1. Matthew 13 contains seven fascinating parables. A parable has been defined as "an earthly story with a heavenly meaning."
2. Parables set forth spiritual truths under the forms of ordinary human life and experience. Parables are not always easy to interpret, but the first parable in Matthew 13 is a relatively easy one to interpret.
3. Furthermore, our Lord Himself explained the interpretation for us (13:18-23). The word, parable, comes from two Greek words: ballo, which means “to cast” or “to throw;” and para, a preposition meaning “by the side of.”
4. Therefore, a parable is something that is thrown by the side of something else -- a simple story taken from natural life, which being placed by the side of spiritual truth is designed to elucidate and illustrate the spiritual truth.
5. The first parable is usually referred to as "the parable of the sower" (13:18). Though our Lord called this particular parable "the parable of the sower," there are three other sowers mentioned in subsequent parables here in this chapter (cf. 13:24, 25, 31).
6. All seven of these parables in Matthew 13 are prophetical and deal with the history of what we now called "Christendom" (nominal Christianity).
7. All true Christians are part of Christendom, but there are hundreds of millions of people in Christendom who are not genuine Christians and have never been saved.
8. These parables are designed to reveal "the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven" (13:11). "Mysteries" refers to truth that was not revealed in the Old Testament but is revealed and developed in the New Testament.
9. Colossians 1:26 gives us a good definition of a mystery: that “which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints.”
10. In Matthew 13:11, our Lord said to His disciples, "Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven."
11. The Old Testament clearly prophesies the earthly reign of Christ when He comes as King to reign on the throne of David. For example, Isaiah 9:6 and 7 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever."
12. This will be a literal physical kingdom with the Lord Jesus Christ ruling from the throne of David in Jerusalem. It is not a "mystery."
13. However, Matthew 13 introduces a different form of the kingdom, namely the present spiritual reign of Christ during the period He is physically absent from the earth, prior to His second coming.
14. In Matthew 13, the mysteries of the kingdom deal with the period between the first and second coming of Christ, what we generally refer to as "the church age."
15. In the parable of the sower, our Lord referred to four different type of soils: the way side (13:4), the stony places (13:5), the thorny soil (13:7), and the good soil (13:8).
16. What type of "soil" are you?

I. SOME SEEDS FELL BY THE WAY SIDE (13:3, 4. 19).

1. You could say the way side soil was hardened by use. It has been trampled on by many feet. It represents the type of hearers on which the truth of the Gospel has ceased to make a deep impression.
2. Often times I have preached to hard sinners. Their hardness did not develop overnight. "The wayside" (13:4) refers to a foot path which had been much trampled and therefore was extremely hard.
3. Benjamin Franklin had heard the great evangelist George Whitefield preach many times, both in America and in England. They were good friends but Franklin never repented and was never saved.
4. In his autobiography, Benjamin Franklin wrote these sad words: "Rev. George Whitefield used...to pray for my conversion, but never had the satisfaction of believing that his prayers were heard."
5. Benjamin Franklin, one of America's greatest Founding Fathers, the brilliant author, printer, politician, postmaster, scientist, inventor, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat, was a stubborn lost sinner, whose hard heart was represented by the "way side" type of soil -- hard as concrete.
6. Since there was no receptivity in this hard-beaten path, the fowls came and devoured the seed (13:4).
7. The fowls represent "the wicked one" (13:19), that is, Satan and his emissaries.
8. Sometimes Satan uses innocent means in order to snatch away Godly influences. For children, Satan uses the Boys Scouts, school programs, sports, and other pastimes which may not necessarily be bad -- and may even be good under certain circumstances -- but they are bad if they prevent children from attending Sunday School and church services and other church activities (like teen meetings, etc.).
9. Satan has many tricks for keeping children away from church and away from the Word of God. For adults he also has many schemes -- work, worldly hobbies, unsaved and/or worldly relatives, etc.
10. Our Lord says in Matthew 13:19, “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not...”
11. The fault lies not with the seed, nor with the sower. The problem is man’s hard heart (Matt. 13:19). If a man’s heart is tender towards God, the devil will not snatch away that which was sown (Matt. 13:19).
12. The problem for many people is that they do not understand the Gospel. The Barna organization polled 6,038 adults with random telephone interviews nationwide, and found out that only 41 percent of all adults surveyed believed in the total accuracy of the Bible.
13. Works-salvation has been drilled into people’s minds to the point that most people cannot even understand the simplicity of the Gospel.
14. Some people think the Gospel is keeping the ten commandments, or doing good works, or getting baptized, or joining the church, or being nice to people. But this is not the Gospel (I Cor. 15:1-4).
15. Many people are confused over weird teachings that they have picked up over the years. Only the Word of God can flush out all of these errors and deceptions.
16. America used to be a God-fearing country with a strong Bible foundation. But not any more. What is happening today in America is very similar to brainwashing and I use this word cautiously.
17. I can think of no other term to describe what is going on through the media, the public schools, and yes even most churches. The true Gospel is not being preached. The devil is deceiving the multitudes into thinking everything is all right when things are not all right.
18. Today people listen to the so-called social gospel or the prosperity gospel, but these are false gospels leading people to hell.
19. People attend weak, wishy-washy churches with shallow preaching and inaccurate Bible translations, and they sing worldly choruses with no doctrinal content.
20. Many "way side" listeners have hard hearts, hardened by sin and false doctrine; hardened by listening to bad music; and hardened by bad companions.

