this might be. First, in v. 19, we see that this guy did not understand the Word as he received it; he had the seed in his heart, but not in his head. The sowing is not enough in the heart, but one needs it in the head too. Then, in v. 21, we see the guy that has it in his head, but not in his heart; exactly the opposite of the man in v. 19. In verse 22, we see the guy that neither has it in his head, (understanding) nor in his heart (Believing), but is a carnal, lost man, and in v.23, the man that has it in his head and in his heart.

This “ground” is the heart of man that is either so hard and brittle that nothing good can grow from it, or so soft that nothing will take root in it either. Just as some types of trees grow better in sand, and some in clay, few grow in the hard, brittle dirt, a dry seabed, or a barren wasteland. The soil must be worked in all cases, and made conducive to the tree. This is why some seeds of faith take root, and others wither away, the condition of the soil. Both often have water (the Word) and sun (the Son, which “lighteth every man that cometh into the world.”), but the soil has not been prepared. It is barren ground. Yes, the water of the Word is the same for both; the sun (Son) is shining on them both, but the one takes hold of the words of life, while the other wilts and dies for lack of root. He that hath not “root in himself” is that one of which we speak negatively, the dying one. He has the seed, he has the will to receive it, but it has not rooted itself in him, he has not allowed it to, he is hard hearted. He does not have it within himself, but endures for awhile in his own power. Oh, I am afraid we see many of this type in the church today, as well as the others. Take heed to the Word, and allow the Seed to root itself in you, and grow in the garden of faith that you might be fruitful and productive in the Lord and unto others. Remember, the Bible commands us to be kind, and tenderhearted…which is to tenderize our soil for the growth of the seed.

The Sower
(Mt. 13:3-23)

“A sower went forth to sow…” He did his jOB--he merely strewed the seed in all directions.
He did not look for the most fertile soil;
He did not consider the stony ground;
He did not examine the seed before he spread it,
He merely sowed.

The sower did not worry about some of the seed falling by the wayside;
He did not spend time chasing the fowl away that came to devour the seed.
He merely sowed the seed.
He allowed the Lord to determine the effect.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” (Isa. 55:11)

In each illustration, the seed had an effect. (vs. 4-8)
God’s Word will produce!
If man’s heart (soil) has been prepared, it produces good;
If his heart has been hardened, it produces unbelief, and he does evil;
But the planted seed will produce some sort of result; it will not return void.

Gypsy Martindale