We had just come back from a two-week vacation, but it was night, so we only took time to unpack and go to bed. The next morning, we discovered that while we were gone, our Golden Medallion tree had exploded into bright yellow, dinner-plate sized bouquets of individual flowers. It was spectacular and the best the tree has ever produced. But as vibrant and lovely as the bouquets of flowers looked against the clear blue July sky, the matching tree just 20 feet away displayed no signs of yellow. It was made up of only green, leafy ferns.

Why is it that one tree produces such an abundance of fruit, while the other has produced almost nothing? Why does one person’s life produce so much fruit and another’s nothing?  This was for me nature’s reminder of the Parable of the Sower. I like Mark’s recording of this parable, crisp and to the point. Plus, I like any storyteller who starts out with the word “Listen!” because you know something important is about to follow.  Jesus explains why some seeds produce thirty, sixty, or a hundredfold while others yield nothing at all. His parable uses a common garden example like my trees to explain a deep spiritual truth. 

A sower sows some seeds. Some landed on a path where birds ate them up.  Some fell on rocky ground where they sprang up quickly but because they did not have depth of soil for their roots, they withered away. Some fell among thorns which choked them out. And some seeds fell onto good soil and produced grain in abundance up to a hundredfold.

When the disciples ask for an explanation of the parable, Jesus explains it clearly. The sower sows the Word. What lands on a path is immediately taken away by Satan so that the Word is gone. The Word that falls on rocky ground is taken up quickly in the hearts of men with great joy, but when tribulation arises because of the Word, they immediately fall away. The Word sewn among the thorns is choked out by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches so that it becomes unfruitful. Finally, the Word sewn on the good soil, that is in the hearts of men who hear the Word and accept it, bears much fruit.

How the Word is acted upon does not depend on the sower but entirely on the receiver.  The hearts of men are described negatively three times. In the case where the Word lands on a path, men hear, but do not value the Word. It is not important to them, and so they sit carelessly by, allowing Satan to rob them of understanding. 

Men who hear the Word and have hearts like rocky soil at first receive the Word with joy, but they are not changed by it.  They are not by faith united to Christ, our Root. They do not depend on him, so when trials come, the Word becomes a stumbling block to them. 

Those who fall among thorns similarly hear the Word, but their eyes remain on worldly affairs. These become their stumbling blocks.  Prosperity becomes of utmost importance and destroys the Word in their hearts so that they bear no fruit. It has been said that the rocks spoil the root and the thorns spoil the fruit.

Finally, when the Word falls on good ground, receptive hearts hear and understand the Word and are fruitful.  They practice what they read in the Word, including sharing the gospel. This is why they bear fruit, honoring God with their good works.

There is another reference to a tree in the gospel of Mark.  On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus is hungry and seeing a fig tree he approaches it to look for fruit. But the tree only has leaves. Jesus curses the tree saying “May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” In the Old Testament, the fig tree and its fruit are often used to symbolize Israel. Here the fig tree is barren, just like Israel which had become spiritually dead.  Judgement would follow.

I like it when visual cues like the fruitful tree prompt me to recall a Bible story that I was not even thinking of at the time. Earthly stories with heavenly meanings. It brings to mind a practical truth in that moment.  It points me to Jesus. 

Dear Jesus, you scatter your seed, the Word, on all types of people.  Open my heart that I may hear and understand so that I might be abundantly fruitful for your kingdom.  Amen.