FOUR SOILS - A PARABLE - PART 2 (Mark 4:1-20)
INTRODUCTION:
The parable of the four soils or the Sower and the seed is the most familiar of the parables and that is because it comes with Jesus’ explanation of it. That explanation then becomes the key to explaining the other parables. Remember that after Jesus told this parable to the crowds and was later alone with the twelve disciples and some of His other followers that were not a part of the twelve, they began to question Him about the parables and why He was using parables to teach the crowd. To this question Jesus gave a two-part answer: He told the twelve and His closest followers that to them was given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those outside, those who were not His followers, those who followed the scribes in rejecting Him or were just seeking Him out of curiosity, this group gets everything in parables without an explanation because they had enough time to make a decision about who Jesus Christ was. He had given them ample evidence that He was the Messiah, and they did not choose to believe Him and so now His teaching would be in parables. For those outside the parables were a judgment, they would face God’s wrath because of their rejection. As we look at the rest of this passage, remember that Jesus is now alone with His twelve disciples and those who are His wider circle of followers who believe that Jesus is the Messiah. To them Jesus is going to give the mystery of the kingdom of God, and they are going to learn what the parable of the four soils means. They will learn from this parable that Israel’s growing rejection of Jesus as the Messiah is the result of the four different types of soil found in Jesus’ parable. Let’s pray and then get into our Scripture passage for today.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Mark 4:1-20. This morning, we will be looking specifically at verses 13-20, but I want to read the whole passage for context and to refresh our memories with the parable that Jesus told. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Mark 4:1-20,
“He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, ‘Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.’ And He was saying, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.’ And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.’ ” (Mark 4:1–20, NASB95)[1]
AN EXPLANATION (Mark 4:13-14)
As we come to verse 13, Jesus has just explained why He is speaking to the crowds in parables. He has just announced that it is divine judgment because they have not acknowledged that He is the Messiah even though they have seen all the evidence. In verse 13 Jesus turns His attention back to those who have acknowledged that He is the Messiah and have believed in Him. Mark writes, “And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?’ ” (Mark 4:13, NASB95)[2] By asking, “How will you understand all the parables?” Jesus was appealing to them to listen carefully as He explained the meaning of the parable of the four soils. This question by Jesus indicates as I have already said, understanding the parable of the four soils is key to interpreting any other parables that Jesus may tell. If the disciples could not understand the elementary truths about salvation and the gospel, they would not be able to grasp later truths that built on the foundation of these truths. It was crucial for the disciples of Jesus to comprehend why His message was being rejected by so many. They had also been called to be heralds of the gospel message and they had to understand what was happening and why it was happening so when they experienced the same or similar treatment from unbelievers that Jesus was experiencing, they would be prepared. It is true that their evangelistic ministry would not be in vain, but they had to understand that not all that they spoke to would listen, but those who did listen and who responded in faith would bear abundant fruit.
Jesus begins by explaining the basics. This parable is known as the “parable of the sower.” You will notice that I have not called it by that title. The reason I have not is because the sower is not the focus of Jesus’ parable, the fact is Jesus gives no details about the sower. He does tell us what the seed represents, the seed represents the word of God, the biblical message of salvation. In another agricultural parable, the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus notes that the sower who sows the good seed in that parable is the Son of Man. (Matthew 13:36-43) Remember that Jesus’ mission was to preach the gospel of God, He came proclaiming the message of salvation. Putting these two parables side by side makes it clear that the sower in the parable of the soils is anyone who is sharing the message of the gospel with others.
With just this brief mention of the sower and the seed and what the seed represents, Jesus moves onto His main emphasis in this parable which is the different types of soil that the seed falls on. According to Matthew 13, the parallel passage to this one, the soils represent the hearts of those to whom the gospel is preached. Jesus is demonstrating that the gospel is received differently by different people. Many who hear the gospel may demonstrate a superficial and temporary interest, but it is only those who have been supernaturally prepared by the Spirit of God who will respond in true faith and bear lasting fruit. As Jesus explained the parable to those who were with Him, His words would have been both clarifying and encouraging. This explanation would prepare the disciples for their evangelistic work by helping them understand that there would be some who would respond to their message positively while others would reject it. This explanation was also encouraging for them giving them the knowledge that God was already at work in the hearts of the elect—cultivating the soil of their hearts so that it would be ready to receive the seed of the gospel.
