Sowing seeds? or seeding soils?

[u8nc]

I’ll pose the question eventually, bear with me, I need to set a scene…

Matthew Mark and Luke all give an account of the parable of a Sower and the different results from casting his seed in fertile soil, briars, dry ground etc.

However after hearing it for many years like everyone else about How it teaches us to make sure the Word (seed) is received in our hearts, we should ensure it lands in good soil.

But lately, that to me is more like seeing it a parable of the soils.
Which it is not. and I’m wondering if the view I’m forming is correct.

Jesus gave that parable to a crowd, but not its explanation.
It was his disciples who asked and was given that afterward. Being disciples one presumes? that they already have the word planted safely within their being, so not needing the explanation for their own benefit.

In Marks gospel in v11 is what i think is a key. "And he said to them, To you is given the mystery of the kingdom of God: … "

I see it as Jesus telling his disciples, they have the knowledge of what is going on, not to the multitudes ( Eugene Peterson’s The Message" puts a nice finish on the interpretation of at verse, but i would digress to far ) and this is so for a reason. In having this knowledge and power, they have the seeds of life to work with. to make sure it lands in good soil IN THE HEARER.

If one casts seed hither and yon, like some people do from their facebook or twitter pages and hope it lands wherever and damned if they do or dont ‘get it’. These are people who go on friend/follower quests of a 1000 people or so, which is the digital equivalent of standing on a corner with a loud hailer.

Quite often the verse posted is a promise, which is sweet in the mouth, but bitter in the stomach, ( usually with literal self-interpretation, and no follow-up as the sower has moved away without care) and the hearer ends up in the briar patch and delcares like the Israelites “We were better off in Captivity”. If they make it through, they are usually in front of counsellors some10 years hence for living the Christian life in their own strength.
Other texts contain a hollow promise for much the same reason ( evangelism by lifestyle ) and lose interest when a little hardship arises.

And so forth

Its not the seed’s fault where it lands, its the Sower’s !!
The parable is about sowing, not growing
The parable is for those who do the planting, You and I, not the new convert.
that’s the way i see it, so my long awaited question is… Am i off beam here?

Jesus is talking to us in cultivating the soil before and during the spreading of the word. I work as a farm hand labourer, and to me it is crazy for a farmer to cast valuable seed where he knows it wont grow. Who in his right mind would?

Enough from me, I’ll move aside and let you comment.

 

[WesleyF]

Its not the seed’s fault where it lands, its the Sower’s !!
The parable is about sowing, not growing
The parable is for those who do the planting, You and I, not the new convert.
that’s the way i see it, so my long awaited question is… Am i off beam here?

Jesus is talking to us in cultivating the soil before and during the spreading of the word. I work as a farm hand labourer, and to me it is crazy for a farmer to cast valuable seed where he knows it wont grow. Who in his right mind would?

Enough from me, I’ll move aside and let you comment.

Your post is quite insightful, but I look at it this way. The point is, the sower may not be the farmer! The farmer’s job is to cultivate the soil before the seed is planted. The sower’s job is only to sow and he does it by casting the seeds everywhere where the farmer has told him to cast the seeds.

I see it this way. God has told us to go and preach to all nations. Now when we preach to a multitude, there will inevitably be those who will not accept our message, or those who will accept it for a brief while, or those who will accept it but then be choked by the worries and cares of this life. We cannot do much about that.

But then again, the parable of the sower does teach us that we should proclaim the gospel in such a way that our audience understands it. So, in that way, it does relate to the sowers as well.

 

[JRKH]

This parable is one that I enjoy as well… and you are right, there is a lot that can be taken away from it.

In your post you seem to touch on several different aspects built around the parable. Perhaps this is one of the things that makes this parable so popular. There are many things to look at.

That said, I think that you are right about the need to be a proper “sower”. Those who scatter the word without care can do more harm than good.
The good farmer works to prepare the soil first. He feeds the soil tills it and only then does he plant the seed. After the seed is planted he watches and cares for the growing plants. He weeds, feeds again if necessary, waters if things get too dry etc. The farmer who does NOT do these things has a poor crop as a result of his laziness.

What this says to me is something that is pointed out elsewhere in the NT. That more is expected of those who teach. To whom much is given much is expected and woe to those who mislead.

Of course, a sower - a farmer can only do so much with a given piece of soil. He can try to improve it. He can try to dig up and pull out briers, he can gather up and toss aside rocks, but in the end some soils will just simply refuse to yield much…at least not without MAJOR alteration. (Lot’s of manure…)

Anyway that’s my :twocents: worth.

Peace
James

 

[bmullins]

This is just a thought, but whose garden is it? Are we hired hands doing the sewing of someone else’s seed? Is it our job to cultivate the soil or the Holy Spirit’s?

