Jesus’ ministry doesn’t exactly take off with a bang. His listeners don’t understand a word he says. The Pharisees are out to kill him (Matt. 12:14). Not even his disciples get it. But none of this discourages Jesus. He knows a secret about God’s kingdom that we all need to know—one that farmers already know. Like seed sown in a field, not every good word planted in peoples’ hearts will bear fruit. In fact, there will be more failures than successes. The secret is to keep our eyes open for the abundant harvest. The few successes will more than make up for the many failures.

Jesus illustrates that mystery in this parable about God’s kingdom. As the farmer sows the seed, some falls on the path. Finding no soil, it never even gets a chance to germinate before becoming bird food. Although the Word of God is powerful, many who hear it simply can’t understand it. before it can do them any good, the devil snatches it away (v. 15).

Other seed fails because it falls on rocky ground. At first it takes off like a weed, but because it can’t take root, it dies when the sun scorches it. Some people initially respond positively to God’s Word and start to follow Jesus. But when the cost of discipleship becomes too heavy, they quickly fall away (v. 17).

Still other seed falls among thorns. The soil’s good so the seed germinates and even begins to put out roots. But the thorns eventually choke off the seedlings’ sunlight so they can’t thrive. They too die. That’s like the people who respond positively to God’s Word until their own agendas crowd out any further useful living for God.

We might give up—three strikes and we’re out. Not so in God’s kingdom. Some of the seed falls into good soil, where it germinates, takes root, matures, and produces a rich harvest. In Jesus’ day a bumper crop would multiply the seed by a factor of eight. You could eat seven times what you planted and still save enough seed for next year’s crop. In God’s kingdom the Word yields even better results: “Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown” (v. 20).

So Jesus teaches us to keep sharing God’s Word with others. Like him, we’ll encounter many obstacles. Some won’t stop to listen. Others will let the good news go in one ear and out the other. But some will catch on. They make it all worth it. Not even the lynch mob that took Jesus to the cross kept him from getting the Word out. The one sower grew to eleven. From eleven sowers it went to three thousand (Acts 2:41). From there the numbers have steadily climbed into the billions. Have you received the seed of God's word in your life? How is that seed growing in you so that you will share more seeds with others?