The Parable Of The Sower – The Stony Ground

by Micky Galloway

Luke 8:13 – “And those on the rock (are) they who, when they have heard, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.”

When I was young and living on the farm, there was a certain field where an old house had stood in the years gone by. The house was gone, but there was a huge limestone rock that had been used as a door step for the house. I remember the stone distinctly because it was just under the surface of the ground and we often hung the plow on its edge. My Dad often warned about breaking a plow point on that stone. When we ran the disk over it however, it would cultivate the thin soil on top of the limestone rock. The problem was that no crop would live very long when planted over that rock. Our farm was generally good soil, but mixed with rocks. We spent a lot of time in the fields just picking up rocks. In fact my Dad finally concluded that the only way to get rid of rocks was to die and leave them. The “stony ground” of the parable was not good soil mixed with rocks, but more like the thin layer of earth on the top of underlying stone as described above.

In the parable, the seed that fell on the stony ground grew only for a season. The Word was received with joy, but it soon withered because it had no root (Mark 4:16-17). The growth of the crop depends on the quality of the soil. When we speak of the “parable of the sower” (Matthew 13:18), the emphasis is not on the sower, but upon the types of soil. In several other passages, attention is given to the character of the preacher, but in this parable the emphasis is laid on the character of the hearer. Immediately following this parable Jesus taught, “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that which he thinketh he hath” (Luke 8:18).

In this parable, the sower is the is the Lord himself, and the field is the world (Matthew 13:38). But not even Jesus was successful in converting everyone. The reason was the difference in the hearts of men. The effects of gospel preaching are dependant on the character of the hearers. Certainly it is the responsibility of gospel preachers to preach the truth to fit the needs and circumstances of the hearers, however the burden of responsibility rests upon the hearers to make the application. It is easy for one to listen without hearing. The Word then rolls off him like water off a duck’s back. With others, the Word finds no depth, no conviction. One hears the Word and obeys with excitement, but then because their faith is shallow, their joy begins to turn to indifference. They are not grounded in the Word and when troubles arise, there is no endurance and stumbling occurs.

Jesus taught, “Whosoever doth not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, desiring to build a tower, doth not first sit down and count the cost, whether he have (wherewith) to complete it? Lest haply, when he hath laid a foundation, and is not able to finish, all that behold begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, as he goeth to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and asketh conditions of peace. So therefore whosoever he be of you that renounceth not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27-33). Many made the claim to follow Jesus, but were not willing to follow through. Again Luke records, “And as they went on the way, a certain man said unto him, I will follow thee withersoever thou goest. And Jesus said unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the heaven (have) nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. And he said unto another, Follow me. But he said, Lord, suffer me first to go and bury my father. But he said unto him, Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but go thou and publish abroad the kingdom of God. And another also said, I will follow thee, Lord; but first suffer me to bid farewell to them that are at my house. But Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:57-62). Even Peter affirmed strongly that he would never forsake the Lord, yet denied even knowing Him three times (Luke 22:54-62).

Let us understand what it means to count the cost of discipleship. Let us cultivate depth in our faith, commitment and conviction, so that when the trials come, our roots will be firmly and deeply entrenched in God’s Word. For unless it is so rooted, it will wither away.