As we look at Jesus’ explanation of the four soils, He was not only preparing His disciples but all the subsequent generations of disciples, teaching us to expect four basic responses to the preaching of the gospel, to our witness of the gospel to others. There will be the unresponsive, the superficial, the worldly, and the receptive.
ROADSIDE SOIL (Mark 4:15)
Jesus in the parable had said the first place that the seed fell was on the road, or the paths that divided one field from another. These paths are the perfect picture for a hard, unreceptive heart. Those who have a heart like those hard-beaten paths are so calloused by their unbelief that the seed of the gospel is unable to penetrate that heart at all. The same sun that gives life to the seed planted in the good soil hardens the clay of unbelief in the hearts of those who reject the message. The reason people like this fail to receive the gospel is not due to any inadequacy in the skill of the sower or the power of the seed but it is due entirely to the person’s own willful unbelief. These are people who have continually resisted the truth about Jesus, their unbelief has made the soil of their hearts like pavement. They have such hardened hatred and hostility toward the truth that when they hear it, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In their continual refusal to believe they remain enslaved to the prince of darkness. 2nd Corinthians 4:4 says this concerning Satan, “… the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4b, NASB95)[3] Satan, the god of this world, will use any means possible to take away the word which was sown in those who belong to him. As we have already seen in the first few chapters of Mark, the main obstacle to belief came from Israel’s religious establishment. The very one’s who should have been embracing Jesus as their Messiah were in reality agents of Satan. They openly opposed Jesus and denied His authority. They promoted their external religious system of works righteousness that was utterly and completely opposed to the true gospel of grace. These religious leaders used their influence to pressure people into following their lead in rejecting Jesus. The world has not changed much, Satan still uses false teachers, apostate religion, and the fear of men to keep the message of the gospel from penetrating the unbelieving, hard hearts of men and women.
ROCKY SOIL (Mark 4:16-17)
The second soil where Jesus said the seed fell was the rocky soil and Jesus said that this seed germinated and sprouted but soon after that it died. Jesus explains that the stony soil represents people who when they hear the gospel they respond with joy, they are excited about what they hear, but ultimately, they reject the gospel. The faith of these people is not genuine. They are not that different than the roadside soil, the only difference is that their hard-heartedness is not initially apparent, it is buried beneath the surface.
At first, the stony soil looks good. The initial response to the gospel is emotional and dramatic. Externally, every indication seems to point to genuine faith. In reality, their faith is shallow and temporary. Their feelings were affected, but their hearts were not transformed. Jesus said, “…they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary” (Mark 4:17a, NASB95)[4] Beneath that thin layer of outward enthusiasm lies the impenetrable layer of unrepentant unbelief, like a ribbon of limestone bedrock that is not immediately visible.
The shallowness of their commitment becomes evident “when affliction or persecution arises because of the word…” (Mark 4:17b, NASB95)[5] When they are forced to count the cost of following Jesus Christ, the true nature of their interest in the gospel becomes apparent. They are not willing to endure suffering for the sake of the gospel, their faith comes to nothing at the first sign of self-sacrifice and persecution. Unable to and not wanting to persevere, because their faith in the gospel is only surface deep, Jesus says that “…immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:17c, NASB95)[6]
When their faith is tested, these false believers stumble and fall. Because their faith in Jesus Christ lacks a genuine sorrow over sin, a sincere repentance, a true and insatiable hunger for righteousness and a deep love for the Savior, it becomes clear that the gospel had never truly taken root. The result, when the going gets tough, they quickly abandon their shallow commitment to the Lord. True believers, by contrast, possess a faith that endures affliction and persecution, and even martyrdom for the sake of following Christ.
