3. THE MEANING OF THE PARABLE
Mark 4:14-20
(Matthew 13:18-23; Luke 8:11-15)
14 The sower soweth the word.--The seed is the word of God. (Luke 8:11.) The sower is, primarily, Jesus himself, but subsequently the apostles, and as the ages roll on, all those who seek to plant in human hearts the word of God. [The first and essential point of likeness between the word of God and the seed is that the seed, the germ of the fruit to be produced, is enclosed in it. Without the seed no fruit can be produced in the material world. The fruit must correspond to the seed. "And God said, Let the earth put forth grass, herbs yielding seed, and fruit-trees bearing fruit after their kind, wherein is the seed thereof, upon the earth." (Genesis 1:11.) The law of God is that seed must produce its like. So when in the field the man who had sown wheat found tares, he knew other seed had been sown. "An enemy hath done this," he said. In the word of God is enclosed the germinal principle of spiritual life. Without that word no spiritual fruit can be borne.
The fruit borne from that seed must correspond to the seed. If plants grow or fruit is borne in the kingdom of God that is not in the word of God, it is because other seed has been sown there, and it is an enemy of God that sows other seed than the word of God.] Sower, learn this lesson. It is your duty to sow. Sow only the word. Sow not mingled seed. Give to perishing souls only the living word.
It is God's power to save. (Romans 1:16.)
15 And these are they by the way side,--In the plains of Palestine you may see miles of verdure without a fence, yet with different ownership. Instead of fences are wayside paths, narrow and hard trodden. On these, with broadcast sowing, some seed will fall. The modern drill would have deprived us of this part of the parable. (It is not improbable we drill too much in our modern church work.) The seed lay hard and round upon this smooth, hard surface, and the watchful birds, as soon as the farmer's back was turned, caught at them, and they were gone.
where the word is sown; and when they have heard, --Heard only. Just with the ear. The word lies on the surface of their hearts. When truth is heard and not fully received and practiced, it will, sooner or later, lose its power over the heart. No matter how full the reservoir is, if not replenished, it will finally become dry from evaporation.
straightway cometh Satan,--Could Jesus have spoken these words without recognizing, and teaching his disciples to recognize, the personal existence of Satan? "Satan" means adversary. That he is quick to act is seen by his coming immediately.
and taketh away the word which hath been sown in them.--Luke (Luke 8:12) says: "From their heart." How is not specified. He has a thousand ways of brushing away the slight surface impression that may have been made upon the heart of a careless hearer. The heart is the spiritual soil in which the sower sows the word of God. God has always operated upon the heart of man. So does the devil. The religion produced by the spiritual seed, the word of God, is in the heart, and therefore, preeminently a heart religion. Luke (Luke 8:12) says: "That they may not believe and be saved." The devil recognizes that the word of God produces faith, hence, snatches it away as quickly as possible. The human heart is the battleground. Here God and the devil meet for the conflict.
[Many, under the evil influences and surroundings of life, hear the word. It is not honored or cherished, overrun by sinful influences and indulgences, given no chance to germinate, and is plucked out of the hearts by the evil one. He uses his servants to do this. Sometimes he uses the man's own appetites or his own wicked associates, and sometimes he finds a child of God that he can pervert and use to pluck the good seed out of the heart in which it is not cherished. The word plucked out of the heart cannot save. James 1:21 : "Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls." He admonished that we must not be forgetful hearers, but "doers of the word."]
16 And these in like manner are they that are sown upon the rocky places,--The rocky places were spots where the underlying rock formation cropped up near the surface. We have seen places where the underlying limestone formation was sometimes many feet, and not very far off, only a few inches below the surface, and sometimes on the surface. Places where the soil is thus very shallow are meant by rocky places.
who, when they have heard the word,--Please observe, all the classes have heard. They stand on common ground in this. "Take heed therefore how ye hear." (Luke 8:18.)
straightway receive it with joy;--Hearing the gospel, and considering the pleasures and advantages of salvation, they are for the moment highly pleased without counting the cost. (Luke 14:25-33.) Their joy is not the joy flowing out of genuine repentance and from a real changed heart. Their emotions are touched for the time being, hut the gospel does not reach their moral nature, and their will and character are unchanged. They are moved by the winds of popular excitement or enthusiasm, but there is no new life. Joy is a characteristic of shallow as well as of deep natures.
17 and they have no root in themselves,--They are wanting in the true principles of true religion, such as humility, love, repentance, faith and change of heart, and therefore rootless. They are destitute of that spiritual life which "is hid with Christ in God." (Colossians 3:3.) They are not "rooted and grounded in love." (Ephesians 3:17.)
then, when tribulation or persecution ariseth--Providential dealings and chastisements. It takes these to separate the wheat from the chaff.
because of the word,--The truths of the gospel always create opposition and put the adversary to work.
straightway they stumble.--Stumble and fall away because this was not an obstruction they expected in their heavenly career.
[Matthew (Matthew 13:21) says: "Yet bath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth"--or led into sin. [This class represents the excitable, the light-minded, those lacking in depth and strength of character, so who readily receive, but cannot persist in a begun course. They hear, are easily aroused, act quickly, show great zeal for a time, run well while things all prosper and seem to be full of promise. But when the ebb tide in religion comes, as come it must, they grow weary, become faint at heart, turn aside, and walk with God no more.]
