That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears let him hear.”
When Jesus was teaching the crowds concerning the Kingdom of Heaven, he would speak in parables for two reasons. First, his listeners were not highly educated. They understood farming so a planting illustration is something that they would relate to. Some of his listeners were educated in the Holy Scriptures, even though they misinterpreted them. To them, these sayings had all sorts of meanings, even those that were far from their most simple application. To them these sayings were folly even though they were targeted at these very same people. The good soil is those who could relate and make application in their own life. The rocky or thorny soil is those who fail to understand his examples, even though they are the intended audience.
Daily Prayer: Lord Jesus, I can relate to your teaching, because you have given me and all who believe in You the Holy Spirit so that your sayings can be spiritually discerned. To those who don’t believe, draw near to them so that they may have eyes that see, ears that hear, and a heart that understands. Amen.
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