Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

Jesus often spoke in parables to the multitudes that followed Him. He used an ordinary event in natural life to illustrate the spiritual meaning. Interestingly, though, the multitudes did not understand the spiritual meaning of them.

To Matthew chapter thirteen we go to find Jesus sitting in a boat in the sea near the shore where a crowd of people had gathered to listen to Him. And He began to speak to them in parables:

Matthew 13:3-9 …"Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road,

and the birds came and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil;

immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But when the sun had risen, they were

scorched; and because they had no root, they were withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the

thorns came up and choked them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a

hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."

For those of us who have planted a field or a garden for food or flowers, it is easy to understand the ordinary event in natural life. However it was not so easy to attach the spiritual meaning to it as is even expressed by His own disciples:

Matthew 13:10-17 And the disciples came to Him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" Jesus

answered them, "To you it has been has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but

to them it has not been granted. For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an

abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. Therefore I

speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing, they do not hear, nor

do they understand. In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, 'You will keep on

hearing , but will not understand; you will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; for the heart of this

people has become dull, with their ears, they scarcely hear, and they have closed their eyes, otherwise

they would see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart and return, and I

would heal them.' But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For

truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it,

and to hear what you hear and did not hear it."

So prophecy may be fulfilled by His speaking in these parables for those who hear will not understand, and seeing will not perceive, and their hearts are dull. But to His own they are to understand the mysteries unfolded by revelation by Jesus because they both hear and see. And Jesus reveals the spiritual meaning of the parable:

Matthew 13:18-23 "Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and

does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in the heart. This is the

one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is

the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no firm root in himself, but

is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls

away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and

the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the

one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who

indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty."

And so we see the seed is the word of God and the types of soil are the various hearts of man and how they receive the word of God. The first heart is as hard as a road's surface and the word does not even penetrate it as it is not understood and Satan takes away what was sown. The second heart is compared to rocky ground with little soil and the word is received with joy, but with no deep root able to establish in the shallow soil he gives in as persecution and affliction come because of the word and he immediately falls away. The third one has been sown among thorns is as one who hears the word and receives it but because of the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of riches the word is choked out and becomes unfruitful. And finally the fourth one has good soil who hears the word with understanding and he bears fruit with different results of harvest.

 And so we have the answer to our question, the seed is the word of God that falls on the different hearts of men with many different results. In the natural world, we understand that the seed is not sown and left to take care of itself. For it must be watered from time to time and pruned to encourage further growth as the Father indeed does prune us so we become even more fruitful (John 15:2). May your heart have the good soil that will both see and hear with understanding and become fruitful for life!