"The Parables. No. 2. The Sower.", by Charles H. Welch in The Berean Expositor, circa 1912-13 We now approach the consideration of this initial parable. Initial, not only because it is the first in order of utterance, but because its interpretation supplies a model for the interpretation of all parables, "Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables?" (Mark iv. 13). John tells us that although he has recorded eight "signs" to support the particular purpose of his Gospel (John xx. 31), yet the number actually wrought by the Lord far exceeded this, so much so that "if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written" (John xxi. 25). What is true concerning the Lord's works is also true concerning His words; each Gospel narrative gives a divinely inspired selection of His wonderful teaching. If this is so, what importance must be placed upon that miracle, parable, or discourse which is repeated twice or even thrice! The parable of the Sower occurs in the three Synoptic Gospels (Matt. xiii. 1-9; Mark iv. 1D9; Luke viii. 4D8). In each record we read of the four sowings, or four kinds of ground. It will be instructive to consider the various ways in which this parable has been recorded. Matthew xii. 4-9 Mark iv. 4-9 Luke viii. 5-8 "Some fell by the way- "Some fell by the way- "Some fell by the way- side, and the fowls side, and the fowls of side, and it was trodden came and devoured them the air came and down, and the fowls of up." devoured it up." the air devoured it." "Some fell upon stony "Some fell upon stony "Some fell upon a rock." places where they had ground where it had not not much earth." much earth." "Forthwith they sprung "Immediately it sprung "As soon as it was sprung up, because they had no up, because it had no up, it withered away, deepness of earth, and depth of earth; but because it lacked when the sun was up when the sun was up, it moisture." they were scorched: and was scorched: and because because they had no it had no root, it root, they withered withered away." away." "Some fell among "Some fell among "Some fell among thorns; thorns; and the thorns thorns; and the thorns and the thorns sprang up sprung up, and choked grew up, and choked it with it, and choked it." them." and it yielded no fruit." "Other fell into good "Other fell on good "Other fell on good ground, and brought ground, and did yield ground, and sprang up, forth fruit, some an fruit that sprung up and bare fruit an hundred hundred fold, some and increased; and fold. And when He had sixty-fold, some brought forth, some said these things, He thirty-fold. Who hath thirty, and some sixty cried, He that hath ears ears to hear, let him and some an hundred. to hear, let him hear." hear." And He said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." One of the differences between Matthew's account and that of Mark is that Matthew speaks always in the plural, "they," "them," whereas Mark speaks of the seed in the singular, "it." Luke adds the words, "and it was trodden down," in the first sowing, and omits the reference to "no depth of earth" and the effect of the sun, telling us that it withered because it lacked moisture. The addition of the words, "with it," in Luke's account of the thorns is also suggestive. In the interpretation of the parable, the following differences are noteworthy. We print them in tabular form to save space. Matthew xiii. 10-23 Mark iv. 10-20 Luke viii. 9-15 "The mysteries of the "The mystery of the "The mystery of the kingdom of heaven." kingdom of God." kingdom of God." "The word of the "The sower soweth the "The seed is the word kingdom." word." of God." "The wicked one." "Satan." "The devil." "This is HE which "These are THEY by the "Those by the wayside." received seed by the by the wayside." wayside." "He that received seed SIMILAR TO MATTHEW "They on the rock are into stony places, the they which, when they same is he that heareth hear, receive the word the word, and anon with with joy; and these have joy receiveth it; yet hath no root, which for awhile he not root in himself, believe, and in time of but dureth for a while: temptation fall away." for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended." "He also that received SIMILAR TO MATTHEW but "And that which fell the seed among the add -- "the lust of among thorns . . . choked thorns . . . the care other things entering with cares, riches, and of this world, and the in." pleasures of this life, deceitfulness of riches, and bring no fruit to choke the word, and he perfection." becometh unfruitful." "But he that received "And these are they "But that on the good the seed into the good which are sown on good ground are they, which ground is he that ground, such as hear in an honest and good heareth the word, and the word and receive heart, having heard the understandeth it; it." word, keep it, and bring which also beareth fruit, forth fruit with patience." and bringeth forth, some an hundred-fold, some sixty and some thirty." Such is the divine interpretation. We are not called upon to speculate, but to believe. Those to whom these words were first uttered knew the Scriptures of the Old Testament sufficiently well to follow the figurative allusions far more clearly and with greater suggestiveness than we are able to. Moreover, they had no epistle of church doctrine in their minds. We have, and because we will not discern between the things which differ, we introduce confusion into God's Word by our traditional ideas. Let us keep church and kingdom separate; let us not read into Matt. xiii. that which was not revealed until years after, then we shall be able to understand something of the "mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens." The kingdom of God is wider in its scope than the kingdom of the heavens. The latter expression has reference to that Millennial kingdom, when the