The Sower (Matthew 13:1–23)

[Stephan Choe]

May 12, 2026

Key Verse 23: “But the one on whom seed was sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it and then bears fruit: one yields a hundredfold, another sixtyfold, and a third thirtyfold.”

 It is spring. In the spring, farmers sow various seeds. On the balcony of our church hall, I have sown seeds from several flowering plants. These flowering plants have begun to grow. In due time, they will bloom beautifully and subsequently bear their fruit.

In their fields, farmers usually sow grains such as wheat or barley. They then anticipate a bountiful harvest—a thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or even hundredfold yield.

We are spiritual sowers. We desire to sow spiritual seeds so that we may reap a great harvest.

With great anticipation, let us today explore the Parable of the Sower.

1. The Parable of the Sower (1–9)

Jesus delivered a long sermon on a hillside near Capernaum (Chs. 5–7). Following this sermon, Jesus healed the sick, taught the Word of God, and called disciples (Chs. 8–12).

Today, Jesus goes to the Sea of Galilee. There, a large crowd gathers around Him. He intends to teach them the Word of God. Because so many people have come, He needs a pulpit and a microphone. Unfortunately, He has neither a pulpit nor a microphone. He finds a fishing boat at the shore, steps into it, and speaks from there to the crowd standing on the bank.

Most of the listeners are poor and therefore in need of bread. Some of them are sick and in need of healing.

Naturally, Jesus knows that they need bread and healing. He does not ignore such needs. Yet He knows what their most essential need truly is. We recall that, at the beginning of his ministry, he ate nothing for forty days and forty nights and was tempted by the Devil. The Devil proposed to him: “If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread!” Jesus replied: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Mt. 4:4).

Jesus is right. God’s Word is the most essential and most important thing for us human beings. Only God’s Word can grant us forgiveness, eternal life, and the Kingdom of Heaven. Only God’s Word can give us a true sense of purpose and direction in life. For this reason, he speaks God’s Word to the gathered crowd.

The Sower [1]

He begins to tell a story:

A sower sets out to sow grain. In his joy, he sows almost a little exuberantly. Consequently, the seeds fall everywhere: onto the hard path, onto rocky ground, amidst thorns and thistles, and—thank God—also onto good soil.

Then birds come and peck up the seeds lying on the path. The seeds on the rocky ground do indeed sprout, but the sun beats down, and the shoots wither quickly, as there is only a thin layer of soil there. The seeds that fell among the thistles actually germinate and begin to grow. But the thistles choke the young plants.

The seeds, however, that fell on good soil grow up and bear fruit—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and even a hundredfold.

2. A Few Who Remained Behind—and Asked (10–17)

A large crowd of people has heard Jesus’ story. They have understood Jesus’ story well. They also realized that this time, Jesus would not be giving them any bread. They say to themselves: “I have heard enough of God’s Word for today—and I have understood it well, too. After all, I am not stupid. So, I will take a break from Bible study for a few weeks. For I must work for my daily bread.” The crowd disperses, and suddenly, it becomes completely silent.

Yet there are a few people who remain behind. They say to themselves: “I did not understand well what Jesus taught. I am slow to grasp God’s Word. I would rather stay here and ask Him what He meant by His words.”

They ask Jesus, “What does this parable mean in practical terms?”

Jesus rejoices over them and says to them, “To you it has been given to understand the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given” (11). Here, Jesus reveals to us two prerequisites for grasping the mystery of the Kingdom of Heaven:

The first prerequisite is to ask Jesus.

The majority of the crowd that turned away presumably believed they had correctly understood Jesus’ words. In contrast, those who remained sensed that they had not properly understood Jesus’ parable and therefore wished to ask Him about its meaning. They harbored within themselves the desire to understand the parable correctly and to put its teaching into practice.

We recall Jesus’ words: “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you” (Matt. 7:7).

It is not a failing to not understand God’s Word immediately. However, it is essential that we remain open to learning and ask Jesus about the meaning of His Word.

The second prerequisite for discovering the mystery of the Kingdom of God is to remain with Jesus.

At the end of verse 11, Jesus explains that those who have not remained with Him cannot understand the mystery of the Kingdom of God. However, whoever remains with Jesus will understand His Word, for Jesus will explain it to them. Whoever understands His Word will believe in Jesus as the Christ and receive eternal life. Whoever believes in Jesus as the Christ and remains with Him will grow well as a disciple of Jesus. And whoever grows well spiritually will bear abundant fruit.

Therefore, we should not feel ashamed if we do not immediately understand certain words of Jesus. Rather, we should remain with Him and ask Him. He will surely explain them to us and help us to bear abundant fruit.

3. The Interpretation of the Parable (13–20)

Jesus explains His parable to the people who remained behind:

The seeds that Jesus sows represent God’s Word. They are of the finest quality. Just as a farmer sows his seeds in confident expectation of a bountiful harvest, Christ sows His Word with complete confidence.

The various types of soil in the parable stand for different types of people: the hard-hearted, the superficial, the embittered, and those eager to learn. And the yield depends on the condition of the soil. Thus, the fruitfulness of the divine Word depends on the attitude of the individual human heart.

Some people possess a heart—a "soil of the heart"—that is as hard as a path.

Jesus says, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart; this is the one sown along the path" (19).

If the soil of our heart is as hard as paving stones, we cannot absorb God’s Word at all. The evil one rejoices greatly over this.

There is an idiom that aptly describes such a hard heart: "He has a heart of stone." It implies that a person is hard-hearted, dismissive, and unapproachable. If the soil of our heart is as hard as paving stones, we cannot receive God’s Word in the slightest. The evil one rejoices greatly over this.

When does our heart become hard like a path?

