3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop — a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Matthew 13:3-9
I have read this parable numerous times in the past and always focused on the soil. This is the first time I have read these verses with the sower in mind. When we read this parable from the perspective of the sower we get a better understanding of why Jesus called it the parable of the sower, and not the parable of the soil.
Jesus himself explained to the disciples what this parable means. The farmer is like Jesus. The seed that he sows is the seed of the good news about Jesus. The farmer sows the seed in many different places, just as we Christians should share God’s good news in many different places. What happens to the seed is different in different places. It is the same with the good news about Jesus. It has a good result in the lives of some people, and it has a poor result in other lives.
Jesus shares that the sower scattered seed (the Word of God) on all types of ground. It didn’t say that he was meticulously planting the seeds in designated ‘good soil’ areas — it says he was scattering the seed everywhere.
In Luke 5:31 we are reminded, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.”
The meaning of the parable of the sower is to show that Christ came to share the Word of God with everyone. We don’t serve a stingy God who picks and chooses who is good enough to hear the word. He graciously sows into everyone who is willing to accept his word.