April 3
(Luke 8:4-8 NIV) ““While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, he told this parable: {5} "A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the air ate it up. {6} Some fell on rock, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. {7} Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. {8} Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown." When he said this, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””
(Genesis 26:12-14 NIV) “Isaac planted crops in that land and the same year reaped a hundredfold, because the Lord blessed him. {13} The man became rich, and his wealth continued to grow until he became very wealthy. {14} He had so many flocks and herds and servants that the Philistines envied him.”
“The Parable of the Sower” is actually a parable about soil: good and bad. The planting method was “broadcasting”-- the sower walked back and forth, scattering seed from side to side by hand. Seed cast on the hard path had little chance of even sprouting. Seed cast on the rocky soil might sprout, but would die because it couldn’t send down roots. Seed cast among thorns could grow, but would be choked out before it could produce a crop. Seed cast upon the good soil sent its roots deep and produced a bumper crop. Yields were normally ten-fold -- a bushel of seed would produce about ten bushels of grain. The hundredfold yield spoken of by Jesus was only dreamed about in that day, and would have taken a divine touch. Jesus wanted his hearers to know that producing a crop took more than just good soil and a skilled sower -- it took help from God. Spiritually, the same is true today. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day