If the Gospel is the only means by which humanity can be saved, it must be simple enough for anyone who is receptive and humble to understand. This is precisely what Jesus accomplished; He illustrated the mysteries of the kingdom of God through the simple, ordinary, and common activities and objects of life. From His parables, “men could learn of the unknown through the known; heavenly things were revealed through the earthly.”[1] Jesus revealed the mysteries of the kingdom of God through the power of storytelling, explaining complex doctrines in language even children could understand.
Many of the parables Jesus told were not original to Him. First-century rabbis during Jesus’ time were actually good at teaching through parables, but Jesus’ parables were uniquely effective. When He drew lessons from everyday stories and elements of nature, He was “speaking of the things which His own hands had made, and which had qualities and powers that He Himself had imparted.”[2]
Through these parables, Jesus reached a diverse audience—from doctors of the law to peasant farmers. His stories were relatable and resonated with the daily experiences of His listeners. So when He said, “The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough” (Matt. 13:33) every homemaker in first-century Palestine could resonate with His words and remember them. Even today, these words still hold power and relevance.
Jesus’ parables were designed both to reveal and to conceal the mysteries of the kingdom of God. For the humble and willing heart, for those genuinely seeking to know Christ, for those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the parables were revelations. Jesus said to them, “It has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 13:11).
When the same parable was spoken to those who had already rejected Jesus before even hearing from Him, it yielded no results. Those who scorned His teachings and approached His words with apathy and unbelief would not understand even the most powerful parables about the kingdom, no matter how plainly they were spoken.
In fact, the more they heard Him speak, the more offensive His words became to them. During His trial, Jesus boldly declared to the high priest, “It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This declaration incited outrage, leading the high priest to tear his clothes in a dramatic display of disapproval, exclaiming, “He has spoken blasphemy! What further need do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard His blasphemy! What do you think?” The response was unanimous, and they answered, “He is deserving of death” (Matt. 26:64-66).
We may all have opportunity to hear God’s word. But how we understand or respond to it depends on the condition of our hearts.
The Parable of the Sower
Many of us who live in North America purchase our corn from the nearest grocery store or buy lettuce that has been shipped over 3,100 miles (5,000 km) from Peru—a stark contrast to the daily life of Jesus’s listeners in their agricultural society. The author of this quarter’s Sabbath school lessons highlights an important point: “When reading the parables of Jesus in the Gospels, people often want to jump quickly to the interpretation.”[3] For the original recipients of these teachings, however, these stories reflected real-life experiences they observed daily. This context provided them with a deeper understanding and connection to Jesus’s messages.
Imagine with me that you are sitting on a hillside, watching a farmer work his field. He digs into the soil, carefully planting his seed row after row after row. As you are watching this farmer work, Jesus begins to tell you a story, about a sower who went out to sow seed. This is how the parable of the sower was first told to its original hearers.
In this parable, the seed is explicitly identified as the word of God. Jesus said, “The Sower sows the word”(Mark 4:14). This refers to the gospel of Christ. Ellen White elaborates on this, stating, “The seed with which the most precious truths of His grace were sown.”[4] The apostle Peter reaffirms this concept in 1 Peter 1:23, where he writes, “For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” The soil in which the seed is sown is the heart of the hearer. Jesus explains, “When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts” (Mark 4:15).
Although most Bible subtitles refer to it as the “Parable of the Sower,” the story does not primarily focus on the sower. In fact, unlike in the Parable of the Wheat and Tares, where the sower is explicitly identified, we do not know who the sower is in this story. Moreover, the experience and skills of the sower are not the focus of this parable; what matters more is the condition of the four different types of soil. What we do understand about the sower’s character is his generosity. He indiscriminately disperses the seeds, freely scattering them regardless of the soil type. The sower’s goal is that no seed “returns to Him void,” (Isa. 55:11) but that they will grow and produce fruit.
