In our Bible study series Parabolic, the first story that we’ll consider is the Sower and the Seed. Farming, even in the ancient world had become a science. Over thousands of years, famers had learned how to grow and cultivate crops. They knew what it took to get enough food out of the ground to survive. It might surprise you to see how the seed was actually sown.
Nowadays we have seed drills. Incredible machinery that can precisely insert the seed into the ground at just the right height and even add fertilizer to the seed so that when the first rain hits, the conditions are perfect for growth. In the ancient world, a farmer would sling a large bag full of seed over his shoulder. As he walked through the fields he would cast the seed by hand. The point of the parable is that the seed falls on different soils and the results are different. The point of the parable is two fold.
#1 The sower (farmer) doesn’t care where the seed goes! I suppose, all things being equal, he would like the seed to fall on good soil. But for the purposes of our story, he doesn’t care. When we share the gospel, when we cast the seeds from God’s Word, we can’t care where the seed goes. Are some more worthy to hear the gospel? That is a dangerous game to play if we think we can judge hearts. Why not just cast the seed everywhere!
#2 The seed fall on different soils. The results of sharing the gospel will not always be the same. This is not our problem. God is the one who makes it grow. Our God reminds us that the results will be different. The point is that the success of the gospel is too great a thing for us. If we share the gospel and people hear the word and believe it, God is glorified. If we share the gospel and the hearer rejects the message, God is also glorified, we just don’t like the results as much.
Want to hear more? Watch this week’s Bible study from our series Parabolic, the Sower and the Seed.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.
Please click HERE for the other lessons from our series Parabolic – A Study of Divine Stories.