Matthew 13:3-9, Mark 4:3-9, Luke 8:4-8
The Parable
Matthew 13:3-9
“Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: ‘Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’”
The Lord’s explanation
Matthew 13:18-23
“’Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.’”
Lesson
The seed is the same in all instances, the Word of God, but how it reacts in the heart of man, how it grows or not, is dependent upon the heart of each man, whether his heart is good soil or not, that is, is he still willing to be changed. The Israelites are a prime example; they had closed their ears to hearing the word, and were unwilling to be changed, Matthew 13:15.
That the devil came and snatched away the word from some, this was not done without the person’s consent, that is, he didn’t come and prevent them from believing against their will. But these are those who prefer the devil over the Lord, who prefer evil over good, and when the good comes to them, that is, the gospel, they don’t listen because they prefer evil.
“Many are called, but few are chosen,” Matthew 22:14. Many, that is, the entirety of mankind, is the soil in which the seed of the gospel may grow; few are those in which it actually produces a crop.