Mark 4:13-17 13And he said to them, “Have you not understood this parable, and how will you understand all the parables? 14The sower sows the word. 15And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown, and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. 16And these are the ones sown on rocky ground, when they hear the word, immediately they receive it with joy. 17And they have no root in themselves, but are temporary; yet when tribulation or persecution come on account of the word, immediately they fall away.
This parable sets the pattern for all other parables. Understanding this parable will help us understand all the others Jesus spoke. The reason for that is not in any way it is told or the story itself but in its message. Jesus explained the meaning of the parable to his disciples who had asked about its meaning. Each part of the parable had an intended application. It literature, this is called an allegory. Verse 14 gives the two neutral characters. The scattered seed represents the word. Putting these two concepts together, the sower represents the one who shares the word. The sower is not defined in the story, which may be intentional. Jesus was the first to sow the word about God’s kingdom, but then he gave his disciples the commission to continue to spread this good news. Leaving the sower undesignated invites the listeners to become the sowers.
At the same time, the listeners are also invited to look at themselves to see what type of soil they might be. The soil on the path that had been trampled represents those who hear the gospel but are deceived by Satan. The gospel never has an opportunity to take root in their lives because their attention is drawn away to things that seem important and true but, in the end, turn out to be lies. Satan will use many things to deceive people, especially with empty promises. Satan entices with external things of the world, such as wealth and objects of comfort. Satan also deceives our interior life by appealing to our distorted natural drives and fallen human nature. People exacerbate the situation by hardening their hearts even more in their rejection of the drawing grace of the Holy Spirit.
The rocky ground represents those who accept the gospel with emotions but do not grow in their understanding and knowledge. Their joy might be caused by the excitement of the moment or the people around them. Their faith appears to be genuine because it sparks to life like a germinating seed. The problem is that there is no follow-up growth. Emotions are important in our spiritual journey because they can move us to action. But they must be followed by knowledge and understanding. The next step after coming to faith in Jesus (“conversion”) can be called many things. In the Gospels, it is called “discipleship.” Theologians call it “growth in grace.” There is the potential for a weak theology based on the idea that a person only needs to believe to be saved. It does not matter what happens after the initial decision. Theologically this is called eternal security and popularly called “once saved, always saved.” The simple truth is that faith must be followed by obedience. Obedience requires growth.
Without a first and growing understanding of the truth that is found in Jesus, it is too easy to be swayed away from it. If a person’s decision to follow Jesus is all emotions, then when another emotion comes, such as fear due to suffering and persecution, then the fear becomes stronger than the joy. Persecution, social pressure, shame, ridicule, or peer pressure from old friends and habits will inevitably come to all new believers. If there is no growing root of understanding leading to changed living, then the outside pressure will pull a person away. Though Jesus did not say it, Satan as the god of this age and the enemy of God’s people is behind the failures of the second soil. The kind of joy Jesus brings is not based on emotions or circumstances but in the person, power, and presence of the Holy Spirit. This type of joy remains during persecution because it is based on faith built on relationship with God, not one’s own weak efforts.
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