One can see the importance of this parable in the fact that it is recorded in Matthew 13, Mark 4 and Luke. 8. While using Matthew as the main source, we will be referring to both Mark and Luke as well.
 

The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the seaside. 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 sixty fold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear. And His disciples came and said unto Him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables. Matthew 13:1-10 (They are deeply puzzled. Before His message was clear, easy to be understood; why now parables?)
 

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. Mark 4:10-12.
 

His promise is when I come with a contrite and humble spirit in fear to Him, He will come in and fill the room I offer Him.

Come in to my heart, Lord Jesus, there is room in my heart for Thee!

How can God, Who is no respecter of persons, Who so loved the world that He gave His only Son, and is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance, reveal His truth to some and hide it from others lest they be converted and their sins be forgiven them?

Is Jesus teaching in this parable the election of some and rejection of others? Never!

The first lesson of the parable is this. God's Kingdom is a mystery, a hidden secret thing not obvious to the understanding. It must be divinely revealed: "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God."
 

But unto them that are without - what an expression! Why were they outside? Jesus gives an answer in Mt. 13:13-15: "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."
 

The expressions, "To them that are without" (outside), and "this people," refer to the mass in Israel represented by the multitude standing by the seaside as Jesus taught. The parable of the sower marks a new chapter in the manner in which Jesus taught the multitudes. He speaks many things unto them in parables. It marks as well the beginning of the fulfillment of spiritual blindness coming on Israel that was prophesied some 800 years before in Is. 6:8-12. The tragedy is that it is self-inflicted. This people's hearts are waxed gross, their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed. It shouldn't have happened.
 

This was not the first time they had heard Jesus speak. Many in that crowd were among the multitude Luke records in chapter 5 that pressed upon Jesus to hear the Word as he sat teaching from Peter's boat. They were with Him as He taught on the mountain the marvelous message of the Kingdom; and when he finished, they along with others were amazed saying, "He teaches as one having authority, not as the scribes."
 

Many, if not most of them, were from the cities and surrounding areas of Chorazin, Bethsaida and Capernaum, located on the north shore of Galilee, where most of His mighty works were done. By now they should have clearly heard and understood His message. Yet Jesus said, "Therefore speak I to them in parables because they seeing see not and hearing hear not." And He gives as the reason, "Their hearts are waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing."

Why were they still outside? Why were their hearts waxed gross and their ears dull of hearing? Can what happened to them happen to us?
 

Matthew records in 3:1, "In those days came John the Baptist, preaching . . . Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In 4:17, "From that time, Jesus began to preach . . . Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." But they never responded to that message of repentance, and said of John (Mt. 11:18), "He hath a devil," and of Jesus (v.19), "Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber."
 

And He warns them in v. 20, "Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not", saying (v..21), "If the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."
 

In Matthew 12:22, Jesus heals a blind and dumb demoniac so that he both spake and saw. The Pharisees charged Him with an evil spirit, saying in sarcasm (v.24), This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. This was blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. And Jesus warns them (12:41), The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here.
 

Is it a mere coincidence that on the same day Jesus began to teach by parables? (Mt. 13:1), "The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the seaside. (v.3), And he spake many things unto them in parables." Was his purpose to hide the truth? I do not know. One thing I do know--there is a line that is crossed by rejecting our Lord when the call of the Spirit is lost.

The crowd heard the first part of the parable and in all probability left disgusted, saying, "He speaks in parables. How can anyone understand Him?"
 

How different it is for those inside. "Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God," (Mk 4:11). "Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear," (Mt. 13:16). And he shares with them its meaning: (Luke 8:11-15), Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside 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.
 

How glad the twelve, and those with them, must have been that they remained behind to hear the rest of the story. So many questions in their minds were answered that day. Why is it some who hear God's Word show no response at all? Why is it some who hear and even believe last only for a short time? Why is it some who hear, believe, and even seem to hold promise of success, yet in the end have nothing to show for it? If it happens to so many, how can I be sure of success in my Christian life?
 

In that simple familiar illustration, they saw and understood in each case it was not the failure of the seed. Each heard it, but it was the condition of the soil that determined the results of the harvest. The seed is God's Word. It is sown in the heart, but to produce a good harvest it must be received in an honest and good heart and it must be kept with patience. Then the harvest is guaranteed. As the success of the seed to produce a harvest depends on the condition of the soil into which it falls, so God's Word is dependent on the condition of the heart if it is to succeed.

In the first case _ Christ spoke of seed sown by the wayside. Though according to Matthew (13:19) it was sown in the heart, there was no appreciation of it. No effort was made to understand it. It was trampled underfoot. This is a picture of the hard heart.
 

In the second case _ seed fell in rocky places. There was no depth of earth; a picture of the shallow, uncommitted heart. In times of testing, they fell away because they had no root in themselves. Seed, not soil, produced roots, but it needs depth of soil to do it. So God's Word requires a total commitment to it's message. Not one as Mark writes (4:17), "for the word's sake . . . are offended." So many give up when offended.
 