II. SOME SEED FELL UPON STONY PLACES (13:5, 6, 20, 21).

1. This soil was shallow -- a thin layer of soil on top of rock. The seed could strike no deep root because of the stones and rocks.
2. Being scorched by the hot sun, the seed would eventually wither away (13:5, 6). There is much shallowness and superficiality in churches today.
3. Our Lord explains what "no deepness of earth" (13:5) and "no root" (13:6) means in verses 20 and 21. This soil represents those who seem to be born again but they do not stick around, and they go back to the world.
4. Some people respond enthusiastically to the Gospel, and seem to be very excited, but then three months or six months later, all of the joy that they manifested in that emotional, enthusiastic response is gone.
5. I frequently meet people who tell me they "used to be saved." Apparently they were never genuinely saved in the first place (13:5, 6).
6. My heart is heavy when I hear about former church members drinking alcohol, looking at pornography, and engaging in lewd and lascivious behaviour.
7. Second Peter 2:22 says, "But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire."
8. The stony places hearers make a profession of faith in Christ, but they are never genuinely saved. Their emotions are stirred, and "anon (right away) with joy" (13:20) they receive the Gospel message; but when trials and troubles come, they stumble and fall.
9. The Greek word translated "offended" in Matthew 13:21 literally means, "to put a stumbling block or impediment in the way, upon which another may trip and fall" (Strong's Concordance).
10. Our Lord said, "And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell" (Matthew 5:29).
11. If there are stumbling blocks keeping you from getting right with God, you need to take drastic measures to remove them.
12. Our Lord said in Matthew 18:6, "But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea."
13. Another interesting phrase in Matthew 13:21 is, "but dureth for a while." This refers to a temporary profession of faith that does not last long. Sadly, many conversions are like that.
14. Our Lord said, “And when the sun was up, they were scorched” (Matthew 13:6). The hot sun represents tribulations and persecution (13:20, 21). When things get too hot for some people, they bail out.
15. They cannot take the pressure from unsaved friends and family and so they give in and go back to the world.

III. SOME FELL AMONG THORNS (13;7, 22).

1. The thorns "choke" the seed (13:7). Our Lord explains how this happens in verse 22 -- "the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful."
2. Some people get so wrapped up in the things of this world that they have a divided heart. Something has to give, and for the thorny hearers they choose to give up the things of God for the things of the world.
3. "The deceitfulness of riches" (13:22). The love of money has a powerful grip on people. That is why our Lord said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God" (Matthew 19:24).
4. It is not just the wealthy that are represented by the thorny ground. The thorny ground also represents those who desire to be rich.
5. "But they that will be rich (desire to be rich) fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition" (I Timothy 6:9).
6. The great evangelist John Wesley once asked a man for some financial assistance for his ministry. The man said, "I have the will, but not the means."
7. Later on, when Wesley heard that the man had inherited a great deal of money, he went to him again. This time the man said, "I have the means, but not the will."
8. Our Lord said in Mark 4:19, "And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful."
9. There are so many "lusts of other things" that keep people from getting right with God! The good seed becomes crushed by all these worldly lusts and it is choked and unfruitful.

IV. BUT OTHER FELL INTO GOOD GROUND (13:8, 23).

1. The good ground represents those who "hear the Word" (13:23).
2. Many people simply will not listen to the Word of God -- even in church!
3. The good ground represents those who not only listen, but understand the Word of God (cf. 13:19).
4. Notice the different prepositions:

• "some seeds fell by the way side" (13:4)
• "Some fell upon stony places" (13:5)
• "And some fell among thorns" (13:7)
• "But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit" (13:8).

5. Here in verse 8, we see the seed fell not only upon the ground but into the ground so that its roots sank down into the ground and ultimately the plant came up with adequate root to sustain it as a living plant.
6. Many times when I preach I look into peoples' faces and I see a deadness -- the Word of God is not sinking into good soil. I am particularly concerned for some of our young people.
7. There is an important Bible principle -- taught throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament. First, people will not hear; then they will not be able to hear (13:9-15).
8. If you are genuinely saved you will be fruitful. There are degrees in fruitfulness. Some Christians are more fruitful than others, but all true Christians are fruitful (13:8, 23).

CONCLUSION:

1. Preachers often use the word "impervious" to describe the first three types of soil -- "not capable of being affected."
2. In his commentary on this parable, Spurgeon prayed, "Lord, suffer none of us to be impervious to thy royal word; but whenever the smallest seed of truth falls on us, may we open our soul to it!" Our Lord said that the parables are given to reveal the truth to the receptive, and to conceal the truth from the unreceptive.
3. As we respond, more truth given to us. But failure to respond results in complete spiritual blindness and eventually eternity in hell (cf. 13:37-42).