Sermon for Sunday, March 15th, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[2 Samuel 12:1-7 ESV] 1 And the LORD sent Nathan to David. He came to him and said to him, “There were two men in a certain city, the one rich and the other poor. 2 The rich man had very many flocks and herds, 3 but the poor man had nothing but one little ewe lamb, which he had bought. And he brought it up, and it grew up with him and with his children. It used to eat of his morsel and drink from his cup and lie in his arms, and it was like a daughter to him. 4 Now there came a traveler to the rich man, and he was unwilling to take one of his own flock or herd to prepare for the guest who had come to him, but he took the poor man’s lamb and prepared it for the man who had come to him.” 5 Then David’s anger was greatly kindled against the man, and he said to Nathan, “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, 6 and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” 7 Nathan said to David, “You are the man! Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘I anointed you king over Israel, and I delivered you out of the hand of Saul.
New Testament Reading:
[James 1:9-12 ESV] 9 Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, 10 and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. 11 For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits. 12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.
Gospel Reading:
[Matthew 13:1-9 ESV] 1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 13:18-23 ESV] 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone 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. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
Introduction
We have a section that is the parable of the Sower (verses 1 through 9) and a section that is the explanation of the Parable of the Sower (verse 18 through 23.)
In between those is an interesting section about who can hear and understand the parables. I hope to address that section next week. But today we will look at the Parable of the Sower itself.
And I like to make things as clear as possible when it comes to parables and metaphors. I’ll attempt to explain what each item in the story is “standing for;” what each items represents, and what we are then to make of this.
Here are the items we have in the parable.
0. a. Sower
0. b. sow
1. a. Seeds on path
1. b. Birds devoured them
2. a. Seeds on rocky ground
2. b. Sprang up but were scorched by the sun
3. a. Seeds among thorns
3. b. Choked out.
4. a. Seeds in good soil
4. b. Produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
Then, before we get to the explanation of the parable, we have to understand THAT THERE IS AN EXPLANATION. Some want the words of Jesus to be MYSTERIOUS or incomprehensible, but the text IS indeed giving us an answer. We are to understand the parable; it is for our benefit.
Now, who is “the sower?”
To a certain extent it must be the Lord God himself. The explanation speaks of “what has been sown in his heart.” The only one that can reach the heart is the Lord. The only real teacher is Christ, the Logos. But, “the sower” extends, I believe, also to the instruments God uses: the evangelist, the preacher, the one who reads and expounds upon the word of God. They are all sowing.
What are they sowing? What is that which is sown?
The explanation speaks of “THE WORD OF THE KINGDOM,” and five times says “the word.” In each example the “word” is sown. That too is our answer for what “the seed” is. That which is sown is seeds, and seeds are “the word of the kingdom.” These are the words of God, more specifically, they are the Gospel message about the Kingdom of God; the great blessings of God’s grace through which he calls people to faith in Christ.
Then we have three bad places where seed is sown; three places where the Word of God does not take hold.
The path.
Rocky Ground.
And thorns.
I. The Path
The path is “public territory.” You don’t leave something out on the path, or it will be taken. If there is SEED on a path, a bird will eat it up. So Jesus says of the seed on the path “when anyone 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.” The blame is most obviously on “the evil one,” Satan. But it also is true that the person “does not understand.” And so the words “come in one ear and go out the other.” Perhaps the person doesn’t care. Perhaps they aren’t really listening. Perhaps they think there is no need for the Word of God. Ultimately, the seed produces nothing.
We’ll see that which each of these 3 failed “sowings.” The seed produces nothing. And, importantly, it is not the fault of the seed. It is the same seed, wherever it lands. And it is the same word of God wherever it is preached. It is not the fault of the Word if a person does not take it to heart.
II. Rocky Ground
Next, after the path, is the rocky ground. “This is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” So a seed on rocky, with a bit of water, might germinate but then quickly die out. So it is with the person who is “rocky ground.” They germinate but fail to take hold. They desires the good things promised in the Word, but are unwilling to go through any trial. This is the prosperity “Gospel,” the liberal Christians who change the Bible to suit the culture, and the person who doesn’t mind hearing about God, but does not want to change anything in their life. They want all the benefits of the Christian life, but to put in none of the work. But we know that “the work” is part of the process; Christians are called unto a new life of good works, of progressive sanctification. We need not a hard rocky heart, but a heart of flesh, renewed by the Holy Spirit unto faith in Jesus Christ so that we will hear the Word and believe in it.
