I first thought that the parable was misnamed until I read verse 18 where Jesus Himself names the parable. The obvious clue from the naming is that the parable shows us much about the Sower even though the soil constitutes most of the story.
Jesus never specifically identifies the Sower, but given Who we know Jesus to be (especially in light of John 1) and how He describes His ministry in vv. 10-16, it's apparent that Christ is the Sower of the "word of the kingdom"(v.19). The very reason He teaches in parables (vv. 11-17) fits into the responses of His audience. See especially the reaction of Jesus' hometown to His teaching in Matthew 13:53-58 immediately following this set of parables. The irony of Nazareth being something other than good soil, yet being the home of the Messiah Himself was surely not lost on Jesus.
When we examine the behavior of the Sower, we see some unusual tendencies. Most sowing, whether by hand as in Jesus time, or mechanical as in our technological farming era, is performed to maximize the chances of a plentiful harvest by focusing on placing the seed in good soil exclusively. Not so with our Sower.
The seed of the word of the kingdom finds itself flung on surfaces that must have made the farmers in His audience cringe. Throw the seed on the hard, compressed path; toss some in the rocky, uncleared edges of the field; spread it to the thorn patch where growth is almost guaranteed to fail. The Sower apparently doesn't care.
The message to us about God is one of abundant profligacy. God has seed to spare, and is embarrassingly careless (in human terms) on how He spreads it. God's "wastefulness," though, is really mercy and grace. Christ Himself taught us that, "God makes it rain upon the just and the unjust," and so it is with the word of the kingdom. Christ the Word comes to all men, and it is our response to Him that is key, even in this parable.
The curious turn in the parable becomes evident when we consider the soil.
It is variously described as "the wayside" (v.4), "stony" (v.5), "thorny" (v.7) and "good" (v.8). In each case, there is an outcome that is directly related to the condition of the soil, a result which depends on the readiness of the soil.
Now when Jesus explains the parable in 13: 18-23, he personifies the soil as the receivers of the word of the kingdom. That means those who heard Jesus during His earthly ministry, and all of us as well, who hear the Gospel through the various means God brings to bear in our lives.It is no accident that Jesus uses the word, "anyone." It is us to whom He speaks.
The soil, it seems, being personified so, has some responsibility for its own condition! There is no mention of the soil being prepared by another (though, to stretch our perspective beyond the parable we can see the merciful hand of God at work in our lives even before we respond to His call), only that the soil is in a certain state when the seed is presented. The parable points to the things which block the seed, or kill it, or take it away.
Our ongoing struggle then, is to take responsibility for the soil of our lives, to prepare ourselves against the things which would render us barren when the word of the kingdom would have us be fruitful. I have to ask myself whether the Evil One is prowling around (always) looking for my vulnerabilities. Are the cares of this world (my job, my money, my obsessions) choking out the work of God before it even gets started? Is my faith putting down roots that will sustain me when the hards things of this life inevitably come (suffering, death, persecution)?
...He who said..."He that has ears to hear, let him hear," was referring, beyond doubt, to the ears of the heart. See then that the discourse which you hear takes root in your heart. Take care that it does not fall by the wayside, lest the wicked spirit come and take it away. See that it does not fall on stony ground, and shoot up in good works without the root of perseverance. --St. John Chrysostom, Parables of the Gospel
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