Deceptions Devices – Parable of the Sower

I once struggled with the fact that most people refuse to wake up and confront what’s obvious to everyone. One – day – we – will – die.

It puzzled me as to why most people disregard the single most important challenge of life, which is understanding and preparing for what follows one minute after that soon-to-come moment of death. Even those whose older age meant that the moment was approaching increasingly quickly seemed to turn a blind eye to the main event of their lives.

It stopped being a puzzle when I realised that this world is full of deception and many want to be deceived. Some people will cling to the most absurd beliefs preferring that deception to truth. Many more are deceived into believing that the lies that are commonplace in the world are actually the truth.
The world promises rewards for the deceived many of those rewards are elusive. Riches, happiness, pleasures that satisfy every lust of the flesh, applause, and perhaps the most satisfying of all, the right to choose the way that seems right in a person’s own eyes. (Proverbs 14:12)
However, like a magician performing a magic act on stage, the god of this world must hide what is going on in the left hand so that the crowd focuses only on the rewards in the right hand. Like the magician, the god of this world has perfected the art of deception.

People who live their lives only within their natural senses can live their entire life without recognising God’s hand at work behind the scenes. Their self-assurance that they have it all figured out leads to a hardness of heart that in turn blinds their eyes to spiritual reality and makes them easy to deceive.
Romans 1:18-32 gives a frightening picture of what is undeniably the world as we know it. The last sentence should make us all uncomfortable. It tells us that although man has a revelation from God, in that we can see He exists through His creation (verse 20 and also Psalm 19:1-4), he flagrantly rejects Him and denies the truth about man’s inbred sin nature and God’s perfect righteousness.
The world not only continues to practice the ways which these verses describe but it also encourages, applauds and approves those who do the same. It’s political correctness or conforming to the popular worldview without question. (see Romans 12:2).

Perhaps the greatest tragedy of life is to walk through our days without knowing the truth about why we exist and who we really are.
We can be wrong about our career choice, our finances, or the weekend footy score; but we cannot afford to be wrong about where we’ll spend eternity.

So, is there a way that we can be sure of our eternal destiny?
Yes, if you believe and accept the Bible as God’s Word to man!
If a person does not accept the Bible as the Word of God, which he is free to do, he can only hope for a life of uncertainty and confusion about his eternity.

My friends, according to the Bible, eternity comes down to only two choices. We call them heaven or hell.
Both are beyond the realms of this natural see, feel and touch world in which we live while in our natural, earthly body.
Heaven is to spend an eternity in the presence of and in perfect relationship with God who created us for this very purpose. We will be free of sin and all the pain, sickness, heartbreak and failure that’s the hallmark of this natural existence.

Hell, or Hades is to be in the permanent non-reversible state of eternal separation from God. The Bible calls it the “second death”.
Contrary to popular belief there will be no rejoicing in reconciling with old mates or family, no continuing enjoyment of sin, and no laughter or anything that resembles fun or enjoyment. In fact, there will be no joy, or peace, or love or anything good, ever again, only eternal despair. If our friends or family, who are already experiencing this horrific state could speak to us with just one sentence it would be, “Avoid this place at any cost!”

How then can we avoid this place at any cost?
Well, the entire message that God has given to man through His Word can be summarised this way.

Man has inherited a sinful nature and because of it, we’re alienated from God making it impossible to be in God’s presence. However, God in His love for mankind has made a way by which man can be reconciled to Him while still fulfilling His perfect justice that demands the eternal death penalty for sin.

God did this by sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who was perfect and innocent, to die in our place. He “bore” our sin and took the punishment of death for it so that we would not need to.
He was the only one who could take that penalty for us because of His perfect holiness and sinlessness.
We can’t do a single thing to help in our redemption, because every thought, every deed, and every act we do, no matter how good we think it is, is filthy when stacked up against God’s perfection and perfect justice.

The birth, death and resurrection of Jesus achieved everything necessary for our salvation from eternal death.
There is nothing we can do to help and to try to do so, to try and “help” God by our good works, is to believe that the death of Jesus was not enough. It effectively makes God a murderer because if we could achieve salvation through our good works it would have been unjust to send Christ to the cross to die in our place.
We’re saying to God that our good works such as our religious rituals, our deeds and our good intentions can earn God’s favour. All through the Bible God makes it clear that this is simply not the case.
Our works fall dismally short no matter how hard we try or what level of “goodness” we achieve. Even our best efforts are woefully inadequate.

The truth is that every person that’s ever been born is lost! Our good deeds don’t get added to some sort of heavenly scoreboard that adds up to making us less lost. We are completely LOST. We’re not on trial. We’re already condemned.
It‘s only our reaction to and receiving of the Word of God that is going to determine whether we will be saved or not.