kingdoms of this world shall be ruled by heaven's King, when Dan. ii. 44 shall be fulfilled; but the term, "the kingdom of God," though wider than the kingdom of heaven, is not used in the Gospels to refer to the church of the present dispensation, for at that time the present dispensation was a secret hidden by God, whereas the secrets of Matt. xiii. are to some extent explained. There is no need for us to repeat that which we gave in our last article, for the exclusively Jewish and kingdom setting of Matt. xiii. is evident to every candid reader (cf. Matt. x. 5, 6; and Matt. xv. 24, which are on either side of Matt. xiii.). The parable tells us of the secret course of the purpose relative to the kingdom. It depicts the apparent failure of the early ministry, but shows in the fourth ground its fruitful consummation. All who are pictured here under the imagery of the various sowings are those who hear and receive the word of God, particularly the word of God relative to the kingdom (Matt. xiii. 19; Luke viii. 11). This cannot refer to the heathen nations, at least not until we reach the fourth ground; for during the ministry of Christ the word of the kingdom was confined to the limits of the Land of Promise: "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritan enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. x. 5-7). Perhaps we ought to note some things which the Lord does not say. He does not say, "The sower is the Son of man"; it is merely "a sower," in the parable; and in the interpretation nothing is said of the sower other than the fact that "the sower soweth the word." We have two expositions before us, both of which emphasize that the "sower was the Son of man ." Again, it does not say, "the field is the world." Luke tells us that the various sowings, in various kinds of ground, had reference to the hearts of those who heard the word. When we come to examine the parable of the Wheat and Tares, then we are distinctly told that the sower is the Son of man, and that the field is the world, but if we introduce these into the Parable of the Sower, we spoil the intended teaching. The "seed of the kingdom of heaven " was sown by John the Baptist, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the apostles during the Acts period; this ministry, as we know, was humanly speaking a failure, for although they proclaimed the near approach of the kingdom of heaven, that kingdom is now in abeyance. The kingdom purposes, however, cannot fail, hence prophecy clearly indicates a further preaching and sowing of this same gospel seed, which will be fruitful as depicted in the fourth ground. This is one of the "secrets" or "mysteries" of the kingdom of the heavens. Following hard upon the rejection of the Lord Himself (Matt. xii ) comes the revelation of the whole course of kingdom progress. The Lord, with wonderful fitness, depicts the conditions which were predominant in relation to the four periods of kingdom ministry. The first ministry mentioned in the New Testament is that of John the Baptist. He preached the good news of the kingdom, and baptism unto remission of sins. Each ministry, however, had something of the four kinds of ground represented among its hearers, but the special characteristic of John's sowing was that it fell upon hearts which, like the wayside, had become hardened with continual treading and tradition, and consequently very few believed his message. Those who heard him "understood not," and the Lord tells us that the Wicked One "caught away that which was sown in their hearts." Before we proceed further it will be necessary to call attention to an interpretation of this parable which has a great deal of truth in it, but which may be pressed too far. There are some who tell us that this parable of the Sower does not refer so much to the word sown in the heart of the hearer, but to the environment in which the hearer (represented by the seed) is placed. We must not summarily dismiss this from our notice, inasmuch as there is a certain amount of truth in the statement; but, like so many things, it is not all true. If we use the R.V. instead of the A.V. we shall see a little more clearly that the seed sown not only represents the word of the kingdom, but the children of the kingdom as well. In Matt. xiii. 18D23 we have the Lord's own interpretation of the parable. Note the words in italics in the following extracts. "This is he that was sown by the wayside." "And he that was sown upon rocky places, this is he that heareth the word." "And he that was sown among thorns, this is he,&c." "And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word." The same intermingling is seen in Mark iv. and Luke viii. Nevertheless, both passages definitely tell us that the "seed" is the "word." The primary meaning of the seed is certainly "the word," for the Lord Himself says so. The inclusion of the hearer within the meaning is rather by implication than by definite statement. It appears, then, that to fully understand the parable we must allow its double application. When the application is to those who reject the word, then the seed sown is the word of the kingdom, and the grounds represent the characteristics of the hearers. When the application is to those who are really children of the kingdom, then their identity is lost in that of the seed sown -- they are linked in type to the truth. Then, the various grounds speak not of the state of heart of the hearers, but of their environments during the various phases of the history of events. A characteristic example is found in the cases of Peter and Judas. Satan had dealings with each (Matt. xvi. 22, 23; Luke xxii. 3, 31). Peter denied the Lord with oaths and curses; Judas betrayed Him. Peter went out and wept bitterly; Judas went and hanged himself. Peter was a child of the kingdom, but for a while the thorns overcame him. Judas