This is a copy of my talk given at Ayia Kyriaki and Saint Stephen’s in the Anglican Church of Paphos on Sunday 12  July 2026. The Bible Reading was Matthew 13:1-9 & 18-23r.

It is also an updated version of a talk I gave on Wednesday 19 July 2023 at the 10.00 am service at Saint Mary Magdalen, Billericay. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father,
I thank You for Your word.
By the power of Your Holy Spirit,
May You speak to my heart,
And change my life.
In the precious name of Jesus I pray.
Amen.  

Introduction
Can you remember the definition of a parable? An earthly story with a heavenly meaning! This morning, we look the Parable of the Sower – but this is not an Alan Titchmarsh (Gardener’s World) master class in how to win the gold rosette at the village show with your monster onions. No, this is about people not parsnips. The issue is more serious than physical survival of a crop, what is at stake is not physical life, it is eternal life.

For some reason the Lectionary leaves out the middle section (vs10-17) of this passage but it’s worth pointing out that Jesus gave the interpretation of the parable (vs18-23) to the disciples NOT to the crowds who had gathered and to whom he spoke to in the earlier verses. That’s quite an omission and changes the context of our reading quite considerably!

The seed being sown, vs19, is the Kingdom of God. And the reality of what we see in the world around us is that the message about Jesus generates a wide range of responses. This morning I want to ask three questions: How do people react to the Word of God? Why do they react in the way they do? How should we react to this parable?

1) How do people react to the Word of God?

Jesus teaches that we can expect different reactions to the message. Some will say “No!” Some will say “Yes, but …!” And others will say “Yes!” So, let’s look at each example individually:

The Path (Hardened Heart). Talking to those who say “No!” is like sowing seed on a much trampled and compacted path (hardened heart). It gets nowhere. This is anyone who “hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it …” (vs19). It’s not that they don’t hear. These are people who are told about Jesus, hear the message but choose to ignore it. They are beaten down by life, cynicism, busyness, or repeated rejection of truth. The message never even penetrates. And these people just don’t budge an inch. Some even come to church week in week out. But they don’t change. They hear, but they are deaf.

Rocky Ground (Shallow Heart). The rocky ground (shallow heart) is the “Yes, but!” type! Vs20: What was sown on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. The seed sprouts quickly with joy, but there’s no depth. These are emotional responders – excited at first, but without roots, they wither under trials or persecution.

Thorny Ground (Distracted Heart). Vs22: What was sown among thorns (distracted heart) is the man who hears the word, and is another “Yes, but!” type. They respond positively to Jesus – even with great enthusiasm. They change and it’s extremely encouraging to see their growing faith in Christ. But after a while, it all begins to go wrong. The word grows but is choked by “… the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things (NT Wright).” Success, entertainment, anxiety, or pleasures compete for space until there is no fruit. Like an old romance that came to nothing, Jesus eventually becomes just a phase that was passed long ago.

Good Soil (Receptive Heart). The good soil stands for those who have a receptive heart and say “Yes!” to Jesus, and who keep on saying “Yes!”  Vs23: But what was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. For such people faith in Jesus is not a curious if interesting mental abnormality, slightly to be pitied. Nor is it a passing phase that will be consigned to the fading photos of the family album, fondly remembered maybe, but definitely not around any longer, like an old college friend who you somehow still think of as a friend, but who you haven’t been in touch with for years and years. No, for people who are good soil, faith in Christ is life and health and peace.

2) Why do they react in the way they do?

Jesus says that each response to the message about him has a different underlying reason. People say “No!” because of sin and Satan. They say “Yes, but!” because of sin and the world. They say “Yes!” because of God. Jesus talks about why people respond as they do in his explanation to the disciples of the meaning of this parable, in verses 18 to 23. What about those who say “No!”? Vs19:  When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.

