“’Listen!  Behold, a sower went out to sow.  And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it.  Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth.  But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away.  And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop.  But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased, and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.’  And He said to them, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’” (Mark 4:3-9 NKJV)

Using parables was one of Jesus’ preferred methods of teaching.  I think that has a lot to do with what Jesus said in Matthew about the mysteries of God being revealed not to the wise but to little children (those who are humble, and hungry).  “Father, thank you, for you are Lord, the Supreme Ruler over heaven and earth!  And you have hidden the great revelation of your authority from those who are proud and think they are wise and unveiled it instead to little children.  Yes Father, you’ve chosen this gracious plan to extend your kingdom.” (Matthew 11:25-26 TPT).  In this parable of the sower and the seed Jesus defines for us 4 different types of ground that represent 4 different types of hearts, and 4 different scenarios for the seed sown into each type of ground.  The seed, or course, is the Word of God.

The first ground is the wayside.  Another word for this is a highway or a beaten path.  I think of it as ground that is paved or solid, trampled on, a place where everything just stays on the surface.  This would represent a hard heart.  And when the word of God is sown in a hard heart it is snatched up and devoured by the birds of the air.  This is the activity of the devil, the devourer (1 Peter 5:8).  He knows how powerful God’s Word is when it gets in our spirit (heart).  John 10:10 says that the thief comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  Jesus explains this in Mark 4:15, “When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.”  If we have hard hearts that just keep God’s Word on the surface, the devil will certainly do his part to make sure it doesn’t sit there for long.

The second ground is the stony ground.  I think of this as ground that has cracks and crevices in it where some see could fall down into and be out of reach of the birds and also maybe find some nourishing dirt.  But because this dirt hasn’t been tilled and softened, when the seed begins to sprout up its roots can’t go deep and they get stunted.  This represents a hollow heart.  I think this has been me many times, in fact I think this is very common ground for baby Christians.  We receive the seed and it inspires us and we respond to it.  But because we haven’t taken the time to nurture it, to meditate on it and let it get down into our spirit it doesn’t produce the faith we need to stand up against trials and obstacles.  We learned in 1 Peter that trials and tribulation purify our faith and therefore prove the word of God in us.  If we do not allow God’s Word to be rooted in us we will not have enough faith to stay standing.  I think this “rooting” happens over time as we create history with God and let Him work to soften the soil of our hearts.  “…when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time…when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble.” (Mark 4:17 NKJV).

The third type of ground is that which bares thorns and thistles.  It has soil to allow the seed to grow but also that allows weeds to grow.  This type of ground represents a half heart.  I think of someone that has one foot in Jesus and one foot still in the world, or maybe someone sitting on the fence still trying to get the best of both sides.  The thorns and thistles represent the cares of this world.  And when we still have eyes and ears and an open heart for the things of this world, we are growing conflicting fruit within us for it is the cares of this world that feed the lusts of our flesh.  Paul says in Galatians, “For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:17 NKJV).  Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 to seek first the Kingdom of God and all the things we need will be given to us.  But if we seek the things of this world then we are allowing the lusts of our flesh to produce in us a conflicting reality that is far below the reality that the Word of God promises to us.  “they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. (Mark 4:18-19 NKJV).

The fourth type of ground is the good ground.  This represents a whole heart, where we are all in.  I find it interesting though that even the good ground still doesn’t guarantee fruitfulness of one hundredfold.  “But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” (Mark 4:20 NKJV).  There is more for us to do once we receive the Word and accept it.  If we don’t walk in the light of the truth that we have received, then how can we bear much fruit?  My grandparents used to save all kinds of food scraps from eggshells and seeds and stems of vegetables to coffee grounds.  My grandpa had a compost heap he would throw it all into and every year when he prepared the soil for planting the new garden, he would use the soil from the compost heap to fertilize the ground.  He took a lot of care to keep the soil organically nurtured for the seeds he would plant.  He always harvested quite an abundance as I remember it, and the best tasting tangerines I’ve ever had.  We need to keep nourishing the soil of our hearts with Jesus.  He said that He is the bread of life (John 6:35) and the living water (John 7:37-38).  The more we allow Jesus to nourish the soil of our heart, the stronger our faith will be, the more confidently we will walk in stride with the Holy Spirit, and the more fruit we will bear for Jesus.

Jesus wraps this parable up with perhaps the most important part of his whole message in verse 9, “And He said to them, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear!’” (Mark 4:9 NKJV).  The Passion Translation says, “If you understand this, then you need to respond.” (Mark 4:9 TPT).  The only responsibility of the sower in this parable is to sow the seed.  It is up to the hearer to prepare the right type of ground to cultivate and harvest the seed.  It is entirely up to us whether that seed will live or die, and whether it will produce fruit of thirtyfold, sixty, or a hundred.

“Because this revelation lamp now shines within you, nothing will be hidden from you – it will all be revealed.  Every secret of the kingdom will be unveiled and out in the open, made known by the revelation-light.  So pay careful attention to your hearts as you listen to my teaching, for to those who have open hearts, even more revelation will be given to them until it overflows.  And for those who do not listen with open hearts, what little light they imagine themselves to have will be taken away.” (Luke 8:17-18 TPT).