Various Soils Respond to the Seed

Why is it that the hearing of the Word of God does not produce the same results in every heart? As the Word of God is taught to a group of people there are varied responses to it. It is said that it makes some mad, some glad and some sad. The answer is given by the Lord Himself as He sits in a boat anchored on the shore of the Sea of Galilee teaching a multitude of people sitting on the hillside nearby. (v. 1). Jesus was a wise teacher. He knew it was useless to expect simple minds to understand abstract ideas so he used stories from real life to teach spiritual truths they could not understand (vv. 2-3). It is even quite possible that he actually saw someone sowing seed on the hillside nearby and asked them to look. He calls attention to four types of soil the seed will fall in: the hard soil, the shallow soil, the weedy soil and the good soil (vv. 4-8). Whether the seed takes root and grows is dependent on the soil where it is sown. The same is true in hearing the Word of God. The response is dictated by the heart that receives it. If the will is right, the understanding of the teaching will not be a problem (John. 7:17).