Matthew 13:19, commentary and pictures

The verse belongs to the parable of the sower, which uses familiar field work to show how gospel truth is sown to bring hearts back to loyalty to God, with different soils showing different tendencies of the human heart. The seed is the word of the kingdom, and the wayside hearer is one who hears it but does not understand it, so hearing alone does not make truth take root. That heart is hard and unreceptive like a beaten road, made inattentive by worldly concerns, pleasures, business cares and sin, so that the hearer does not see the message applies personally or grasp its worth. Then the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown, blinding the mind and diverting attention by worldly cares, criticism, doubt, distracting questions and misinterpretation, lest plain truth take root and make wise unto salvation. This loss is the hearer's fault, yet the wayside condition need not remain, for by choice, cooperation with God and deep repentance the heart can be broken up and prepared, and by meditating with earnest attention and prayerful thought the word can be fastened in the mind and cherished in the heart so it is not wrenched away.

Parable Setting and Symbols

Matthew 13:19 belongs to the parable of the sower, which illustrates the kingdom of heaven and the sowing of gospel truth to bring people back to loyalty to God. The parable uses familiar field work and the daily experience of sowing and reaping to make the things of the kingdom plain, and the laws governing natural sowing apply also to the sowing of truth. Its different soils show the different tendencies of the human heart and the kinds of people taught, and it applies to people of every class. The growth of the seed reveals God's unseen work on humanity's behalf, where human skill and effort have a part but seed and soil depend on divine power.

The seed is the word of the kingdom, heavenly truth and gospel words of life sown in the hearts of hearers. The heart is soil or a garden where it is sown, and where the soil was not prepared the seed does not spring up to bear fruit. Sower and seed are the same in every case, but the result depends on the hearer. Wayside, stony-ground, thorny-ground, and good-ground hearers respond differently, with wayside hearers as one class among those who receive the truth alongside the others in the church.

The wayside hearer is one who hears the word of the kingdom but does not understand it, and then the wicked one comes and catches away what was sown in the heart. Hearing the truth without receiving it leaves it vulnerable to loss, and hearing or reading alone is not enough to benefit, for hearing alone does not make truth take root. A person's reception or rejection of the message bears on eternal destiny and matters more than judging whether Christ's work meets expectations. This applies to young people who hear truth without opposing it and call it true, yet do not examine it for themselves or think seriously about the soul and Jesus' love, depending on another's decision with only passing thoughts about eternal interests easily destroyed by foolish companions' jesting. Christ's parables and lessons in Matthew 13 are essential teachings to study and carry into ministry, and the verse warns that the enemy's deceptive allure works against receiving Christ's teaching.

The parable helps explain why Christ's ministry had meager immediate results. People were free to accept or reject Him and were not compelled to believe or obey, and overcoming sin required uniting human effort with divine power. Some seed brings no fruit, and hearers who reject its light are condemned by that rejection. Yet the sower does not stop sowing because some seed falls on poor soil, and the word is still to be proclaimed everywhere and carried widely even when results are not immediately seen.

Wayside Heart Described

The wayside heart is hard and unreceptive like a hard beaten road, made inattentive by the traffic of worldly concerns, pleasures, selfish aims, business cares, and sin. Sin paralyzes the spiritual faculties, so the hearer does not see that the message applies personally, does not recognize need or danger, and does not perceive Christ's love. The hearer fails to grasp the sacredness and worth of truth, and the message of grace seems unrelated to life. Hearts made hard by worldly possessions and business cares shut out the heavenly message and leave no room for it to take root.

This hardness grows from neglected moral powers and unchanged natural and cultivated tendencies to wrong. Evil habits harden the heart as the hearer follows inclination rather than duty, remains in corrupting company and exposure to temptation, and finally loses regard for truth once sown. Pride and independence close the heart to the blessed influence of God's Spirit and make it as hard and unresponsive as a beaten highway. The mind becomes preoccupied and blocked when other things occupy it and the words of life are forgotten, so that earthly cares, riches, attractions, and pleasures displace truth, silence the convictions of the Spirit, and let Christ's loveliness fade. An untrained mind left like an uncultivated field must be cultivated and guarded with unceasing care and sowing of Bible truth, with children taught to reject trashy exciting tales and turn to sensible reading that throws light on Scripture and quickens desire to study it, lest evil spring up to bear evil fruit.

Young hearers illustrate this condition when they hear truth without opposing it and call it true, yet do not examine it for themselves or think seriously about the soul and Jesus' love. Depending on another's decision, they have only passing thoughts about eternal interests, easily destroyed by foolish companions' jesting remarks.

