1The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side.

 2And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.

 3And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow;

 4And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up:

 5Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth:

 6And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away.

 7And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them:

 8But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.

 9Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

 10And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?

 11He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.

 12For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.

 13Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.

 14And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:

 15For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

 16But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.

 17For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.

 18Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

 19When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

 20But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

 21Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

 22He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

 23But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

This is the parable of the sower.  In this parable Jesus describes four different types of people.  The first is the seed that fell along the path.  This person hears the word but doesn’t understand and it never takes root and Satan snatches the seed away.  The second is the seed that fell in the rocky places.  This is the person who receives the word but doesn’t allow it to take root.  This person lasts until he hits hard times and he loses faith and turns away.  Next is the seed that fell among the thorns.  This man receives the word but the cares of the world prevent him from being fruitful.  Last is the seed that fell in good ground.  This man allows the word to take root and is fruitful.  So what kind of seed are you?  Are you fruitful or unfruitful?  Do you have strong roots in the word of God or will you fall away in the first storm of trouble?  Are you the person in verse 13?  You have eyes but don’t see, you have ears but don’t hear and you don’t understand.  Have you closed you eyes and harden your heart?  Or are you the person in verse 16?  You see and hear the truth and are fruitful for God.

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