Matthew 13:23

And he that was sown upon the good ground, this is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; who verily beareth fruit, some a hundred fold, some sixty, some thirty.

In this part of the analogy, the good ground stands for the fruit-bearing hearer of God's word; but why the varying degrees of yield? Christ's repetition of this in the explanation shows that it has spiritual significance. Anyone familiar with the causes of various productivity in the agricultural industry cannot fail to be aware of the answer. Such things as preparation of the soil, cultivation, protection from enemies, the rains and the weather, and promptness in harvesting - all these things, and others, enter into the yield of a given crop. By analogy, Christians who have been properly cultivated by home training and education, who are protected from spiritual enemies by wise choice of friends and companions, who begin to serve the Lord early in life, and who are blessed with favorable opportunities for teaching and influence of others, may well reap a more bountiful harvest than others who had not such advantages.[2]

Since this is the first parable explained in the New Testament, it is appropriate to note that in this single parable Christ pointed out the following comparisons:

The seed is the word of God.

The wayside soil is the hardened hearer.

The shallow soil is the unstable hearer.

The thorny ground is the hearer who permits other things to choke out the word.

The good ground is the faithful hearer who bears fruit.

The birds of the air are the evil one.

The sun's heat is tribulation and persecution.

The thorns are the cares, riches, and pleasures of life.

The various multiples of yield are the variable fruitfulness of hearers.

The sudden sprouting of seed on shallow soil stands for the ease with which unstable souls are converted.

The sower stands for God.

In view of the above, it is futile to talk of "one parable, one point." Yet it is plain that one might go too far and make deductions unwarranted by a parable. This would always be the case where inert or unstressed incidentals should be made to convey a message where none was indicated. For example, no reference is made to the bag out of which the sower took the seed; therefore, it would not be correct to make some lesson to hinge on that. On the other hand, it is perfectly clear that each one of the Lord's parables was a genuine work of art from the mind of the Master Teacher, and that everything stressed in a parable is worthy of careful attention and study.