Matthew 13

Matthew 13 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

Here in Matthew 13, there are so many great parables it is hard to just reflect on one aspect of this chapter! You could do an in-depth study of each story.  I want to focus on the parable of the sower because it is so important and relevant for our time.

Let’s first identify the characters in the parable.

We have a farmer and he is scattering seed. Who is the farmer? The farmer first and foremost, was Jesus Christ. He is THE farmer. Who else scattered the Word? The apostles, the early church, and today, we do. The focus of the parable, however, it not on the farmer.

Let’s go back to the seed. What does it represent? Jesus calls it the Word of the Kingdom. To us, it would be the Good News of the Gospel. So we have a believer, (farmer) scattering the Gospel (the seed) and he’s throwing it on the soil. So what does the soil represent?

Here is where we dive into the primary focus of Jesus’ parable. He spends all of his interpretation outlining the different soils. Jesus tells us that there are four scenarios for how the Word of God hits people, and three out of four don’t turn out very well. It is important to understand that this parable in Matthew 13 is a prophecy of the Gospel’s reception throughout history.

The Path

The first is the seed that gets scattered along the path. Satan comes quickly and snatches the seed before it can do anything. In this scenario, the seed does not even get a chance to take root.

The Rocks

The second type of soil we see here is the rocky soil. In ancient Israel, there were large chunks of limestone further down in the soil. As you can imagine, the roots from the seeds hit the rocks, and instead of balanced growth, the roots are unable to spread. All the energy shoots up to the top of the plant. Because there is no foundation, the plant cannot get a sufficient amount of water and it is eventually scorched by the sun.

The Thorn Bushes

The third type of soil is the weedy soil. The plant grows just fine, but some weeds form and grow alongside the plant. They work both below the ground to steal nutrients and water from the plant, as well as above the ground to shade the plant from getting proper sunlight. Eventually, that plant is choked out by the fast-growing weeds, and it dies. All of these types of bad soil are practical illustrations of people’s hearts. We can probably identify someone in our lives who would accurately depict each of these types of soil.

The Good Soil

The last type of soil we read about is good soil. The plant flourishes. With a solid root structure and foundation, it blossoms and produces fruit. But let’s look more closely. It produces at rates of 30, 60, and 100 fold. That would have been an abnormally large harvest of fruit for such a time.

What’s the problem?

The sower has a job to do. If my 4-year-old daughter comes out with me and scatters seed, she might throw it all over the place – in her hair, in my shoes, etc. But what happens when it hits good soil? It will always produce an abundance of fruit. For this reason, the growth is not dependent on the skill of the sower! The parable does not indicate that the sower is selective with how the seeds are spread. In other words, the point of the parable is not to withhold seed from the path, or the rocks, or the thorn bushes. The sower scatters seed.

However, there is also an aspect of cultivation that is being described here. Any good farmer cultivates the soil before planting. I don’t think the point of this parable is to scatter seeds haphazardly and hope they land on good soil. As I stated earlier, I also don’t think we should withhold seeds from the soil even if we *think* it might not produce a crop. Evangelism thrives in relationships, and this is where cultivation is so important. I think this parable in Matthew 13 is teaching us many things…

1. Do not be surprised when the Gospel is rejected by the masses. Again, the parable is a prophecy of the Gospel’s reception throughout history, and there are several scenarios where the seed will not produce a crop.
2. The growth/fruit is not dependent upon the sower but upon the soil (the heart) of the one receiving the Gospel message. This is a relief for those who preach the Gospel because it is not dependent on the skill of the speaker but on the heart condition of the one receiving the seed.
3. In addition to scattering seeds, believers have a mission to help cultivate the soil. We pray for hearts to be opened to the Gospel. We love our neighbors in hopes that they will soften their hearts to the Gospel. We live Christ before others in humble servanthood in hopes that their eyes will be opened to the Truth. Notice I said *help* cultivate the soil. We can never control or manipulate the soil, but we can participate with Jesus in the cultivation process. Ultimately, the heart change (soil change) is dependent upon the Holy Spirit.
4. The seed is always good. You can’t blame the seed. It’s the best there is, with a guaranteed return. The Word of God will not return void.

It always comes back to the heart. Jesus talks about this in the previous chapter of Matthew 12.

“Either make the tree good and its fruit will be good, or make the tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

Matthew 12:33 CSB

The tree, and eventually, the fruit, cannot be produced without the right soil.

For us as believers, Matthew 13 teaches us that we must understand our role. We are sowers and God has given us His seed. Our job is not to manipulate the soil but to help cultivate it. If we take our mission to go and make disciples as seriously as a farmer takes his mission to cultivate/plant his field, we will see a harvest.