THORNY SOIL (Mark 4:18-19)
The third soil where Jesus said the seed fell was the thorny soil. This soil, like the rocky soil, looks good on the surface, but underneath the soil is contaminated by the roots and seeds of dormant thorns. This word translated thorns refers to a thorny bramble common in the land of Israel and found frequently in cultivated soil. This is the same thorny bramble that was used to create the crown of thorns that Jesus wore at His crucifixion. When seed falls into this soil and begins to grow, these thorny weeds sprout and grow alongside the good seed, eventually choking out the good plant so that it cannot bear fruit. Jesus said this weed infested soil represents ““…the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18b–19, NASB95)[7] The people represented by the thorny soil do not possess the hard-hearted resistance of the roadside soil or the superficial emotionalism of the rocky soil, instead those represented by the thorny soil are double-minded. Instead of a loving Jesus Christ alone, their hearts remain captivated by a love of the world. Instead of focusing solely on Christ, they are preoccupied by “the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19a, NASB95) which exposes the true loyalty of their hearts. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke concerning this. Matthew records for us in Matthew 6:19-21 and 24, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.… No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6: 6:19–21, 24, NASB95)[8]
There are not many barriers to the message of the gospel that are more deceptive or deadly than worldliness and the love of money. Paul warned his true son in the faith, Timothy, that, “… the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10, NASB95)[9] John the apostle also issued a warning to his readers that is similar to what Jesus and Paul said. 1st John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15–17, NASB95)[10] A love for the world and a love for the word are incompatible, as Jesus taught in the parable of the soils one will choke out the other. Those who truly love Christ will forsake the world. On the other hand, those who love the world will forsake Christ and thus be spiritually unfruitful.
GOOD SOIL (Mark 4:20)
The fourth soil were the seed fell is in contrast to the three types of poor soil already mentioned. The fourth soil is soft, clean, and fertile. Jesus describes genuine believers as “the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil.” (Mark 4:20a, NASB95)[11] The hearts of those that are represented by the good soil are those hearts that have been prepared by God Himself, they were cultivated and plowed by the Holy Spirit so that when they hear the word, when the seed of the gospel was sown on them, they accepted it. Paul put it this way in his letter to the church in Thessalonica, he wrote in 1st Thessalonians 2:13, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13, NASB95)[12] When the truth of God’s Word is sown in the good soil that God has prepared it takes deep root in that good soil. Neither Satan, nor the world can thwart the saving effect of the gospel when it is sown in a heart prepared by God to receive it. The inclusion of the good soil in this parable was to encourage the disciples, and then all believers that when we share the good news of salvation, there will be many hearers who will reject it—due to hardness, shallowness, or worldliness—but there will also always be some whom God has prepared who will receive it and accept it as the good news of salvation.
Genuine believers, those characterized by the good soil, do not merely accept the gospel mentally, they are transformed by it through the power of the Holy Spirit. The result of this transformation is they will bear fruit. Our Scripture reading this morning spoke of this truth as Jesus explained to His disciples in John 15:5-8 using another agricultural example. He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:5–8, NASB95)[13] Jesus makes it clear in these verses that fruit-bearing is the ultimate evidence of those who truly believe. Though believers are not saved by doing good works, those who are genuinely saved will demonstrate their new life in Christ through bearing fruit; the fruit in keeping with true repentance, the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of obedience.
Jesus often included a surprising element in His parables, this one is no exception. When He described the harvest of the seed planted in the good soil, He described the return as thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. This was an unheard-of return; it went far beyond anything farmers in Jesus’ day experienced. Those figures represent returns of 3,000, 6,000, and 10,000 percent. As I stated last week, the farmers of the first century were receiving returns of six to eightfold, and a crop that yielded tenfold would have been amazing. Yet the fields of which Jesus spoke were extraordinarily more productive. When the gospel goes forth, empowered by the Spirit of God, the results are supernatural.
