Date Added: 9/26/2016 Updated: 20161005143610 Viewed: 3377 times
The Parable of the Sower. Matthew 13 / Mark 4 / Luke 8 Matthew 13:9 "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." Matthew 13:18 "Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower."
To begin with one must understand that the field is the WORLD, it is not the Church and that this cannot be applied to the church, many teach that the field is the church but Jesus Christ never said that, He clearly explained that the field is the world (Matthew 13:38) and if the world is your church then you have a serious problem. I've heard many a preacher teach this parable to how they cannot weed the church of the tares when in fact Jesus Christ was not using this parable to teach that at all but rather that the tares should not be bound and burned until the end when He sends the reapers (which are angels and not men)! If you come across a teacher teaching tares should remain in the church as a part of it, you have to ask yourself why would anyone want tares in their umm field/church, the only answer to this would be that they don't care what crop they have in their worldly church and they may very well be a tare themselves seeking to yoke the wheat with the tares. Matthew 13:38 | The field is the world |
The Sower of the good seed is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ (and if anyone is teaching contrary then I would suggest you flee such a man) and the tares are the children of the devil. Matthew 13:37 | He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man | There is only one type of seed that is saved/children of the kingdom and that is the good seed, the 1st 3 types of seed are sown of the devil that produce no fruit, or rotten fruit. Many do not preach the truth of this but rather that 2 or more types of seed are saved, but upon close examination of what Jesus Christ said, there is only 1 type that is saved and that is the good seed that He sowed and Jesus did not mention any other seed as being the children of the kingdom, but rather how the other seed did not endure, were devoured, trodden down, withered away, and did not produce any fruit which is are not fruits of the Spirit/a work of the True Living God. Galatians 5:22-23 | But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance |
Now the question arises did Jesus sow any seed other than the good seed? Matthew 13:24-28 | Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. | Matthew 13:38-39 | but the tares are the children of the wicked [one] The enemy that sowed them is the devil | So where did Jesus Christ say he sowed anything but good seed? So this means that the other three types of seed that produced the tares are sowed by none other the enemy of Jesus Christ, the devil. The works of God are never unfruitful my friend. What is the seed that was sown? Matthew 13:38 | The seed is the word of God |
Way Side Seed Matthew 13:4 | some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: | Matthew 13:19 | When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. | Mark 4:4 | as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. | Mark 4:15 | And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. | Luke 8:5 | some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. | Luke 8:12 | Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. | The way side seed heard the word of God, they understood it not, the devil came by and catcheth it away, they were trodden down (didn't grow by it), and the fowls of the air devoured them. The fouls of the air are devils/the wicked. Notice in Luke 8:12 "least they should believe and be saved", the way side seed were not believers. Seed upon Stony places Matthew 13:5-6 | Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. | Matthew 13:20-21 | But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. | Mark 4:5-6 | And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. | Mark 4:16-17 | And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. | Luke 8:6 | And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. | Luke 8:13 | They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. | The Stony places didn't have much earth to be rooted and nourished in so when the sun was up they were scorched and withered away, even though when they heard the word they even received it with joy and endured for while (maybe a day, maybe a year, or even decades) but when tribulation and persecution came on them, they were shamefully offended, immediately offended and fell away to temptation.
Seed among the thorns Matthew 13:7 | some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: | Matthew 13:22 | He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. | Mark 4:7 | And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. | Mark 4:18-19 | And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. | Luke 8:7 | And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. | Luke 8:14 | And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection. | Then there are those seed that fell among the thorns, when they sprung up the thorns, or rather the cares, riches, lusts, pleasures of this life, and every other unholy thing choked them and they had no fruit brought to perfection.
The Good Seed (The Children of the Kingdom) Matthew 13:8 | But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. | Matthew 13:23 | But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. | Matthew 13:38 | the good seed are the children of the kingdom | Mark 4:8 | And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. | Mark 4:20 | And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. | Luke 8:8 | And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. | Luke 8:15 | But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience. | Then there are the good seed, the children of the kingdom, the seed that fell into good ground and they heard the word and understandeth it, they had a honest and good heart, heard the word, kept it and brought forth fruit with patience, some 30 fold, some 60, and some 100 fold, there were different amounts of fruit but the thing is these were the ONLY seed that produced any fruit and endured in the faith/word. So the Bible teaches that ONLY the good seed was sown by Jesus and the way side, stony, and thorny seed were all sown by His enemy the devil.