When we are intensely preoccupied with something, or when we have no interest in God’s Word, our heart becomes hardened toward it. Or, if we harbor prejudices against Jesus or God’s Word, our hearts grow hard. Unbelief, too, hardens our hearts. Our own sin also hardens our heart. For instance, Pharaoh’s heart was as hard as a rock due to unbelief and sin.

How can we transform our hardened hearts into good soil, so that we may receive God’s Word and become fruitful? We must let go of our consuming preoccupations, awaken a spiritual desire, overcome our unbelief, or repent of our sins. Then our hearts will become good soil for God’s Word.

Secondly, Jesus explains to us the rocky soil with its thin layer of earth: “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but is fickle. When tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, he immediately falls away” (20–21).

The effect of difficulties is comparable to the effect of the sun. The sun is, in fact, good and necessary for a plant, for it is the source of energy for its growth. However, without a sufficiently moist layer of soil, the sun quickly dries out the seed.

The function of a plant’s roots is to anchor the plant firmly in the soil and to absorb water and nutrients from the earth. The same applies to human beings. If we strike our roots deep into the Word of God, we receive nourishment and strength, and we grow spiritually strong. We can remain unshaken in the face of storms, mature well, and bear abundant fruit.

Without roots in the Word of God, however, one runs the risk of easily falling away from the faith as soon as difficulties arise. Therefore, we should examine ourselves to determine whether we have truly struck our roots deep into the Word of God.

Thirdly, Jesus explains the thorny soil: “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it bears no fruit” (22).

Here, Jesus identifies the cares of the world as the first spiritual thorn.

Why do we worry? Naturally, because we have problems. Every person has their problems; indeed, there is not a single human being on earth who has absolutely no problems at all. And as soon as one problem is solved, another one arises.

Consequently, when we worry, we have neither the strength nor the heart for God or for other people. Of course, when we face problems, we should strive to resolve them wisely and effectively. Nevertheless—regardless of these problems—we must place our trust in God. We should not allow our strength to be consumed by worry. Rather, we should place our firm trust in God and resolve our problems with His help.

The true root cause of our worries, however, is not the problem itself but rather our lack of trust in God. When we worry, we expend three to four times as much energy as we do under normal circumstances. Consequently, if we are consumed by worry, we are left with neither the strength nor the heart for God or for other people. Naturally, when confronted with problems, we should endeavor to resolve them wisely and effectively. Yet—despite these problems—we must place our trust in God. We should not allow our strength to be drained away by worry. Instead, we should place our steadfast trust in God and resolve our problems with His assistance.

Jesus identifies our excessive desire for wealth as the second thorn that renders us unfruitful.

He describes wealth as "deceitful," for money beguiles us. Of course, money can be used to fulfill certain desires. The problem, however, lies in the fact that many people believe that if they possessed vast sums of money, they could fulfill *all* their desires. In reality, however, money is far from being able to fulfill so many desires. For instance, a large sum of money cannot buy a faithful wife or a faithful husband—any more than it can buy a faithful friend. Rather, money often tempts us to judge others based on their income. Worst of all, however, is that we tend to place our trust in money rather than in God. Thus, money easily becomes our idol.

We must take care not to place our hope in money but in God.

According to the Gospel of Mark, Jesus identifies desires as the third thorn (Mark 4:19).

Here, the word "desire" refers both to "sexual desire" and to the "desire for material things"—such as houses, cars, and the like. We must not give room to either sexual or material desires. Instead, we should trust that our God will provide for our needs in due time. It is in this trust that we are to live and act before God. To do this, we must constantly fight the good fight of faith.

How can we transform the thorny soil of the heart into good soil for God's Word? We must uproot the thorns from our hearts. If we merely cut the thorns down, new shoots will sprout from their stumps, and new thorns will grow back. If we only superficially eliminate our worries or desires, we will soon be confronted with problems once again. Therefore, we must completely eradicate the roots of the thorns from our hearts. At the same time, however, we must constantly examine our hearts to determine whether any thorns remain.

Yet, merely removing the thorns from our hearts is not enough. We must also act proactively. We should fill our hearts with faith, love, and hope so that the thorns have no chance to take root.

Now let us see what becomes of the seeds sown on good soil.

In verse 23, Jesus says, “But the one who was sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it, then bears fruit; and one yields a hundredfold, another sixtyfold, and a third thirtyfold.”

Here, Jesus reveals to us the secret of fruitfulness: “hearing God’s Word, understanding it, and bearing fruit.”

The word “understand” here encompasses understanding, believing, and obeying. Jesus’s word is His counsel for us. When someone says, “I have understood your advice,” they mean, “I have understood your advice and intend to follow it.”

Therefore, to be fruitful, we need to hear God’s Word, believe it, and obey it. We might call this the Trinity of Faith.

How much fruit can we bear if we hear God’s Word, believe it, and obey it?

Jesus says that a believer can bear fruit thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold—just as a single grain of wheat can yield a harvest thirty, sixty, or one hundred times its original size.

We can categorize our fruit into inner fruit and outer fruit.

Inner fruit refers to our transformed inner nature—qualities such as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, and so on (Galatians 5:22–23).

“Outer fruit” refers to the people who, through our direct and indirect assistance, come to faith in Jesus Christ. If we deeply embrace God’s Word and obey it, we will lead at least 30 people—either directly or indirectly—to faith. Each of these 30 believers, in turn, will lead at least another 30 people to faith. Thus, the fruitfulness of the seed of faith is truly marvelous. This is the Kingdom of God. We must truly grasp that it is profoundly blessed to listen to God’s Word, to believe it, and to obey it. Through this, God’s Kingdom is extended throughout the world. May God bless our prayer for the spread of the Gospel. Amen!

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[1] http://www.bibelwelten.de/bibelentdecken/  Stoffbild von Gisela Harupa