Like many sages in his day, Jesus told parables. Parables were a way to illustrate the principles about which a sage was teaching. Sometimes, however, sages chose to speak in riddles, especially to outsiders; only the most determined students then would figure out the meaning. Wisdom was like a treasure, and it was suitable only for those who were fully devoted to its pursuit.
Teachers often explained their parables. Because parables illustrated points, it made little sense to tell these stories in isolation, without connecting them to the points one was illustrating. The exception would be if those very stories functioned as riddles. Riddles challenged hearers to care enough about their meaning to persevere in exploring them.
One day Jesus told a parable that was meant to illustrate this very point. Most of his audience consisted of Galilean farmers, so they could understand his story on the surface level. What they might not understand was what Jesus meant to illustrate by it. Although ancient Mediterranean farmers sometimes plowed before sowing, sometimes they sowed before plowing; ancient sources document both approaches. Still, to make his point Jesus may stretch the story a bit. In this case, some of the seed got wasted because this farmer knew only the surface of his soil (which would seem unlikely if the farmer had ever worked this land before!)
Some seed was scattered in the open, but birds ate it (Matt 13:4). Then as now, birds were ready to devour farmers’ seed and crops. A second group of seeds sprang up quickly on rocky soil, but because the roots were not deep the grain withered under the hot sun (13:5-6). A third group of seeds was choked by thorns (13:7). If thistles had been cut down rather than uprooted, the farmer might not see their roots in the soil; but by April, they could grow to a meter or higher. Nevertheless, the fourth group of seeds, which did bear fruit, yielded many times more grain than all the seed that had been sown (13:8). A hundredfold harvest was magnificent (Gen 26:12), but even thirtyfold and sixtyfold were excellent. Apart from the fertile Jordan Valley, the average yield for grain in in Judea and Galilee was about tenfold. To reap even thirtyfold was to reap far more grain than one had invested in sowing.
Jesus drew on an ancient farming principle: you do not know which seed or which day’s labor will succeed, so you labor widely (Ecclesiastes 11:3-6). We do not know where our sowing will bear fruit, but we can be confident that the overall harvests will make up for every effort. Some people for whom we labor will not respond, but the word will multiply through others many times over. In the end, it will all be worthwhile.
Jesus’s own disciples did not understand why he spoke to the crowds in parables. Jesus therefore explained that he used parables as riddles to keep the meaning obscure to those who deserved judgment (Matt 13:13-15). The disciples, by contrast, would be blessed with understanding (13:17). It is important, however, to note how they received this understanding: Jesus explained the message to his closest followers (13:18). In other words, understanding was available for those who determined to be close followers, to be disciples. Disciples were not limited to the twelve; Jesus invites whoever wishes to be his disciple to follow him—so long as they are ready to follow to the cross (16:24).
All of this, in fact, is what the parable of the sower is about, as the Lord goes on to explain. Some heard the message about the kingdom but did not understand it, so the devil’s agents stole the message from their heart (13:19). Others were happy to receive the message, but when it brought them hardship, they abandoned it (13:20-21). Still others listened to the message, but other competing interests took priority and the hearers did not become true followers of the message (13:22).
What makes the entire enterprise worthwhile, however, is that some bear fruit many times more than what is sown in them. These are the ones, Jesus says, who “hear the message and understand it” (13:23). Who are those who understand? Not the crowds, who watch Jesus heal the sick, listen to his stories, and then go home. Those who understand are the disciples—Jesus’s followers, who stay to hear his interpretations. They are the ones who persevere when things do not seem to make sense, until they hear the Lord’s explanation. These are the ones who do not simply nod with approval that Jesus is a great teacher, but those who embrace him as their Lord and Savior.
In the context of Jesus’s ministry, the meaning of the parable should have been fairly obvious anyway. Not only did the Pharisees denounce him (12:24), but his own family did not yet recognize the truth of his ministry (12:46-50) and his home town rejected him (13:53-58). Nevertheless, large crowds gathered around Jesus (13:2). The kingdom did not belong to Jesus’s opponents or even (in their current state) to the expectant crowds; it belonged to Jesus’s disciples.
Although the meaning should have been obvious to the disciples, they often needed an explanation (13:36)—and Jesus provided one. That is good news: for those who are truly willing to persevere in following Jesus, Jesus provides the understanding. We are saved completely by his grace; we merely need to value the message and welcome the transformation that it brings.