Why, when all this is made so clear to us do the majority fail to grasp it and in many cases wilfully accept the deception that hides these truths?
The answer is given to us in three of the four Gospels in the Bible.
In Mattew 13:3-23, Mark 4:3-20 and Luke 8:5-15 we hear the parable that Jesus gave of the Sower.
A parable is a word picture that illustrates a story or a lesson. It’s like an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

In this parable, we have a perfect picture of why and how so many people are deceived and reject the simple way to eternal life.
Not only that but we also see how even believers who love God and believe His Word can live a life separated from spiritual reality.
From the account in Matthew we read from Matthew 13-:3; Behold, a sower went out to sow.
And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.
Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth.
But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.
And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.
But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Now, Jesus left us in no doubt about the meaning of the parable.
He explained the meaning in detail to His disciples.
Let’s break down each section of the parable and let The Lord explain it to us.

Verse 3 and 4, Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them.

In Matthew 13:18 – 19, Jesus explains the meaning. We read; “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”

Now, what do we learn from this first part of The Lord’s explanation?
First, we learn something from what the Lord did NOT say.
He didn’t say who the sower was and He didn’t clarify anything about the field that was being sown.
This is important because many people mix this wonderful and mighty parable with another parable in Matthew; the parable of the weeds in Matthew 13:24.
Jesus’ explanation of this parable in Mattew 13:37 – 39 clearly tells us that the sower is The Son of Man – Jesus Himself. We read from verse 37; “He who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil, the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are the angels.”
So, according to The Lord Himself, in the parable of the weeds, the Sower is Jesus Himself, the field that’s being sown represents the world and the seeds being sown are the “sons of the kingdom” and the “sons of the wicked one”.

None of this directly relates to our parable in Matthew 13:3. Indirectly it relates very powerfully but it’s obvious here that Jesus is using the picture of seed differently.
Seed is used in different ways throughout the bible’s 254 verses containing the word.
In the parable of the sower that we’re looking at today, the Lord simply says a sower went out to sow but He does, very specifically, tell us what the seed represents in this case.
The seed is “the word of the kingdom.” What is being sown? “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom…” The seed is the Word of the Kingdom, the Kingdom of God. It is God’s Word relating to all things to do with the coming eternal Kingdom.
The sower is whoever is sowing the Word of the Kingdom. It could be you, it could be me or it could be Billy Graham or any preacher or teacher you’d like to name. Now let’s not be mistaken. Wherever there is the sowing of the true unadulterated Word of the Kingdom happening it will be the Spirit of God behind it, so, ultimately it is Jesus Himself doing the sowing.

The Word of the Kingdom, like a seed, needs good fertile soil in which to grow and flourish. Also, just as the seed contains within it everything required for it to grow to a mature, fruit-bearing plant, so does the Word of God.
In Romans 1:16 we read; “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes… “
The only exterior thing required for both seed and the Word is good soil.
Jesus also explains what the soil is in this parable.

Let’s hear our Lord explain it and I’m reading from Verse 19; “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.”
The soil is a representation of the hearts of men. Of course, the word men here means mankind, humanity, both male and female.
We also learn here that the birds in this parable represent “the wicked one”, satan, God’s enemy.

So what do we have so far?
The sower is anyone sowing the seed with Jesus as the initiator.
The seed is the word of the kingdom.
The soil is the hearts of men.
The birds are the wicked one, Satan.
So now let’s continue with the Lord’s explanation of the parable. From verse 19 we read; “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.”
The “Wayside” soil is hard (very hard). It’s a real stretch to even call it soil. Just look at the roadside on any country road today. It’s hard like it’s frozen solid
A seed that ends up on the wayside is nothing more than food for the birds that are always along any country roadside. A seed is almost instantly snapped up. Kerrie and I have seen trucks carrying grain from a harvest to the grain silos that lose some of their load on the way. There will always be a dense cloud of birds devouring it, gorging on it till it’s completely gone. Sometimes these birds are so full they can’t even fly out of the way of a car or truck (with disastrous results for them).
Just as seed seldom takes root by the wayside the Word cannot take root in this hard, unforgiving type of heart and it’s easy pickings for Satan and his minions.

Now to Verse 5 to 6, Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away.

In Mattew 13:20 – 21, Jesus explains, “But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.”

We’ve all seen that rugged stony ground that is made up of rocks and stones with very little good growing soil. The seed that’s sown on this ground will often sprout roots, desperately trying to find good soil in which to anchor and draw what it needs to grow. It usually fails because of the heat of the day burning down on it and causing it to die before it can find the nutrition and moisture it needs to grow.
These stony–ground folk are different to the first group. It was Satan who took the Word away from the wayside hearers, but the flesh is the culprit with this group. The “flesh” is the natural part of us. It’s that part of us that experiences the onslaught of the world’s persecutions and trouble.
Notice a very important point here!
The tribulations and persecutions fell on these hearers BECAUSE of the Word, for the Word’s sake.
Satan doesn’t attack you because you’re you, he always attacks the word, which he hates above all things.
The heat of these attacks was just too much for these people to face so they fell away without the Word taking root.
Notice that when they first heard the Word, they received it with joy. They were enthusiastic and excited, like a kid with a new toy.

