“Checking Out The Soil Conditions”
Text: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
7-12-2026
In the name of Him who plants in us the good seed of God’s Word, dear friends in Christ. It’s pretty safe to say that many Christians are familiar with the parable of the sower in our Gospel lesson today. What’s really neat and helpful is that the imagery which Jesus uses is so basic and easy to grasp. Even if you’re not directly involved in farming for a living, many of you have a garden where you grow things (or at least attempt to grow things) such as vegetables or flowers. Therefore, the agricultural concepts that Jesus presents in this parable are generally understood by the great majority.
While it’s true that we can easily grasp the picture story Jesus paints here, it doesn’t necessarily follow that we grasp the spiritual implications and application to our lives. To prove my point, let me ask you, “Where are you in this parable? Which part of it represents you and me?” The natural tendency is to say, “Oh that’s easy. We are the seed and Jesus is talking about how we grow spiritually in the various circumstances where God plants us.” Uh... no. The seed is the Word of God and the Sower is Jesus Himself. So, what does that leave? The soil. We may not like hearing it, but in this parable, we are the cold, lifeless dirt.
It may not sound glamorous, but when you think about it, that’s quite fitting. On its own, soil is unproductive. Without someone tilling it and planting seed, that soil cannot produce anything. And it’s the seed that brings life to the soil, not the other way around. That’s how it is with us. Spiritually speaking, we are lifeless and unproductive unless someone stirs up the soil of our souls and plants spiritual seeds. The Word of God brings life to our cold, lifeless souls. And I would stress to you that this parable is about the soil conditions, not the seed. In all of these scenarios the seed is unquestionably good just as God’s Word is good. It’s the soil condition which determines if it will be productive or not. So, seeing that we are the spiritual soil in Jesus’ parable, it’s good for us to check out the different soil conditions that He lists, and then examine the implications for us.
Okay, the first soil condition that the seed encounters is the hardened dirt on the path. Over in Palestine there were footpaths that ran alongside the fields which any passerby could use. The soil there gets packed down hard from heavy foot traffic. Since they didn’t have grain drills or planters back in Christ’s day, a farmer would have a sack of seed hanging from his side and he’d scatter it by hand. Some of it would inevitably fall on the beaten path where it would lie on the surface, unable to penetrate that hard soil. Lying exposed there, it was an easy meal for the birds to snatch up.
Jesus tells us that this hardened soil is a picture of those who refuse to let the Word of God penetrate their hearts. It represents those who are exposed to the seed of God’s Word, but refuse to hear it. Think of that hardened footpath. It took time and continual packing by pedestrian traffic to get it in that condition. Our sinful world can do that to a person’s heart as it treks across it with the pounding message that there is no God and that the Bible is just a silly, childish myth and a foolish waste of time. When God’s Word is sown in a hardened heart, that holy seed just lays there on that impenetrable soil. And Satan easily snatches it away.
Sadly, there are many people who profess to be Christians who fall into this category. They claim that they don’t need to be exposed to God’s Word and Sacrament on a regular basis in order to be a Christian. That would be like a farmer saying that a field will grow a good crop of corn every year even if you don’t plant it. This hardening can also happen with a person who is in worship week after week but inwardly they are ignoring the Word of God and refusing to let it take root. Left unattended, the soil of these souls will grow harder and harder and Satan will happily carry away the Word of God.
The second soil condition is the rocky ground. It’s more than just rocks strewn here and there throughout the field, which in itself is difficult to farm. But it describes a thin layer of soil over a hard shelf of rock. We may not have those precise conditions in our area, but I have farmed ground where, due to erosion, there was only a thin layer of topsoil over a hardpan of clay. And let me tell you, it’s very similar to what Jesus describes. A seed will quickly sprout there, but the roots cannot go very deep. And so, when the hot, dry weather sets in, those plants quickly shrivel up and burn out. Jesus says this soil is the folks who initially receive the Word of God with joy, but only in a shallow fashion. When the heat of troubles or a crisis come along, that kind of a faith shrivels up.