In the third case _ "Some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew with it and choked it," (Luke 8:7). Anyone familiar with gardening knows thorns and thistles outgrow good seed. How well I know, fighting Canadian thistles in my garden. If I leave them alone, they will choke everything. It is a picture of the crowded heart--competition from cares and pleasures of this life, from riches and lusts of other things. The human heart is so like the soil of the earth. The good grows with difficulty, while evil flourishes. Cares, pleasures of this life, riches, and love of other things can so crowd the heart that there is no space left for God's Word or for His house of worship. And the end--a fruitless life!
 

Finally - that on the good ground are they, which in an honest (noble) and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience. (Luke 8:15) The second important lesson of the parable of The Sower is that there is a divine and human side to one's salvation. God provides the seed, living, and powerful. It is capable of producing a new life. (1 Peter 1:23), born again . . . by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever. It is capable of sustaining that new life, as Paul said in his farewell to the Ephesian elders. (Acts 20:32), I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up.

But I provide the soil - my heart! When the heart is hard, uncommitted, and crowded with other things, God's Word cannot succeed. But where the Word is received and kept with patience in a heart (though it may have once been deceitful, base, and selfish) now by one that is honest and which is defined as noble, morally pure, good, unselfish, generous, there is no crop failure. The harvest is guaranteed!
 

In the 77 years (1989) I have lived, I have watched some reared in the finest spiritual background of home and church fall away, and come to a fruitless end. Others from a bruised and battered unchristian background rise in the face of seemingly impossible circumstances, remain true to the Lord, and end their lives full of fruit. Why the difference? It is the condition of the heart. The heart is capable of the highest devotion as was Mary Magdalene's out of whom He cast seven devils. She was last at the cross and first at the tomb. Compare that to that of the basest treachery as in the betrayal of Jesus by the kiss of Judas. What I am for time and eternity depends upon God's Word and my heart! Is it any wonder Solomon wrote, "Keep they heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life?" (Pr. 4:23)
 

When God speaks of the heart, He is not referring to the physical pump that circulates blood through my body, but it's that which is most central to the human personality. Every language has a word for it. In Chinese it is "hsin," in Greek, "kardia," which Thayer's Greek lexicon defines as "The center and seat of spiritual life. The soul or mind, as it is the fountain and seat of thoughts, passions, desires, appetites, affections, purposes, endeavors." It is with the heart I love or hate. With the heart I turn to God in faith, or turn away in unbelief.
 

That part of us called "heart" was damaged in the fall. One can see it in the hate-filled heart of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel. And in ten generations from Adam (Genesis 5) "God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." (v. 6) "And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart." These are the first two references to the heart in the Bible. Man's heart "only evil continually," and God's heart. When God made us, He made us in His image, created in us a heart like His own. But sin changed that heart from a good one to an evil one.
 

The second mention of "heart" in the Scriptures is in Genesis 8:21, "The Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth." Not from his infancy. There is a period of innocency in every child--a tenderness for the things of God. It is this that drew Jesus to little children saying, "Suffer the little children to come unto me, for of such is the kingdom of God."

My six year old grandson, Jimmy, was sitting by my side in an evening service at Boy's Camp, with raised hands worshipping along with others. With a big smile, he turned to me and said, "Grandpa, isn't it fun to worship Jesus?" How I long that his heart will still be tender toward the things of God when he comes to his teens. So many of our precious youth are bored with hearing God's Word.
 

When asked by His disciples why He spoke to the crowd in parables, Jesus answered (Mt. 13:13), "therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not." And He gives the reason in verse 15, "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed." The Greek word for "waxed gross" is "pachuno", which Thayer defines, "to make thick, to make fat. A metaphor to make stupid, to render the soul dull or calloused."
 

Fat clogging the arteries and damaging the physical heart; sounds familiar in our day when cholesterol and fat are the big words in diet. Modern medical science has gone a long way in repairing the damage in bypass surgery which has become commonplace, but only God can heal that which is most central to the human personality called the heart.
 

They stood there that day dull of hearing," for their hearts were "waxed gross, dull. It should have never happened.
 

They could not plead ignorance of the importance of the heart, for their Old Testament Scriptures spoke of it many hundreds of times - over a hundred times in the Psalms alone. David spoke so often of the heart.
 

As people of the Law they were familiar with Deuteronomy, the book of the Law. It is one of the finest handbooks on the heart--"Seek Him with all your heart, love the Lord with all thine heart, serve the Lord with all thine heart." God's command is found in 10:16, "Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked." And in chapter 30, that marvelous chapter on choice, promises in verse 6, "And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that thou mayest live."
 

Even from their beginning as a nation, they had a long history of God speaking to them and their refusing to hear. And they were warned in Psalm 78:8, to "not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not steadfast with God."
 