 

[JRKH]

This is just a thought, but whose garden is it? Are we hired hands doing the sewing of someone else’s seed?

We are not “hired hands” but are sons and heirs…But you are right that the seed is not ours. It belongs to our Father, and to our eldest Brother and King.

Is it our job to cultivate the soil or the Holy Spirit’s?

Both. Just as cultivation uses different materials, (fertilizer, hoes, discs, etc.) so does the Holy Spirit. We are very much a tool for the Holy Spirit showing Love, answering questions etc…So it is our job to be active with the Spirit of God to cultivate the soil…soften hearts, show love and so forth.

Peace
James

 

[u8nc]

Thank you all
You are indeed correct in saying that cultivation is an altogether different matter entirely than sowing, and in this I am in error. In my haste to get the post done before my device battery gave way, and with my head filled with things agrarian, I used a phrase therefrom without due care. Perhaps I should have said, that we cultivate care within ourselves before Issuing forth the word. Something I didn’t do myself. How easy it is…

…at least not without MAJOR alteration. (Lot’s of manure…)

:tiphat: I like it
One of my weekly tasks is to turn on a bore pump some kilometres at the other end of the property, and, while doing so collect a few buckets of manure for our worm farm. Now I can laugh while I do it.

The reason for my asking is that when I gently point it out to some, the response can range from a blank stare to polite refusal to quite defensive, so I thought I’d check to see if there was a larger splinter in mine own eye first.

The more I read the Word, and slow down and reflect upon it and put aside cultural imprinting and the like, I too see many things that I had not before, and my Faith is being shaped quite differently to those of the days of my youth. I guess the soft interpretation generally given still works for the time in our lives when we are cleansing our own house, but once we hit the road in mission, it becomes a different situation.

This parable is one that I enjoy as well… and you are right, there is a lot that can be taken away from it.
.
.
Perhaps this is one of the things that makes this parable so popular. There are many things to look at.

You enjoy taking away fresh thoughts? Here is something further.
Because we the reader have been alongside the disciples in hearing the explanation to the parable of the sower, we are beholden to the words given at that point, which is more than given to the crowd.
Now place yourself on the bank among the multitudes. You’ve heard the parable, but nothing else. What, honestly, would you make of it?

Then you reflect upon a closing comment Jesus added " Those who have ears to hear, let him hear"
This could be anything from an encouragement to a challenge to an admonition, “If you are hearing something within, then that’s great” or “If you can understand what i’m really saying, then put it to the test” or “If what you hear is what you should run with, then you ought to do so”.

Now we come across that phrase in a number of places in the Bible, and not always is coming the glimpse behind the scenes afterward. Were the multitudes told that there would be a revealing of the true import at such-and-such a time across the lake? Is there a further development of thought available and acceptable?, maybe even
mandatory?
Even parables where there is no afterword given about ears hearing, there is still this gem from the end of this particular parable under the scope… In verse 13 we are told if we dont understand how to discern the meaning here, how can we begin to understand the others.

hmmm
Are we still sitting by the shore in other places of the scripture?

I could making it sound like an invitation for embarking on heresy by whatever we read or hear and justifying into something as truth, but no. It is just good to remind ourselves as well as the fundo hothead that we should be humble and realize we dont know everything.

Thanks to all.

 

[bmullins]

We are not “hired hands” but are sons and heirs…But you are right that the seed is not ours. It belongs to our Father, and to our eldest Brother and King.

Both. Just as cultivation uses different materials, (fertilizer, hoes, discs, etc.) so does the Holy Spirit. We are very much a tool for the Holy Spirit showing Love, answering questions etc…So it is our job to be active with the Spirit of God to cultivate the soil…soften hearts, show love and so forth.

Peace
James

Very good points. There is indeed a world of difference in a hired hand, and in someone’s son working the garden. As a father I expect my children to consider everything I have their own. Thanks for the insight

 

[fred_conty]

A little late, but what about the sower who sows BAD seed? Or the sower who is lazy and doesn’t watch where he is sowing his seed? Or the sower who sows in the rain and it gets washed away?

 

[Mintaka]

Btw, our word “broadcast” is a new meaning for an old word. “Broadcast” is how you sow seed – you throw a handful of seed across your body and out, sort of like tossing a frisbee.

 

[u8nc]

Btw, our word “broadcast” is a new meaning

yes. One casts broadly, which is why in the early days of radio they took that metaphor

@fredconty:
i know what ypu’re getting at, but, as they say, “it ain’t in the text”

 

[fred_conty]

yes. One casts broadly, which is why in the early days of radio they took that metaphor

@fredconty:
i know what ypu’re getting at, but, as they say, “it ain’t in the text”

But why can’t I? I think it sounds good. And besides isn’t my thought on it as good as anybody else’s?