“These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them.” 

                                                                                                                        Mark 4:15

In the parable of the sower, Jesus describes four different types of people who respond differently to the hearing of the gospel. He uses an agrarian illustration, however we will focus on Jesus’ explanation of the parable in identifying each response. Today, we will examine the first two responses.

Response #1: The Enemy Takes Away The Word

This parable is recorded in three of the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In each case, the cause of a person hearing and not understanding or receiving the gospel is presented. Consider the following: 

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road.

                                                                                                            Matthew 13:19 

Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 

                                                                                                                           Luke 8:12 

The gospel writers leave no room for us to wonder who is responsible for the snatching away of the gospel “seed.” Matthew’s Gospel refers to the one obstructing the saving effect of the gospel as “the evil one.” Mark refers to this same person as Satan, which means adversary. Luke refers to the evil one as “the devil”, which means slanderer. I am grateful that all three of these gospels include this parable so we can get a more complete look at what is taking place when the gospel is preached and rejected by the hearer. Paul echoes this truth when he writes:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

                                                                                                             2 Corinthians 4:3-4

The use of a lower case “g” for god points to the evil one as the one who blinds the minds of those who do not believe. The purpose of this spiritual blinding is to prevent them from seeing the light of the gospel. We have a spiritual enemy and he does not want us to be saved. He snatches away the gospel so that the hearer will not believe and be saved.” Two important truths surface from this statement. First, when we hear the gospel and believe (trust in Jesus), that is when salvation takes place. Secondly, this is the motivation for the enemy to attempt to snatch this truth away.

We all need to realize that when we engage in sharing the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:19) with others by proclaiming the gospel, we will face spiritual resistance. It is vital that this resistance not be met with timidity rather we need to continue to proclaim the truth, Jesus Christ as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and declare that there is no other name given to mankind by which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). In other words, keep speaking truth into the lives of those around you who are without Christ and trust God with the results. God Himself will fight our battles and honor the efforts of those who refuse to stop preaching salvation by faith in Jesus.

Response #2: The Person Who Does Not Grow In Their Faith

“In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.” 

                                                                                                                 Mark 4:16-17

These people hear the gospel and receive it with joy. They do not fail to receive the truth but they do fail to grow in their faith. The use of “firm root” indicates that faith can be compared to that of a living plant or tree. As a tree grows, it actually expands its root system allowing the tree to withstand winds and storms. The deeper the roots, the more stability the tree has. Our faith is the same way. The more we grow in our faith, the more likely we are to avoid falling for spiritual fallacies or the fanciful teachings of mankind. The people represented in this portion of the parable have failed to grow. As a consequence to this failure, they are unable to stand against persecution or affliction that comes as a result of their Christian faith. This inability leads to a falling away from the faith. So what is it that allows us to grow deep, effective roots of faith? Scripture teaches us that trust in God is the key. Consider the following:

Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream and will not fear when the heat comes; but its leaves will be green, and it will not be anxious in a year of drought nor cease to yield fruit.”

                                                                                                            Jeremiah 17:7-8

When we trust in God, we are considered blessed. The description of the person who trusts in God is that of a tree planted by streams of water. The root system, meaning the faith of this person, is strong and allows the person to live without fear and anxiety. This person is productive and bears much fruit. All of this is a by-product of trust. For born again believers, our faith is in the Person of Jesus Christ. This faith allows us to enjoy the spiritual freedom that was bought for us at the cross (John 3:18), it allows us to know that we are viewed by God as righteous (Romans 4:5), and faith gives us the power to declare victory over the enemy (Ephesians 6:16). Tragically, the people described in the parable did not grow and consequently did not enjoy the benefits of a strong, vibrant faith. We can imply from the passage above that their failure to grow was a direct result of their failure to fully trust in Christ. Accepting the gospel for ourselves and then growing in that truth are both vital pieces for anyone desiring to live a victorious Christian life!

Next, we will look at the final two people described in the parable.