CONCLUSION:
As believers we are all called to be witnesses of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. As sowers of the word, we are not to tamper with the seed, nor can we prepare the soil. We are responsible only to faithfully scatter the seed of the gospel. As we scatter the seed, we can expect it to fall on one of the four soils that Jesus described in His parable. Some will be like the path and reject it outright, due to their hard-heartedness. Others will receive it with joy, but due to the shallowness of their faith they will fall away when hardship comes because of the word. There will be others who profess a love for Christ while at the same time nurturing a deadly affection for the world. Finally, there will be some who truly receive the gospel. They will humbly turn from their sins and wholeheartedly embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and King. The genuineness of their faith will be evidenced by the harvest of abundant fruit produced by their transformed lives.
Knowing that many will reject the gospel equips true believers to approach evangelism with the proper expectations. But knowing that some will genuinely believe should serve as a great encouragement. When we participate with God in evangelism, we are privileged to be a part of God’s mission that will not fail. Those whom God is sovereignly drawing to Himself will be saved. If He has prepared the soil of their hearts, the seed will germinate, will sprout, will take root, and bear abundant fruit.
There are many explanations for why people reject the message of salvation, but true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is only explainable as a supernatural work of God. All humans are born sinners with hearts that are hard, shallow, and worldly. The unredeemed heart is incapable of making itself ready to receive the gospel. Only God can transform that which is cold, calloused, and dead into something that is vibrant, receptive, and full of life. What a comfort it is to know that soil preparation is God’s work. He supplies the seed of His Word and the power of His Spirit. He prepares the soil, working in the hearts of those He is drawing to Himself. The responsibility that He has left to us is simply this: to scatter the seed through the faithful proclamation of the good news of salvation. Having fulfilled this responsibility, believers can rest in the sovereignty of God knowing that His Word will bear fruit in the hearts and lives of those whom He has called.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
INTRODUCTION:
The parable of the four soils or the Sower and the seed is the most familiar of the parables and that is because it comes with Jesus’ explanation of it. That explanation then becomes the key to explaining the other parables. Remember that after Jesus told this parable to the crowds and was later alone with the twelve disciples and some of His other followers that were not a part of the twelve, they began to question Him about the parables and why He was using parables to teach the crowd. To this question Jesus gave a two-part answer: He told the twelve and His closest followers that to them was given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but to those outside, those who were not His followers, those who followed the scribes in rejecting Him or were just seeking Him out of curiosity, this group gets everything in parables without an explanation because they had enough time to make a decision about who Jesus Christ was. He had given them ample evidence that He was the Messiah, and they did not choose to believe Him and so now His teaching would be in parables. For those outside the parables were a judgment, they would face God’s wrath because of their rejection. As we look at the rest of this passage, remember that Jesus is now alone with His twelve disciples and those who are His wider circle of followers who believe that Jesus is the Messiah. To them Jesus is going to give the mystery of the kingdom of God, and they are going to learn what the parable of the four soils means. They will learn from this parable that Israel’s growing rejection of Jesus as the Messiah is the result of the four different types of soil found in Jesus’ parable. Let’s pray and then get into our Scripture passage for today.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Mark 4:1-20. This morning, we will be looking specifically at verses 13-20, but I want to read the whole passage for context and to refresh our memories with the parable that Jesus told. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Mark 4:1-20,
“He began to teach again by the sea. And such a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole crowd was by the sea on the land. And He was teaching them many things in parables, and was saying to them in His teaching, ‘Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had risen, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into the good soil, and as they grew up and increased, they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.’ And He was saying, ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear.’ As soon as He was alone, His followers, along with the twelve, began asking Him about the parables. And He was saying to them, ‘To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside get everything in parables, so that while seeing, they may see and not perceive, and while hearing, they may hear and not understand, otherwise they might return and be forgiven.’ And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.’ ” (Mark 4:1–20, NASB95)[1]
AN EXPLANATION (Mark 4:13-14)
As we come to verse 13, Jesus has just explained why He is speaking to the crowds in parables. He has just announced that it is divine judgment because they have not acknowledged that He is the Messiah even though they have seen all the evidence. In verse 13 Jesus turns His attention back to those who have acknowledged that He is the Messiah and have believed in Him. Mark writes, “And He said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the parables?’ ” (Mark 4:13, NASB95)[2] By asking, “How will you understand all the parables?” Jesus was appealing to them to listen carefully as He explained the meaning of the parable of the four soils. This question by Jesus indicates as I have already said, understanding the parable of the four soils is key to interpreting any other parables that Jesus may tell. If the disciples could not understand the elementary truths about salvation and the gospel, they would not be able to grasp later truths that built on the foundation of these truths. It was crucial for the disciples of Jesus to comprehend why His message was being rejected by so many. They had also been called to be heralds of the gospel message and they had to understand what was happening and why it was happening so when they experienced the same or similar treatment from unbelievers that Jesus was experiencing, they would be prepared. It is true that their evangelistic ministry would not be in vain, but they had to understand that not all that they spoke to would listen, but those who did listen and who responded in faith would bear abundant fruit.
