Parables of Jesus Part 1: The Farmer's Seed

This free Bible lesson, The Parable of The Farmer's Seed, or The Parable of The Sower, will teach preschool and elementary students about the lesson Jesus taught when He was living on Earth as a human and the greatest teacher of all time.

This lesson is part of a summer series titled "Jesus Makes a Splash: Lessons from the Parables of Jesus".

This lesson comes from the Seeds of Truth Elementary Bible Curriculum that is free to anyone looking for ideas to "plant seeds" into the hearts of children as they are learning about Jesus. Find more details HERE.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Seeds of Truth podcast, where seeds of biblical truth are planted into the hearts and minds of listeners so they can grow into a relationship with Jesus. I'm your host, Miss Dana. Thank you for joining me today. Let's get started. Hello, friends. Welcome back. This is part one of our series about the parables of Jesus. So remember, a parable is a short and simple story that uses everyday situations or ideas to teach a big lesson. And Jesus used parables a lot when he was here on earth to teach the people, his followers, and us big lessons through the stories that he told. So the parable that we're going to learn about today is recorded in three of the four gospel books, and those are Matthew, Mark, and Luke. And it is called the Parable of the Farmer's Seed. It is also known as the parable of the sower, the parable of the soils, or the parable of the farmer. So all of those names are referring to the same parable or the same story that Jesus told. So let's think about what we use seeds for. So we use seeds to grow new plants, crops, or even fruit. And so let's think about the word sow or sewing. Now, this is S-O-W, not S-E-W. So we're not talking about sewing a new quilt or talking about sewing something with a sewing machine. We're talking about SOW. And sewing in that sense is what it is called when someone plants seeds so they can start growing plants. So someone who is sowing seeds is planting seeds so that they can start growing into plants. So seeds need water, sunlight, good soil, oxygen, and someone to care for them in order for them to grow into a healthy plant. But there are some things that might cause a seed to not grow into a healthy plant. Those things can be bad ground, shallow soil if the ground isn't deep enough for good roots. There needs to be no other plants in the way that take away the sunlight or the water. There needs to be no scavengers, so birds, bugs, or animals who eat the seeds or the plants that are coming up. Too much water or too much sunlight can cause seeds to not grow into healthy plants. And then too little water or too little sunlight can also cause seeds to not grow into healthy plants. So as I read the parable, I want you to be thinking about what each part of the parable are a symbol for. Okay, so remember a symbol is something that is representing something else. So as I read the parable, I want you to think about what the seed is a symbol for. And then throughout this parable, I want you to think about what the seed that fell on the path is a symbol for, what the seed that fell on the rocks is a symbol for, what the seed that fell in the thorns is a symbol for, and then what the seed in the good soul soil is a symbol for. I'm reading from Mark chapter 4, verses 2 through 8 from the NIRV translation of the Bible. And it says, He taught them many things using stories. In his teaching, he said, Listen, a farmer went out to plant his seed. He scattered the seed on the ground. Some fell on a path. Birds came and ate it up. Some seed fell on rocky places where there wasn't much soil. The plants came up quickly, but the soil wasn't deep. When the sun came up, it burned the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. Other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants, so the plants did not bear grain. Still, other seed fell on good soil. It grew up and produced a crop 30, 60, or even 100 times more than the farmer planted. So that is the parable that Jesus told. And each part of the parable has a symbol that is representing something else, that is teaching us a deeper truth or a deeper message. So if you want, you can pause the episode right now and think about this for yourself or discuss it with someone before you hear me explain the parable, as I'm just about to do. So some of the people in those days did not understand when Jesus taught in parables, and he would often explain the meanings to his disciples, the people who were closest to him. We need the Holy Spirit to help us understand some of the truths found in the Bible. And we can get the Holy Spirit to help us understand by praying. People who believe in, trust, and follow Jesus have the Holy Spirit inside of them. