March 19: An Abundant Harvest

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

Mark 3:31-35

Matthew 12:46-50

Luke 8:19-21

Jesus Tells the Parable of the Sower

Mark 4:1-20

Matthew 13:1-23

Luke 8:4-18

The Parable of the Sower and the Seed is one of the more well-known parables of Jesus. It is so well-known, taught so often, and so familiar that I almost read over it today without taking the time to really consider what Jesus was actually saying. In today’s blog, we’ll take a closer look at this familiar story.

In all three Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) Jesus tells this parable and gives its explanation. The seed of the sower or farmer is the Word of God, and the farmer sows the seed into four different kinds of soil:

1) The PATH, where the birds came and ate up the seeds.

Jesus explained that the soil here is anyone who hears the Word but doesn’t understand it. The evil one comes and snatches away the Word just as the birds came and ate up the seed on the path.

2) The ROCKY SOIL, where the seeds produced quickly but the sun eventually scorched the young plants because they had no roots.

Jesus explained that the soil here is anyone who quickly receives the Word with joy but then quickly falls away when troubles come because he is not well grounded.

3) The THORNY SOIL, where the thorns grew up and choked the plants produced by the seed.

Jesus explained that the soil here is anyone who hears the Word but remains unfruitful because the cares of the world and the concern for wealth choke out the Word that was planted.

4) The GOOD SOIL, where the seed grew and produced incredible harvests of 30-, 60-, or 100-fold.

Jesus explained that the soil here is anyone who hears and understands the Word and experiences an overabundant harvest.

If the seed is the Word and the good soil is the person who hears and understands the Word, what exactly is the crop that is to be produced? In other words:

SEED = WORD

CROP = ????

What does the “crop” of the Word look like in the believer whose “soil” is good? My best answer is found in Paul’s words of Galatians 5 – the crop of the Word must be the Fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

One more interesting point concerning this parable. To hear Jesus talk of 100-, 60-, or even 30-fold harvests would have been surprising to his audience. At best, a 10-fold crop was considered excellent, and most crops were less than that. So the spiritual harvest in the one who hears and understands the Word is a supernatural, extraordinary produce of fruit that goes beyond what would normally be expected. In this sense, the FULLER LIFE consists of an overabundance of love, joy, peace, and the other Fruit of the Spirit. May it be so in my life and yours.