Jesus begins by explaining the basics. This parable is known as the “parable of the sower.” You will notice that I have not called it by that title. The reason I have not is because the sower is not the focus of Jesus’ parable, the fact is Jesus gives no details about the sower. He does tell us what the seed represents, the seed represents the word of God, the biblical message of salvation. In another agricultural parable, the parable of the wheat and the tares, Jesus notes that the sower who sows the good seed in that parable is the Son of Man. (Matthew 13:36-43) Remember that Jesus’ mission was to preach the gospel of God, He came proclaiming the message of salvation. Putting these two parables side by side makes it clear that the sower in the parable of the soils is anyone who is sharing the message of the gospel with others.
With just this brief mention of the sower and the seed and what the seed represents, Jesus moves onto His main emphasis in this parable which is the different types of soil that the seed falls on. According to Matthew 13, the parallel passage to this one, the soils represent the hearts of those to whom the gospel is preached. Jesus is demonstrating that the gospel is received differently by different people. Many who hear the gospel may demonstrate a superficial and temporary interest, but it is only those who have been supernaturally prepared by the Spirit of God who will respond in true faith and bear lasting fruit. As Jesus explained the parable to those who were with Him, His words would have been both clarifying and encouraging. This explanation would prepare the disciples for their evangelistic work by helping them understand that there would be some who would respond to their message positively while others would reject it. This explanation was also encouraging for them giving them the knowledge that God was already at work in the hearts of the elect—cultivating the soil of their hearts so that it would be ready to receive the seed of the gospel.
As we look at Jesus’ explanation of the four soils, He was not only preparing His disciples but all the subsequent generations of disciples, teaching us to expect four basic responses to the preaching of the gospel, to our witness of the gospel to others. There will be the unresponsive, the superficial, the worldly, and the receptive.
ROADSIDE SOIL (Mark 4:15)
Jesus in the parable had said the first place that the seed fell was on the road, or the paths that divided one field from another. These paths are the perfect picture for a hard, unreceptive heart. Those who have a heart like those hard-beaten paths are so calloused by their unbelief that the seed of the gospel is unable to penetrate that heart at all. The same sun that gives life to the seed planted in the good soil hardens the clay of unbelief in the hearts of those who reject the message. The reason people like this fail to receive the gospel is not due to any inadequacy in the skill of the sower or the power of the seed but it is due entirely to the person’s own willful unbelief. These are people who have continually resisted the truth about Jesus, their unbelief has made the soil of their hearts like pavement. They have such hardened hatred and hostility toward the truth that when they hear it, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In their continual refusal to believe they remain enslaved to the prince of darkness. 2nd Corinthians 4:4 says this concerning Satan, “… the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4b, NASB95)[3] Satan, the god of this world, will use any means possible to take away the word which was sown in those who belong to him. As we have already seen in the first few chapters of Mark, the main obstacle to belief came from Israel’s religious establishment. The very one’s who should have been embracing Jesus as their Messiah were in reality agents of Satan. They openly opposed Jesus and denied His authority. They promoted their external religious system of works righteousness that was utterly and completely opposed to the true gospel of grace. These religious leaders used their influence to pressure people into following their lead in rejecting Jesus. The world has not changed much, Satan still uses false teachers, apostate religion, and the fear of men to keep the message of the gospel from penetrating the unbelieving, hard hearts of men and women.