III. Thorns
So there is “the path,” then “rocky ground,” and then a third troubled place, “thorns.” Some seed falls among the thorn. These thorns are explains to be “the cares of the word” and “the deceitfulness of riches” which choke them out. There are many “cares of the world” that distract us. Many are unable to even consider given 1 hour a week to God, coming to church. So busy they are will their own plans. We as Christians know that we are to give 168 hours per week to God; that we are to thank him for everything we have, because it is all from him. But the seed that is among the thorns is choked out. And nothing chokes it out more, among the cares of the world, than money; “the deceitfulness of riches.” The greatest god of our time is money. The Scriptures says “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evils.” it is deceitful because it promises that if you have money, your troubles will go away. But time and time again that is proven false. Instead of solving problems, sometimes money make problems worse. And trusting in money gets our trust away from God. Ultimately, no number of dollars in your bank account will matter when the time of the end comes.
As is so often the case, Jesus is speaking something that has been said before in the Old Testament. Regarding “thorns” we have :
[Jeremiah 4:3-4 ESV] 3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns. 4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem; lest my wrath go forth like fire, and burn with none to quench it, because of the evil of your deeds.”
So it is the case that seeds fall in various places, but thats not the goal. We aren’t to look for a path, rocky ground, or thorns. We are to look for Good Soil.
Also, on this subject of thorns we have to understand that these are not people who believed in Christ and then fell away. They are people who never believed in Christ, for when Christ converts you and you are given new life, it is not a half-way measure.
IV. The Good Soil
That is what we have, after these three bad situations. We now read of a good situation. The good soil. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
How is it that the seed in good soil bears fruit? Only by the power of the Lord. In another “fruit bearing” analogy Jesus says:
[John 15:1-8 ESV] 1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in me, he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. 7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.
What is the fruit? It is “the fruit of the spirit.” It is good deeds. But notice that the fruit of the spirit are attitudes, ways about ourselves, not the particular actions taken. It is good to “help an old lady across the street” or “serve in a food kitchen,” but the real fruit of the spirit is to do these things with joy, peace, patience, etc.
Of this fruit, there are “varying yields.” Each Christian is called to a particular place or role in the world. Some will have greater impact, ministry, or growth in faith. But we all have the same Lord and the same faith. So we are not to think of one person (who produces 100 fold) as better than another person (who only produces 60 or 30), but we are to thank the Lord for the existence of ANY and ALL fruit in our lives.
Application 1: Hear the Word with Caution
The old preacher J. C. Ryle says that this is “A parable of caution..”
It teaches us to have caution about the WAY of hearing the word of God.
It is a warning of caution to the apostles not to expect too much from hearers.
It is a warning of caution to ministers not to look for too great of results from sermons.
It is a warning of caution to hearers to take heed how they hear. (There must not only be good preaching but good hearing.)
Looking at the warning of the bad soil we learn to:
Beware of the devil when you hear the word of God.
Beware of persecutions that come against Christians.
Beware of the distractions of the world.
Beware of anything that doesn’t produce fruit.
This isn’t to say that it is ALL ON US, but rather it is through these MEANS that God draws us to Him; reminding us of the dangers of the world that we are to avoid, and working in us with His Holy Spirit so that we CAN and WILL take caution and hear the word.
Application 1: Be steadfast.
On the negative side, we are to be cautious.
On the positive side, we are to be steadfast.
Steadfast in reading the word of God,
and believing the word of God,
and living the word of God,
producing good fruit.
Let just sit back and thing a minute, how can we INDIVIDUALLY and CORPORATELY bear good fruit. What good attitude could change the day of your friends and family and coworkers? What physical assistance could be of blessing to someone. What prayers should you be offering? We ouhgt to cultivate these good things, count our blessings, but number and prepare for good deeds as well.
Conclusion
In the Biography of David Brainerd we learned of a Lenape Indian who came to the faith. Before his conversion, he said, in a shocking statement, “I HAVE NEVER DONE ONE GOOD THING.”
Have you?
On the one side, all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
And if you don’t know God, you’ve done nothing good.
But with the Lord, with the Holy Spirit working in you, you are called to and can do good deeds, you can bear good fruit. Plan for it, and do it. Be steadfast and produce.