Jesus spoke to the crowds through stories called parables. For one to really understand what Jesus taught, one had to listen intently and seek out the answers. Perhaps the most famous of all the parables is the Parable of the Sower. In it, Jesus used the common image of a farmer scattering, or sowing, seed. As the seed was tossed, it landed on four different soils: the path, the stony ground, the weedy ground, and good soil. The vitality and fruitfulness of the seed was greatly impacted by the soil on which it landed. Jesus explained the parable to His disciples. The seed was the Word of God and the soils were the various types of ears and hearts upon which it lands. Some people have hard hearts, and the gospel truth is snatched away from them immediately upon hearing it. Others hear the word and embrace it with joy, but persecution because of Christ causes the word planted in them to die off. The thorny ground tells of people who hold fast to the word of God, but remain fruitless because they still live entranced by and devoted to the things of the world. The final soil, which Jesus calls the good soil, represents the person who takes in the gospel word and lives in passionate devotion to Christ. This person bears all kinds of good fruits in his or her life.
See Mark 4:1-20 for the whole story.
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