There are many lessons that can be learned form the parable of the sower in Luke 8. One of the most important lessons is not about sharing the gospel, but is about the character of the soil (people) receiving gospel and then the sower’s reaction (or lack thereof) to those people.
The Parable of The Sower is as follows:
4 And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 5 “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. 6 Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. 8 But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Christ Then Explains the Parable.
Luke 8:4-15
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” 10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’
11“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.
1. The Sower Does Not Initially Consider Where He Spreads the Seed
When the sower is making his first pass through the fields and scattering seeds, he spreads them liberally and generously, not judging the soil by its external appearance. This represents how men are to share the gospel – sharing it freely and generously without judging people based on how one thinks they will react to it. This is because God wants everyone to be saved (2 Peter 3:9) even though He knows that not everyone will be saved.
Some people will surprise you with their reactions to the Bible. Some people may look like they would not be interested in hearing about the Bible when in reality they are starving for it. And other people wearing cross necklaces will be uninterested in hearing what God would require of them in their life. Heaven forbid they actually have to give something up or take action for their own salvation.
In the beginning of any type of evangelism, no judgement should be made about the character of an individual. All judgement should be reserved until people react to the Bible. At that point, Righteous Judgement can be made.
2. The Sower Does Not Force Bad Soil to Grow Crops
The pivotal point in the parable of the sower, and the point that is almost never mentioned is the fact that the sower does not go back and try again to throw seeds on the same bad soil. Rocks, thorns and the wayside do not produce crops and the sower knows this. He doesn’t go back and keep throwing seeds on the rocks and say, “Whether you like it or not you are going to produce some crops”. Rather, he focuses on the ground that is producing crops and concentrates all of his work there.
This lesson is one that many in the church need to hear but won’t accept because it doesn’t give them the “warm and fuzzies” that they are accustomed to having. It hurts their little hearts to think that some people do not have the character to accept the gospel, just as some soil doesn’t have the character to produce crops.
Yet how many times in your church have men continued to dump time and resources into bad soil?
Even Christ instructed the 12 to “Shake the dust off their feet” if people wouldn’t listen to the message in Matthew 10:14. Christ Himself knew resources of time and effort are better spent on individuals who are receptive to the gospel
How many times have men gone into inner cities and ghettos to try to convert people and failed miserably? They attempt to share a gospel with a welfare community only to find that these people only want an additional stream of welfare income that is financed by the church. Financing the parasitical behavior of individuals is not going to “make an inroad” with them, it will only create more more people dependent on the church.
The efficient sower considers the character of the people he is sharing the gospel with. Understand: the sower initially shares the gospel with everyone, but does not make continued attempts to grow crops on soil he knows is poor. The men who continue to put time and money into “bad soil” are the ones sharing the gospel out of emotionalism rather than with discretion and duty.
Again, it is not offensive or insensitive to state that it is more profitable to spread the gospel to some peoples than to others.
If you can convert 3 souls of one type of people in the same amount of time that it takes to convert 1 soul of another people, your time is better spent converting the 3 souls. This is not offensive, it is just a fact of life. It does not make any one type of people better than the others, it simply makes them more receptive to the gospel and you must understand that with an objective mind. If one bank account provides 0.025% interest on investment while a mutual fund provides 5% return on investment, then your money is better off in the mutual fund. I am not suggesting to view people as money or inanimate objects, but rather to simply consider the value of your time and attempt to reach as many souls as possible in the most efficient way possible.
Anyone who has traveled to various countries and cultures to share the gospel knows that some cultures or peoples are much more interested in the gospel than others. Some countries have kings who are so accustomed to missionaries traveling to their lands and trying to convert them that they have turned it into a business. Kings of tribes will offer to hear what missionaries have to say if they bring enough gifts. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see that these kings are interested only in the material gifts .
It is also not offensive or insensitive to suggest that most people are not “good soil”.
In the parable of the sower, only 25% of soils were good. There was one good soil type and three bad soil types – this is not offensive, it is a simple fact. And this fact lines up perfectly with the scripture that states that few men will find their way into the Kingdom of God (Matt 7:14). It also follows that most of our time is better spent investing in the good soil.
3. In The End, The Sower Is Only Concerned With The Good Soil
After Christ describes how the bad soil produces no crops, His entire attention shifts and He then speaks about the crops produced by the good soil. Understand: it is not enough for a person to merely be good soil, they must also produce fruit. This is demonstrated by the growth of the knowledge, character and faith of an individual.
People are not expected to remain stagnant.
God loves things that grow, which could be why He originally placed man in a garden surrounded by growing things. This means He also loves when His people grow. God wants improvement and He created men so that happiness, positive pride and fulfillment can only come through work, progress and improvement.
A person can be “good soil” and still not make any improvements in their character.
A person can be “bad soil” and convert to another type later in life.
4. Soil Types can Change Over Time, Though Unusual
Even though the sower does not spend undue time with the unfruitful soil types, that does not mean that the specific soils can only be one way forever. People can change what kind of soil they are.
Occasionally a man who is “thorny soil” because he is materialistic can become good soil after a near-death experience. Many people who experience brushes with death can have a newfound clarity on what matters in life. Certain life events can happen that change people’s minds, and in turn change what type of soil they are. People also have the power to change their own minds through reason and logic.
Remember that no one’s character is fixed forever. If that was true, there would be no such thing as “building character”. And also remember that it is better to work with people who have the best character and are most receptive to the gospel. If you spend 15 years converting 1 soul when you could have converted 30 more receptive souls in that same time frame, were you as efficient as you could have been?
That is not to make the church or conversion sound like a business. It is simply to state that you must consider the worth of your time and consider how many souls can be saved if you adjust your focus. consider the character of other men.
