Thematic Bible: Sower


Thematic Bible



"A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and were trodden down, and the wild birds ate them up. Another portion of them fell upon the rock, and as soon as they sprang up, they withered, because they had no moisture. Still another portion fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with them and choked them out. read more.
And another portion fell in rich soil and grew and yielded a crop of a hundredfold." As He said this, He exclaimed, "Let him who has ears to hear with, listen!" His disciples were asking Him what this story meant. So He said, "You are granted the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of God, but to others they are told in stories, so that they may look and not see, may hear and not understand. This is what the story means: The seed is God's message. Those along the path illustrate those who hear it, but then the devil comes and carries off the message from their hearts, so that they may not believe it and be saved. The portion of them on the rock illustrates those who accept the message, bubbling over with joy when they first hear it, but it takes no real root. They believe for awhile, but in the time of testing they fall away. And the portion of them falling among the thorns illustrates those who hear it, but as soon as they pass on they are choked out by the worries and wealth and pleasures of life, and thus yield no mature fruit. But the portion in rich soil illustrates those who listen to the message, keep it in good and honest hearts, and in patience yield fruit.

And in stories, by way of comparison, He told them many things, as He continued to speak: "A sower went out to sow, and as he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up, and some fell upon rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and at once they sprang up, because there was no depth of soil, read more.
and when the sun was up they were scorched and dried up, because they had no root. And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out. And some fell in rich soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty-fold. Let him who has ears listen." Then His disciples came up to Him and asked, "Why do you speak to them in stories?" He answered: "It is you and not they who are granted the privilege of knowing the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. For to anyone who has, more will be given, and his supply will overflow, but from anyone who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I am speaking to them in stories, because they look but do not see, they listen but do not really hear or understand. So in them the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: "'You will listen and listen and not understand, and you will look and look and never see at all, For this people's soul has grown dull, and with their ears they can scarcely hear, and they have shut tight their eyes, so that they will never see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn to me, so that I may cure them!' "But blessed are your eyes, for they are beginning to see, and your ears, for they are beginning to hear. For I solemnly say to you, many prophets and upright men yearned to see what you are seeing, and did not see it, and to hear what you are hearing, and did not hear it. "Now listen closely to the story of the sower. When anyone hears the message of the kingdom and does not understand it, the wicked one comes and carries off the seed that was sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. And what was sown upon the thin rocky soil illustrates the man who hears the message and bubbling over with joy at once accepts it, but it takes no real root in him, and he lasts only a little while, and just as soon as suffering and persecution come for the truth's sake, he at once yields and falls. And what was sown among the thorns illustrates the man who hears the message, and the worries of the times and the pleasures of being rich choke the truth out, and he yields no fruit. And what was sown in rich soil illustrates the man who hears the message and understands it, and yields fruit, one a hundred, one sixty, another thirty-fold."




Do not be deceived anymore; God is not to be scoffed at. A person will reap just what he sows, whatever it is. The person who sows to gratify his lower nature will reap destruction from that lower nature, and the person who sows to gratify his higher nature will reap eternal life from the Spirit.



And in stories, by way of comparison, He told them many things, as He continued to speak: "A sower went out to sow, and as he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up, and some fell upon rocky ground where they did not have much soil, and at once they sprang up, because there was no depth of soil, read more.
and when the sun was up they were scorched and dried up, because they had no root. And some fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them out. And some fell in rich soil, and yielded a crop, some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty-fold.

"Listen! A sower went out to sow. As he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and the birds came and ate them up. Some fell upon rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up at once, because the soil was not deep; read more.
but when the sun came up, they were scorched and withered away, because they had not taken root. Some fell among the thorn seed, and the thorns grew up and choked them out and they yielded no grain. Some fell in rich soil, and came up and grew and yielded thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold." And He said, "Let him who has ears listen!" When He was by Himself, those who stayed about Him with the Twelve began to ask Him about the stories. Then He said to them, "To you the secret of the kingdom of God has been entrusted, but to those who are on the outside everything is presented in stories, so that 'They may look and look and yet not see, And listen and listen and yet not understand, Lest, perchance, they should turn and be forgiven.'" Then He said to them: "If you do not understand this story, how, indeed, can you understand any of my stories? The message is what the sower sows. The ones along the path are those who have the message sown in their hearts, but as soon as it is sown there, Satan comes and carries off the message that has been sown in their hearts. In like manner these are the ones sown on rocky ground; as soon as they hear the truth, they accept it with ecstasy, but it does not take real root in them, and so they last only a little while; then when trouble or persecution comes on account of the truth, they at once fall by the way. A different class are those people sown among the thorns. They are people who listen to the message, but the worries of the times, the deceiving pleasures of being rich, and evil desires for other things, creep in and choke the truth out, and it yields nothing. And the people sown in rich soil are the people who listen to the message and welcome it and yield thirty, sixty, even a hundredfold."

"A sower went out to sow his seed. As he was sowing, some of the seed fell along the path, and were trodden down, and the wild birds ate them up. Another portion of them fell upon the rock, and as soon as they sprang up, they withered, because they had no moisture. Still another portion fell among the thorns, and the thorns grew up with them and choked them out. read more.
And another portion fell in rich soil and grew and yielded a crop of a hundredfold." As He said this, He exclaimed, "Let him who has ears to hear with, listen!"