The Parable of the Sower. Part 1

And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: ⁵ “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. ⁶ Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. ⁷ And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. ⁸ But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.” When He had said these things He cried, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”  ⁹ Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” ¹⁰ And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that 

      ‘ Seeing they may not see,
      And hearing they may not understand.
   
To My Daughters,


I have read this so many times, but could never understand why Jesus would teach in a way so that others would not see nor in hearing would they understand. God wants no one to perish but all to come to life in His Son.  So why would Jesus teach in a parable?  Why not speak plainly?   Here is what I think for what it is worth.  I believe it was mercy.  There were obviously those in the crowd who did not really want to hear what Jesus had to say.  From these then, Jesus hid the truth.


After Jesus had finished speaking, His disciples asked Him what the parable meant.  I think this is the key.  Our God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him.  Those that did not want to hear would have just dismissed Jesus' words as obtuse.  The disciples, however, were earnest seekers.  They were interested enough to ask for more.  So why do I say it is mercy.  It is mercy because the more you hear the truth of God's word, the more accountable you are.  In mercy, then, He was concealing the truth from those who did not want to hear.   


If Jesus had spoken plainly and they had disregarded His words, they would have been, perhaps more accountable for their decision.  They would have had to reject His word and Him outright  By speaking in parables then, Jesus was giving them the opportunity to hear at another time...perhaps at a time when they had tired of going their own way and truly wanted to see and hear the heart of Jesus for them and believe.  We can cut ourselves off from hearing what God has to say when we continually reject His word and harden our hearts toward it.  Jesus hears your heart and will not convert you by force. Speaking in parables allowed for the truth to go out to those who wanted to hear and concealed it from those who did not.  


Love
Mom