The Parable Of The Two Sowers

The Biblical word "parable" originated from the very same Greek word as that used for a parabolic mirror in a telescope. The only difference is that a telescope mirror focuses gathered light to magnify something that is seen, while a parable focuses gathered words to magnify something that is taught.

The Messiah (see The Rock Of The Church) frequently used parables - sometimes even a parable within a parable, as we shall read.

First, the parable that has come to be known as "the parable of the sower":

"^13:1 The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. ^13:2 And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship [see also The Ships Of Galilee], and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

^13:3 And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; ^13:4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: ^13:5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: ^13:6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. ^13:7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: ^13:8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit [see also The Manner Of Fruit], some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

^13:9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 13:1-9 KJV)

The Messiah also answered the question of why He frequently used parables, including from "the prophecy of Esaias" (i.e. Isaiah 6:9-10) about them.

"^13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

^13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven [see The True Gospel Of Christ; also What Was The Lesson Of John 3:16?], but to them it is not given [see The Eighth Day: What Does It Mean?]. ^13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath. ^13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

^13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: ^13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

^13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear. ^13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them [see When And Where Your Eternal Life Will Begin]; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them." (Matthew 13:16-17 KJV)

"But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear"

The Prophet Of Galilee then explained the meaning of the parable - to those in whom the seed was then growing i.e. "that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty."

"^13:18 Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

^13:19 When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side. ^13:20 But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it; ^13:21 Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended. ^13:22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful. ^13:23 But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty." (Matthew 13:18-23 KJV)

Although it is often regarded as a separate parable, the "parable of the weeds" is actually a further explanation of the parable of the sower. The Creator of the garden sowed good "seed," but an evil impersonator (see The Dragons Of The Bible) then came and sowed "weeds" among the good crop - just as happened in the Garden of Eden (see The Garden In Eden). The parable also explains why it is that the LORD permits evil to exist in the world, for now, while the good crop grows toward harvest.

"^13:24 Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field: ^13:25 But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. ^13:26 But when the blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also.

^13:27 So the servants of the householder came and said unto him, Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? from whence then hath it tares?

^13:28 He said unto them, An enemy hath done this.

The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?

^13:29 But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them. ^13:30 Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." (Matthew 13:24-30 KJV)

The Messiah then, once again, explained the parable to those who could, and would, hear Him. The result will be a return to a world free of "them which do iniquity."

"^13:36 Then Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable of the tares of the field.

^13:37 He answered and said unto them, He that soweth the good seed is the Son of man; ^13:38 The field is the world; the good seed are the children of the kingdom; but the tares are the children of the wicked one; ^13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

^13:40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. ^13:41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which do iniquity; ^13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. ^13:43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matthew 13:36-43 KJV)

The "baptism of fire" (see Baptism Of Fire) teaching is directly involved in that end-time harvest in which the "wheat" will be separated from the "chaff."

"^3:7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees come to his baptism, he said unto them, O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?

^3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance: ^3:9 And think not to say within yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham. ^3:10 And now also the ax is laid unto the root of the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

^3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire [see also The Lake Of Fire Into An Ocean Of Fire - When?]: ^3:12 Whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." (Matthew 3:7-12 KJV)

Fact Finder: How do "weeds" get watered and fertilized in the good that the LORD has sown?
See Antichristians and Is Your Church A Cult?

This Day In History, January 19

379: Roman Emperor Gratian promoted Flavius Theodosius to "Augustus," thereby giving him authority over all the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire (see the map of the Roman Empire at Pax Romana: The Birth Of The Roman Empire).

1419: In the Hundred Years War between England and France, the French city of Rouen surrendered to Henry V, completing his conquest of Normandy.

1493: The First Treaty of Barcelona; Charles VIII of France ceded Roussillon and Cerdagne to Spain in order to gain its neutrality while he invaded Italy.

1523: In Switzerland, Ulrich Zwingli published his 67 Articles, the first manifesto of the Zurich Reformation which attacked the authority of the Pope.

1563: The Heidelberg Catechism was first published in Germany. Written by Peter Ursinus and Caspar Olevianus, it comprised a balanced statement of Calvinist tradition, and was soon after accepted by nearly all of the Reformed churches in Europe.

1568: Miles Coverdale died at age 80. He published the first printed English Bible. He completed the translation of The Old Testament which William Tyndale had left unfinished at his death in 1536.

1783: William Pitt became the youngest-ever Prime Minister of England at age 24.

1889: The Salvation Army split, as one faction within the denomination renounced allegiance to founder William Booth. Booth's son Ballington and his wife Maud led the U.S. splinter group, which in 1896 incorporated itself as a separate denomination known as the "Volunteers of America" (regardless of its self-proclaimed all-inclusive name, the new organization actually only involved the United States of America; the Salvation Army continued in Canada and the numerous other countries that also exist throughout the vast continents of North and South America).

1899: Britain and Egypt established joint control over Sudan.

1915: The first casualties to result from an air raid over Britain occurred when a Zeppelin dropped 6 bombs on Yarmouth. 2 people died and 3 were injured.

1921: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador signed the Pact of Union.

1943: Crown Princess Juliana, later to become Queen of the Netherlands, gave birth in Ottawa to Princess Margriet. The Princess and her family took refuge in Canada to escape the German occupation of the Netherlands during the Second World War. The Government of Canada temporarily extended the Netherlands embassy status in Ottawa to include the Queen's private hospital maternity room so that the moment of the birth was in Netherlands sovereign territory.

1966: Indira Gandhi was elected prime minister of India in succession to Lal Shastri who had died on January 11. Shastri had succeeded Gandhi's father, Jawaharlal Nehru.

1975: 20 people were injured at the airport in Paris, France, after Arab terrorists attempted a grenade attack on an El Al jumbo jet and then seized three hostages.

1983: Klaus Barbie, notorious SS chief of Lyon in Nazi-occupied France, was arrested in Bolivia.

1983: The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, was introduced.

1986: The first computer "virus" was released into the public; a boot-sector virus was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to prevent piracy of their software products.

1991: During the (first) Kuwait War (to liberate Kuwait from Iraq's invasion and occupation of the country), Iraq's Saddam Hussein began launching "Scud" missiles on Haifa and Tel Aviv the day after U.S. forces began bombing Iraq. Hussein's intention was to provoke an Israeli entry into the war and thereby cause the Arab allied forces to quit the war against Iraq. The Israelis did not respond, even after suffering 13 dead, 200 wounded, and 4,000 buildings damaged.

1997: Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat returned to Hebron for the first time in more than 30 years and joined 60,000 celebrating Palestinians after Israel handed over 80% of the city to Palestinian control. There remained 500 Jewish settlers in Hebron (where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob/Israel, along with their wives Sarah, Rebekah and Leah, are buried in a family tomb) along with 130,000 Palestinians.