Mark 4:14–20
The parable of the sower explained.
Anyone involved in evangelism or ministry should take this parable to heart. It’s important to think about the real-world applications of the 4 scenarios described here: seed devoured by birds, seed that sprang up too quickly and was scorched, seed that grew up among thorns and yielded no crop, and finally, seed that fell on good ground and yielded an abundant crop.
I think of the first scenario as describing people who have heard so many negative and misleading things about the Word, Yeshua (Jesus) or His followers that they are unwilling or unable to accept the Good News. The message can and often will be met with resistance, and sadly, many will be quick to reject, deny or doubt the Word of God. For these people, we must be ready to dispel the falsehoods that cause them to be resistant to the message, and show them through being model followers of Yeshua that the message bears fruit.
The second describes those who may be saved and start out very zealous, but eventually encounter difficult experiences that they are unprepared to deal with. They may consider themselves followers of Yeshua for a period in their lives but eventually fall back to their old ways or worse. For this reason, just sharing the Good News is not enough — we need to make disciples of all people (Matthew 28:19), teaching them how to live fruitful lives according to God’s ways, and ensure that they are connected with fellow believers who can hold them accountable and support them when they face new challenges.
The third describes those who also may be saved but eventually succumb to temptation. This can even apply to those who enter into anointed ministry and reach a certain level of prominence in the community of believers, but eventually fall to sinful behavior (for example, think of a prominent pastor that commits adultery, or exalts themselves through false teaching, or embezzles or otherwise misuses funds meant to be applied to ministry). Again, this is why everyone, from the newest believers to the most respected clergymen, needs people who can hold them accountable and help them to stay on the narrow path (Matthew 7:13–14).
The fourth describes what we all hope for, that the Word of God will take root in the hearts of men and bear fruit in abundance. This also underscores an important aspect of salvation: it should bear fruit (Matthew 7:17–19). In holding each other accountable, we should take note of those in the community of believers that are not bearing fruit — is something preventing them from following God fully? Is there something that they are struggling with, or something leading them astray? This is why we fellowship with others, to help them live out the Word with victory.
