Like a sower in the field, Christ came to scatter the heavenly grain of truth to illustrate the things of the kingdom of heaven. From the natural seed cast into the soil, Christ desires to lead our minds to the gospel seed, the sowing of which results in bringing man back to his loyalty to God and the same laws that govern earthly seed sowing govern the sowing of the seeds of truth.
An eager, expectant, throng had gathered to hear Jesus on the beautiful plain of Gennesaret beside the Sea of Galilee. Beyond rose the hills, and upon the hillside and plain both sowers and reapers were busy, the one casting seed and the other harvesting the early grain.
Looking, Christ said, “Behold, the sower went forth to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them … some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth; and forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth: and when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprung up and choked them: but other seed fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.”
Christ’s mission was not understood by the people. The manner of His coming was not in accordance with their expectations. The Lord Jesus was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. Its imposing services were of divine appointment, designed to teach the people that at the time appointed One would come to whom those ceremonies pointed. But the Jews had exalted the forms and ceremonies and had lost sight of their object.
The traditions, maxims, and enactments of men hid from them the lessons which God intended to convey. These became an obstacle to their understanding and practice of true religion. And when the Reality came, in the person of Christ, they did not recognize in Him the fulfillment of all their types, the substance of all their shadows. They rejected the antitype and clung to their types and useless ceremonies.
The Son of God had come, but they continued to ask for a sign. To the message, “Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” they answered by demands for a miracle. Matthew 3:2. The gospel of Christ was a stumbling block to them because they demanded signs instead of a Saviour.
They expected the Messiah to prove His claims by mighty deeds of conquest, to establish His empire on the ruins of earthly kingdoms. This expectation Christ answered in the parable of the sower. Not by force of arms, not by violent interpositions, was the kingdom of God to prevail, but by the implanting of a new principle in the hearts of men.
