To Be Like Yeshua Means – To Understand the Parables of the Kingdom
In my last post, we learned why Yeshua spoke in parables. In this post, we will explore His explanation of the parable of the four soils.
“So listen to what the parable of the sower means. Whoever hears the message about the Kingdom, but doesn’t understand it, is like the seed sown along the path – the Evil One comes and seizes what was sown in His heart. The seed sown on rocky ground is like a person who hears the message and accepts it with joy at once, but has no root in himself. So He stays on for a while; but as soon as some trouble or persecution arises on account of the message, He immediately falls away. Now the seed sown among thorns stands for someone who hears the message, but it is choked by the worries of the world and the deceitful glamor of wealth, so that it produces nothing. However, what was sown on rich soil is the one who hears the message and understands it; such a person will surely bear fruit, a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was sown.” ~ Matthew 13:18-23
What the Parable of the Four Soils (or the Sower) Means
The sower was Yeshua and, by extension, anyone after Him who would teach and preach the Word (represented by the seed). Yeshua was telling the parable and exemplifying it; as He spoke of the farmer sowing the seed, He was sowing the Word among the crowd of followers. Yeshua was revealing His mission while teaching the emissaries and talmidim about theirs. The parable revealed people’s varying responses to the Gospel message. The attitude or condition of their hearts would govern their response. The Word makes no impression on some people. For those who hear and do not understand, the seed lands on a hard heart (like the hardened soil of the path). Then Satan, like the birds of verse 4 snatches it away. Perhaps the person feels no need in his or her heart, no desire for anything other than this life, no guilt of sin or need of forgiveness. Satan has no trouble with these people. Continue reading “Yeshua Explains the Parable of the Four Soils”