The Effect of Divine Truth as Conditioned by the State of Men's Hearts
Mark 4:3
Listen; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:


The title with which we are familiar is almost a misnomer. It is not the sower who is most prominent, for the seed of the Word is a more important factor; nor yet is the seed, for it is the four kinds of soil into which it shall fall that determines the seed's future. If preachers and teachers are drawing lessons from the parable, then it may be well called the Parable of the Sower; but if the hearers of the Word are getting their lessons from it, they will find the greater part of the parable telling of the soil and the false growths therein that may render the Word unfruitful. Jesus, standing by the seashore, and surveying the motley company before Him, gives us a prophecy of the future of His truth among men. It cannot win an easy triumph. The seed is God's own, but it does not create its own soil. It drops on what is at hand, and is to be scattered broadcast, to meet varied fortunes.

(E. N. Packard.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

WEB: "Listen! Behold, the farmer went out to sow,




The Duty of the Sower
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