A Heart of Good Soil

Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13 

In the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13, Jesus teaches us about having a heart of good soil. In this story, He mentions four kinds of soil: the wayside or hard ground, the stony places, the thorny ground, and the good ground or good soil. If you are not familiar with the parable of the sower, you can read the full parable here in Matthew 13:3-9.

Later, as Jesus is talking with His disciples, He gives the interpretation:

When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 

But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 

Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 

But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:19-23

They Didn’t Have Ears to Hear

The “word” in this parable is the Greek word logos. It is widely taught that logos refers to the written word of God, and this is true. But logos carries a much deeper meaning within itself. For the purpose of this passage, we could say that the logos is referring to the message of the kingdom that Jesus carried. It is the same logos message that we carry as believers. 

The seed represents the logos message of the Kingdom. And we, as believers, are the sowers of the seed. 

Now, Jesus knew that the people He was talking to were not going to understand. As He finished speaking, he said to them “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” And as He shared this parable with the multitude, He was talking to them about themselves, but they didn’t get it. This is ironic because He was basically saying to them— you all won’t understand what I’m talking about because you don’t want to hear it, or maybe because there is no deep soil with  strong roots within you, or maybe because earthly cares and riches matter to you more than the message I bring.  

So he was telling them why they wouldn’t get it, but since they didn’t get it, they wouldn’t be able to understand why they didn’t understand. (Huh?)

Matthew 13:11

Later his disciples asked why He spoke to them in [cryptic] parables. And his answer was, because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of heaven, but to them it has not been given. (Matt 13:11) 

Isaiah 6:9

He also told them that it was a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah who said:  Hearing, you will hear, and shall not understand, and seeing, you will see and not perceive; for the hearts of this people have grown dull. Isaiah 6:9

It’s All About the Heart

Ultimately, both in the parable, and regarding the multitudes who could not ‘hear’ it, Jesus was talking about the heart. Having ‘ears to hear’ is all about the posture of the heart. And it is only a heart of good soil that is able to hear and receive the logos. 

What does it look like to have ‘ears to hear’ and a heart of good soil?  

• • Unlike the heart of “hard ground,” the heart of good soil is humble, repentant, open, and soft. It is not hard.  
  • Unlike the heart of “stony places,” the heart of good soil wants the truth above everything else. It is willing to receive truth even when it’s hard to hear.
  • Unlike the heart of “thorny ground,”  the heart of good soil says Yes to the logos. And it is willing to say No to anything that wants to take its place.

The Posture of a Heart of Good Soil

Matthew 7:14

But small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life and only a few find it. Matt 7:14

The gate is not narrow because we have to be really good to get in, and that’s just too hard. No, that’s not it.

The gate is narrow because recognizing that the logos is a priceless treasure is all about the posture of the heart. In truth, many today are living numb and on auto-pilot, having no thought for matters of the heart. Yet even for us who consider matters of the heart infinitely important, we can never completely know what’s in our hearts. The depths of the human heart are only truly known by God. 

1 Chronicles 28:9

King David, a man after God’s own heart, tells his son Solomon in 1 Chronicles 28:9 As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a loyal heart and with a willing mind; for the LORD searches all hearts and understands all the intent of the thoughts. If you seek Him, He will be found by you…

1 Kings 8:39

And receiving this, at the dedication of the temple Solomon prays, “and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of all the sons of men)” 1 Kings 8:39

We cannot purify or change our own hearts, or even know what needs changing. But we can posture our hearts toward God in humility with an openness to receive His logos. And it is the logos of God working within us that purifies and changes us. In this, we are empowered to co-labor with Holy Spirit to bear and produce much fruit!