I love that the sower sowed the same seeds in all the different types of soil. The seeds that fell on the wayside were of the same quality as those that fell on the good soil. It again underscores how the focus of this parable is not necessarily the sower or the seeds, but rather the four types of soil. This parable could have been titled, The Parable of the Four Soils.
The Wayside/Roadside Soil
Go back to that imaginary hillside in first century Israel and watch the farmer plowing his field to a depth of 6-8 inches to ready the soil for sowing, as was the custom in those days. He uses a broadcasting technique for planting, grabbing handfuls of seeds from a bag and scattering them widely across the field. Some of his seeds fall into the soil, but some inevitably fall on the wayside. This section of the farmland is actually an unplowed footpath. It is hard, compact, dry, and not suitable for any seed to grow, regardless of its quality. You watch birds eat some of this seed. And you imagine that some of it might be trampled by passersby. The seeds that land on the wayside stand no chance of germination.
The wayside hearers represent individuals with closed minds, where the gospel cannot penetrate the soil of their hearts. The scribes and Pharisees thought they already knew the truth. Even before Jesus opened His mouth to teach, they had already rejected His teaching. They had ears but did not hear; they asked questions not to understand but to accuse Jesus. They believed the truth was always for others, not for themselves. Their hearts were hard and impenetrable, just like the wayside soil.
The situation of wayside hearers is the most dire. Unbelief has clogged their minds, giving no access to the Spirit to work on their hearts. In fact, they have permitted Satan to decide what stays and what doesn’t stay in their hearts. They are spiritually dead, numb, and insensitive to spiritual truths, as depicted by the dry-hardened soil. Wayside hearers are those superficial listeners on whom the truths of the gospel have no lasting impact. The condition of their heart has become a “highway for the world’s traffic, its pleasures and sins.”[5] They see no need for the gospel, they are “stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears” (Acts 7:51). They continuously resist the work of the Holy Spirit, who works on the soil of their hearts to make it ready for the word.
Rocky/Stony Ground Soil
If the field is plowed to a depth of about 6-8 inches before sowing, the “stony” or “rocky” soil does not refer to soil mixed with stones, but rather to soil with a rocky bedrock beneath the surface. This is evident in the text, which mentions that some seeds fell on stony ground where “it did not have much earth,” and it is concluded that there was “no depth of earth.” Typically, good farmers remove all visible rocks after plowing, but the bedrock described in the story is not visible to the farmer. When seeds fall into this type of soil, they may germinate, but just as they begin to develop a sufficient root system and prepare for successful growth, they quickly wither away due to the lack of depth and moisture retention in the soil.
I planted perennials in my front yard last summer. All three of them did well through the fall and in early spring. One of them, however, slowly began to wilt early this summer, and has now completely died. I have always known this part of my yard was rocky. I had hoped my plants would be sustained by the soil I had added when I planted them last summer. But for this plant, it just wasn’t enough.
Stony ground hearers are quick to decide to follow Jesus but just as quick to retreat. These individuals are superficial in their faith, embodying a form of godliness but lacking its power (2 Tim. 3:5). They don’t develop deep roots. As Ellen White notes, “Like the rock underlying the layer of earth, the selfishness of the natural heart underlies the soil of their good desires and aspirations.”[6] Their decision to follow Jesus is often emotional, without counting the cost of discipleship. They attempt to balance the word and the world. Unlike the wayside hearers, they believe for a while and receive the word with joy. However, their promising early growth is an illusion; they are one temptation or one trial away from abandoning the cause.
Thorny Soil
The farmer continues to sow, and some of His seed falls among weeds. Soil infested with weeds can be very difficult to manage. Weeds are aggressive and grow faster than most crops. In some parts of the world, they are so problematic that farmers resort to burning entire fields to get rid of them, but even then, the weeds often grow back. Modern agriculture has adopted herbicides to control weeds. Weeds compete with crops for essential resources such as water, nutrients, and sunlight. If they grow taller than the crops, they can block the sun, making it impossible for crops to receive the sunlight they need. Sometimes, farmers may be deceived into thinking that all weeds are destroyed after plowing the field. But some weeds are persistent. The crop may germinate and grow, but it will never reach maturity if the weeds persist.