Now to address the issue of the harvest, the harvest is clearly defined as the end of the world and that we are not to cast judgement and kill or uproot the tares, that is what the reapers (ANGELS) will be doing at the end and for now we are all to grow together in the field until the time of the harvest Matthew 13:28-30 | The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. | Notice that the tares are bound and burned first and the the wheat will be gathered into the barn afterwards, I've heard several teachers pervert and twist the order of this mainly because they believe in a pre-trib rapture and this parable doesn't get along with their pet false doctrine. The Bible clearly teaches that at the time of harvest (the end of the world) that the tares will be bound and burned FIRST and that the reapers (angels) will be executing this binding and burning and the wheat will be gathered into the barn (and when comparing this with Noah and the flood, the barn is the ark). Matthew 13:39 | the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. |
While some tares are super easy to spot, there are other tares that are quite obvious. In all cases we must beware the tares and the damage their false doctrines can inflict on us, always testing/judging everything according to what the scriptures teaches, relying on not ourselves and our own understanding but rather the Spirit of Truth to guide us for on our own we will fail every time. When talking to other teachers in the matter I've found some are confused on this parable and alot of it stems from their misunderstanding of the gospel largely because of the false teachings of a false promise called "once saved always saved" because they want to believe that those that do not endure in the faith or even have fruit but yet are still saved when the fact is the Bible teaches over and over that we are saved by our faith in Jesus Christ and His works and that there is no other way to be saved. Many will speak evil of what I said because they want to believe that the Holy Spirit can move into a mans life and produce nothing but dead and rotten works, what blasphemy to believe that a born again man is still the same wicked thing after supposing to have be saved, in what I said I am not saying a man cleans up his life to be save or that a person works to gain Salvation, but rather the truth that Salvation works in a mans life that it is the work of God and not man at all. To learn about what the gospel is study and test what I teach about the gospel http://www.sharingthetruthinlove.com/article_read.asp?item=117 . Don't take my word for it, the Bible should be your sole authority in all matters of faith and live, God's word alone will never leave you lost, trust in the Lord, take your time and study what the 3 gospel accounts of what Jesus Christ said in Matthew, Mark, and Luke (I have copied them at the end of this article for easy reference, or open up the real book, but please take your time to study what God's word says about the matter). Matthew 13:1-53: The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some [seeds] fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables? He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and [their] ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and should understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed [are] your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous [men] have desired to see [those things] which ye see, and have not seen [them]; and to hear [those things] which ye hear, and have not heard [them]. Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth [it] not, then cometh the wicked [one], and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth [it]; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares? He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up? But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn. Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is like to a grain of mustard seed, which a man took, and sowed in his field: Which indeed is the least of all seeds: but when it is grown, it is the greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. Another parable spake he unto them; The kingdom of heaven is like unto leaven, which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavened. All these things spake Jesus unto the multitude in parables; and without a parable spake he not unto them: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world. Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field. He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked [one]; The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels. As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: Who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord. Then said he unto them, Therefore every scribe [which is] instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man [that is] an householder, which bringeth forth out of his treasure [things] new and old. And it came to pass, [that] when Jesus had finished these parables, he departed thence. Mark 4:1-34 And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And when he was alone, they that were about him with the twelve asked of him the parable. And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all [these] things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and [their] sins should be forgiven them. And he said unto them, Know ye not this parable? and how then will ye know all parables? The sower soweth the word. And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. And these are they likewise which are sown on stony ground; who, when they have heard the word, immediately receive it with gladness; And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time: afterward, when affliction or persecution ariseth for the word's sake, immediately they are offended. And these are they which are sown among thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. And these are they which are sown on good ground; such as hear the word, and receive [it], and bring forth fruit, some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred. And he said unto them, Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come. And he said, Whereunto shall we liken the kingdom of God? or with what comparison shall we compare it? [It is] like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it. And with many such parables spake he the word unto them, as they were able to hear [it]. But without a parable spake he not unto them: and when they were alone, he expounded all things to his disciples. Luke 8:4-18: And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience. No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth [it] under a bed; but setteth [it] on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither [any thing] hid, that shall not be known and come abroad. Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.
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