Matthew 13:20–21

"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.