Perhaps the best picture of the stony ground hearer is portrayed in John Bunyan’s famous novel, Pilgrims Progress when the character Christian tells the character Pliable about the celestial city. It was like fireworks going off in Pliable’s brain and he eagerly joins Christian on the journey to the celestial city excitedly telling him to “come on, hurry up”. However, when on the way to the celestial city, they get stuck in the swamp of despondency Pliable is angry at both Christian for giving him the message of the celestial city and the message itself which he quickly rejects and heads back to his old home and his old ways.
By the way, Pilgrims Progress they say has outsold every book except the Bible and has not been out of print since 1678. It’s a must-read for any Christian.

Verse 7, And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them.

In Mattew 13:22, Jesus explains, “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”

The third group of hearers are like thorny ground.
With these people, the world crowds out the Word of God. Satan got the wayside folk, and the flesh took care of the stony–ground folk, but the world chokes out the Word for the thorny ground hearers.
The cares of the world move in. Sometimes it’s poverty, and other times it’s the deceitfulness of riches. It’s quite interesting that folk at each end of the social spectrum—extreme poverty and extreme prosperity—are the most difficult for the Word to reach.
The care and anxiety for all that happens along the journey through this life add to the problem by consuming people’s minds to the point where the way out is hidden.
In the Luke 8 version of the parable in verse 14, the “pleasures of this life” is added while in the Mark 4 version in verse 19 the “lusts of other things” is added. This lot is consumed with the world with all its pleasures as well as its tragedies that there’s no place available for the one thing that offers perfect fulfilment and purpose for an eternity, the Word of God. As the things of this world rise in focus and importance, the Word of God reduces in focus and importance.
Many people have let the things of this world bury the Word of God. We all have to some extent.

Verse 8, But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Thank God, some seed falls on good ground, and our Lord interprets this for us in Mattew 13:23, “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
These were the hearers who received the Word, understood it and bought forth, quote, “fruit” to varying degrees.
Bearing fruit means we produce what is known as the fruit of the Spirit and is
is the calling of every believer and God’s promise to them!

Galatians 5:22-23 tells us what the fruit is. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.
The fruit of the Spirit can only come forth in me by the power of the Spirit. No amount of self-effort will bear spiritual fruit. It requires a surrender of my self-will to God so that more and more as we experience the power of God’s Word working in our lives, the fruit of the Spirit begins to overtake come forth instead of my own sin nature.
Notice the “good ground” hearer understands the word.
Understanding is the key and this can only happen through revelation from the Spirit of God. It is God who opens the Word to us. He will open our understanding of the Word to the extent we allow Him to.

Remember earlier we said that just like the seed the Word has all the power within itself to grow to maturity? That power is the Holy Spirit who “inhabits” the Word of God.
In Acts 8:27 – 39, we see an example of how the Word needs to be understood for it to grow to produce fruit.
The Ethiopian was reading the Word, the book of Isaiah, but he didn’t understand it even though he wanted to.
So the Spirit of God put Philip there as a hitchhiker to take a ride with the Ethiopian and to give him a passport to eternal life. Philip explained the Word to him, that the One who was led as a sheep to the slaughter was the Lord Jesus Christ, that He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.
The Ethiopian believed and received The Lord.
Philip was sowing the seed of the Word of God. This is a Kingdom–of–Heaven situation as it reveals that the Sower, Philip, is sowing the seed of the Word of God in the world and that the Holy Spirit applies it to the hearts of those who want to believe.

After our Lord had given the parable of the sower, He said something else.
In Mattew 13:9 he says, “He who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
If a person wants to know the Word of God, he can know it. He who wants to know the truth can know it. But it is possible to shut your ears to it. There are many millions of broadminded, intelligent people who shut their ears to the Word of God. If you don’t want to hear it, you won’t hear it.
Not only would you fail to hear it, but you wouldn’t understand it if you did hear it.
You must have the kind of ear that wants to hear the Word of God.

In Mattew 13:12 we read, “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
If you know a little truth and you want to know more, the Lord will add to it.
If you don’t want to know the truth, the Lord will see to it that you won’t get it. You see, the Lord will never shut the door to one who wants to hear.
He makes it very clear that this is His reason for speaking in parables. Those who don’t want to hear will not understand them.

I hope you will see through the parable of the Sower how it is that many of us, both believers and unbelievers, are deceived into living our lives within the limitations of this world’s offerings which will soon pass away instead of in the peace that passes all understanding and the in the joy of the Kingdom and eternity.

Will you hear His Word today?