The message of their prophets was one of constantly pleading with them to hear God's voice. Eleven times in Jeremiah is the expression, "I sent my prophets, rising early, speaking." Their answer was always the same, "As for the word that thou hast spoken unto us in the name of the Lord, we will not hearken unto thee." (44:16), It was Jeremiah in that dark hour who spoke of the depravity of the heart when he cried, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (17:9), but in chapter 31 spoke of a day when God would make a new covenant with them and write His laws in their hearts.
 

They were familiar with Ezekiel's plea in 18:30, 36 "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, make you a new heart and a new spirit," and his prophecy in 36:26, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh."
 

They knew from their own inward struggle with evil and lust, that outward circumcision of the flesh was not the answer. They could have, and should have known that only a change of heart could meet their desperate need, and God alone could perform that surgery. As individuals, as a nation, they needed healing of the heart!
 

I noticed the expression in Isaiah 6:10, "convert, and be healed," is translated in the Jewish Bible, "repent and save itself." God made one thing clear. Only repentance could begin the work of the healing of the heart. How many times they must have read, "If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then . . . " (not before then) will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land." (2 Chr. 7:14) It begins with genuine repentance.
 

They should have welcomed the message of John and Jesus, "Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It would have begun the healing of their hearts. But they rejected that message. Instead of their hearts being healed, they became hard, and their ears dull of hearing, and their eyes they closed. The day finally came when morally stupid, calloused, and blind, they crucified the only one who could heal their heart!
 

There is a sequel to Matthew 13 in Acts 28. Paul invited Jewish leaders to visit him in the Roman prison where he was kept. All day long he reasoned from the law of Moses and the prophets that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Some believed, but some rejected it. (V. 25-27), "When they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers, saying, Go unto this people, and say , Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Note verse 28: "Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it."
 

For two thousand years the nation of Israel has been without God's voice. There is no Holiest of all where God can speak. There is no priesthood, and no prophet, and even their scared Scriptures are a closed book. Failing to hear, they became spiritually blind.
 

In Revelation 2 and 3, each of the letters to the seven churches in Asia close with these words, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches," and five times there is a clear call to repent. Twice we find the expression "repent or else." Twice we find "except thou repent." They were warned that unless they did, He would remove the candlestick from their midst--the light of God's Word. Asia Minor, home of the seven churches, was once the brightest spot in Christendom. Today as Muslim Turkey it is perhaps the darkest!
 

Western Europe, for 1500 years, was the cradle of Christianity. Today it is godless. Only a very small percent of its people attend church, and they mostly are the old.
 

America, once so blessed of God in the great awakening of the 17th century under Jonathan Edwards, the revivals of the Wesleys, Finney, and the great outpouring of the Holy Ghost in the last century, is shutting God out.. The reading, and distribution of Bibles, and prayer in our school are forbidden. And something is happening to the heart of Americans when 57% in a recent national survey favor legalized abortion, the murder of innocent unborn babies. The Lord's day, once sacred, is now wholly given to sports and other amusements. As a nation, we are becoming morally stupid and calloused. We are not interested in what God has to say.

But the crisis of hearing is even affecting our churches. Once we were a people who loved God's Word and spent much time in it. We were a people who loved God's house, attending Sunday morning, Sunday night, the midweek prayer service, and often in times of revival many nights in succession. Today, we are fast becoming a Sunday morning church, and have little time for His Word.
 

Contrast this with the hunger to hear in Chinese churches. In the August 1991 edition of Reader's Digest, the lead article is on China's Daring Underground Church. In the article the writer shares the comments of an American Christian who has made many trips into the interior of China. On one trip he arrived at a large brick courtyard at 4:30 A.M., where prayer was already in progress. Over 600 are present, most under 30 years of age. The meeting continues three days, almost without interruption. At meal time, boiled noodles are passed around. People sleep on the ground. During breaks they crowd around the American asking how they might get Bibles.
 

The writer made this comment: "This is what it must have been like in Biblical days when there was no microphone and everyone was straining to hear." The article closed with these words, "Where in the West could you find such a hunger for faith that would inspire people to live for three days on the ground in the cold, eating nothing but noodles."
 

God left Israel, because they were dull of hearing, to go to the Gentiles. Could it be that He is leaving Europe and America to go to the third world, to China, Africa, and South America, because they will hear?
 

There is a third important lesson in the parable of The Sower--"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." Had you asked any of the crowd that stood there that day, "Do you think the day will come when God no longer speaks to you as a people and you no longer have the ability to understand?" Their answer would be an angry, "Never! We are descendants of Abraham, God's special people." But failing to repent, their hearts had become hard, and they had lost what they seemed to have--the most priceless treasure, the privilege of hearing and understanding God's Word!" This is a warning to each of us. Receive His Word. Let your heart be an environment in which it can find a place to grow and prosper. Only you can make this kind of determination. Use what He has given you . . . or you will lose it. He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear!
 

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