The Parable of the Sower

Fourth Soil – Good Ground (Reputable Soil):

The "good" ground represents believers who, after receiving the seed (the word of the kingdom), bring forth spiritual fruit. They have no fear of the tribulation or persecution that could fall on them, because their hope and testimony is that of the coming kingdom of Christ. The good soil produced a crop 100, 60, or 30 times more than what was planted. Farming experts know just what kind of soil is needed for their crops. They will add the right kind of fertilizer (vitamins and nutrients) so their plants can grow. They want their seeds to grow into large, healthy plants that will give them good fruits and vegetables. This represents the people who heard God’s word and believed it. They put their trust in Jesus. Their hearts received the message of the kingdom, and the seed will take root. But just like when you plant actual seeds into the ground, the message of the kingdom will grow gradually. We don't plant a seed and see a plant the next day. True growth takes time. And sometimes when we plant seeds, we see different kinds of things that actually grow. Some trees produce fruit; some plants produce vegetables. Some produce lots of fruit, and some produce little. Even the soil that produces a small crop is "good."

This parable, finally, teaches there are three kinds of good ground believers: those who produce a hundredfold, those who produce sixty, and those who produce thirty. Perhaps, the amount of fruit that each produced is indicative of how much truth of the kingdom each sees and to which commit their life. This kind of commitment would automatically cultivate the stones and the thorns out of their lives. These three amounts of fruit also represent three major levels in the coming kingdom: (1) the highest level, reserved for believers bringing forth a hundredfold; (2) the second highest level for the believer bringing forth sixty and (3) the lowest level for those bringing forth thirty. These three levels of rule are seen in other parables of Matthew. By now we have examined three kinds of ground to whom the seed of the word fell. Unfortunately, none of them was able to make the seed fruitful. Thus, the first kind of ground, that was "by the way", was so hard that the seed not even sprang up. Also, the other one was stony not permitting the seed to put deep roots. Someone who is truly saved will go on to prove it. May our faith and our lives exemplify the "good soil" in the Parable of the Sower. Sometimes the seed falls on soil with just the right nutrients and pH balance, and everything works like it's supposed to.

To summarize the point of the Parable of the Sower: "A man's reception of God’s Word is determined by the condition of his heart." A secondary lesson would be “Salvation is more than a superficial, albeit joyful, hearing of the gospel. It sends out a root that takes hold, a beautiful plant grows, and it produces fruit. As Jesus says, it produces a crop yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown. The identity of the farmer in Jesus’ parable is the question we haven't tackled yet. In context, Jesus is the farmer. He spent three years of His life sharing the message of the kingdom with varied results. When we see God as the sower, it's incredibly meaningful. It's wasteful for a farmer to throw seed away on soil that’s not going to produce, but the farmer is so hopeful that He’s willing to do it anyway. Jesus doesn't differentiate between worthy and unworthy soil; He throws as much grace and gospel seed as He can at us because He’s just so consumed with a desire to see us be reconciled to Him. Finally, the third one was thorny choking the seed and making it unfruitful. Having seen three unfruitful categories, it is now time to see what the good land is, and the land on which the seed of the Word falling, gives fruit. "But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience" (Luke 8:15). Yet the fourth soil is notably different. This one understands and bears fruit, he accepts and conforms his life to the Gospel. The presence of fruit, not its quantity, is what matters.