18 And others are they that are sown among the thorns;--The thorny ground was neither hard nor shallow. It was good deep, rich ground, but the roots of thorns were lurking in the ground. They were not removed. They grew rapidly --more so than the wheat--and became so rank that they choked and smothered it till it brought no fruit to perfection. Practically the result was the same as before--nothing but leaves.
these are they that have heard the word,--All these classes are hearers. All are to be found in the public church meetings. All have heard, but says James, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deluding your own selves." (James 1:22.) In this case the heart is like the plowed ground but poorly prepared. The soil is deep and rich, but the thorn roots have not been grubbed out. They are convicted that they are sinners, show signs of sorrow and repentance, and pass through a form of obedience; but the heart is divided between these and cherished sins and the soul and body are not wholly given to the Lord.
19 and the cares of the world,--Overanxious cares about worldly things--those that divide the heart between them and God. (James 1:6-8.)
and the deceitfulness of riches,--This is another altogether. The business or the profession has been made successful, the home is bought, the money is amassed. Such intense application is no longer necessary, but the man now possesses the golden key that unlocks a hundred avenues of enjoying life and employing time. There is no more time for Christ and religion than before. Still it is self, or that broadening of self which we name family, which engrosses time, and thought, and activity, instead of Christ, and no fruit is produced.
and the lusts of other things entering in,--Luke (Luke 8:14) says: "As they go on their way they are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life." The golden key is possessed that opens these avenues. The phrase "pleasures of this life" does not indicate that the Christian is to have no pleasures. God never intended that his children should be deprived of the good and perfect gifts that he has bestowed upon man. It is not a sin for a Christian to be happy. Such "pleasures" as destroy spirituality, and deaden religious sensibility, and wean from Christ, are, of course, forbidden.
choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.--By the contact and pressure of the thorns--the above-mentioned evils--the word is choked and smothered so it can bear no perfect fruit. Luke (Luke 8:14) says they "bring no fruit to perfection." The unfruitfulness of the seed represents the unfruitfulness of those receiving the word of God.
20 And those are they that were sown upon the good ground;--These are they who, after having received the word, develop a Godly life. The good ground is the human heart well prepared by casting out all evil motives and purposes, to receive the word honestly, and to give it full opportunity to grow--a heart that submits itself to the full power and influence of the gospel, unchecked by the cares and anxieties of worldly things--a heart fully under the showers and summer suns of the grace of God--a heart spread wide open, like a broad luxuriant field, to the rays of the morning and evening dews, ready for the reception of the truths of God. A heart thus prepared is a rich mellow spiritual soil in which the spiritual seed can take deep root and grow because it has full room for development. The good ground is of no better inherent quality than the others, but in a different condition, and the condition our own making.
such as hear the word,--They have had no advantage over others in this respect. The others all heard but paid no heed to the message.
and accept it,--Before this comes the "understandeth" or "considereth, payeth attention" of Matt. (Matthew 13:23), and after it the "hold it fast" of Luke (8:15). The order is hear, heed, accept, hold fast. Luke adds: "In an honest and good heart." The meaning of the adjectives is to be ascertained by remembering that the phrase expresses a condition different from all the preceding states. One was hard, stubborn, unreceptive; this, then, is soft, yielding, receptive. The second was shallow and frivolous with hardness beneath; this is deep and thoughtful. The third was full of germinal weeds, this is comparatively free.
This we understand from the conditions of the parable to be the significance of the "honest and good heart." The seed does the work. Understanding the word involves giving it close attention. The understanding arises from attention.
and bear fruit,--Luke adds "with patience." Where all these exist spiritual fruit must follow. Spiritual fruit is anything in the name of Christ (that is, by his authority) that conduces to God's glory or our fellow man's good. They continue to bring forth fruit. It is not a mere religious spasm through which they have passed.
thirtyfold, and sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.--Both Matthew and Mark add here the three grades of production. Not all are capable of producing the same amount of fruit, but it is the same kind--spiritual and good. The marked difference in the capacity of men is thus indicated by a threefold division.
The good and honest hearts which bear fruit and heed, and accept, and hold fast, are by no means equal in their ability to bear fruit, and God will hold them responsible only according to that ability. If thou canst only bear thirty, bear thirty and receive God's blessing. If thou canst bear a hundred, thank God for thy glorious capacity, and bear them, but think not to deceive God with the thirty which might have been a hundred. Every faithful Christian may find comfort and encouragement in this feature of the parable.
[The heart is the inner man. The heart thinks, fears, hopes, loves, hates, believes. The heart is the soil into which the word of God, as the seed, is sown. It embraces the perceptions, emotions, and volitions--the whole inner man. The heart must have clearness of understanding, depth of feeling, and strength of purpose to continue to the end, despite difficulties and trials, to bring forth fruit unto perfection--not brilliancy, but an earnest, thoughtful mind. Sincerity of feeling and singleness of purpose must be cultivated to make the heart good and honest.
These qualities of heart can be cultivated, and are much under a man's own control. When a man cultivates the habit of honest inquiry that he may know the truth and do it, cherishes a love for what is right and true and good, and then continually follows the purpose of doing what is right, his heart will become an honest and understanding heart. To practice these things will make the heart honest and understanding. Persons that will take these characters of the heart here presented by Jesus, and in the light of them study their own hearts, may understand the things needed, and may cultivate their hearts and make them good.]