Matthew 13 is an interesting chapter in the Bible. It is filled with several different parables where Jesus teaches through stories. Perhaps the most famous is the parable of the sower. Let’s look at it together today.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

I have always been fascinated by the way Jesus teaches. Sometimes He is very straightforward and others He almost seems to hide the message. In this case He comes back around and explains the parable later in the chapter but to me the real message is not the response to to the scattered seed, but rather, the work of the sower. Our job is to scatter the seed. We are told to spread the message of the gospel wherever we go in life. Told to share the love of Jesus with the world. Our job or responsibility is not the response of others. In fact our “success” in our job is not others response. We are simple told to share the message. The results are up to God. This sort of takes the pressure off of us in our role. We want to be faithful and share the message in the best way that we can but the Bible is clear that if we don’t share the message even the rocks will cry out. I think we can all do a better job than a rock! (although if a rock spoke I certainly would listen). Today be encouraged to share the love of Jesus with others and know that He is responsible for the results.