Mark 4:14

The sower soweth the word.

The sower soweth the word - or, as in Luke (Luke 8:11), "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God." But who is "the sower?" This is not expressed here, because if "the word of God" be the seed, every scatterer of that precious seed must be regarded as a sower. It is true that in the parable of the Tares it is said, "He that soweth the good seed is the Son of Man," as "He that soweth the tares is the devil" (Matthew 13:37). But thee are only the great unseen parties, struggling in this world for the possession of man. Each of these has his agents the among men themselves; and Christ's agents in the sowing of the good seed are the preachers of the word. Thus, as in all the cases about to be described, the Sower is the same, and the seed is the same, while the result is entirely different, the whole difference must lie in the soils, which mean the different states of the human heart. And so, the great general lesson held forth in this parable of the Sower is, That however faithful the preacher, and however pure his message, the effect of the preaching of the word depends upon the state of the hearer's heart. Now follow the cases.

FIRST CASE: THE WAY-SIDE

In Mark 4:4. it reads: "And it came to pass, as he sowed, some fell by the way-side" - by the side of the hard loath through the field, where the soil was not broken up.

And the fowls [of the air] came and devoured it up, [ tou (G3588) ouranou (G3772) is wanting in support]. Not only could the seed not get beneath the surface, but "it was trodden down" (Luke 8:5), and afterward picked up and devoured by the fowls. What means this?