Mat 13:3 | KingComments | STEP | Now He is rejected, not only does the nature of His teaching change, but also the nature of His service. He came to seek fruit in His vineyard Israel ( ), but that fruit is not there because of the unfaithfulness of the people. Now that He has been rejected, His service no longer consists in seeking fruit, but in producing it. This is expressed in the first parable. This first parable is the starting point for all other parables. He shows that the kingdom is established as a result of sowing the Word of the kingdom and not as the fruit of obedience to the law of Moses. The seed that the sower sows ends up on different types of soil: 1. The first type of soil is actually not even soil, but the public road that runs along the soil. Seed that ends up there, “beside the road”, cannot take root and becomes a prey for the birds. This seed disappears completely. 2. Other seed ends up on “rocky places”. There the seed can take root, but because of the many stones there is hardly any soil. The seed has too little soil to grow well. It shoots up too fast in the little bit of earth it has at its disposal. Because of the speed at which the seed shoots up, it doesn’t get a chance to really take root. When the sun rises, it turns out that the seed has no root and withers. Nothing remains of this seed either. 3. A third type of soil is good in itself, but there are also a lot of weeds, which leaves no room for the seed to grow. It falls “among the thorns”, which overgrow and suffocate the seed. Neither does this seed produce any fruit. 4. There is also seed that falls “on the good soil”. There it can grow freely and produce fruit. There is seed that produces one hundred percent fruit, but there is also seed that still experiences some or even considerable impediment to growth. This seed does not give one hundred percent, but only sixty percent, or even less, thirty percent fruit. The Lord concludes the parable with the familiar words “he who has ears, let him hear”. With this He points out the responsibility of those listening to act upon what has been heard.

‏ Matthew 13:3

The Parable of the Sower

Now He is rejected, not only does the nature of His teaching change, but also the nature of His service. He came to seek fruit in His vineyard Israel (Isa 5:1-7), but that fruit is not there because of the unfaithfulness of the people. Now that He has been rejected, His service no longer consists in seeking fruit, but in producing it. This is expressed in the first parable. This first parable is the starting point for all other parables. He shows that the kingdom is established as a result of sowing the Word of the kingdom and not as the fruit of obedience to the law of Moses.

The seed that the sower sows ends up on different types of soil:

1. The first type of soil is actually not even soil, but the public road that runs along the soil. Seed that ends up there, “beside the road”, cannot take root and becomes a prey for the birds. This seed disappears completely.

2. Other seed ends up on “rocky places”. There the seed can take root, but because of the many stones there is hardly any soil. The seed has too little soil to grow well. It shoots up too fast in the little bit of earth it has at its disposal. Because of the speed at which the seed shoots up, it doesn’t get a chance to really take root. When the sun rises, it turns out that the seed has no root and withers. Nothing remains of this seed either.

3. A third type of soil is good in itself, but there are also a lot of weeds, which leaves no room for the seed to grow. It falls “among the thorns”, which overgrow and suffocate the seed. Neither does this seed produce any fruit.

4. There is also seed that falls “on the good soil”. There it can grow freely and produce fruit. There is seed that produces one hundred percent fruit, but there is also seed that still experiences some or even considerable impediment to growth. This seed does not give one hundred percent, but only sixty percent, or even less, thirty percent fruit.

The Lord concludes the parable with the familiar words “he who has ears, let him hear”. With this He points out the responsibility of those listening to act upon what has been heard.