never was a child of the kingdom (John vi. 70, 71), he was one of the thorns, or, as in the next parable, one of the tares, and his heart is represented by the thorny ground itself. It is evident that the great majority of the Pharisees, and indeed of the multitude that came forth to be baptized of him (Luke iii. 7), did not understand the import of his message and baptism, for looking upon them he cried, "O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?" Their trust was in "Abraham their father," but John bade them "bring forth fruit meet for repentance." These multitudes and Pharisees, who would have submitted to the rite of baptism as some new ceremonial which pleased their ritualistic self-righteousness, were repulsed by the stern rebuke of John, and Satan, taking advantage of the moment, snatched the seed away, and occupied their heart the more for his own fell purposes, for later we find the same people, who boasted of being "children of Abraham," called rather the "children of the Wicked One" by the Lord in John viii. 44. There were stony ground hearers among the followers of John; of them it is written, "Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth . . . He was a burning and a shining lamp; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." These stony ground hearers heard the word, "and anon with joy received it," yet they had no root, persecution for the sake of the word discovered their shallowness, and soon they were offended. It was for such that the Lord uttered the words, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in Me" (Matt. xi. 6). The prominent characteristic of John's ministry was, "to prepare the way of the Lord, and make His paths straight." It was hard work, with little apparent result. Two of his own followers proved to be hearers of the good ground variety, for on the second day of his proclamation, "Behold, the Lamb of God," they followed the Lord, one of them being Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. The first sowing of the parable of the Sower is peculiarly descriptive of the first preacher of the kingdom -- John the Baptist. Following immediately upon John's ministry was that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord commenced his ministry with the same words as John used, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. iv. 17 with iii. 2). In association with Himself the Lord sent forth the Twelve (Matt. x.), and the Seventy (Luke x.). This ministry, looked at it from the external standpoint, was not much more successful than that of John Baptist. The characteristics of the "stony ground," the second sowing hearers, are seen everywhere. The stony ground hearers were shallow. The wayside hearers rejected the testimony of God against them, but the stony ground hearers received the word with joy -- for a while! In Matt. iv. 17D25 we have the preaching and its effect. "His fame went throughout all Syria"; "and there followed Him great multitudes." Mark xii. 37 supplies us with a statement which coincides with the character of the stony ground hearers. "The common people heard Him gladly." "He that received seed into the stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it, yet .... by and by he is offended." In John vi. we have a record of defection. After the Lord had uttered that marvelous word concerning Himself as the living bread, and how He came to give His life for the life of the world, we read, "many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this, said, This is a hard saying, who can hear it"? "From that time many of His disciples went back, and walked no more with Him." In Luke iv. 14D29 we have another illustration of this self-same spirit. After the Lord's discourse in the Synagogue, we read, "And all bare Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?" By the time He had finished His message to them, however, we read, "And all they in the Synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong." Herod himself exhibited much the same character. "And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see Him for a long season, because he had heard many things of Him, and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by Him .... Then Herod with his men of war set Him at nought" (Luke xxiii. 8D11). Matt. xxi. 1D19 furnishes us with another example of the shallowness of the hearers of the word during the ministry of the Lord. "A very great multitude spread their garments in the way . . . and the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Within a few days, in the very same city, the multitude, urged by the chief priests and elders, cried out, "Let Him be crucified!"; "His blood be on us, and on our children" (Matt. xxvii. 19D25). Hence it is that in immediate relation to the ride into Jerusalem, and the shout of Hosannah, we read, "And when He saw a fig tree in the way, He came to it, and found nothing thereon, but leaves only" (Matt. xxi. 19). It is interesting to note that the words "withered away" of Matt. xxi. 19; xiii. 6; Mark iv. 6; and Luke viii. 6 are the same. Such, to a large extent, was the character of the heart of those who heard the gospel of the kingdom from the lips of the Son of God. Thus, while John's ministry is represented by the wayside hearers, the Lord's ministry is likened unto the stony ground hearers. In immediate succession to the ministry of the Lord Jesus was the ministry of the Twelve in the Acts. This ministry is likened to the sowing of seed among thorns. Peter uses the key word of the gospel of the kingdom, "Repent," and the kingdom ordinance, "Be baptized" (Acts ii. 38). The preaching of the word at Pentecost and after produced a deeper effect than had been evidenced during the "Gospels" period. There was not so much of that spirit which characterized the wayside hearers, for the good seed found a place in many