Matthew 13:18–23

Then follows the explanation of the parable. We have the meaning of "the birds of the air" given to us. It is not left to any guesswork of our own. In Matthew the point is understanding; in Luke, believing. The Jews already knew the word of God, so their great point was to understand what God taught — and self-righteousness never understands. Though they heard with their ears, they did not understand with their hearts.

The first parable stands by itself. Unless we understand it, we shall not understand the others. The great work now was to be the sowing of the "word of the kingdom" in the hearts of men. This does not give any special place to the Jew. In verse 19, Jesus said, "When anyone hears," so that opened the door to each hearer of the word, whoever he might be. What was needed was to hear with understanding. Three things work against that: the activities of the devil, the fickleness of the flesh, and the cares and riches of the world. But some do receive the word, and there is fruit in varying measures. This method of divine working is still in use. It marks the day in which we live. Christianity is based not on what it finds in man but on what it produces by the power of God.

The very fact that Christ came as the sower proved that Israel was set aside. If Israel had still been His vineyard, He would have come seeking fruit from the vine He had long before planted. He had come to Israel before, seeking fruit and finding none. He now comes in the new character of the sower, which is quite another thing. He comes into a waste world, where there was nothing, and He begins a fresh work. God is not now looking for fruit from man in one sense, because man has been proved to be a bad tree.

The Lord came and began to sow the seed which alone can make anyone fruitful. His coming and service proclaimed the ruin of man by the Fall. By nature none of us can be fruitful for God. The first need is the seed, and it must come from outside. The seed is the word of God (Luke 8:11). Nothing less will do. Civilization, training, education and example are all useful in their way. But alone or together, they cannot take the place of the seed. God's voice must be heard in the soul.

In Matthew it is the soil. He said, "Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom" (13:18-19). It is not hard to see why this should be so in Matthew. There Matthew presents Christ to Israel as the Messiah. Only this Gospel calls the seed "the word of the kingdom." Everything depended on how people received that word about His person and kingdom. That word tested the character of the soil.

We learn another solemn truth from this. The great thing that hinders spiritual understanding is religious prejudice. The Jews were charged with not understanding. They were not idol-worshippers or open unbelievers. But they had a system of religion in their minds, one they had been trained in from childhood. It darkened their grasp of what the Lord was bringing out. So it is now.

All heard, but how few cared to know the interpretation... There were those outside — and how many — who did not care to know. There were some who wanted to understand, which showed they were inside. To such it was given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God. This was great favour, but it came with responsibility. The light they received was to be shown to others. So they had to take care what they heard.

Matthew speaks of understanding — that is the great point for the Gospel writer who speaks of the word of the kingdom. Luke speaks of the word of God — "the seed is the word of God" — so that those who believe (not those who understand) should be saved. Matthew speaks of hearing and understanding, Luke of believing and being saved. This fits the different aims of the Gospels well. In Matthew we see a people of God whom God is already dealing with. The Messiah proclaims the kingdom of heaven and puts them to the test. Those who had set their hearts on worldly things did not understand the Messiah, and did not care for the word of the kingdom.

Is it a question of mental capacity, of an intellectual understanding? Certainly not. The Lord says the word was "sown in the heart;" it had appealed to the conscience, and the hearer could either accept it or reject it. But the heart would not have it and turned against it. "And does not understand it" means "he would not understand or receive it."

Here is another solemn truth. The main thing that blocks spiritual understanding is religious prejudice. The charge against the Jews was that they did not understand. They were not idol-worshippers or open unbelievers. But they carried a system of religion in their minds, one they had learned from infancy, and it darkened their grasp of what the Lord was bringing out. So it is now.

The ground where the seed falls is too hard-trodden for it to sink in. It lies exposed to the birds of heaven, and almost tempts the tempter to catch it away. There are many such souls. They are taken up with what hardens them and deadens them to other influences — business or pleasure, lawful or lawless. What matters here is the effect, not how it came about.

True, the Lord says it was "sown in his heart," and that is a solemn thing... In the parable the word has first been sown in the heart: Satan could not prevent that. It has made its appeal to the conscience and commended itself there as truth. It was sown in the heart for the man to accept or refuse. Conscience approves it, but that is not faith; faith always engages the person's will. Conviction is not acceptance.

The word may be sown in a heart that does not understand it. It may create no link of understanding, of feeling, or of conscience between the heart and God. Then the enemy takes it away, and it does not remain in the heart. The one who heard it is no less guilty. The seed sown in his heart suited every need, both the nature and the condition of man.

The wayside hearers are those who receive nothing from God. The evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in the heart. Unless the word reaches the conscience, and the man judges his sin before God, there is no new life. The one who only hears stays in a death never lifted from him; he is not born again; he cannot see or enter the kingdom. The seed does not take root. Instead the birds devour it, that is, the enemy.