The scribes and Pharisees, the leaders of Israel, are those who received seed by the wayside, having turned from the fountain of true knowledge and refused to be instructed or to join in sowing. They studied Scripture only to sustain tradition and enforce man-made observances, making it express what God never gave, making indistinct what God made plain, and disputing technicalities while practically denying the most essential truths, so the word was robbed of its power in them. With cherished superiority and self-exalting hardened hearts, their harsh words of reproof and condemnation crush hope and courage, while evil thoughts and suspicion of the purest defile many. Their hearts became hopeless, profitless soil where heavenly truth cannot take root.

In the churches this condition appears in those who hear truth but do not receive it, having no root and not constantly following Christian principles. They continually lose former interest and return to sinful practices while keeping a profession, do not go from grace to grace, become for a time neither cold nor hot, and finally grow hardened to all good impressions, careless, worldly, and inattentive. Some worldly hearers with hardened, unresponsive hearts are convinced and resolve to live holy lives, but Satan's evil suggestions overcome them before truth takes root, and long-standing habits and love of world, pride, and greed make good resolutions vanish when temptation comes unless deep repentance exposes and puts away those sins and prepares the heart. Hearing alone does not make truth take root, for when the word of the kingdom is not understood the wicked one takes it from the heart like birds devouring seed on the wayside, and the first impression and desire quickly disappear when worldly surroundings, cares, and temptations draw the hearer back into indifference.

Enemy Steals the Word

The wicked one is ever at work to pervert what God has spoken, to blind the mind and darken the understanding, and thus to lead into sin by catching away the mind and diverting the affections from the Lord's promises and requirements. He watches to snatch away every impression of plainly revealed truth that would make hearers wise unto salvation, and he opposes the gospel even in assemblies where it is preached, seeking to make the word ineffective before it can awaken the careless or take root in the heart. Because he is so ready to catch away what was sown, greater diligence is needed to fix God's words in the mind and impress them upon the heart, for God has made His requirements explicit and very plain so that none need err. This catching away of the seeds of truth belongs to the controversy continued since the fall, which explains the warfare in which God's people are engaged and the delay in proclaiming the gospel to every nation and entering the promised land. Since he seeks to snatch away the teaching of the cross, it must be taught to every student over and over again and kept held up as the foundation of all true education.

He diverts attention through worldly concerns, criticism, doubt, and unbelief, so that an inattentive, hardened heart does not recognize the personal application, need, danger, or love of Christ in the message. Fixing upon a speaker's language or manner can keep a hearer from receiving the truth needed by the soul. Right after the truth is heard questions arise in the mind, and Satan watches for opportunity to lead to doubt through suggestions and insinuations that take away the words of life before they can bear fruit in unprepared hearts. He sends chosen agencies to misstate the words of the messenger, and evil angels in the form of men mingle with hearers to hinder the word by criticizing, misapplying, misinterpreting, and misconstruing what is spoken, so the words lose their force and hearts are not moved. False teachings and old errors also confuse hearers and bury the truth again, which is why repeating the important points helps keep them clear.

He takes possession not by force but when one hears the word of the kingdom without understanding it while spiritually sleeping, when not constantly led by and fed by the Spirit. In that condition he catches away the good seed sown in the heart, links the human mind with his own, imbues it with his thoughts and his spirit, and leads men and women to do his works at his will without their knowing they are being led by him. When the tempted one opens the mind to evil agencies and yields to the tempter, Satan turns the truth of God into a lie. Then the one who was convicted loses the blessed influence that if cherished would have meant eternal life to him, and the heart becomes hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. A partial, halfhearted welcome leaves truth vulnerable, for competing seed is sown and the resulting thorns choke and destroy the good seed, whereas receiving Christ's words in faith allows the word to take root and bear fruit.

Professed believers help this removal when they ridicule or criticize preaching, gossip about messengers and members, speak sarcastically about the message, or treat it lightly, making God's word seem unworthy of respect. Such conduct leaves the seed exposed with no place to take root, hardened by sin and crowded by worldly concerns, pleasures, and selfish aims before it can awaken the heart. A parent's example of treating God's word lightly hardens children's hearts in the home, leaving them uninterested in the gospel and ready to doubt the Bible. When children hear criticism and lightness toward sacred things they learn to treat Scripture the same way, so the seed of truth cannot take root and is open to being taken away.

Prophetic Warning Unheeded Truth

The verse means that Satan watches to catch away every impression of plainly revealed truth that would make people wise unto salvation when they hear without understanding it. The disciples illustrate this, for because they looked for temporal deliverance from Rome they did not understand or remember Christ's plain foretelling of His death and resurrection. When He died they were left unprepared and hopeless and their hopes were shattered.

In the same way multitudes have no understanding of the plainly revealed prophecies of the close of probation and the work of preparation for the time of trouble. Satan catches the impression away from them, so revealed truth fails to prepare them. They will be unready when the time of trouble comes.