This happens when people go looking for worship experiences which follow the latest fad. These services are focused on stirring up emotions and singing sentimental “Jesus songs.” Unfortunately, these “experiences” often produce only a shallow faith. But this kind of faith doesn’t want to tap into anything theologically deep and it certainly doesn’t want the preacher to point out the buried hard rocks of sin in their lives. When the heat of sickness or death strikes, or when tough times or a crisis comes along, what little faith there was, shrivels up and dies.
The third soil condition is the thorn-infested ground. You know as well as I that weeds have to be contended. Why? Because they threaten to rob valuable nutrients and moisture from the crop we’re trying to grow. If we don’t engage in an aggressive form of weed control, they’ll take over and choke out the good plants. Jesus says these weeds are “the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches” which can choke out a person’s faith. Isn’t it interesting that both prosperity and poverty can end up being a faith-killing weed? In other words, both good and bad things can hinder or harm our faith if we allow it. But it’s the good ones that are often overlooked as spiritual weeds. Think about it. A weed can actually be a good plant growing in the wrong place. When you’re growing soybeans, volunteer corn in the row is a weed, and vice versa. Likewise in the spiritual realm. Making money, relaxation, sporting events, camping, and even sleep are good things. But when they compete with, and take precedence over, our worship and study of God’s Word, then they’re out of place and choking out our faith.
By the way, now would be a good time to mention that some Christians believe in a theology of “once saved, always saved.” In other words, once the Word of God has taken root in your heart, it can never die off. It would seem to me that this parable of Jesus puts the kibosh on that kind of thinking. In the second and third soil conditions, faith was growing but it either burned out or was choked out. The point being that without proper care, a person’s faith can indeed wither and die which is a good warning for all of us.
Then there’s the 4th soil condition: the good, productive soil. It’s that patch of ground which is nicely tilled, the crop is flourishing because the roots have sunk in deep, and the weeds are under control. Jesus says this is the heart which receives the good news of the Gospel and believes it. That seed of faith grows through the continued feeding on God’s Word and it produces in the life of a believer the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control. This is the crop that a true believer hopes to produce by faith in their lives.
So which soil condition best describes you? Oh, I know. You all want to say the 4th one, the productive soil. But if we’re honest, we have to admit that we’re not any one of them. Rather, we are a combination of all 4. Each of us has those sin-hardened paths which have developed in our hearts. We let the influence of the sinful world walk all over our faith and make it hardened to God’s Word. We hear God’s Law which points out our sin, but sometimes we choose to ignore it. There are also those rocky places where we have hidden certain sins just below the surface. We cover over them with a thin layer of pious living thinking no one will notice. And there are those weedy patches where we have allowed worldly things to compete for our time and attention which should be devoted to the Lord. And, by God’s grace, there are those areas of good soil where we have allowed God’s Word to take root and grow.
The problem is that we have become comfortable with letting these mixed soil conditions exist in our hearts. And strangely enough we’re satisfied with the pitiful yield of faith in our lives. If you did that as a farmer, you’d quickly be out of business. Instead, a farmer tries to optimize the soil conditions of his fields so that a bountiful harvest can be expected. So how do we go about doing that spiritually? Well, it starts with something called repentance. If you’ll let Him, God can till up even the hardest area of your heart. It’s not fun to have Him rip through our stubborn refusal to hear His Word which convicts us of our sin. But when He does, the soil is then ready to receive the precious seed of His Word of forgiveness. And He protects that seed so that Satan cannot snatch it away.
God can also clear away the shallow, rocky areas in our hearts. He does this by identifying those sins that we’ve been trying to hide under the surface. God clears away those rocky places and encourages us to sink the roots of our faith more deeply into His Word. We do that by coming here regularly to hear God’s Word in worship, and in our private study of the Word, and in Bible Class. Then, when the difficult times come—and they will surely come—our faith won’t wither under the scorching heat of life’s troubles. We can also practice some good weed control in our lives. When the things of this life threaten to take over our time spent in God’s Word, guided by the Holy Spirit, we can kill off those choking weeds by getting our priorities back in the proper order.
With these good, spiritual farming practices working in our hearts, then the rich soil which God has prepared in us is ready to be productive for Him. Then the seed of God’s Word can flourish and grow strong within us, with the promise of a bountiful harvest of salvation. May He continue to give us the grace to be good stewards of both His precious seed and the good soil He has created in us while we eagerly await His return. Amen.
Soli Deo Gloria