ROCKY SOIL (Mark 4:16-17)
The second soil where Jesus said the seed fell was the rocky soil and Jesus said that this seed germinated and sprouted but soon after that it died. Jesus explains that the stony soil represents people who when they hear the gospel they respond with joy, they are excited about what they hear, but ultimately, they reject the gospel. The faith of these people is not genuine. They are not that different than the roadside soil, the only difference is that their hard-heartedness is not initially apparent, it is buried beneath the surface.
At first, the stony soil looks good. The initial response to the gospel is emotional and dramatic. Externally, every indication seems to point to genuine faith. In reality, their faith is shallow and temporary. Their feelings were affected, but their hearts were not transformed. Jesus said, “…they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary” (Mark 4:17a, NASB95)[4] Beneath that thin layer of outward enthusiasm lies the impenetrable layer of unrepentant unbelief, like a ribbon of limestone bedrock that is not immediately visible.
The shallowness of their commitment becomes evident “when affliction or persecution arises because of the word…” (Mark 4:17b, NASB95)[5] When they are forced to count the cost of following Jesus Christ, the true nature of their interest in the gospel becomes apparent. They are not willing to endure suffering for the sake of the gospel, their faith comes to nothing at the first sign of self-sacrifice and persecution. Unable to and not wanting to persevere, because their faith in the gospel is only surface deep, Jesus says that “…immediately they fall away.” (Mark 4:17c, NASB95)[6]
When their faith is tested, these false believers stumble and fall. Because their faith in Jesus Christ lacks a genuine sorrow over sin, a sincere repentance, a true and insatiable hunger for righteousness and a deep love for the Savior, it becomes clear that the gospel had never truly taken root. The result, when the going gets tough, they quickly abandon their shallow commitment to the Lord. True believers, by contrast, possess a faith that endures affliction and persecution, and even martyrdom for the sake of following Christ.
THORNY SOIL (Mark 4:18-19)
The third soil where Jesus said the seed fell was the thorny soil. This soil, like the rocky soil, looks good on the surface, but underneath the soil is contaminated by the roots and seeds of dormant thorns. This word translated thorns refers to a thorny bramble common in the land of Israel and found frequently in cultivated soil. This is the same thorny bramble that was used to create the crown of thorns that Jesus wore at His crucifixion. When seed falls into this soil and begins to grow, these thorny weeds sprout and grow alongside the good seed, eventually choking out the good plant so that it cannot bear fruit. Jesus said this weed infested soil represents ““…the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Mark 4:18b–19, NASB95)[7] The people represented by the thorny soil do not possess the hard-hearted resistance of the roadside soil or the superficial emotionalism of the rocky soil, instead those represented by the thorny soil are double-minded. Instead of a loving Jesus Christ alone, their hearts remain captivated by a love of the world. Instead of focusing solely on Christ, they are preoccupied by “the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things” (Mark 4:19a, NASB95) which exposes the true loyalty of their hearts. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus spoke concerning this. Matthew records for us in Matthew 6:19-21 and 24, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.… No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.” (Matthew 6: 6:19–21, 24, NASB95)[8]
There are not many barriers to the message of the gospel that are more deceptive or deadly than worldliness and the love of money. Paul warned his true son in the faith, Timothy, that, “… the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.” (1 Timothy 6:10, NASB95)[9] John the apostle also issued a warning to his readers that is similar to what Jesus and Paul said. 1st John 2:15-17 says, “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” (1 John 2:15–17, NASB95)[10] A love for the world and a love for the word are incompatible, as Jesus taught in the parable of the soils one will choke out the other. Those who truly love Christ will forsake the world. On the other hand, those who love the world will forsake Christ and thus be spiritually unfruitful.
