1And again He began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. 2Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching:
3"Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. 5Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. 6But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. 7And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. 8But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred."
9And He said to them, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"
I am not going to take the time here to discuss the meaning of the seed with the different types of soil. I know that is covered further on in this chapter. But there are a few other interesting things to note about this text.
I remember thinking awhile ago that Jesus escaping to a boat to avoid the crowd was an unfortunate thing. At other times I had also wondered how he could preach to such a large crowd and be heard. There was no PA system. Though I do know from experience as a lifeguard that when I raised my voice at the pool, I could be heard a block away. Sound carries very well across water, especially on a calm day when there isn't a ripple in the water. I wonder if in this case that His going to a boat to speak to the crowd helped Him to be heard.
Another point of this parable is why was the sower so foolish as to scatter the seed everywhere? Don't most farmers know to cultivate the soil to get the best results? This is actually very good news for all of us. Jesus scatters the good Word to everyone, whether or not they are ready to accept it and make the best of it. His word doesn't go to just the cultivated few. Even though we are all struggling with our own stubbornness, shallowness, or outside influences, his word is given to all of us. No one is left out. It is our choice to decide what to do with the Word.
He doesn't say you are in one of these classifications and there isn't anything you can do about it. Rather, he immediately follows up talking about these various soils with, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!" Anyone can become the good soil. Don't just listen to the word and put it aside, but really "hear" the word and take it to heart.