Four kinds of soil: what the parable of the sower teaches about hearing the Word
Anyone who has farmed in Ghana knows that the same seed does not grow the same way everywhere. Some ground is hard, some is shallow, some is choked with weeds. Jesus used that familiar picture to describe how people receive the Word of God.
The wayside
In Matthew 13, Jesus sat by the Sea of Galilee. So many people gathered that he got into a boat and taught from the water while the crowd stood on the shore. He began: “Behold, a sower went forth to sow.” Some seeds fell by the wayside, on the hard path, and the birds came and ate them. Jesus explained: when anyone hears the word and does not understand it, “then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart”.
Stony places and good ground
Some fell on stony places, with little earth. They sprang up quickly, but when the sun rose, they withered because they had no root. These are people who receive the word with joy, but when trouble or persecution comes because of it, they fall away. Some fell among thorns, which grew up and choked them. These hear the word, but “the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful”.
Other seed fell on good ground and brought forth fruit, “some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold”. These are people who hear the word, understand it and bear fruit.
Why parables
The disciples asked why Jesus spoke in parables. He said that parables reveal truth to those willing to understand while hiding it from those who refuse. The parable ends with a call: “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.” One detail is easy to miss: the sower scatters seed everywhere, even on the path and among thorns. He does not decide in advance which ground deserves the seed. Many preachers see here a picture of God’s generosity and a model for sharing the gospel widely.
Soil can change
The parable is less about the seed, which is good everywhere, than about the soil. It asks each listener to examine their own heart: Is it hard? Shallow? Crowded with worries and money? Every farmer knows that hard ground can be broken up, stones removed and thorns cleared. The parable describes four soils, but it does not say that any of them must stay as they are. That may be the most hopeful part of it.
