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2025 Study of Matthew’s Gospel

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Matthew 13:1-23

Key Verses 13:23

1. What are the four types of soil described in the parable (3–8)? Why did Jesus choose to teach the crowd using parables (9–17)? What are some reasons people may not understand or receive the message of the kingdom?
2. What does the seed represent (18-19a)? Why do you think some people hear God’s word but don’t understand it, like the seed that fell along the path (19b)? What kinds of things in life might “snatch away” the word of God?
3. What does it look like when someone receives God’s word with joy but has no root (20-21a)? How do hardship or persecution reveal that someone’s faith is shallow (21b)?
4. What kind of person does the seed that fell among the thorns represent (22)? What worries of this life tend to choke spiritual growth? How does the desire for wealth or success affect a person’s spiritual life?
5. What are the qualities of the good soil (23)? Which type of soil best represents your heart right now? What specific actions can you take to cultivate your heart to become good soil—soft, receptive, and fruitful?

2025 Matthew’s Gospel August 3, 2025

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

Matthew 13:1-23

Key Verse 13:23

But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

In Matthew chapter 13, Jesus teaches us about the secrets of the kingdom of heaven through seven parables. And the very first one is the parable of the sower. This parable is foundational and the starting point. Today’s message has two main themes. First, we’ll look at why Jesus chose to teach in parables. And second, we’ll explore the meaning of the parable of the sower.

Please look at verse 3. “Then he told them many things in parables, saying: ‘A farmer went out to sow his seed.’” Jesus often used parables to teach about the kingdom of God. So, what is a parable? In the biblical sense, a parable is a short story that uses earthly things to explain spiritual or heavenly truths. The Jewish people were familiar with this teaching method. The Hebrew word for parable is “māšāl” (מָשָׁל), and we see many examples of this in the Old Testament. Parables were used to help people recognize their sins and to teach wisdom. In the New Testament, Jesus often used parables as his main method of teaching. Through parables, he revealed people’s spiritual condition and taught the secrets of the kingdom of heaven. But parables are not always easy to understand. Without interpretation, their meaning is hidden. Only those who seek to understand—those with open and humble hearts—can discover the spiritual truths behind the story.

Parables have two main purposes: they both conceal and reveal. That might sound like a contradiction, but let me explain. Parables hide the secrets of the kingdom of God. But at the same time, they also reveal those secrets. What does that mean? The disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” What was Jesus’ response? Please look at verse 11. “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.” Jesus described the kingdom of heaven as a secret. So, what is a secret? A secret is something that is hidden from others or not known by most people. Each of us has secrets, right? And sometimes we think, “No one knows my secret.” But the truth is—God knows all of our secrets. There is nothing hidden from Him. And keeping secrets isn’t easy. Some people say, “I’ll tell you something, but don’t tell anyone else—it’s a secret.” Then they go and tell five more people! And it’s not a secret anymore—it’s something everybody knows! The Greek word used here for ‘secret’ is mystērion (μυστήριον). In a theological sense, it means something that was once hidden but is now revealed by God. In other words, it’s not something we can figure out on our own. It’s a truth that can only be understood when God reveals it.

The kingdom of heaven is very mysterious. We have many questions about the kingdom of heaven. Where is the kingdom of heaven? Is it somewhere up in the sky? Airplanes fly, and even spacecrafts explore outer space, but no one has ever found the kingdom of heaven. What happens when we die and rise again—where do we go? It is truly hard to understand the kingdom of heaven. Why? Because we can’t see it with our physical eyes. And we can’t fully grasp it with our human minds. That’s why Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is a secret—something hidden, something mysterious.

But Jesus said, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you.” It means that those who came to Jesus—like his disciples—and asked questions because they wanted to understand, were given that knowledge. In other words, people who have a sincere desire to know the truth about God’s kingdom will be able to understand it. God will reveal it to them. But on the other hand, those who heard Jesus’ parables and just walked away without trying to understand, those who had no spiritual desire to know the secrets of God’s kingdom—they were not given that knowledge. In this way, parables have two purposes: For people who are spiritually hungry, parables reveal the secrets of the kingdom. But for those who aren’t interested, parables actually hide those secrets.