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to live inside of people when they ask Jesus to be their Savior. And the Holy Spirit guides believers to comprehend or understand what we read about in the Bible. Now, Jesus actually explained the meaning of this parable to his disciples, and it is recorded a few verses later. In this parable, Jesus is teaching about how different people respond to the message of the gospel. The gospel is the good news or the message about Jesus and the kingdom of God that is to come. In this parable, Jesus is talking about four different kinds of people and the reactions or the responses that they have when they learn about the good news of Jesus and the truth that Jesus is the way, the only way to heaven. The seed in the parable is a symbol of the actual message of Jesus and that he is the only way to enter into the kingdom of heaven. People hear the good news of Jesus every single day. Seeds are being sown every single day, meaning that the message of Jesus is being shared with people every single day. The seed in the parable is the message of Jesus that people are hearing every single day. Now, the goal when we plant a seed is that a new healthy plant, flower, or fruit grows. The healthy plant in this parable is a symbol of the message of Jesus being heard and then growing in the heart of the person as that person spreads the good news to other people. So the seed scattered on a path is a symbol of the first person. So it says some fell on a path, birds came and ate it up. This is a person who hears the message of the gospel of Jesus, but ignores it or rejects it. They don't believe it. The birds that come and eat the seed are the evil one, the devil, coming to take away any hope of that person believing the good news of Jesus so they can be saved. So the path is a hard surface with no soil for the seeds to grow into a healthy plant. It is like the person who has a hardened heart and is not willing to hear the good news of Jesus and believe in him. The seed that fell on rocks is the symbol of the second person. So the parable says, some seed fell on rocky places where there isn't much soil. The plants came up quickly because the soil wasn't deep. When the sun came up, it burned the plants. They dried up because they had no roots. This is a person who hears the message of the gospel of Jesus and they are excited about it at first, but then they lose interest and turn away from Jesus. The rocky soil is not deep enough for the seeds to take root. There isn't enough soil and they can't get any water. Because there are no roots, the sun burned up the plants that started to grow. So this is like the person who hears the gospel of Jesus and is excited, but their heart is still hard, and change can never take place in their life for Jesus. Any hard times that come their way will cause them to fall away from Jesus. This seed that fell among the thorns is a symbol of a third person. The Bible says, other seed fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and crowded out the plants, so the plants did not bear grain. So this is a person who hears the message of the gospel of Jesus and they are excited about it at first, but they just don't fully commit. They let their love of the world and of earthly possessions like things and money get in their way of living for Jesus 100%, so they lose interest and turn away from Jesus. The thorns in the parable use up the space, the light, the water, and the soil that the seed needs to grow into a healthy plant. So this is like the person who hears the gospel of Jesus and is excited, but they get distracted by the things of the world. These earthly distractions take up their attention and they fall away from Jesus. And then lastly, the seed that fell on good soil is a symbol of a fourth person. The Bible says in the parable, still other seed fell on good soil. It grew up and produced a crop 30, 60, or even 100 times more than the farmer planted. Now, this is a person who hears the message of the gospel of Jesus and they accept it fully and commit 100% to Jesus. So the soil is good, so the seed is able to grow into a healthy plant, and the seeds keep producing more and more growth. This is like the person who hears the gospel of Jesus and accepts it fully. And then the person believes in Jesus and begins spreading the good news of Jesus to others. Not all strong believers in Jesus are equally fruitful. That is why Jesus says that the plant grew up and produced a crop 30, 60, or even 100 times more than the farmer planted. He is saying that the people who accept Jesus and begin to spread the good news with others are a result of the seeds that were planted. Each person who accepts Jesus will be able to serve Jesus in different ways and in different amounts. And fruit in a Christian's life means the amount of good that comes from their service to Jesus. Some people will produce more fruit or goodness than others. Which person are you? So here's a review of the four different types of people that Jesus taught about in this parable. The seed that fell on the path is like the person who doesn't believe in or accept Jesus. The seed that fell on the rocky soil is like the person who believes in Jesus but loses interest and falls away. The seed that fell among the thorns is like the person who believes in Jesus but gets distracted by worldly desires and possessions. And then the seed that fell on good soil is like the person who believes in Jesus and spreads the good news to others. Let's pray. Dear God, thank you for your word, the Bible. Thank you for the parables that Jesus used to teach big lessons. Please help us to be like the seed that fell on good soil. Please help us to be bold enough to share the good news of Jesus with other people and continue to grow in our knowledge and understanding of you and all that you want for our lives. We love you and praise you in Jesus' sweet name. Amen. Thank you for listening to the parable of the farmer's seed. Next time we will be talking about the parable of the weeds. I will see you then. Until then, God bless. Thank you for listening to this episode of the Seeds of Truth podcast. For more free Bible resources, visit seeds of truth ministries.com.