In chapter 13, Jesus sat beside the sea. Crowds gathered, and he got into a boat and sat to address them. Jesus first tells the parable of the sower in verses 3-9. We are not told about the chronology in the text, but most surmise that Jesus spoke all of the parables from the boat, and the explanation came later, after he went into the house in verse 36 (verse 34 seems to bear that out). When the disciples came to ask Him why He spoke to the people in parables, He quoted from Isaiah 6:9-10 in verses 14-15, explaining that the difference between them (the disciples that want to learn) and the crowds (those that do not really want to understand, much less accept, the truth) is in their hearts. Those who do not understand and accept what He speaks of to them in plain speech, will never accept what He teaches in parables. This may be the point He made to Nicodemus in John 3:12.

Landscape with the Parable of the Sower (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This is followed up by the explanation of the parable of the sower in verses 18-23, which is the key to understanding all of the parables. In this case, Jesus is the sower, but it applies to us as sowers as we teach others about the kingdom. It is up to the individual receiving the seeds to prepare their ground for their proper growth – to plow up the hard ground of their hearts (Jeremiah 4:3-4).

/Bob’s boy

Bible Reading Schedule for this month
Click links below to read or listen to audio of one of this week’s chapters in Colossians and Luke

Matt 11, Matt 12, Matt 13, Matt 14, Matt 15

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All of my comments in this blog are solely my responsibility. When reading any commentary, you should always refer first to the scripture, which is God’s unchanging and unfailing word.