4:13
Jesus is shocked that they do not understand. We were created in the image of God, created to be able to communicate with God and understand Him. However, sin, our rebellion, renders our thinking futile and hearts darkened (Rom 1:21), we need the Holy Spirit to enlighten our hearts and minds. Jesus also seems to imply that this parable was one of the simpler ones to understand! So why didn’t they understand it, apart from the general issue of darkened hearts that are common to all men? Maybe it is because they wondered why on earth the farmer would bother sowing seed on such unsuitable places, why not just focus on the good soil? There are at least two answers to this. One is that God does spread His good gifts far and wide. It is not that people do not have the chance to believe, but that they refuse to believe. The second is that while in farming terms we may be able to differentiate good soil from bad soil, in spiritual terms we cannot predict who will come to faith.
4:14,15
Anyway, Jesus proceeds to explain the parable to His thick disciples! “The farmer sows the seed”. God spreads His word about liberally. Jesus then explains the responses of various groups of people. Some people never really respond at all, as soon as they hear the word satan comes and takes it away. In practical terms there are a multitude of reasons why this could be so. Some will have bitterness in their heart, maybe bitterness against the church, sometimes justifiable, somes not. Others will puffed up with their own “cleverness”, and there are many other possible reasons.
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