In Matthew 13, the author gathers seven parables about the Kingdom. The parable of the soils in Matthew 13:3-9 begins the series. In this parable Jesus responds to the hostility and rejection of the people in general, and of the Jewish leaders in particular, to his preaching and person:

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ But wisdom is proved right by her deeds.” Then Jesus began to denounce the towns in which most of his miracles had been performed, because they did not repent, Matthew 11:18-20 (NIV).

“But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus…. But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, ‘It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this fellow drives out demons’ (Matthew 12:14, 24).

Jesus not only explains in the parables of the kingdom the causes of this rejection, but also instills in his disciples hope and optimism. Not all the effort of preaching will be in vain! In the end, there will be a bountiful harvest (13:23), the weeds will be burned (13:30), the mustard seed will become a huge tree (13:32), and the yeast will make the flour grow (13:33). 

The parable of the soils tells of a farmer who went out to sow his seed; it fell along the path (v. 4), among rocks (vv. 5-6), among thorns (v. 7), and on good soil (v. 8).[1] The birds ate the seed that fell along the path; the sun scorched the seed that fell among rocks; the thorns choked the seed that grew mixed with them; but the good soil received the seed, and it became a plant that produced much fruit (v. 9). Jesus ends the parable with an exhortation to listen. The emphasis is not on the sower or the seed but on the nature of each soil that received the seed. The soil determines the success or failure of the sowing, without prejudice to the fact that it is God who produces the growth. 

Jesus explains the meaning of this parable to his disciples in private because the people and their leaders had willingly closed their minds and hearts and had decided not to see or hear or understand, as their ancestors had done in the past (Isaiah 6:9-10). The interpretation is as follows:

“When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.  But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty, or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:19-23). 

The seed is “the word of the Kingdom,” “the gospel of the Kingdom,” in passages such as Matthew 4:23; 9:35; 24:14. It would be natural, then, to identify the sower with Jesus. The soils represent human hearts. Hard hearts—hearts that do not understand or receive the word (v. 19)—are like the soil by the wayside. Superficial hearts are like the rocky soil that prevents the roots of the seed from taking hold; as a result, when “affliction or persecution” comes, they give way and crumble (v. 21). Tangled hearts are like the soil with thorns, eager for the things of the world and the desire for riches that “choke the word” (v. 22). And good hearts are like the good soil that “hears the word and understands it,” and produces an abundant fruit (v. 23). 

Accepting or rejecting Jesus is, then, a matter of the heart. The good news of this parable is that there will always be hearts ready and willing to receive Jesus. The disciples – as well as Christians today – should not be discouraged. Joachim Jeremias expresses it this way:

To human eyes, much of the labour seems futile and fruitless, resulting apparently in repeated failure, but Jesus is full of joyful confidence: he knows that God has made a beginning, bringing with it a harvest of reward beyond all asking or conceiving. In spite of every failure and opposition, from hopeless beginnings, God brings forth the triumphant end which he had promised.[2]

The gospel will make its way into hearts ready to receive it. Let us not be discouraged in preaching the good news of the kingdom of God. 

1.  If you wish to know about the method of sowing to which Jesus refers here, see Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1972), 11-12.
2.  Joachim Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus, 150.