Mark 4:14
The sower soweth the word.
From other translations:
The sower sows the Word. [AMP - ESV - KJV - NKJV] The farmer plants the Word. [MSB - NIV] The farmer I talked about is the one who brings God's message to others. [NLT]
Now let us see what this verse is telling us.
The sower soweth the word
This is not put this clearly and simply in Matthew 13:19 or Luke 8:11.
The sower soweth
In very short terms, the Lord Jesus makes clear what the sower is sowing.
The sower
That is he who preaches the Gospel.
Or, as in Luke (Luke 8:11), “The seed is the word of God.”
But who is “the sower?” This is not expressed here because if “the word of God” be the seed, every scatterer of that precious seed must be regarded as a sower.
Jesus does not say who is meant by ‘the sower’. The parable is also not about the sower, but tells where the seed (the Word) ends up and what happens to it! But from the fact that the Lord Jesus Himself is constantly busy bringing (sowing) that Word, it can be concluded that He Himself is meant by that sower (cf. Matthew 13:37).
The following verse shows that the earth in which is sown represents the hearts of the people where the Word is sown (cf. Matthew 13:19).
It is true that in the parable of the tares it is said, “He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man,” as “He that soweth the tares is the devil” (Matthew 13:37,38).
But these are only the great unseen parties, struggling in this world for the possession of man. Each of these has his agents among men themselves; and Christ’s agents in the sowing of the good seed are the preachers of the word.
Thus, as in all the cases about to be described, the sower is the same, and the seed is the same; while the result is entirely different, the whole difference must lie in the soils, which mean the different states of the human heart.
And so, the great general lesson held forth in this parable of the sower is, that however faithful the preacher, and how pure soever his message, the effect of the preaching of the word depends upon the state of the hearer’s heart.
The word
The seed symbolizes ‘the word’, the message of the Kingdom of God (cf. Matthew 13:19).
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What is one of the duties of a pastor?
The answer to this is not too difficult to give. He has to minister again and again, that is to pass on and explain the gospel. This also means that he does not have much time for other things, because this, the sowing of the word, is a time consuming work.
This requires all the time and strength of someone who has been called to this by the Lord. Like a sower, he must spread the word broadly, that is, not in small measure.
Should a sower be careful where he scatters the seed? A farmer will certainly do that, but for a preacher of the Gospel it’s a different matter. He’s got to scatter the seed of the Gospel wherever people are.
A preacher must always remember that people are lost if they don’t hear the Word and receive it. Everyone must be made aware of the necessity of true repentance, but also of the willingness and all-sufficiency of the Savior.
A preacher cannot convert hearts. God only can do that. But the minister is called to cast out the seed.
On Sundays we all go to church, (if all is well).
Why actually? Well, because (again if all is well) the seed of regeneration is being scattered there.
The sower is the pastor, who preaches the Word.
With full hands he scatters the seed, hoping that there will be a plowed field into which that seed will fall, so that it will take root downward and bring forth fruit upward.
What is that plowed field?
That is our heart that should be plowed by the Law.
Only then will our hearts be like a well-prepared earth in which that seed of regeneration, the Gospel, will take shape.
▪︎ Are our hearts like a plowed field, ready to receive the seed of the gospel?
▪︎ Have you discovered, how horrible your existence is in God’s eyes?
If so, the seed of the Gospel can grow and bear fruit. The seed of the Gospel can only bear fruit when the divine plowshare, God’s Law, has passed through our hearts. Such a heart looks for the seed of the Gospel.
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