The Life Of Christ Lesson 9 The First Parables of Jesus Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; Luke 8:4-15 - Parable of the sower September 11, 2019

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 The same: Seed. 1 Peter 1:23; Luke 8:1 Gospel designed to change the heart. Acts 2:36-37; James 1:21-22; Romans 12:1-2. Sower. Jesus Sowing. Matthew 13:19; 2 Corinthians 9:6; Galatians 6:7-8 What varied? 1. The soil was the difference.

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 “The Word Of God.” Luke 8:11-12 The wayside soil. “Hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.” (verse 18) Having “heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved.” (Luke 8:12) NOTE: This is an individual choice! cf. James 4:7; Acts 7:51; Hebrews 3:7ff; cf. Jeremiah 5:21-23 “The god of this world.” 2 Corinthians 4:1-4 “To reject with disdain.” (Strong)

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 The wayside soil. Seed that “fell beside the road” (verse 4) and was “trampled under foot.” (Luke 8:5) What does it mean to “trample” something under our feet? (Matthew 5:13; 7:6; Hebrews 10:29) “To treat with the utmost contempt and indignity” (Zodhiates) Eaten by the birds … never germinated. “To reject with disdain.” (Strong)

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 The wayside soil. Need to link the “trampling” of the seed and the lack of understanding. cf. Trampling Jesus / Trampling His word! How much understanding will we gain when we have disdain and contempt for the seed, the word of God? NOTE: Context (Matthew 13:13ff; cf. John 12:37-40 “… They could not believe …”) Contempt because of our fleshly focus and mindset. 1 Corinthians 2:14-3:3. “… he cannot understand …” “To reject with disdain.” (Strong)

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 The wayside soil. Note: The failure to understand is not attributable to the sower or the obscurity of the word, but to the hardhearted condition of the receptor’s heart. cf. 1 Peter 1:22; James 1:18 Referring to those who don’t “take it to heart” (Malachi 2:2; Acts 7:51). An "uncircumcised heart" is one that is closed and impervious to God's attempts to affect it. It resists them, which is why Stephen calls them "stiff-necked.".

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 The wayside soil. The cause? Luke 8:12, 18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he thinketh he hath.” Godless education. cf. 1 Corinthians 1:18ff Godless entertainment. cf. Proverbs 23:7 Godless family environment. (Trust is destroyed.) Hypocrisy in the lives of those who claim to follow the Lord. Matthew 6 and 23

Parable Of The Sower - Matthew 13:1-23 2. The “rocky places.” Matthew 13:5-6, “and others fell upon the rocky places, where they had not much earth: and straightway they sprang up, because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.” Matthew 13:20-21, “And he that was sown upon the rocky places, this is he that heareth the word, and straightway with joy receiveth it; yet hath he not root in himself, but endureth for a while; and when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, straightway he stumbleth. Clue: are we always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth? 2 Timothy 3:7