The Greek word for thorns is “akantha,” referring to any prickly plant, such as a thistle. These plants are notorious for choking out other plants by competing aggressively for resources like sunlight, water, and nutrients. They start small but quickly overpower the crop and dominate the field.
Luke defines the “thorns” of the Christian life as “the cares and riches and pleasures of this life”. Mark describes it as “the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in” (Mark 4:19). Thorny soil hearers start well but never reach maturity because they neglect to remove the weeds from the soil of their hearts.
Ellen White states: “That which the thorny-ground hearers lack is a moral transformation.”[7] They love the gospel as long as it doesn’t require them to give up their worldly ambitions. Some of these cares and pursuits, such as education and career, may not be inherently evil, but when placed ahead of the gospel, they lead to a focus solely on building a life here, neglecting the life to come. Weeds—whether physical or spiritual—are stubborn. We either get rid of them, or they choke us.
Ultimately, the transformation of our hearts into good soil is a divine miracle, made possible by our willingness to embrace the Holy Spirit’s work.
Good Soil
The good soil, free from bedrock, well-plowed, clean, and loose, allows seeds to develop strong roots and grow without competition from weeds. Such soil yields crops thirty, sixty, and even a hundredfold, signifying a bountiful harvest.
Often, we place all responsibility for the success of the Gospel on the preacher, expecting them to communicate the gospel effectively and engage listeners’ hearts. It’s the preacher’s job to study, prepare, articulate the gospel with power, and present it in language his listeners will understand. However, Jesus challenges this notion by declaring, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Mark 4:9). This shifts some responsibility to the hearers—the effectiveness of the gospel also depends on their openness and readiness to receive it. No matter how skilled the preacher is, an unreceptive heart will not be transformed, even by the greatest preacher, Jesus Himself.
The good soil hearer is someone who hears the word and accepts it wholeheartedly, with humility and eagerness to obey. This soil is not inherently good on its own; it becomes good through cultivation. These hearers have allowed the Holy Spirit to break down the hardened sections of their hearts. They have allowed Christ to remove all the weeds, thorns, and lies hidden within. They have embraced the Spirit’s call to “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns” (Jer. 4:3).
Mark describes the yield from the good soil as ‘some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.’ In agricultural terms during Jesus’ day, such yields would indeed be truly remarkable. [8] To put this into perspective, the average yield of wheat in the United States in 2023 is 48.6 bushels per acre[9], which equates to approximately a fortyfold return. Even with advancements in agricultural technology, including GMOs and pesticides, yields can reach only about fortyfold. A return of thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold in Jesus’ day would be nothing short of a miracle. The good soil is a soil of miracles; a changed heart is a heart of miracles, and God is at work in our hearts if we allow Him to perform this miracle.
Ultimately, the transformation of our hearts into good soil is a divine miracle, made possible by our willingness to embrace the Holy Spirit’s work.
Remarkably, even the wayside, rocky, and thorny soils can be reclaimed and restored to good soil if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts. This transformation is a choice we must make. Just as a yield of “some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred” is miraculous, a transformed heart is a miracle of God at work. This process requires our active participation and readiness to let God cultivate our hearts, yielding a harvest beyond measure.
The Sower stands ready to sow. Is the soil of your heart ready?
[1] Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1900), p. 17
[2] Ibid., p.18
[3] The Book of Mark, 2024 Sabbath School study Guide, p. 31
[4] Ellen G. White, Christ’s Object Lessons (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Pub. Assn., 1900), p. 33
[5] Ibid., p. 44
[6] Ibid., p. 46
[7] Ibid., p. 50
[8] Francis D. Nichol, ed., The Seventh-Day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5 (Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1980), 405.
[9] https://www.statista.com/statistics/190356/wheat-yield-per-harvested-acre-in-the-us-from-2000/#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20report%2C%20the,acre%20from%202021%20to%202023