Parable of the Sower
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
-Matthew 13
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
-Mark 4
“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
-Luke 8
Footpath=birds ate them, stepped on
shallow soil, rocks=sprouted quickly=wilted under the sun, no deep roots
thorns=grew up with it=choked out
fertile soil=produced 30, 60, 100 times more
For the most part it seems the three gospels recorded the same story. Luke seems to be the only one a little different. He mentions the lack of moisture for the shallow soil. He mentioned the plant growing with the thorn for a period before being choked out. He also does not mention the 30 or 60 times. He cuts right to the 100 times only.
All of them end with Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. It's interesting that they remember Jesus ending with that bit of advice. I probably wouldn't have.
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.
All three gospels also have the explanation attached in the chapter.
Seed=God's word.
Footpath=those who hear the message and don't understand it.=The evil one comes and snatches away the seed.
rocky soil= those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.=without deep roots they fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. or face temptation
Thorns=hear God's word=but all too quickly the message crowded out by worries of this life and lure of wealth.
Good soil=truly hear and understand God's word=produce a harvest of 30, 60, even 100 times as planted. cling to the word and patiently produce a huge harvest.
The interesting thing about this parable is Jesus only refers to people who hear the word of God.
He only mentioned places where the seed has landed. What about the other soil all around the world there the farmer did not scatter his seeds?
Also I'm not sure I understand the footpath people. What does it mean to have the devil come and snatch it away from their hearts? Is that the footpath's fault? Does that mean they are damned for having Satan take the seed from them?
The rocky soil actually hears the message and receives it. Here we have the first mention of confirmation in the seed. It did land here and it was received. but the roots weren't deep enough. What dose it take to have deep roots? It sounds as if the rocky soil wanted deep roots but didn't seem to have the opportunity thus once temptation and problems come they wilt.
The thorn seed again hear the message but they get anxious about the risk so they never grow into maturity. Luke almost made it sound as if growing among the thorns was like being around non-Christians but in the explanation Jesus doesn't say that. He doesn't say stay away from those pesky worldly sinners. The secular world. No instead He says that it is worry and wealth not people.
And of course the good soil are the people who go on to preach the love and spread the love.
It is also interesting to note that Jesus doesn't talk about it being the farmers fault. He doesn't blame the throw or the seed. I worry a lot about if I am portraying Christ's love well enough. What if I say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, upset someone, then it is my fault they don't know God. But in this story Jesus isn't concerned about who's throwing the seeds and if the seeds are any good. The point is the heart of the person or the soil receiving the seed. We can only control ourselves. We have no one to blame but ourselves. We shouldn't fear the risk of screwing up. It doesn't seem to be about that to Jesus. He'll take care of that stuff we just need to toss the seeds of love.
But I'm still confused about the footpath guys...
WALK THE MOON - Anna Sun
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted! Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
-Matthew 13
“Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!” Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
-Mark 4
“A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field, some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
-Luke 8
Footpath=birds ate them, stepped on
shallow soil, rocks=sprouted quickly=wilted under the sun, no deep roots
thorns=grew up with it=choked out
fertile soil=produced 30, 60, 100 times more
For the most part it seems the three gospels recorded the same story. Luke seems to be the only one a little different. He mentions the lack of moisture for the shallow soil. He mentioned the plant growing with the thorn for a period before being choked out. He also does not mention the 30 or 60 times. He cuts right to the 100 times only.
All of them end with Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. It's interesting that they remember Jesus ending with that bit of advice. I probably wouldn't have.
“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they believe for a while, then they fall away when they face temptation. The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the cares and riches and pleasures of this life. And so they never grow into maturity. And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest.
All three gospels also have the explanation attached in the chapter.
Seed=God's word.
Footpath=those who hear the message and don't understand it.=The evil one comes and snatches away the seed.
rocky soil= those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.=without deep roots they fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's word. or face temptation
Thorns=hear God's word=but all too quickly the message crowded out by worries of this life and lure of wealth.
Good soil=truly hear and understand God's word=produce a harvest of 30, 60, even 100 times as planted. cling to the word and patiently produce a huge harvest.
The interesting thing about this parable is Jesus only refers to people who hear the word of God.
He only mentioned places where the seed has landed. What about the other soil all around the world there the farmer did not scatter his seeds?
Also I'm not sure I understand the footpath people. What does it mean to have the devil come and snatch it away from their hearts? Is that the footpath's fault? Does that mean they are damned for having Satan take the seed from them?
The rocky soil actually hears the message and receives it. Here we have the first mention of confirmation in the seed. It did land here and it was received. but the roots weren't deep enough. What dose it take to have deep roots? It sounds as if the rocky soil wanted deep roots but didn't seem to have the opportunity thus once temptation and problems come they wilt.
The thorn seed again hear the message but they get anxious about the risk so they never grow into maturity. Luke almost made it sound as if growing among the thorns was like being around non-Christians but in the explanation Jesus doesn't say that. He doesn't say stay away from those pesky worldly sinners. The secular world. No instead He says that it is worry and wealth not people.
And of course the good soil are the people who go on to preach the love and spread the love.
It is also interesting to note that Jesus doesn't talk about it being the farmers fault. He doesn't blame the throw or the seed. I worry a lot about if I am portraying Christ's love well enough. What if I say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, upset someone, then it is my fault they don't know God. But in this story Jesus isn't concerned about who's throwing the seeds and if the seeds are any good. The point is the heart of the person or the soil receiving the seed. We can only control ourselves. We have no one to blame but ourselves. We shouldn't fear the risk of screwing up. It doesn't seem to be about that to Jesus. He'll take care of that stuff we just need to toss the seeds of love.
But I'm still confused about the footpath guys...
WALK THE MOON - Anna Sun