And you know what? In the spiritual world, there’s also something like the “rich get richer, poor get poorer” principle. Some people get really upset about the unfairness of this world. They say, “Why do the rich keep getting richer while the poor get poorer?” And yes, that kind of inequality is frustrating. I don’t like it either. But surprisingly, Jesus tells us that something similar happens in the spiritual world too. Let’s look at verse 12. “Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” What does this mean? It means that those whose spiritual eyes are open—those who begin to understand the secrets of God’s kingdom—they will be given even more understanding. They’ll go deeper and deeper into the spiritual world and experience more of God’s truth. But those whose spiritual eyes are closed—those who ignore or reject God’s truth—will slowly lose even the little understanding they once had. Their desire fades, and eventually, even what they thought they knew disappears.

Do you want to be spiritually rich? Or would you rather be spiritually poor? Or does it not matter to you? In this world, many people work hard to become financially rich. Students often choose majors that will help them make more money. Employees look for jobs that offer higher salaries. Some people even work two or three jobs, constantly on the move, with no rest. But here’s the question: How hard are we working to become spiritually rich? Now, to be clear—spiritual riches don’t come from our own efforts alone. We need God’s grace and the work of the Holy Spirit. But still, God gave us a promise in Jeremiah 29:13: “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” When we earnestly desire God—when we seek Him with all our heart—He promises that we will find Him. We’ll be able to enter the spiritual world, and we’ll begin to understand the secrets of His kingdom. So the key is this: How much do you really want to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven—and are you earnestly seeking them?

I pray that each of us will have a deep spiritual desire and seriously study the word of God. When Jesus’ disciples came to him and asked about the meaning of the parable, Jesus blessed them and said, “Blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear” (16). How were they blessed? They came to Jesus with spiritual desire. They wanted to understand. They didn’t just hear the parable and walk away—they asked questions. And because they asked, they received answers. What about you? When you’re in a one-on-one or group Bible study, do you ask questions? Or do you stay quiet, even when you don’t understand something? Asking questions is never something to be ashamed of. In general, there are two kinds of people who don’t ask questions in class. The first group understands everything perfectly, so they have no questions. The second group doesn’t understand anything at all—so they don’t even know what to ask! Koreans from my generation used to say things like this: “If you don’t know, stay quiet. If you stay quiet, people might think you’re smarter than you actually are.” Some people think asking questions will make them look foolish. But that’s the wrong attitude toward learning. What’s the point of pretending to understand and staying silent, just to protect your pride? But when it comes to learning God’s truth, humility and curiosity are far more valuable than pride. If you don’t understand something, you should ask. That’s how you can grow.

When I was doing my PhD program at Fuller Theological Seminary, I once sat in on a Doctor of Ministry class that was offered to Korean students. The class was taught by Dr. Wilbert Shenk, a world-renowned missiologist. But to be honest, his lecture was quite dry—and even a bit boring. And throughout the entire class, not a single student asked a question. Since I was just an auditor, I wasn’t even officially part of the class. But I decided to raise my hand and ask Dr. Shenk a question. To my surprise, he responded with great passion and gave a very deep and thoughtful answer. That day, I learned something important: You can learn the most from a great teacher when you ask good questions. There’s a saying: “A good question is more important than a good answer.” I hope that in your Bible studies, you won’t just sit and listen passively. Ask good questions. Let’s think deeply together, discuss together, and search for answers together. That’s how we grow in the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God.

So what did Jesus teach through the parable of the sower? He said, “A farmer went out to sow seeds. As he was scattering the seeds, some fell along the path. Birds came quickly and ate them up. Some seeds fell on rocky ground where there wasn’t much soil. They sprang up quickly, but when the sun came out, they dried up because they had no roots. Other seeds fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked the plants. But some seeds fell on good soil. They grew up well and produced a big harvest—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” Later, Jesus explained the meaning of this parable to his disciples.

