God Sows the Seed of His Word

Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church, Pinetop, Arizona

Rev. Michael “Mick” Mathews

The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost – July 12, 2026

Sermon: “God Sows the Seed of His Word”     Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23

Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.

I’m sure you’ve probably heard Jesus’ parable of the sower before. In biblical times, they didn’t have giant John Deere machines to use to plant their fields. A person would have to go out into the field and spread the seeds by hand. They would carry the seed in a sack tied around their neck, reach in and grab a handful of seeds, and then fling them across the nearby dirt. And the breeze might catch some seed as it fell, taking into nearby areas. Some seeds might end up on the dirt path, where the dirt was beaten down, the seeds lay exposed, and the birds could easily come and eat them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground with no depth of soil. The seeds would sprout but couldn’t put down deep roots, so when it got hot, they would wither and die. Other seeds fell among thorns. Those seeds sprouted and continued to grow, but because they were competing with the thorns for water, sun, and nutrients, they never matured to produce a crop. But the seed that fell on good soil produced an abundance of grain.

When Jesus first told that parable to the crowds, that’s where He stopped. He told them the story, wrapped up by saying, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9), and then left them to figure out what He meant. Had Jesus just given them a lesson about farming, or was there something more that He intended by the story? Would they just kind of shrug their shoulders and go away? Or would they dig deeper, looking for meaning on their own? Or would they maybe even try to find another time to listen to Jesus to find out more?

Jesus’ disciples didn’t understand the story at first either. It was only when Jesus was with His disciples later on that they asked Him about it and He gave them a fuller explanation. He explained that He was illustrating the different ways that people respond to hearing the Word of God.

Some people’s hearts have been so hardened by the lies of the devil that they just ignore or reject God’s Word outright. They are like what happened when the seeds fell on the hard dirt path and the birds ate up all the seeds.

Other people might react to God’s Word for a time until following God brings them trouble from other people and they give up on God’s Word. They are like what happened to the seed that fell on rocky soil, that developed no roots, and that withered in the heat of the sun.

Other people might continue on in God’s Word but other things in life continue to compete with it so that it never brings much of a result. Maybe think of the people who call themselves Christians but never show that they are all that much different from the unbelieving people all around them. They are like the seeds that fell among the thorns and grew but were choked and never became fruitful. Jesus especially warned about “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” (Matthew 13:22). Other things can seem to us to be more important than the Word of God. Sometimes it’s negative things – the cares of this life, such as making a living, paying the bills, looking after family, dealing with illness. Other times it might be the pursuit of things that seem positive: making yourself secure financially, working hard to get a nicer house, buying a boat to take out on the lake, and so forth. But Jesus warns that riches are deceitful. They might look like the answer to making us happy and secure, but they can never completely satisfy, and they can’t solve every problem. Only in hearing God’s Word will we find the guidance and the support that we truly need to face the challenges of life. So if the things that you are focusing on in your life keep you away from church on Sunday, keep you from hearing God’s Word, then your life will not be as fruitful as it otherwise could be.

Only when the seed fell on good soil did it grow and produce abundantly.

Would you have understood the story of the sower without Jesus’ explanation? Even with the explanation, did you understand it properly?

I think many people hear the story and the explanation, and then they think, “I’ve got to make myself into good soil. I’ve got to make myself better so that God’s Word can grow in me. I’ve got to break up the hard places in my heart that make me not want to listen to what God says. I’ve got to clear away the distractions in my life so that I have more time for God. I’ve got to avoid people who will lead me astray. And then I’ll be a better Christian.” But that’s the wrong lesson to take from Jesus’ parable. The one who is doing the action in the parable is not the soil but the sower.

And here’s a little reminder about the general rule of thumb for understanding Jesus’ parables: the first person that Jesus mentions in the parable is most likely to be the one who represents God. So when Jesus starts the parable by saying, “A sower went out to sow,” you should think, “This man sowing the seed is giving me a picture of God.”

So what do we learn about God in this story? The sower doesn’t seem overly concerned about where the seeds end up. They go everywhere. And God wants His message of salvation in Jesus Christ to go everywhere too – even to the places that we think will not be receptive and where we think the seed of the Word could never grow.

But pay attention to this: the power to grow is not in the soil but in the seed itself. You can have the best soil ever but if no seed is planted in it, nothing will grow. God’s Word is the source that brings life. Consider again what Isaiah said about God’s Word: It is like the rain and snow that come down from heaven and water the earth and make the plants grow and flourish. And we’re certainly praying that the monsoon rains will soon do that for us! Like the rain and snow, God’s Word always has an effect too. We may not understand God’s purpose when someone hears God’s Word and then rejects it, but we can always rejoice when the hearing of God’s Word causes faith and godly living to spring up in a person – as it has with us.

We can rejoice that God has planted His Word in us and caused it to grow. We have heard the message that Jesus died on the cross to pay for our sins, and we have received it with thankfulness. We have heard that Jesus rose from the grave, and we have rejoiced that He has given us new life now and the hope for eternal life. As St. Paul reminds us in Romans 8, we are now the children of God (Romans 8:16). Children don’t give birth to themselves. They receive life from their parents. And it’s the same with us as the children of God. He has made us to be His children by the Holy Spirit working through God’s Word to give us faith. Now we rejoice that we can call God our Father. He has adopted us as His own, and He has made us heirs of eternal life along with Christ.

And in the midst of our rejoicing over what God has done for us in bringing us to faith through His Word, we also pay heed to the dangers to our faith that still surround us in this world. The devil will try to keep us from hearing God’s Word. Unbelieving people with pressure and even persecute God’s children to turn away from Him. Worry and wealth will try to distract us. But only God is able to keep us secure in our faith as He continues to plant the seed of His Word in our hearts and as He makes it grow into our confident reliance upon Him for our life and salvation.

And the peace of God which passes understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

Isaiah 55:10          “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven

                  and do not return there but water the earth,

       making it bring forth and sprout,

                  giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,

11  so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;

                  it shall not return to me empty,

       but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,

                  and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.

Isaiah 55:12          “For you shall go out in joy

                  and be led forth in peace;

       the mountains and the hills before you

                  shall break forth into singing,

                  and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands.

13  Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress;

                  instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle;

       and it shall make a name for the LORD,

                  an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.”

Romans 8:12 So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

Matthew 13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” …

Matthew 13:18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 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 what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”