The Parable of the Four Soils

Mark 4:1-2 (NLT) Once again Jesus began teaching by the lakeshore. A very large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat in the boat while all the people remained on the shore. He taught them by telling many stories in the form of parables, such as this one:

A parable is a story with dual meaning: an earthly meaning / a heavenly meaning. But the heavenly meaning is not always self-evident. The goal of a parable is to put across one main point with great effect, like the punchline of a joke. Like a lot of jokes, you either get it or you don’t.

Why Jesus used parables?

Parables are a way to reveal the truth → start with situations from life that people are familiar with, use them to illustrate spiritual principles. Leads to an “aha” moment in the hearer. 

But as we will see later, Jesus also used parables to conceal the truth. More on this later.

Four Soils

In the parable of the four soils, the same seed produces different results in different kinds of soil. Likewise, the effect of God’s word in a person’s life depends on their heart attitude. 

Mark 4:3-8 (NLT) “Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seed. As he scattered it across his field, some of the seed fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate it. Other seed fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seed sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow. But the plant soon wilted under the hot sun, and since it didn’t have deep roots, it died. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up and choked out the tender plants so they produced no grain. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they sprouted, grew, and produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

In ancient Palestine → this is how farming occurred. Seed was sown in broadcast fashion

Difference: when Galilean farmer sowed → then went back and plowed it in. Yet if plowing was delayed at all, you end up with the picture Jesus is describing,

People in his audience would have seen this happen often enough in agricultural society 

First: When seed sowed on footpath around the edge of the field, birds would come and eat it

Second: Sometimes the soil was shallow, only a few inches deep with a rocky layer beneath,.. Seed that landed there would germinate quickly because that shallow soil was warm. But the underlying rock would not allow the seed to grow deep roots. So when the sun started getting hot → seedlings would wither up / die.

Third: At times the soil was invaded by thorns / aggressive weeds. Seed planted there might germinate / begin to grow, but would always be in competition with the other plants growing there. So the seed would grow, but never enough to really come to harvest.

Fourth: many seeds also fell in fertile soil. There they sprouted / they grew, and unlike all the rest, they produced an abundant harvest. Exactly what the farmer was hoping to get.

SUMMARY	Sprouted	Grew	Produced a Crop
Footpath	No	No	No
Shallow soil	Yes	No	No
Thorny soil	Yes	Yes	No
Fertile soil	Yes	Yes	Yes

So what’s the punchline of parable? The same seed produces different results in different kinds of soil. Jesus wanted his hearers to think about that idea. In fact: at the end of the story, he challenged them in (9) to really grapple with that concept. To connect the dots to what that might mean spiritually / in kingdom of God. What could it mean spiritually that the same seed produces different results in different kinds of soil?

Later, when he was apart from the crowd / alone with his closest followers, Jesus explained what the parable meant. He has some other things to say about parables / about spiritual understanding. We’ll come back to that later, but let’s jump ahead for a moment while the parable is still fresh to consider its heavenly meaning.

Mark 4:13-20 (NLT) Then Jesus said to them, “If you can’t understand the meaning of this parable, how will you understand all the other parables? The farmer plants seeds by taking God’s word to others. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced. And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”

Look at each element of the story, then think about the application of

What is the seed? God’s word, in particular, the message of God’s kingdom in Christ

Then who is the farmer? Anyone who shares the word of God with others. Not just Jesus, not just preachers or evangelists.

Then, each soil represents a different response to God’s word when a person hears it. We could say: each soil represents a different heart attitude / condition.

The footpath. Soil on footpath is hard-packed. Today = that would be concrete. This is a heart that is hardened to God’s truth, so the truth never sinks in / never germinates / never grows.

The shallow soil. This is the heart that embraces Jesus quickly, with joy, but that apparent profession of faith hasn’t any depth, so it withers and dies out. The heat of the sun represents two things that are hard for professing Xians to face. First is the problems of life. Adversity comes, hardships happen, things get tough. These are the kind of problems that happen to everyone in life. But they can call into question God’s goodness and care. Second is opposition to one’s new faith. Others start to give you a hard time for being a Xian. We all know people who came to faith in Jesus, often with great fanfare or excitement / enthusiasm. But before too long they stopped hanging around with Xians. Stopped reading Bible / trying to honor God and just gave up on the whole thing. Because when things got tough they blamed God / got angry with him. Or just didn’t want to deal with opposition from others

The thorny soil. This is someone who hears God’s word and starts to grow in their new life = to a point. But they never grow mature enough as a Xp-follower to produce a harvest. Why not? The distractions of life. Three things are mentioned. First: the worries of this life are anxieties that arise from ordinary life, or from the times we live in. A person doesn’t trust God with that stuff, but let it draw their heart away from him. Those worries become a distraction from following Jesus. Second: the lure of wealth. Pursuing money and things becomes more important than pursuing the things of God. Wealth and possessions give a false sense of security & well-being. Third: the desire for other things. This is a catch-all for all the other things in life that pull our hearts away from devotion to God, for anything in life that chokes out our fruitfulness for Jesus and chokes out his mission in our lives. A person becomes too busy to spend time with God / too busy to serve, because a lot of things are just more important to them. Many other things simply distract them from the best thing.

