Why The Parable of Sower and Seed is of Great Importance

The parable of sower and seed is a short simple story intended to illustrate a moral or religious lesson. A parable that appears in the Bible, as told by Jesus Christ at (Matt 13:1-9, 18-23 and Luke 8:5-15). In this parable He pointed out that the conditions under which the seed is sown can affect the sprouting and growing of the seed in the hearts of men.

The great importance of parables as a powerful teaching device are effective in at least five ways:

1. They arrest and hold attention; few things command interest like an experience or a story. Who is not familiar with the parable of the prodigal son and of the one lost sheep?

2. They stir up the thinking faculty; one of the best mental exercises is to search out the meaning of a comparison, to get the abstract truths thus presented.

3. They stir emotions and, by the usually evident practical application of the truths to the hearer, reach the conscience and the heart.

4. They aid memory; one can later reconstruct the story and make application of it.

5. They preserve the truth, for they are always applicable and understandable in any time and age. This is because they deal with life and natural things, whereas mere words may change in meaning. This is one reason why the Bible truths remain in full clarity today, just as they were at the time they were spoken or written.

With regard to the parable of sower spoken at the Sea of Galilee, apparently in 31 C.E. There are no clues to the interpretation in the parable itself; but the explanation is plainly given at Matthew 13:18-23. Attention is focused on the circumstances affecting the soil, or heart, and the influences that can hinder the growth of the seed, or the word of the kingdom.

To get the true understanding when it comes to the parable of the sower, one must approach parables with a proper viewpoint. Bible illustrations have more than one aspect. They set forth and illuminate principles, and they often have a prophetic meaning and application.

There are two general misconceptions that can hinder the understanding of the parables of the Bible. One is the viewing of the parables as being merely good stories as examples or lessons.

For instance, the parable of the prodigal son is considered by some to be a mere piece of fine literature, the illustration of the rich man and Lazarus as an example of reward and punishment after death.

A second obstacle to understanding is the drawing of too fine an application of the parable, trying to make every detail of the narrative of the literal events fit symbolically by arbitrary application or interpretation.

The factors in a parable should not be given an arbitrary meaning, one gained from a private view or from philosophy. The rule is set forth for Christians: “No one has come to know the things of God, except the sprit of God. Now we received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is from God, that we might know the things that have been kindly given us by God. These things we also speak, not with words taught by human wisdom, but with those taught by the spirit, as we combine spiritual matters with spiritual words.” -1Cor. 2:11-13.

A good number of parables are understood by the Bible’s own explanation, often followed by a narrative of events in fluffiest of them. There are many parables spoken by Jesus, and are explained afterward by Jesus himself as is in the parable of sower and seed. In many cases, the understanding of Bible parables is aided by modern events in fulfillment.

The parable of the mustard seed spoken at the Sea of Galilee is also of great importance. The subject is clearly stated to be the kingdom of heaven.

The mustard seed was tiny and so it could be used to designate anything extremely small. When fully developed, some mustard plants actually attain a height of ten to fifteen feet (3 to 4.6 meters) and have sturdy branches, thus virtually becoming a tree,” as Jesus. The force of the parable lies, not in the final size of the “tree” in comparison to trees of the forest, but in the proportion between the smallness of the seed or grain and the large size of the “tree” that develops from it.

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