"Stony ground" may not mean quite what we usually mean by the word. It is not ground with stones in it, because stones alone would not stop the root from getting down into the earth. What the blessed Lord means here by stony ground is a solid surface of rock, with a very slight and thin coating of earth over it. The seed falls there and — a very remarkable thing — it springs up at once. … It springs up fast in proportion to the lack of depth.

"As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy" (v. 20). There you have the heart, moved in its affections, but without exercise of conscience. He receives the word with joy right away. There is great gladness about it, but there it ends. Only the Holy Spirit acting on the conscience makes a person see things as they are in God's sight.

The stony ground hearers are the impressionable yet superficial folk. They respond to the word at once with gladness, but have no real sense of what it means. It was said of true converts that they "received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit" (1 Thess. 1:6). That affliction came before their gladness. It came from the word convicting them and waking them up to their sin. The stony ground hearer skips over the affliction, because he does not feel his real need. So he lands in a gladness that is only on the surface. It fades when testing comes, and he fades with it.

In the next class of hearers, the stony ground illustrates the opposition of the flesh. And for this reason it is pictured, not at its worst, but at its best. This man "hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself." This is not the natural man rejecting the Word. It is the natural man receiving it, and yet there is no more real fruit than in the first case. The seed grows fast. The rocky bed works like a natural hot-bed, so the seed shoots up quickly and full of promise. But the very thing that makes it grow so readily is what stops it from lasting.

Such a man believes. He is not insincere, and he is not a hypocrite. The Word simply has no root in him, like seed in stony ground. His heart was never ploughed up by conviction of sin, so it stays as hard as it was. The joy in him was too "immediate"; there was no finding out of self, no taking the place of the lost, that Christ might save. He believed a doctrine; he never came to Jesus. He had joy, not peace. There was no change in the man himself, and no root. Note, it was not what had root that withered, but because it had no root it withered away. It would not have withered had it had root.

Let us rejoice with trembling to see how far a person may go, and yet be deceived! … But the testing time came, and if there was no root, there would be no fruit.

The phrase "on stony ground" does not quite mean what we normally mean by that word. It is not ground with stones in it. Stones by themselves would not stop the root from getting down into the earth. By stony ground the Lord means a solid bed of rock with a very thin coating of earth over it… Its growth at the start is as fast as its withering at the end. It springs up quickly in proportion to how little depth there is… If the first case is indifference, this is shallowness.

A conscience touched by the word makes a man serious. He sees himself in the presence of God. That is always a serious thing, however strong the attraction of His grace or the hope His goodness inspires. If the word has not reached the conscience, there is no root. He received the word for the joy it gave; when it brings tribulation, he gives it up.

We cannot think too carefully about how these phrases connect: "immediately, with joy," "no root," "withered away." There is great danger in taking in the plan of salvation with the mind only, with no spiritual work in the conscience. This often comes with the most joyful emotions. It works on the natural feelings, but the truth has not gone into the heart. The word has cut no furrow there.

Such a man believes. He is not insincere, not a hypocrite. Simply, the word, like seed in stony ground, has no root in him. His heart, never ploughed up by conviction of sin, stays in unchanged hardness… He had joy, not peace. There was no change in the man himself, and no root. Note, it was not what had root that withered; it withered away because it had no root. It would not have withered if it had had root.

It is God's design for the trial of His saints. It distinguishes true saints from hypocrites. Unsound hearts make a fine show in prosperity, but in a time of persecution they fall away. Hypocrites will follow Christ to the Mount of Olives, but not to Calvary. Suffering times are sifting times. "When He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

He heard the word and immediately received it with joy, yet it had no root in the man himself. It lasts only for a while. But when persecution or tribulation comes because of the word, immediately he is offended — the same word as "immediately" above. Feeling is not conscience. Feeling will act at once to receive. But when trial from within or without tests it, his own feelings turn against him and catch him in a trap.

Every test and trial of life has its sure effect on us. They either scorch and wither us, like the corn on rocky ground that dies when the sun is up. Or they bring our Christian life and fruit to maturity. Our secret life with God decides which of the two happens in us. If we are much with Him, we strike our roots down into the knowledge of Him. We draw our refreshment and strength from the hidden springs in Him. Then we need not dread the trial.

The seed fell, but the ground that received it was already overrun with thorns. They appeared well. As far as anyone could see, they had received the seed. There were indeed roots in them, but they were the roots of something else — "other seeds fell among thorns." Those roots were growing there before the seed was scattered. No doubt these thorns seemed weak and unimportant when the word first fell on the soil. Someone may have thought they were pulled up. But the roots stayed in the ground. They sprang up, pushed out the good seed and choked it — and so no fruit came. These hearers profess to receive the word of the kingdom, but they are taken up with the things of this world — its sorrows, its sadness or its delights. The things they busy themselves with are the things that choke the seed — things tied, not to Christ, but to what He will judge.

