Sowing Seed of Faith
The Sowing Seed parable: Matthew 13
Jesus told stories to crowds and passers by. The stories he told were called parables which means a story within a story that has deeper meaning. You have to listen very carefully to try and hear the hidden meaning.
One day Jesus told a story and pointed to a farmer in the distance who was planting a field. Everyone looked at the farmer as he was working. Jesus began his parable:
There was once a farmer who went out planting seeds all around. Some of the seeds fell along the edge of a well-traveled pathway that was worn down and hard. The seeds bounced around on the hard soil and were eaten by birds. Other seed fell on rocky ground and sprouted quickly but because there were no roots or water, the sprouts withered and died. And some other seed fell among thorns and as they grew, the thorns twisted around them and choked the life out of them. Finally, some of the seed fell into good deep soil and the seeds sprouted and grew up producing crops that were 100 times more than were sown.
The crowd wondered what Jesus meant. Later that night when Jesus and his disciples were together alone one of Jesus disciples asked what the parable meant because the disciples didn’t understand the hidden meaning either. Jesus said that he would reveal to his friends the secret in hidden message.
The farmer is someone who spreads the word of god to people about Jesus. The seed represents how people react to the word of God in their lives. The seeds that fell along the hardened pathway and got eaten by birds represent the people who hear God’s word but the devil comes along and snatches his word from their hearts before they can believe and be saved. The seeds falling on the rocky ground are the people who hear God’s word and are excited about it, but since they are not rooted in Christ, whenever problems come against them, they forget God’s word or give up on it. The seeds that fall into the thorns represent people who hear and accept God’s word but are distracted by things like wanting to be rich or successful or the worries in their life. They cannot concentrate on God’s word and his word is choked out by these distractions and their plant does not grow. Finally, the seed that lands in the good soil represents people who hear God’s word and his word takes root in their hearts. They dwell on his word and choose to act on it by trusting God. After waiting patiently,this results in a bountiful harvest with good fruit.
Sowing Seed- Additional Bible Stories for Kids
© Beth Rimstidt 2005
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