Walking the Parable of the Sower: Rocky Ground
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My family and I used to live in a home surrounded by pine trees. It always made us nervous in storms when the wind would blow, because although pine trees are massively tall, they also have very shallow roots. Their roots can grow outwardly very far to anchor them, however an unsteady roots system can cause a major problem with these large trees. Roots are key to the health and success of a plant or tree.
As we approach week two of the parable of the sower, we are going to explore some root issues of the heart that can be found in rocky ground with shallow soil. Let’s dive in.
Overview of the Parable
As a reminder, there are four types of soil found in this parable:
1. Along the Path
2. Rocky Ground
3. Among the Thorns
4. Good Soil
Lisa Loraine Baker, in her article, explains the meaning of each of these:
The Sower – Jesus Christ
The Seeds – The Gospel of the kingdom, the Word of God
The Bird – The evil one
The Soil – Our hearts and minds, we who are presented with the Gospel of God's Kingdom.
How Jesus Explains This Parable
“Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root” (Matthew 13:5-6).
What do we notice here? We can observe that the seed (the Word) fell on rocky places with shallow soil (a person’s heart that is excited but not serious about the gospel). The sun (the trials and hardships of life) come and destroy the growth because there were no roots (depth, authentic connection with Jesus).
“So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. Then you, being rooted and grounded in love…” (Ephesians 3:17).
When Christ dwells in our hearts, we are rooted and grounded in His love. So what happened to the person who does not have those deep roots?
No Perseverance
“The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away” (Matthew 13:20-21).
Jesus takes the time to break down the meaning of the rocky soil. He explains that people can hear the gospel and receive it with what seems to be joy. However, they have no depth and trust in the true gospel and in Jesus. This might be the person who seems zealous about Jesus, but may not fully understand what He calls us into.
I think of a fair weather fan in sports season. “Oh I love that team, they are my team!” But suddenly when that team begins to go through a hard time and lose, you hear “That team was never my favorite anyway. I like this other team better.”
Real Life Examples
I looked up information on heat stress when gardening. Oregon State University shares, “Shallowly rooted plants will dry out more quickly and will wilt faster.” I have seen this in my own planter boxes this summer; the flowers are only able to root so deeply and they often get stressed on these hot summer days. If they were in the ground, they would have much deeper roots and would be able to absorb more water to prevent damage from the hot summer sun.
Have you ever met anyone who is very excited about Jesus when they first hear about Him, but then the “heat” of life comes and they cannot handle the cost of following the Lord? This is what Jesus was talking about. The “seed” of the gospel that is received by someone with a “rocky soil heart” is shallow.
When people get excited about the concept of the gospel and Jesus but never truly surrender to Him as Savior and Lord over their lives, they will quickly deny or leave Him when times are tough. In other words, they want the meal but do not want to make it. They want to be fit, but do not want to exercise or eat right. We can be tempted to want to receive the benefits and rewards of being followers of Christ and neglect the hardships and the refinement. When we do this, we miss our part of picking up our cross and following Jesus.
Shallow Religion or Genuine Relationship?
What is an example of someone who has rocky soil in their heart? I think of someone believing with a prosperity-gospel mentality. When someone hears about Jesus and loves the idea of Him, but doesn’t accept that He has said, “in this world we will have trouble” (John 16:33), this person will walk away from the Jesus they said they followed. The question that we could ask is, was their view of Jesus really who Jesus is? Matthew 7:15-23 talks about how we know if someone belongs to Jesus by the “fruit” of their lives. Someone who is in rocky soil and withers does not produce fruit. This can cause us to ask the very valid question, was this person ever actually a believer?
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’" (Matthew 7:21-23).
The Pharisees believed that they were following God, but they really were not, God (in the flesh) was right in front of them and they missed Him. This is not to say if you or another believer has wrestled with Him through trials, questioned Him, or even rebelled against Him and returned that you were not genuine in your belief. Salvation is secure.
“My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one" (John 10:27-29).
Last week as we read about the message of the gospel – “the seed” – being snatched along the path, this reminds us that if someone is truly a child of God, this person cannot be removed from Him. We have confidence. However, As Matthew 7 above shares, some people say that they have Jesus or even claim to do things in His name, but they are not really His children. This is what I imagine from the rocky soil – “shallow religion” versus genuine relationship.
Honestly, I fear this is a huge issue in the American church today. When the church decides that their main goal is to attract as many people as possible with the brightest lights, biggest stages and rarely open a Bible in a sermon message, we should be concerned about the rocky soil mentality. This can lead us to take action and have compassion to share the true gospel of Christ. We must be brave and share the truth that we will pick up our crosses to follow Jesus in a variety of ways, but we can have hope because His Spirit is with us always.
The Gospel on Rocky Ground
As we share the gospel of Jesus with others, they may appear zealous at first about what we are sharing. This is great! It can be really exciting to walk alongside someone who is hearing the good news of Christ. However, let us always be careful to paint a real picture of what it looks like to truly follow Jesus. He tells us we will have trials, be in spiritual warfare and need His armor, that we will be pressed, persecuted, and abandoned, but the good news is that we have a greater victory awaiting us in heaven. We also have the power of the Holy Spirit to give us strength every day and live life with fullness of joy.
More in this series
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Along the Path
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Among the Thorns
Walking the Parable of the Sower: Good Soil
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/sankai