The chapter to which the verse belongs is a chapter of warnings calling for careful attention and heed, to be read as for life and taken personally with self-examination. It warns not to be blinded by human sophistries and not to accept mocking burlesque of sacred things and attacks on the Holy Spirit, which is blasphemy. Christ in this teaching looks to the future destiny of those for whom He gave His life, showing that those who are saved must form characters without fault in the sight of a pure and holy God.

The call to take heed how to hear applies especially to men in responsible places as professed guardians of sacred trusts who hear the living oracles daily. They must try to hear what God says and to understand His words and His works and give entrance to them, or they become surface hearers who gather up the chaff and pass by precious treasure as of no consequence. Every disparaging expression toward the light given, in spirit, in words, or in actions, is a seed sown to spring up and bear its fruit, while hearts grow hard as adamant. By sustaining men they know are not spiritual men and by failing to be true to God and to the light graciously given, they betray the work and cause of God and become responsible for the evil that largely results from their apparent sanction.

Receiving Word Fruitfully

When the word fails to take root the fault lies with the hearer, for resisting the Spirit leaves a person inattentive and neglectful and hardens the heart, yet the wayside, stony-ground, and thorny-ground conditions need not remain permanent. Through power of choice and cooperation with God, through deep repentance and earnest effort in Jesus' strength, the heart can be prepared to receive the word instead of remaining hard and inattentive. Hardened soil pictures an unprepared heart that must be broken up and subdued and awakened to the danger of sin, so that conviction stirs the sleeper secure in wrongdoing to seek salvation and the Spirit breaks worldly absorption to awaken desire for eternal treasure. As soil overgrown with thorns is reclaimed only by diligent labor, so evil tendencies are overcome only by earnest effort in Christ's name and strength, the garden of the heart cultivated with persevering preparation, its soil broken up by repentance, refined and disciplined by the Spirit, and its evil growths that choke the good grain uprooted. Having children themselves prepare soil and sow seed teaches this preparation of the heart in a practical way.

Hearing or reading alone does not bring benefit, for the hearer must meditate on truth with earnest attention and prayerful thought, learn its meaning, and drink deeply of its spirit, or the sown word will be taken away. The word of the kingdom as seed in the heart must be understood point by point and fastened in the mind by short sermons, plain teaching, Bible readings, fastening points and texts, and answering questions in the plainest manner, so that it springs up and bears fruit for eternity, whereas long sermons leave only a few points that lose force and leave the seed to be choked and caught away. Truth must be cherished in the heart and held in God's strength with spiritual eyesight and earnest prayer to discern and remember what is presented, or the powers of Satan will wrench it away from those who hear without understanding. Neglect to exercise and develop the mind leaves it vulnerable to ignorance, while a self-reliant yet teachable spirit that follows divine counsel gives strength to walk securely and be faithful to duty instead of trusting one's own resources, wisdom, and strength to confusion.

The heart as soil must be cultivated from the earliest years and occupied with seeds of truth, because the mind in early life is impressible and good seed sown in good soil can then bear fruit unto eternal life. Preparing that soil means cultivating children's minds and forming their habits so they can receive the word, casting out selfish purposes and letting genuine faith work through love to purify the soul for continual growth and a harvest for God. For this the human heart must be worked upon, refined, and disciplined by the Spirit before it can bear fruit to God's glory, its garden broken up by repentance and its evil growths uprooted through diligent labor in Christ's strength. Having children prepare the soil and sow seed teaches them this inward preparation practically.

In contrast to wayside loss, good-ground hearers keep the word so that it cannot be caught away, keeping it by meditation, prayerful attention, and drinking deeply of its spirit. Some hearers grasp its meaning only dimly, yet seeds of life are lodged in their hearts that later spring up and bear fruit. Where the gospel seed finds lodgment, hearts that receive the words grow in reverence and awe into perfect faith in Jesus as the world's Redeemer.

Sowing and Guarding Seed

The sower is to sow with care and anxiety and self-denial, with the mind of Christ and a life of continued sacrifice for the good of others without becoming weary in well-doing, trusting God to quicken the seed to life. Growth and fruit are not always immediately visible, for a heart may remain cold, worldly, and selfish for a time, yet the Spirit can work upon it and the seed can later spring up and bear fruit to God's glory, the outcome being God's to determine while the servant sows faithfully and leaves results with Him. Precious seed may lie dormant until grace convicts the heart and awakens it, as with Nicodemus who heard and pondered and watched for three years with little apparent fruit and without publicly acknowledging Jesus though not His enemy, until the raising of Lazarus became decisive evidence of Messiahship to him. So the clear and pointed words spoken in the temple that cut hearers to the heart stayed in attentive listeners and sprang up after the crucifixion and resurrection to save many souls and be repeated for future generations to the close of time, and lessons of divine truth linger in memory when the work has been wrought in God, watered by the Holy Spirit often springing up after many days to bear fruit.