hearts, neither was the stony ground hearer alone represented. The trouble is seen among those who had "tasted of the heavenly gift," and who had been "partakers of holy spirit," and had "tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come." Heb. vi. is a divine commentary upon the cause of failure during the Acts. The figure of the "thorny ground" is actually repeated in Heb. vi. 8, "But that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected." Luke tells us that the stony ground hearers "brought no fruit unto perfection." We find the echo of this in Heb. vi., "Leaving .... let us go on unto perfection." The epistle to the Hebrews was addressed to Jews who had received in some measure the seed of the kingdom, and had accepted the Lord Jesus as Messiah, but who were still "zealous for the law" (Acts xxi. 20). The Jews failed to see the perfection that was to be found alone in Christ. "Cares, riches and pleasures of this life, the deceitfulness of riches and the lust of other things" are referred to in Hebrews in such passages as xi. 25, 26, "choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt." "Ye took joyfully the spoiling of your goods (x. 34)." "Be content with such things as ye have, for He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (xiii. 5). Ananias and Sapphira (Acts v.), and Simon who believed and was baptized (Acts viii. 13), are examples of the growth of the thorns which eventually choked the good seed. Ananias and Sapphira particularly illustrate the "thorny ground" hearers. They had believed the word, they had evidently been baptized and were recognized by the apostles as members of the fellowship of believers, yet their sad history shows us that Matt. xiii. 22 and Heb. vi. are commentaries upon the causes of failure during the Pentecostal dispensation. They brought no fruit to perfection. The command, "Cut it down" -- long delayed -- at length was fulfilled; the olive tree of Abrahamic blessing and Jewish privilege was cut down, to remain in that condition until the end of the age. Then, after the fullness of the Gentiles be come in, "all Israel shall be saved," ungodliness shall be turned away from Jacob by the Deliverer sent to them -- the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. xi. 25, 26). This is represented by the "good ground." "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the habitable world (oikoumene -- a word relating to the kingdom) (Heb. ii.5). for a witness unto all the nations, and then shall the end come" (Matt. xxiv. 14). This final witness leads on to the fulfillment of the commission of Matt. xxviii. 19, 20:- "Go ye therefore, and make all nations disciples, baptizing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the consummation of the age." The final sowing will be fruitful. "Israel shall all be righteous" (Isa. lx. 21), "all Israel shall be saved" (Rom. xi. 26), "they shall revive as the corn. and grow as the vine" (Hosea xiv. 7). After the tribulation of the last days, the Lord "will send those that escape unto the nations . . . and they shall declare My glory among the Gentiles" (Isa. lxvi. 19). This is the heart of the New Covenant. >From the days of old (Isa. vi. 10), during the earthly ministry of the Lord (Matt. xiii. 14), and throughout the Acts of the Apostles to its close (Acts xxviii. 27), the heart of Israel had been hard, and had "waxed gross," the "lust of other things" had choked the word; but when the time comes for the final sowing, the Lord will send Elijah, who shall accomplish that which was foreshadowed by John Baptist; he will make ready a people for the Lord. "The upright in heart" of the Psalms, and "the pure in heart" of the Sermon on the Mount, are those indicated in the final sowing of the seed of the kingdom. The promise to Israel is, "I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh" (Ezek. xi. 19). This is the blessing of the New Covenant, sealed by the blood of Christ by which alone the kingdom can be made secure (Jer. xxxi. 31D40). In 2 Cor. iii. 3D6 we have the "heart of flesh" contrasted with the "heart of stone" in relation to the New Covenant. The days shall come when Israel, now cast off, shall bring forth a hundred- fold. An handful of corn in the top of the mountains shall shake like Lebanon. It was towards this glorious consummation that the Lord Jesus looked as He reviewed the "mysteries of the kingdom of the heavens." He knew that His rejection would but subserve the mighty purpose of God. In due time He came to die, and in due time He will come to reign. The parable of the Sower may supply us with many valuable lessons, but to discover the primary teaching is the object of this series. Let us bring the four sowings together, viz.:- John Baptist. Wayside hearers. "They seeing, see not, neither do they understand" The Lord Jesus, the Stony ground hearers. "Nothing but leaves . . . Twelve and the Seventy. it withered away." Peter and the Twelve. Thorny ground hearers. "No fruit to perfection." "Riches, pleasures, the lust of other things" (Heb. vi). The final witness Good ground hearers "The honest and good heart" (Matt. xxiv.14) (the heart of the New "Some hundredfold" Covenant) Parallel with this teaching of the Sower is the witness of the same truth in the parables of the Fig Tree (Luke xiii.) and the Great Supper (Luke xiv.), which we must consider after Matt. xiii. is finished. The primary teaching of these parables is not merely to supply a moral or spiritual lesson but to depict the secret course of the mystery of the kingdom on through its apparent defeat to its glorious close. The parables of Matt. xiii. which follow supply further details, but have no new subject; all are connected with the rejection of Christ by Israel, and relate to the "mystery of the kingdom of the heavens." We hope next time to consider the parable of the Wheat and the Tares.