What about those who say: “Yes, but!”? There are two sorts. Both responses are caused partly by the same kind of hardening    of the heart that we’ve already seen. Both are also partly caused by the impact of the world on fledgling faith. But the pressure that the world applies takes two different forms. One is represented by the rocky places and the other by the thorny ground. Vs20:  What was sown on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

When we come under pressure because of our faith, there is one sure fire way of relieving that pressure: give up our faith. For many around the world this is a matter of facing physical hardship and suffering. Millions of Christians around the world can bring about a major improvement in their physical safety and economic welfare, and that of their families, if they just soften or drop their allegiance to Jesus.   Many do. The burning sun comes up, and they can’t take the heat.

We are in no position of superiority. The pressures on us are more subtle. They are less frightening. But we, in the church, it seems to me, have, for too long, backed off whenever the world has advanced towards us. “How can you believe that? How can you think that?” has been the taunt. And far too often we have said to the world “Oh, well then, we don’t want any antagonism. We’ll quietly amend what Jesus has taught us. We’ll gently relegate him to the sidelines. We’ll go along with you.” And, before you know it, robust biblical faith in Christ has withered and died in too many hearts.

What is more, the world’s attack on the Christian faith is on two fronts. Trouble or persecution as a direct result of faithfulness to the gospel is one. The other is what Jesus pictures as the thorns. Vs22: What was sown among the thorns is the man who hears the word but worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. This is not direct pressure on our Christian faith. This is simply becoming so preoccupied with our earthly lives that we lose all eternal perspective. What, then, does Jesus say about those who say a consistent “Yes!” to him and his Word? Why do people do that? Vs22: But what was sown on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. And when God works like that, what is the result? Fruitful lives. Lives that count for the kingdom. Vs23:  “He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

 Have you ever seen an onion that has gone to seed? If an onion is not harvested and left in the ground, it will grow a stalk with a flower head that is packed tight with new seeds which will have 100’s if not 1000’s of seeds in this one plant. So, when Jesus speaks of a crop of up to a hundred times what was sown, that is no exaggeration. That is how God works. Think how the Christian church has grown to hundreds of millions from a small band of twelve disciples.

3) How should we react to this Parable?

Here are four things we can do.

Understand other people’s reactions to the gospel. We need to have an optimistic realism about the effect of telling others about Jesus. Jesus himself warns us that there will be many “No’s” and many “Yes, but’s”. But there will also be the “Yes’s”, and through them the kingdom will multiply and nothing will be able to stop it.

Identify your own reactions to Jesus. How are you responding towards him in your life at the moment? Do you have a hardened heart? A shallow heart? A distracted heart? A receptive heart?

Ask God for his transforming grace. God’s grace is a sign that the Spirit is at work within us. Ask for more. And keep on asking that your life will be good ground in which the Word can flourish and bear fruit.

Keep on listening to and telling the message about the kingdom. We need to be fertile, weed free ground. We are to sow the seed of the gospel wherever and whenever we can. Opportunities come our way almost every day. We need to be praying for the boldness and the grace to take them and to see ourselves as ‘links in the chain’ in people’s journey of faith. Weddings! Building up the Kingdom of God.

And finally, have you ever reflected on who planted a seed of faith in you? Who set an example that inspired you? Who prayed that your heart and mind would be fertile soil for the seeds of faith? Let us give thanks for their faith and what it sowed and has produced in our lives. Let’s just take a moment to say a prayer of thanksgiving for that person.

A Prayer for those who Sowed the Gospel into our Lives

Heavenly Father, we thank You for the faithful witness of who planted the seeds of Your Word in our hearts and lives. We are thankful for their patience, love and courage to speak truth; for every prayer they prayed, every act of kindness they showed, and every moment they pointed us toward Christ. Strengthen them in faith, refresh their spirit, and may they see the fruit of their labour. Where they have sown in tears, let them reap in joy. And may we, in turn, carry the torch of the Gospel forward, sowing seeds into the lives of others, so that Your Kingdom may flourish. In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen.

COPYRIGHT DISCLAIMER The text contained in this sermon (except where stated) is solely owned by its author, Revd Paul A. Carr. The reproduction, or distribution of this message, or any portion of it, should include the author’s name.