The farmer represented Jesus himself—he was the one spreading the message of the kingdom of God. But this also applies to anyone who preaches the gospel of Jesus today. The seed is the word of God. Now, what about the four kinds of soil? They represent the different kinds of hearts people have when they hear God’s word. Each soil shows a different spiritual condition of the listener’s heart.

The first type of heart is like the soil along the path. This kind of heart is hard. So even when they hear the message about the kingdom, they don’t understand it at all. God’s word doesn’t go in. And then, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. Some young people today are very skeptical about Christianity. Even if they hear God’s word, they completely reject it. Others have strong opinions or fixed ideas about religion, so they’re not open to the gospel at all. Sometimes, even we can have this kind of heart. Our hearts are so distracted that we hear the word, but we don’t really understand it. Even while listening to a sermon, some people start thinking about hanging out with their friends, watching a fun movie, playing video games, etc. after worship service. There’s no room in their hearts to receive the word. And during the week, we get so busy with other things that we completely forget the word of God we heard. But we need to recognize something important: That’s the moment when Satan comes and snatches the word away from our hearts. And when that happens, we can’t grow spiritually.

The second type of heart is like rocky ground. What’s the key characteristic? They hear the word of God and at once receive it with joy. Some people get so excited—they shout, “Hallelujah! Praise the Lord!” Others are moved to tears. They feel deeply touched by the word of God. But the problem is, their faith is mostly emotional. It doesn’t have roots. So it doesn’t last long. After a while, their passion fades. And when trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. It’s a beautiful thing to be moved by God’s word. But if we don’t let that word take root deep in our hearts, our faith will remain shallow. And when hard times come, we won’t be able to stand.

The third type of heart is like the soil among the thorns. In this heart, the word of God actually starts to grow. It begins to take root. But here’s the problem: The worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth also grow alongside it. Many people are filled with anxiety about money. Some live in constant fear of losing their jobs. Students worry about their grades and future. Others are anxious about their health. Because of these worries, they can’t fully obey God’s word or live by faith. And then there’s the deceitfulness of wealth. That’s the lie that says, “If you make a lot of money, you’ll be happy.” It sounds good—but it’s not true. That’s why many people end up chasing money instead of pursuing God. They push their faith aside so they can focus on their careers, income, or comfort. These worries and false promises grow like thorns. They slowly choke the word of God, until our faith withers and dies. If we let the thorns grow in our hearts, we won’t be able to grow in God’s word.

The fourth type of heart is like good soil. Let’s read verse 23 together: “But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” So, what are the characteristics of a heart like good soil? They hear God’s word, and they understand it. They don’t just let it pass by—they keep it in their hearts. And most importantly, they live in obedience to that word. Because of that, their lives produce fruit—sometimes a hundred, sometimes sixty, sometimes thirty times what was sown. These are the people who grow through God’s word. They go deeper into the spiritual world and the kingdom of God. They live a blessed life, full of fruit, because they are rooted in His word.

As we reflect on this passage, I want to encourage all of us to take a moment to examine our own hearts. What kind of soil is your heart like today? Is your heart like the path—hard and closed to God’s word? If so, it’s time to repent and soften your heart. You need to pay attention and stay focused on God’s word so that the devil doesn’t snatch it away from you. Is your heart like the rocky ground? Then let’s make an effort to let God’s word take root deep within us. Instead of being led only by our emotions, let’s meditate on the word, write reflections, and try to live in obedience. When trials come, we need to learn to hold on to God’s promises, trust Him, and obey even in difficult times. Is your heart like the soil among the thorns? If that’s the case, we need to learn how to give our worries to God. Philippians 4:6 says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” We must believe this word and obey it. Instead of chasing after the things of the world, we are called to live for the kingdom of God.

I pray that all of us will become like good soil—hearts that are ready to receive God’s word. May we not only hear the word, but deeply understand it, meditate on it, keep it in our hearts, and live it out in obedience. And as we do, may our lives bear abundant fruit—thirty, sixty, even a hundred times what was sown. May God bless each of us to grow deeper in His word and become fruitful for His glory. Amen.