The third class of ground, full of thorns, gives the seed no proper welcome either. Perhaps the seed makes a feeble attempt to grow, but the thorns crowd out the grain: it does not continue. This is explained in verse 22 as describing those who, though they hear the word, do not give it a more important place than the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. Present material concerns and desire for this world's goods choke out the more vital, valuable blessing of the word of God. Too many today prefer thorns!

These "cares" are very subtle things. They come in as necessary duties, and there is no sin in doing one's duty. In fact, it is right that a man should do his duty in his daily work. But if these duties choke the word, and a man loses his soul through it, what then? And if the love of possession slips into the heart, it checks the power of Christ over the soul and conscience. It eats out the practical life of the Christian, and his soul is withered, withered, withered.

The "cares" point especially to the poor man's struggle over how to live at all, how to keep the wolf from the door. This is the struggle for daily food, the cares of this life. If faith does not meet them, they stop the word from thriving in the heart. Those who are well off are especially open to the "deceitfulness of riches," above all when the love of money comes with having it (1 Tim. 6:9-10).

As riches are compared to "wind" to show how empty they are (Hosea 12:1), so they are compared to "thorns," to show the trouble they bring (Matt. 13:22). Thorns are no more likely to tear our clothes than riches are to tear our hearts. They are thorns while we gather them; they prick us with worry. As they pierce the hand with the worry of getting, so they wound the heart with the fear of losing.

As to the deceitfulness of riches, the smallest possession that the heart is set on is enough to choke the word. How we see this in people who make a profession of faith and have lost all freshness!

This is perhaps a more solemn warning than either of the others. Here the word seems to have taken deeper hold. What overthrows this faith is not the violent assault of persecution, but the quiet influence of things that surround us all. Care for the soul is not despised; it is just crowded out. No sudden attack, no pressure of temptation — just the ordinary wear and tear of life, and, like seed among thorns, the promise of fruit was choked.

The farmer may plough and harrow, but for every root he breaks, two plants will grow up, and his field will become a briar patch. Instead, let him sow the field with grass seed, and as the grass grows up it will drive out the briars. This is overcoming evil with good... Let the positive things of Christ fill the heart. Let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, and we will have little room and less desire for the lusts of the flesh.

The sower here is the Lord Himself, yet out of four casts of the seed, three are unsuccessful. It is only the last case where the seed bears ripe fruit.

Why are the hearts of some compared to good ground, when Scripture teaches that all hearts are "deceitful and desperately sick"? Not because there is anything naturally good in them. This gives only the facts, not the cause at work. It is simply the fact of the preaching of the word, and the reception of it.

We are not told what has made it good, but suppose we have the devil, nature, and the world in the first three cases — what is the only remaining influence? There is nothing but the Holy Spirit. It is very necessary these days to testify that the plough must come before the seed-basket. What makes the heart good? He who has gone out to plough the fallow ground and sow the seed.

What distinguishes the good ground, as far as receiving the word goes, is that a man understands the word. In the opposite case, strictly speaking, he does not understand it. In the two other cases there is the appearance of it, but no fruit. Here one regards nothing but fruit.

What is it here to "understand"? It is the perception that the word of the kingdom, or of God, is what the soul needs. "God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). If one may speak this way, God in the gospel says to the sinner: I know your need; you are lost, but I have given My Son to save you.

In this instance the word is heard in a prepared heart — in an "honest and good heart," as the Lord said (Luke). Looking at the three Gospels, we see three inward actions before the fruit-bearing. 1. Matthew: the hearer understands the word. 2. Mark: he receives it. 3. Luke: he holds it fast.

In Mark, as with a view to service, it is a question of reception or not. In Luke, as looking on to strangers of the nations, the point is "believing" and being "saved," keeping the word and bringing forth fruit with patience. But the Jew lived in constant contact with religious prejudice and tradition. So he was in particular danger of not "understanding" what was new and of God — the present test of faith.

This class alone describes true believers, and all bear fruit, though in three differing measures. Thirtyfold is not large, but it is fruit; sixtyfold is more fruit; and a hundredfold is much fruit (John 15:2-5).

Good ground is always prepared ground. The conscience has been reached, and as a result fruit is produced — but even so, it is in different degrees: some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundredfold. The things which are fatal to the unbeliever may seriously hinder the fruitfulness of the true believer.

Is the difference to be accounted for on the ground of faithfulness or opportunity? The Lord does not take up the question here, but other Scriptures show that both will be taken into account in the great Day of Rewards.