GOOD SOIL (Mark 4:20)
The fourth soil were the seed fell is in contrast to the three types of poor soil already mentioned. The fourth soil is soft, clean, and fertile. Jesus describes genuine believers as “the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil.” (Mark 4:20a, NASB95)[11] The hearts of those that are represented by the good soil are those hearts that have been prepared by God Himself, they were cultivated and plowed by the Holy Spirit so that when they hear the word, when the seed of the gospel was sown on them, they accepted it. Paul put it this way in his letter to the church in Thessalonica, he wrote in 1st Thessalonians 2:13, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13, NASB95)[12] When the truth of God’s Word is sown in the good soil that God has prepared it takes deep root in that good soil. Neither Satan, nor the world can thwart the saving effect of the gospel when it is sown in a heart prepared by God to receive it. The inclusion of the good soil in this parable was to encourage the disciples, and then all believers that when we share the good news of salvation, there will be many hearers who will reject it—due to hardness, shallowness, or worldliness—but there will also always be some whom God has prepared who will receive it and accept it as the good news of salvation.
Genuine believers, those characterized by the good soil, do not merely accept the gospel mentally, they are transformed by it through the power of the Holy Spirit. The result of this transformation is they will bear fruit. Our Scripture reading this morning spoke of this truth as Jesus explained to His disciples in John 15:5-8 using another agricultural example. He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” (John 15:5–8, NASB95)[13] Jesus makes it clear in these verses that fruit-bearing is the ultimate evidence of those who truly believe. Though believers are not saved by doing good works, those who are genuinely saved will demonstrate their new life in Christ through bearing fruit; the fruit in keeping with true repentance, the fruit of righteousness, the fruit of the Spirit, and the fruit of obedience.
Jesus often included a surprising element in His parables, this one is no exception. When He described the harvest of the seed planted in the good soil, He described the return as thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. This was an unheard-of return; it went far beyond anything farmers in Jesus’ day experienced. Those figures represent returns of 3,000, 6,000, and 10,000 percent. As I stated last week, the farmers of the first century were receiving returns of six to eightfold, and a crop that yielded tenfold would have been amazing. Yet the fields of which Jesus spoke were extraordinarily more productive. When the gospel goes forth, empowered by the Spirit of God, the results are supernatural.
CONCLUSION:
As believers we are all called to be witnesses of the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ. As sowers of the word, we are not to tamper with the seed, nor can we prepare the soil. We are responsible only to faithfully scatter the seed of the gospel. As we scatter the seed, we can expect it to fall on one of the four soils that Jesus described in His parable. Some will be like the path and reject it outright, due to their hard-heartedness. Others will receive it with joy, but due to the shallowness of their faith they will fall away when hardship comes because of the word. There will be others who profess a love for Christ while at the same time nurturing a deadly affection for the world. Finally, there will be some who truly receive the gospel. They will humbly turn from their sins and wholeheartedly embrace the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior and King. The genuineness of their faith will be evidenced by the harvest of abundant fruit produced by their transformed lives.
Knowing that many will reject the gospel equips true believers to approach evangelism with the proper expectations. But knowing that some will genuinely believe should serve as a great encouragement. When we participate with God in evangelism, we are privileged to be a part of God’s mission that will not fail. Those whom God is sovereignly drawing to Himself will be saved. If He has prepared the soil of their hearts, the seed will germinate, will sprout, will take root, and bear abundant fruit.
There are many explanations for why people reject the message of salvation, but true repentance and faith in Jesus Christ is only explainable as a supernatural work of God. All humans are born sinners with hearts that are hard, shallow, and worldly. The unredeemed heart is incapable of making itself ready to receive the gospel. Only God can transform that which is cold, calloused, and dead into something that is vibrant, receptive, and full of life. What a comfort it is to know that soil preparation is God’s work. He supplies the seed of His Word and the power of His Spirit. He prepares the soil, working in the hearts of those He is drawing to Himself. The responsibility that He has left to us is simply this: to scatter the seed through the faithful proclamation of the good news of salvation. Having fulfilled this responsibility, believers can rest in the sovereignty of God knowing that His Word will bear fruit in the hearts and lives of those whom He has called.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[9]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[10]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[11]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[12]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[13]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. 1995. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.