The Sower

Matthew 13

¹On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.

²Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.

³Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “Consider the sower who went out to sow.

⁴As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them.

⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep.

⁶But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it.

⁸Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown.

⁹Let anyone who has ears listen.”

¹⁰Then the disciples came up and asked him, “Why are you speaking to them in parables?”

¹¹He answered, “Because the secrets of the kingdom of heaven have been given for you to know, but it has not been given to them.

¹²For whoever has, more will be given to him, and he will have more than enough; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.

¹³That is why I speak to them in parables, because looking they do not see, and hearing they do not listen or understand.

¹⁴Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled in them, which says: You will listen and listen, but never understand; you will look and look, but never perceive.

¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown callous; their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes; otherwise they might see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn back — and I would heal them.

¹⁶“Blessed are your eyes because they do see, and your ears because they do hear.

¹⁷For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see the things you see but didn’t see them, to hear the things you hear but didn’t hear them.

¹⁸“So listen to the parable of the sower:

¹⁹When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path.

²⁰And the one sown on rocky ground — this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy.

²¹But he has no root and is short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away.

²²Now the one sown among the thorns — this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²³But the one sown on the good ground — this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”

Mark 4

¹Again he began to teach by the sea, and a very large crowd gathered around him. So he got into a boat on the sea and sat down, while the whole crowd was by the sea on the shore.

²He taught them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them:

³“Listen! Consider the sower who went out to sow.

⁴As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

⁵Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly, since the soil wasn’t deep.

⁶When the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it didn’t produce fruit.

⁸Still other seed fell on good ground and it grew up, producing fruit that increased thirty, sixty, and a hundred times.”

⁹Then he said, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

¹⁰When he was alone, those around him with the Twelve, asked him about the parables.

¹¹He answered them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you, but to those outside, everything comes in parables

¹²so that they may indeed look, and yet not perceive; they may indeed listen, and yet not understand; otherwise, they might turn back and be forgiven.”

¹³Then he said to them: “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand all of the parables?

¹⁴The sower sows the word.

¹⁵Some are like the word sown on the path. When they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word sown in them.

¹⁶And others are like seed sown on rocky ground. When they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy.

¹⁷But they have no root; they are short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately fall away.

¹⁸Others are like seed sown among thorns; these are the ones who hear the word,

¹⁹but the worries of this age, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

²⁰And those like seed sown on good ground hear the word, welcome it, and produce fruit thirty, sixty, and a hundred times what was sown.”

Luke 8

⁴As a large crowd was gathering, and people were coming to Jesus from every town, he said in a parable:

⁵“A sower went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some seed fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

⁶Other seed fell on the rock; when it grew up, it withered away, since it lacked moisture.

⁷Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns grew up with it and choked it.

⁸Still other seed fell on good ground; when it grew up, it produced fruit: a hundred times what was sown.” As he said this, he called out, “Let anyone who has ears to hear listen.”

⁹Then his disciples asked him, “What does this parable mean?”

¹⁰So he said, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.

¹¹“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God.

¹²The seed along the path are those who have heard and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.

¹³And the seed on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy. Having no root, these believe for a while and fall away in a time of testing.

¹⁴As for the seed that fell among thorns, these are the ones who, when they have heard, go on their way and are choked with worries, riches, and pleasures of life, and produce no mature fruit.

¹⁵But the seed in the good ground — these are the ones who, having heard the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, produce fruit.