The Parable of the Sower - Matthew 13:3

Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus, “went … out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore , and in chapter thirteen and verse three of his book, Matthew shared how Jesus began to teach in, “parables” as He spoke of a “sower” where we read:

And he spoke many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

The verse reads, “And he spoke many things unto them in parables,” Matthew began with the words, “and he spoke” which means “Jesus uttered, proclaimed and declared” “many things” or “abundant and copious words” “unto them” or “to the great crowd of people” “in parables” which means “with a narrative which is fictitious by agreeable to the laws and usages of human life by which either the duties of men or the things of God, particularly the nature and history of God's kingdom, are figuratively portrayed. They are earthly stories with heavenly meanings”. Matthew shared how Jesus talked to the multitude by using “earthly stories with heavenly meanings”.

The verse continues, “saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;” Matthew added the word, “saying” which means “uttering, declaring and proclaiming”, “behold” or “lo and see”, “a sower” which refers to “a scatterer of seed” “went forth” or “proceeded” “to sow” which means “to scatter seed”. Matthew shared how Jesus began His “parable” by referring to a person who “sows seed”.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how Jesus desired to share “heavenly ideas” with the multitude. Though He employed earthly examples, there are spiritual principles by which we may know the Lord Jesus and God's heavenly kingdom. As Jesus shares, let us keep our minds and hearts alert as the Holy Spirit teaches us about the “Kingdom of God”, and should there be those reading these words who do not know Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord”, pay particularly close attention to these teachings of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and discover the Messiah.

Next time Matthew shares how Jesus said, “some seeds fell by the way side”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.