“Six Soils”
(Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23)
The Greenhouse ~ 6th Sunday after Trinity
As you may have guessed from the fact that we named our home and ministry The Greenhouse, we like plants. Kristin has been quite adept at plant care for years, but I’ve embraced her love of plants and have had some good success with some plants in my own classroom in recent years. Kristin’s biggest challenge has been some nasty mealy bugs, and I had a season of fruit flies (or some similar kind of pest) in my classroom. Apart from these issues, and in most cases even despite them, we have seen plants flourish and grow. Outdoors we have had a more varied success rate. One oak hydrangea has been very healthy, but two other hydrangeas are basically dead. Some herbs and vegetables have succeeded, others have struggled. Our biggest outdoor problem has been a lack of quality soil—the Ozarks are known for our rocks, not so much our abundant and nutrient-rich topsoil. Likewise, our indoor insect pests have nested and arisen from the soil.
In Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-23, Jesus tells, then explains, a parable often called the parable of the sower in which Jesus describes the various places where the seed of the sower fell, as well as the result of such planting. Jesus is both a better storyteller and preacher than I am, so let’s hear His words in Matthew 13 before I make a brief attempt to draw some conclusions and applications for our own time.
13 On that day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat down, while the whole crowd stood on the shore.
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying, “Consider the sower who went out to sow. 4 As he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seed fell on rocky ground where it didn’t have much soil, and it grew up quickly since the soil wasn’t deep. 6 But when the sun came up, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked it. 8 Still other seed fell on good ground and produced fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times what was sown. 9 Let anyone who has ears listen.” […]
18 “So listen to the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word about the kingdom and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one sown along the path. 20 And the one sown on rocky ground—this is one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. 21 But he has no root and is short-lived. When distress or persecution comes because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 Now the one sown among the thorns—this is one who hears the word, but the worries of this age and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 23 But the one sown on the good ground—this is one who hears and understands the word, who does produce fruit and yields: some a hundred, some sixty, some thirty times what was sown.”
As we saw last week, the purpose of speaking in parables was not to make the meaning easier, but rather the opposite—it obscured the meaning at first so that no one left Jesus’ presence falsely thinking they believed in Him. The fact that Jesus goes on to explain the parable to His disciples suggests that the first encounter with such parables left many listeners confused. It was those who made a decision to follow Jesus who then had the opportunity to hear Jesus interpret the parables, or tell them again, and to learn over time about the kingdom of God.
Most of Jesus’ parables speak about the kingdom of God. Our modern world, especially the western church, has become more focused on our afterlife—what happens after we die—so “kingdom of God,” perhaps especially since Jesus also calls it the kingdom of heaven, is often confused with a heavenly afterlife. But for Jesus and the Jews of the 1st century, the kingdom of God carried heavy Old Testament overtones. God had promised David and His offspring an everlasting kingdom (2 Sam 7), but the Jews of the 1st century, despite being back in the land, are living in a Roman-occupied Israel without a king from David’s line. For them, the kingdom of God/heaven was an earthly reality for which they longed to participate. Something of both views actually captures some of the truth. The Scriptures as a whole demonstrate that the kingdom of God/heaven is indeed an earthly reality, but it is only partially realized in this earthly life. The fulness of God’s kingdom will be realized in the New Jerusalem, the heavenly city that comes to earth. So, it is indeed an earthly kingdom, but it’s fulness is realized in the life to come.
Of interest, however, is that the parable we are looking at today, the one in which Jesus interrupts to explain the purpose of parables as a whole, is not identified as a kingdom parable in the same manner as many others. Instead of “the kingdom of God/heaven is like…”, we get no mention of the kingdom in the parable, and only one mention of the kingdom in the explanation Jesus provides. He says in verse 19, “When anyone hears the word about the kingdom…” So, it would seem that the seed is “the word about the kingdom.” Nevertheless, I think a closer look reveals the perfect sense of Jesus[1] choosing this parable as the occasion to explain the purpose of the parables.
