Poetry

THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER

by GLENN PEASE
03/18/22
Free to Share

  Message Writer
  Hire Writer

Tweet

Based on Matthew 13:1-8, 18-23

Jesus sat upon the shore,

And told more stories than ever before.

The crowd was great, so he got in the boat,

And parables galore from his mouth did float.

A farmer went out to sow his seed,

And much of it on a hard path fell.

He did not let that his sowing interrupt,

But soon the birds came and ate the seed up.

He continued, and seed fell on rocky places

Where soil was present only in traces.

The seed sprang up quickly in the shallow soil,

But the scorching hot sun brought the plants to a boil.

Survival would be possible had the soil been a foot,

But instead it was shallow, so the seed could not root.

Still other seed fell among thorns that grew,

And choked the plants out when they were new. 

Finally, the seed fell on very good soil,

And none of the other problems could its progress foil.

It thrives and overcomes all the trials and pests,

And brings forth abundance in the day of harvest.

Jesus tells then what this parable means,

By interpreting for us each of the scenes.

First is the good news coming to the hard hearted man,

He hears it with his ears, but his mind does not understand.

Then the evil one jumps in and plays his wicked part

By snatching away what was sown in his heart.

Next is the seed that is falling on rocky ground.

People here the good news and fall in love with the sound.

But their joy does not last due to their having no root,

And when trouble comes upon them, they give it the boot.

They might be happy as a lark for some hours, or a day,

But when they see there is a cost, they quickly fall away.

Then comes the seed falling on the thorn infested soil.

It starts to grow, but the worries of life make the man recoil.

He backs away and puts his faith on the shelf,

For it interferes with his drive to obtain greater wealth.

Finally there is the seed that falls just where it should,

On the soil that is furrowed, and prepared to be good.

This seed produces a most wonderful crop,

And makes one wonder when it will stop.

First it yields thirty, then sixty, and even a hundred fold.

To reach any of these levels, we for Christ must be bold.