The Parable of The Sower – The Key To All Parables

Table Of Contents For Living Templos
1. A Dream Come True
2. The Beginning
3. The Surprise (or Surprize)
4. My Favorite Parable

Chapter 5: The Parable of the Sower – The Key To All Parables

Of all the graphic story illustrations that Jesus used in His teachings, my favorite is the Parable of the Sower. I have taught from this parable many times across the years, and even did a series once (in spanish), from which a set of cassettes were made.

An Almost Hidden Key
This parable became my favorite the day I discovered an almost hidden little secret that actually sheds light on all of the parables that Jesus taught in the four gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). When Jesus had finished telling the story of the Sower who sowed his seed on four different types of soil, the disciples took Him aside to ask Him what it meant.

The very first thing that Jesus said to them, before He gave them the interpretation of this parable was: “Do you not discern and understand this parable? How then is it possible for you to discern and understand all the parables?” (Mark 4:13 Amplified version).

Do you realize what Jesus was saying here? He said that if we don’t understand the parable of the Sower, then we won’t be able to understand any of the others. In other words the parable of the Sower is the key to understanding ALL of the parables that Jesus used in His teachings.

When I wrote one of my publications I added a set of cartoons showing what each type of ground in the parable represents.

Here they are:

sower1 The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

Some seed fell on the hard ground.

Birds came along and ate it.

A seed cannot grow in hard ground. It falls on top and soon the birds of the air come and find some lunch!

sowerhard The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

The hard ground represents a hard heart.

A hard heart will not be able to benefit from the truths found in the Word of God (the Bible).

A person with a hard heart will not be able to understand the Word of God, nor will they be able to apply these truths.

The “seed” which is the word of God, will fall on the hard ground (or heart) and will not be able to take root and grow.

sower2 The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

Some seed fell on stony ground (or a ground full of rocks).

This seed grew, in fact it sprung up fast. But it was not able to take root. The rocks did not allow that so the plants soon withered away.

sowerunstable The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

This ground represents an unstable heart.

A person with this kind of heart tends to jump from one thing to another.

One day they go to church, listen to the Word of God being preached and they even understand it. They run around saying “now I will change, I will have faith and things will be different”.

But it is not long before they seem to have forgotten their new found joy, commitment and faith declaration as they fall back into their old ways.

What happened? Their heart is not totally hard like the pathway, but it still has a lot of rocks in it, and so when things get tough, the understanding, faith and enthusiasm that they had gained drys up.

sower3 The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

Some seed fell on the thorny ground.

It sprung up, but was soon choked by the thorns and weeds that surrounded it.

sowerdivided The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

This heart is full of worries and concerns.

It is also easily enticed and distracted by all the latest crazes and “new toys” that this world has to offer.

This kind of heart has a lot of good intentions, but is always being pulled away from its course by a lot of worries and cares of this life.

As well as being sidetracked by these cares, it is also distracted by the shiny new gadgets that are constantly hitting the market.

Most of these new “gadgets” are not bad in themselves, but this kind of heart often allows these things to consume its time and energy to the point of being completely forgetting the important pursuits of life.

sower4 The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

Some seed also fell on the good ground.

The seed is able to grow and produce an excellent crop.

sowergood The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

The good ground represents a heart is open to hear the Word of God and welcomes it.

It is anxious and open to learn, but it is equally zealous about putting what it learns into practice. Consequently it grows, is transformed and able to live the abundant life that Jesus promises those who truly follow Him.

Which of these hearts best describes you? You can decide to change, if you discover you are in the wrong category.

Come back and visit me often, and I would love to see your comments here.

Chapter 6 The Vision Grows sig The Parable of The Sower The Key To All Parables

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4 Responses

Baby Boomers Bustin Loose!» Missionary, Conference Speaker, Writer, Cartoonist And Server-Jill Space Says:
February 21st, 2009 at 5:45 am
[...] actual cartoon strip. (Some of my cartoons are Word Can Make or Break Your Childs’ Life and Interpretation Of The Parable Of The Sower Two trips are planned, one to New Zealand and the other to Mexico to visit my friends (who are like [...]
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nursing schools Says:
June 8th, 2010 at 12:08 am
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My Favorite Parable - The Sower | Personal Development God's Way Says:
September 30th, 2010 at 6:26 pm
[...] for the next chapter which will contain the cartooned interpretations of the parable of the sower. Chapter 5 The Key To All Parables Written by Jill Rapley| Topic: The Story of Living Temples | 1 Comment » One [...]
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Day 66 Who Is Controlling Your Future? | Positive Mindset For Positive Living Says:
November 1st, 2010 at 9:10 pm
[...] There is a lot more I could write about this parable (found in the Gospel of Mark, Chapter 4, as well as in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke), but to keep this article as short as possible, this brief outline gives you the idea. (You can read a little more in two articles I wrote on my other blog: My Favorite Parable and The Parable of the Sower, The Key To Understanding All Parables). [...]
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