The return on good soil will more than make up for any “wasted seed” along the way. As we preach and promote the gospel, there might indeed be hard soil. But we must, like Jesus, be willing to sow optimistically.

The story of the parable of the Parable of the Sower (Mk 4:1–20 and parallels) is clearly meant to be a lesson about how different people respond to the teaching of Jesus. We can be sure of this because when Jesus’ disciples ask about the meaning of the parable this is what Jesus spends most of his time explaining (vv. 11–20). Moreover, Jesus concludes the parable itself with the direction: “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear” (v. 9).

By teaching in parables, Jesus was fulfilling the prophetic pattern enacting judgment on heard-hearted Israel. He was unapologetic in his critique of the shallow interest of the crowds (vv. 11–12). The disciples are meant to be those who listen to Jesus and keep listening; who ask questions and follow up (v. 10); and so like the good soil produce a crop, “some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown” (v. 20).

However, I think there are other lessons that we can draw from this parable that complement this primary point.

Should We Expect Any More?

What I’m proposing might sound a little bit risky. If Jesus wanted other points to be gleaned from his teaching, why not spend more time drawing specific attention to them in his interpretation? However, I believe we should expect Jesus’ teaching to be rich fare, able to communicate more than one thing. This parable teaches that much growth comes from listening to Jesus, so couldn’t that mean that even this parable has a lot to say?

In the structure of his Gospel, Mark has made his readers incredibly hungry to listen to Jesus, having only hinted at the content of his teaching thus far. Jesus bursts onto the scene with an unequivocal divine endorsement, through an audible voice from heaven and physical manifestation of the Spirit (1:10–11). But then Mark has us wait until chapter 4 before we get to listen to Jesus’ teaching about the kingdom in an extended fashion, on his own terms. We know Jesus had a proclamation of God’s kingdom (1:14–15), that he preached in different contexts (for e.g. 1:29, 1:31; 2:2, 2:13), and that he needed to go more places to preach in order to fulfil his mission (1:38), but we read very little of that teaching until chapter 4.

I don’t want to go beyond what is written, but here’s what I’ve noticed as I’ve reflected on the text.

An Optimistic Farmer, Precious Seed, an Outrageous Harvest

Farmers, from my experience in the mid-west of Western Australia, are very thoughtful about what they plant and where. Seed is expensive and you wouldn’t want to waste it. Jesus’ sower is incredibly liberal, or at least unconcerned that some seed is eaten by birds, unable to take root or choked out by weeds.

Read More