It’s interesting to ask: are these people believers? Where do they fit on the Pursue God circle? Apparently the shallow soil people at least look / act like believers – until they give it up. The thorny soil people at least show some growth, but never any fruitfulness. Is it possible for a real believer to live without any fruit? Maybe for a long time they can, but they certainly don’t appear to be honoring God with their lives. They’re certainly not helping others pursue God / making disciples.

Finally, the good soil. This is the person who is receptive to God’s word / accepts it by faith. They produce a multiplied harvest. But what is that harvest? The fruit doesn’t mean just one thing. It means becoming obedient to what Jesus says. Building your life on his teaching. Embracing Jesus’ mission for your life, The idea of a harvest does suggest – just as one seed planted in ground produces other seeds – your life will produce others who follow Jesus like you do,

The Applications

On one hand, Jesus is explaining why not everyone embraced him as Messiah, in spite of John the Baptist’s preparatory testimony, in spite of his authoritative teaching, in spite of his compassion, in spite of his miracles. So his disciples should not be discouraged / tempted to give up or leave him.

Not only this, but why do some people fall away after they initially welcome Jesus? Why do some people never seem to really grow much? Never have much to show for their relationship with Jesus, while others stand firm / really show an obviously transformed life?

In same way, this parable explains for US why many people will reject our witness. People you invited to Easter Sunday service last week who didn’t come. People you’ve talked to who think you’re crazy. Why you share the same story of Jesus’ work in your life with two different people, and get two completely different responses.

And it helps us understand why not everyone you mentor goes full circle. Why some people don’t show up consistently, or never seem to make much progress. This parable gives us a realistic expectation for people around us who profess to be Christians.

NOTE: it’s not our job to give an opinion about who is a Christian /who isn’t, But the overall picture of these different responses helps us to be faithful.

On other hand, Jesus is also challenging the crowds to consider their own spiritual condition, to take responsibility for what kind of reaction they have to him. No one else can put you in any of these categories, but it is fair to ask YOU to think about that → which soil are you? Hard? Shallow? Preoccupied? Fertile / fruitful?

Ears to Hear

Parables are designed not only to reveal truth, but to conceal it, dividing those with faith to pursue God from those who are hard-hearted or indifferent toward God’s truth.

Mark 4:9-12 (NLT) Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Later, when Jesus was alone with the twelve disciples and with the others who were gathered around, they asked him what the parables meant. He replied, “You are permitted to understand the secret of the Kingdom of God. But I use parables for everything I say to outsiders, so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled:

‘When they see what I do, they will learn nothing.

When they hear what I say, they will not understand.

Otherwise, they will turn to me and be forgiven.”

We saved these verses for the last, because they get to the whole point about parables. But also because this is the most difficult part for us to understand. In fact: these verses are among the most difficult to interpret in Mark’s gospel.

You can see in (9): this isn’t just about the one particular parable. Jesus spoke often in parables. The disciples aren’t just asking about the parable of the four soils, but the purpose / meaning of parables in general.

The first thing to notice: Jesus talks about insiders and outsiders. YOU, he says, are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of God. Speaking to the twelve disciples and the others who were gathered around. But to outsiders, everything comes in parables / stories.

The word “secret” (or “mystery”) doesn’t mean something only for a few privileged initiates. It means: something previously hidden / unknown, but which God now reveals. The point of parables: this truth is actually proclaimed to everyone, not just a few. But not everyone has the faith to hear and understand. Not everybody has ears to hear (9) – meaning: the interest in listening carefully and seeking to make sense out of it. After all, you can hear things, but not really hear them. (Just ask my wife! “What did you just say about such and such?”)

In Mark’s gospel, the “secret” = God’s kingdom has come in the person of Jesus Christ. We’ll learn more about this next week in the parables in the rest of the chapter. But the kingdom has come in a hidden form. It works secretly within and among people. The secret has been given to the disciples because they have responded to Jesus in faith. By contrast, “those on the outside” are people who remain hardened in unbelief, as we have seen repeatedly in Mark’s gospel.

So a parable can be an illustration that reveals the truth, but it can also be a riddle that conceals the truth from those who don’t want to think about its meaning. In particular, from persistent unbelievers (the “outsiders” of verse 11). To make that point, Jesus quotes Isaiah 6:9-10, which suggests that by using parables, Jesus invited his audiences to push beneath the surface, to go beyond the obvious to discover the real meaning. But parables also allowed his audiences the opportunity – which many of them took -to turn a blind eye and deaf ear to the real point he was making.

Put another ways: parables are designed not only to explain, but to divide – to divide the audience between those with ears to hear and those without ears. In other words, those who are content with their existing understanding of things, who will thus not pay attention or have the interest or capacity to grasp a different perspective.

When Jesus told this parable in Matthew 13, he added this:

Matthew 13:12 (NLT) “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”

His point: if you have some truth / some light, and you respond positively to what you learn → you’ll be given more. But if you’re too self-satisfied to be perceptive toward spiritual reality, and too satisfied to be hungry for more → then you won’t see any more truth, In fact, you’re  in danger of losing what insight you have.

Why do some soils bring growth and fruit, and others do not? Because some people are receptive / eager to receive God’s word, while others are self-satisfied / think they already know all the truth they need. A person’s attitude is either open or closed to God’s truth. They either have ears to hear or they do not.

For example, the footpath represents those who are not receptive at all. Satan can snatch God’s word away from them because there is no place for the seed to land. It cannot penetrate the hard soil of their heart. That’s the person who is not interested to hearing or understanding God’s word.