Truth heard at public meetings and from the pulpit can be lost unless firmly impressed on minds and hearts, for Satan can snatch away the Word while life's cares and riches choke it, and new attractive scenes may draw the mind from unpopular truth that calls for self-denial. Preaching alone may therefore lose its good effect unless followed by personal effort, by visiting and praying with individuals and by attentive, tender care so the message is not lost before it takes root. Workers must cultivate the soil by personal contact, watching for the interested, speaking privately after the service to ask how the subject appears and whether it is clear, showing kind courteous interest, and making direct appeals to come to Christ that soften hearts, sweep prejudice, and bring conversion. The soil must be prepared and the seed planted and fastened point by point by short sermons, plain teaching, Bible readings, fastening points and texts in the mind, answering questions plainly, and repeating important points, since long sermons leave only a few points that lose force and then other things choke the seed and the wicked one catches it away, while false teachings and old errors confuse and bury truth again. After camp-meetings and new teachings, determined opposition from ministers, friends, and acquaintances may try to remove truth not understood or firmly received, so continued meetings and follow-up keep the seed from being lost or withering for lack of care.

Whenever truth is presented the devil and his angels are there to catch away the seeds, and Jesus Christ and angels of God are also there, so truth must be given with direct application and appeals pressing it home upon the heart for decision, and he who impresses it is a colaborer with Christ. Christ presented truth in parables as the only way He could rebuke sin without causing personal offense, yet Satan linked with religionists and evil angels in the form of men mingled with hearers to hinder by suggestions, insinuations, criticizing, misapplying, misinterpreting and misconstruing, so words lost force and hearts were not moved, and the same opposing work then continues now among those who know the truth when God's messengers speak. Hearing without understanding leaves the word vulnerable, but seed may bear fruit when Christ is presented as Saviour and His redeeming love proclaimed, and leaving out the cross can mean a lost opportunity to win hearers. The seed is the teaching of the cross of Christ and, because Satan is ever watching to snatch it, it must be taught to every student over and over and held up as foundation of all true education. This catching away belongs to the controversy between Christ and Satan continued since the fall, explaining the warfare of God's people and the delay in proclaiming the gospel to every nation, kindred, tongue, and people and entering the promised land.

The wayside heart is hard and unreceptive, yet personal Christlike ministry can soften it so seed takes root, and sowers should prepare people to receive it so it is not lost by shallow response or choked by thorns. A heart hard as a beaten highway may not receive seed at first, but personal ministry revealing Christ's love and teachings can soften it until truth takes root. The way is prepared when prejudice is weakened and people made more receptive, for the word is seed sown in the heart that can be lost when not understood. When a patient's pain is relieved and the heart is softened and subdued, a Christian physician or nurse can gently sow truth, share God's promises, and direct to Jesus the Great Physician who heals the sin-sick soul.

Parents bear the life duty of preparing children's soil and scattering truth as seed, not trusting it to other hands nor neglecting it for house beautifying or fashion, but making God's word the standard. The heart is soil to be occupied with seeds of truth from earliest years, and careless neglect leaves children without early planting and makes parents accountable for stewardship. Mothers must make this education the highest aim, keeping little ones close in early years, living simply to have time to make them happy and lead them to cheerful willing obedience, cultivating minds and forming habits, with faithful undiscouraged labor reaping usefulness and Christian men and women, for sowing living seed means teaching children so they may come to Christ and good fruit comes from seed in prepared soil taking root as lasting goodness. The untrained mind is like an uncultivated field needing unceasing care and guarding, for the enemy sows evil in children and youth that springs to evil fruit unless watched, so the mind must be sown with precious Bible truth and children taught to reject trashy exciting tales and turn to sensible reading that interests in Bible story, history, and argument, throws light on Scripture, and quickens desire to study it. Teaching to children and youth is seed growing to harvest, while books of science and philosophy where thorns of skepticism are only partially concealed, vague fanciful fairy stories, and Scripture works woven with human fanciful interpretations plant bad seed growing to infidelity seen in human depravity, and loving instruction sows good seed leaving no room for bad.

Christ's teachings are heavenly seed sown in minds and hearts, to be cultivated by disciples and gathered as precious treasure by those desiring light and knowledge. The seed is precious truth gathered and presented as a complete system under the Holy Spirit's guidance, with truth once mixed with error restored to its proper place. The parable makes kingdom things plain through daily sowing and reaping, showing God's unseen work where human skill and effort have part but seed and soil depend on divine power. The image calls believers to share truth earnestly rather than let indifference leave it undone, using the gift of speech to sow seeds in many hearts. The word must be presented with great care in dignified godlike manner giving character to its heavenly birth, carrying minds guardedly, dwelling on practical godliness woven into doctrine, gaining acquaintance and confidence, using publications, papers and pamphlets to prepare minds of the reading class, with humility and teachableness, so work begun and carried on wisely succeeds.