Mark 4:1-71And he began again to teach by the sea side: and there was gathered unto him a great multitude, so that he entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. 2And he taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in his doctrine, 3Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow: 4And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up. 5And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: 6But when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away. 7And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. (Mark 4:1‑7)
“AND HE began again to teach by the seaside: and there was gathered unto Him a great multitude, so that He entered into a ship, and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude was by the sea on the land. And He taught them many things by parables, and said unto them in His doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow.”
In this parable of the sower, Jesus expresses His own work in scattering the Word and shows how it goes bond mere Judaism into the whole world. The seed, of course, was perfect, but it fell in a variety of places so that the results were not always the same.
“Some fell by the wayside, and the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.” The Lord Himself tells us this speaks of Satan, snatching away from the careless hearts of sinners the Word that could be so fruitful. Everything is on the surface in this situation and we are solemnly reminded that much of the effect of preaching the Word of God never penetrates hardened hearts that do not want to hear it and so Satan readily takes it away.
The Spirit of God is ever striving to plow up the soil of the heart to receive the good Word. How eternally tragic to reject such grace!
“And some fell on stony ground, where it had not much earth; and immediately it sprang up, because it had no depth of earth: but when the sun was up, it was scorched; and because it had no root, it withered away.” The seed falling on stony ground speaks of a quick response that cannot stand the test of time or circumstances. How much this is like poor natural man, responding perhaps to some forceful presenting of the Word, or emotionally moved for the moment by a solemn preaching.
Where the Word goes no deeper than the emotions it will not endure and we will not have appropriated its life-giving property — because without exercise of conscience the ground is not sufficiently prepared to produce a lasting root. No real peace will be found where the work is no deeper than our unpredictable feelings. Personal faith in the work of Christ on the cross of Calvary and owning Him as the Saviour of sinners — one’s own personal Saviour — is the only true means of salvation and its resulting true peace.
“And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up, and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.” The thorns that choke out the seed speak of the cares of everyday living and the deceitfulness of riches, with other lusts. There is nothing left in such soil to nourish the seed and it is therefore unfruitful. Perhaps this is one of the most used of Satan’s schemes to destroy the effect of God’s Word on the hearts of men, women, boys and girls, alike. How often the pressures of life — or the enticement of worldly pleasures filling all our time — chokes out the seed that would otherwise exercise the conscience. So the enemy would keep us, if he can, occupied with so many worldly things that no time remains for sober reflections on God’s message to us and the seed finds no root in heart or conscience.
The words of the Lord are quoted both in the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke, saying: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” May our language be that of the psalmist who prayed, “Create in me a clean heart, O God,” Psa. 51:1010Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10), so that the seed of the Word will find fertile, welcoming soil and not the hard flinty stone of rebellion against the truth.
ML-06/16/1963