The Sower is the parable Jesus told of a man who went out to sow seed, and of four kinds of ground that received it.
Some seed fell on the path, some on rocky ground, some among thorns, and some on good soil.
Jesus said the seed is the word of God, and the soils are the hearts of those who hear.
This is the parable He told the disciples to understand first, because it opens the rest.
A sower went out to sow.
- As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds ate it.
- Some fell on rocky ground, where it sprang up quickly and withered because it had no root.
- Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it.
- Some fell on good soil and produced grain—thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.
Jesus ended with the charge, “He who has ears, let him hear.” When the disciples asked, He explained. The seed is the word of the kingdom. The path is the one who hears and does not understand; the evil one snatches the word away. The rocky ground is the one who receives the word with joy but has no root; when tribulation or persecution comes, he falls away. The thorny ground is the one who hears, but the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things choke the word. The good soil is the one who hears the word, understands it, holds it fast in an honest and good heart, and bears fruit with patience. The parable is not first about the skill of the sower. It is about the hearing of the heart.
- The sower sows the same word; the difference is the soil.
- The seed is the word of God, the word of the kingdom.
- Four hearers are described: the path, the rocks, the thorns, and the good soil.
- Fruit is the mark of true hearing, not first enthusiasm.
- Tribulation, riches, and cares can destroy a word that was received with joy.
- Jesus treated this parable as the key to the others: if you do not understand this one, how will you understand all the parables?
- The call at the end is personal: he who has ears, let him hear.
- The Sower – The one who goes out with the word; God sows generously.
- The Seed – The word of God, the message of the kingdom.
- The Path – Hearing without understanding; the word is snatched away.
- The Rocky Ground – Shallow joy with no root; faith withers under trial.
- The Thorns – A crowded heart; cares, riches, and desires choke the word.
- The Good Soil – An honest and good heart that hears, holds fast, and bears fruit.
- The Harvest – Thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold—fruit in differing measure, yet real fruit.
- Matthew 13:3-9 – “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground… Other seeds fell among thorns… Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”
- Matthew 13:18-23 – “Hear then the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart… As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself… As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word… As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit…”
- Mark 4:3-9 – The same parable; “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow.”
- Mark 4:13-20 – “And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word.’”
- Luke 8:5-8 – “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it…”
- Luke 8:11-15 – “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God… As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.”
- Luke 8:18 – “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
- Mark 4:24 – “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you.”
- Isaiah 55:10-11 – “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout… so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty…”
- James 1:21-22 – “Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only…”
- Hebrews 4:2 – “For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened.”
- 1 Peter 1:23-25 – “You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God… And this word is the good news that was preached to you.”
- Colossians 1:5-6 – “…the word of the truth, the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and increasing…”
- John 15:5, 8 – “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit… By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
- Romans 10:17 – “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”
- Hosea 10:12 – “Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord…”
A sower went out to sow. The seed is the word of God. The question is not whether the word is good. The question is the soil. Has the word been snatched away? Has it withered under trouble? Has it been choked by cares and riches? Or has it been held fast in an honest and good heart? Jesus said that if you do not understand this parable, how will you understand all the parables? Take care how you hear. Receive the implanted word. Bear fruit with patience. The same Lord who sows the word can break up fallow ground. He who has ears, let him hear.
Entry compiled for the JESUSaves.com Bible Glossary. Optimized for wiki.js Visual Editor.