First, this parable is not really about the sower, but about bearing fruit. If the point were the sower, we would expect Jesus to comment upon his haphazard sowing. Rather, the parable focuses upon the fruit, or lack thereof, that comes from each environment in which the seed falls. The seed sown along the path is snatched away by the evil one without taking any root. The seed sown on the rocky ground cannot take root and is therefore short-lived. The seed sown among thorns takes root but is choked out by the thorns, which Jesus interprets as the worries of the world, specifically mentioning the deceitfulness of wealth. Jesus’ assessment in verse 22 serves as the problem with all three environments—the seed becomes unfruitful. The purpose of the seed is to bear fruit, and none of these environments fosters the necessary soil and environment in which to bear fruit.
Second, this parable is about soil, for only good soil produces good fruit. The last environment for seed-sowing is “good ground.” Good ground, good soil, provides the necessary environment for bearing fruit. However, though many speak of the four soils, it is interesting that both the parable and the explanation identify three different levels of fruit-bearing: thirty times, sixty times, and one hundred times. I would propose that Jesus is actually establishing in this parable a balance between three types of non-fruitful soil and three fruit-bearing soils. He is talking about six soils, covering a spectrum from no root, short-lived root, and choked-out root to fruit-bearing of thirty-, sixty-, and one-hundred-fold productivity.
What, then, is good soil? Jesus answers this for us as well. He says “good soil” is the person who hears and understands the word of the kingdom and can then take this seed and, planted in the good soil of their lives, it can take root and bear fruit. Jesus isn’t done talking about planting good seed in Matthew 13, but we will save those lessons for another week. Our task today is to begin thinking about what the Scriptures say about being good soil, and a look at the poor soils gives us some clarity.
The seed sown along the path that is snatched away without taking root, along with Jesus’ explanation that good soil is hearing and understanding the word, alerts us to the importance of receiving the word and allowing it to take root. Neglecting to read God’s Word, neglecting to listen attentively to it when it is read and taught, is to leave the seed unattended along the path where it can be snatched away before it takes root in our hearts, minds, and lives. The seed sown on rocky grown that is short-lived because of persecution and distress alerts us to the importance of deepening our roots so that such trials cannot easily unroot us. We deepen our roots by connecting them to the source of life. Psalm 1 says the righteous one is like a tree planted by streams of water, water being the nourishment needed by the tree’s root-system in order to bear good fruit. Likewise, Jesus speaks in John 15, telling His disciples that He is the vine and we are the branches, and the key to branches bearing good fruit is to abide in the vine. Remaining close to the source of life, in our case Jesus, as well as how he reveals Himself in His Word and His Church, are important for us to develop deep roots. Finally, the seed sown among thorns that is choked out by the cares of the world alerts us to the importance of purifying the soil of such earthly cares as much as possible. To return to my opening story, Kristin’s mealy bug issue is likely due to us using soil that had not been purged of the bugs and their seeds prior to potting our indoor plants. (Pretty sure this was my fault!). Had we more diligently purified the soil, perhaps those bugs would not have had an opportunity to harm, and in some cases end, the life of our plants. To be clear, Jesus is not asking us to remove ourselves from the world. But to put ourselves in environments full of thorns without already established deep roots and fruit-bearing branches is to invite being choked out and unfruitful.
The more that we learn the lessons of the bad soils, the better we can cultivate the soil of our own lives, enriching the metaphorical nutrients of the soil with the truth, goodness, and beauty of the gospel, purified of worldly concerns because of our desire for the kingdom of God above all else, and keeping ourselves near to the source of life through personal relationship with Jesus, attentiveness to His Word, and the nurturing care of Christian community in the universal Church. As we will see in weeks to come, this does not ensure perfect soil and perfect fruit, but diligence in cultivating the soil first will bring about healthy, life-giving fruit.
Finally, if, as Jesus says, the seed is the word about the kingdom, we should take great care how we handle, sow, nurture, and water that seed. Jesus says in Matthew 6, as part of His majestic Sermon on the Mount, seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. The kingdom of God is, by Jesus’ own preaching, of primary importance. Let’s ensure that each one of our lives is good soil, a nurturing environment for the seed of the kingdom to take root and bear fruit for the glory of God. Amen.
Discussion Questions
1. Consider each of these environments in our own context. What does each look like, or what characterizes each growing environment in our world today?
Along the path, no root
Rocky ground, short-lived root
Thorns, choked out
Good soil, 30 times
Good soil, 60 times
Good soil, 100 times
2. What other practices would help us cultivate lives of “good soil”?
[1]And/or Matthew, the author.
Feature Image Photo by Gabriel Jimenez on Unsplash
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