06.06.2023
IBC Admin
“The sower sows the word. And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.”
Mark 4:14-15
Basic Agriculture 101 tells us that any seed thrown alongside a path or on top of soil that is loosened by a plow cannot receive the seed. In this parable, Jesus is teaching that the word of God is like the seed that a farmer plants, some of which falls to the side. The tragedy here is when the word of God is preached it is not received.
The intent of a farmer who is sowing seed is that the seed’s destination would be soil that has been prepared, ready to take it in. Once the seed falls on good soil, it is ready to grow and ultimately bear fruit. This was common knowledge to those who were listening to Jesus, 93% of whom were farmers and part of a largely agrarian culture.
We see also in this verse that the devil has deluded those with a hard heart. The devil’s work is to convince man that somehow that the Word of God has no value. The devil works to take away the Word from a person's life. His goal is to keep us away from God.
The Apostle Paul in his second letter to the Corinthians reminded us this way, “if the gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. For the God of this age (that is the devil) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (II Cor 4:3-4)
When commenting on the devil’s first work with man in the garden of Eden, John Macarthur wrote this in his book, The Battle from the Beginning: “Satan’s first work was to convince man that God’s word does not have ultimate value…. In fact, the devil was telling Eve, in the garden, that God is a liar. He has deceived you, taken your freedom, and restricted your joy. Satan's lie is still the same today: You can be free. Do whatever you want. It is your life. There are no divine laws; no absolute authority; and above all, no judgment. You will surely not die."
Mark 4:15 tells us that the result of a hardened heart is that a person ultimately remains unsaved and loses the one opportunity to have a relationship with God and eternal life. What a tragic commentary on the heart of man. The one thing that comes along in a person's life, is more important than any other thing, and that person walks away because of pride and an unwillingness to receive what is preached.