13:23Matthew 13:23

The good ground is the hearer who takes in the word, understands it, and produces a harvest, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.ST Jun 30, 1881+2 Receiving the seed is welcoming Christ's words into the heart in faith, keeping them with patience in an honest and good heart that faces sin, confesses need, and seeks truth in order to obey it.Ms 85, 1894, par. 15–17+1 Hearing alone is not enough; the word must be thought and prayed over, given entrance into mind and heart, and acted upon until each lesson bears fruit unto eternal life.ST Feb 2, 1915+2 That fruit is a transformed life by Christ's grace, seen in character, speech, and conduct, in meekness and lowliness, righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and in work that leads others to Jesus.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27+2 The soil is made ready when the heart is broken up by repentance and conviction, cleared of evil growths by earnest effort in Christ's strength, and softened and disciplined by the Spirit, so that even thorn-overgrown ground can be reclaimed to God's glory.COL 56.1–2+2

Jesus gave this lesson while teaching from a boat by the Sea of Galilee, using the sowers and fields in view to make the parable memorable, and the good-ground hearer is the one who receives the word and understands it and as a result bears fruit in varying amount, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.ST Jun 30, 1881 The parable illustrates the kingdom of heaven and God's work for His people, with the seed representing gospel truth whose sowing brings people back to loyalty to God, and the laws governing the growth of natural seed also govern the sowing of truth.COL 33.1 Sowing, cultivating, and gathering a harvest illustrate the parable, revealing God's continuing work in nature and making plain the things of the kingdom, where human care and skill have a part but seed and soil depend on God's power for growth and fruitfulness.6T 185.1–2

The parable sets out the different tendencies of the human heart and the classes of hearers of present truth, explaining why Christ's ministry had limited immediate results, since people are free to accept or reject Him and must unite their effort with divine power to overcome sin.2SP 241.1–2+1 Preaching brings different responses, including hearts that lose truth through neglected moral duty, shallow faith that fails under trial, and worldly cares and riches.TCBMP 140.1–142.1 Wayside, stony-ground, and thorny-ground responses do not mature into Christian character, in contrast to good-ground hearers who hear and understand the word, bear fruit, and produce in differing amounts, and premature separation can harm those who might have been nourished and established in the truth.3T 114.1

In the parable the sower and the seed are the same in every case, while the soil determines the result, so differing results depend on the hearers' response.ST Feb 2, 1915+1 The good-ground hearer listens to God's word, understands it, and bears fruit in differing measure, and people are responsible for resisting the Spirit and for allowing hardness and competing evil growths to hinder the word.ST Feb 2, 1915+1 Hearts can be prepared by choosing to cooperate with God in cultivating the heart, through deep repentance, uprooting evil tendencies, and earnest effort in Jesus' strength so the word can take root and develop.COL 56.1–2 The chapter to which the verse belongs reveals two opposing working forces and calls for close study of Christ's teaching, and it serves as a warning that calls for careful self-examination in view of judgment.Lt 317a, 1905, par. 6–8+1

The seed is the word of the kingdom, the gospel words of life sown in the hearts of hearers, and Christ's teachings in word and example which His disciples were to cultivate as precious heavenly treasure by those desiring light and knowledge.RH Jul 2, 1908+1 It is truth unfolding the depths of divine love, scattered for ages upon the Jews through prophets and people, even from the pillar of cloud and fire by Jesus as the divine Sower and author of truth.ST Dec 11, 1893 It cannot be seen until gathered by skillful labor under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and presented as a complete system of truth, for truth given had become mingled with error, marred and lost from its setting, so it must be separated from heresy and evil and readjusted in the framework of the gospel to shine in its original luster and illuminate the moral darkness of the world.ST Dec 11, 1893 Wherever Jesus found such a gem of truth He reset it and stamped it with the signature of Jehovah, proving Himself to be the word and wisdom of God, while where soil is unprepared the seed does not spring up to bear fruit and hearts are not moved because opposing influences criticize, misapply, misinterpret, and misconstrue the words so they lose force, which is why truth was presented in parables as the way to rebuke sin without causing personal offense.Lt 140, 1903, par. 11–13+1

Christ as the great Teacher sowed the world with seeds of truth to win minds from earthly things to heavenly things, and seed received brings forth fruit that restores the moral image of God in the soul.CT 438.3–4 The scribes and Pharisees and leaders of Israel refused to receive the seed, turning from the fountain of true knowledge to study the Scriptures only to sustain tradition and enforce man-made observances.CT 438.3–4 They made indistinct what God made plain by mystical construction and dispute over technicalities, denying essential truth and robbing God's word of its power so evil could work its will.CT 438.3–4

The good ground is the person who hears the word of the kingdom and understands it, and then bears fruit continually to the glory of God, some a hundredfold, some sixty and some thirty.ST Jun 30, 1881+4 The sower and the seed are the same in every case, so the differing measures of fruit depend on the hearers' response, and each hearer is responsible for resisting the Spirit and allowing hardness or competing growth to hinder the word.Lt 86, 1907, par. 8–9+2 The chapter to which the verse belongs reveals two opposing working forces and calls for close study of Christ's teaching.Ms 115, 1906, par. 21–22 The lesson was given while teaching from a boat by the Sea of Galilee, using the sowers and fields in view to make it memorable.ST Jun 30, 1881 The seed is the word of God, and the good-ground hearer is a sincere receiver and believer in Jesus Christ.Ms 26, 1898, par. 11–13+1 Fruitful extension of Christ's kingdom of truth and righteousness throughout the world by teaching the truth defeats the purposes of Satan, but fruitful teaching requires the teacher to impart only what he knows by experience, having made the Word his own, knowing what it means to have Christ made unto him wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, and declaring the power and coming of Christ and eternal life not as supposition but as an eyewitness who has seen and bears witness.Lt 86, 1907, par. 8–9 The fruit includes the fruit of the lips in appropriate words to God's glory, shown by pure and holy service, sanctified conversation and zeal in good works, with a transformed character shown by a spiritual and practical life, living on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, with Christ dwelling in the heart and dwelling in Christ.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27 The hearing of the Word humbles pride and works genuine repentance, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness in holy conversation, for hearing and speech are gifts for which humans are responsible and are to be used to God's glory, so those who have ears to hear must hear as for life and hear to a purpose, take heed and obey, and if they love Jesus they will glorify Him by their words, since Christ was fruitful because He had the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27

Receiving the good seed means welcoming Christ's words into the heart in faith, understanding and keeping them, and bearing fruit with patience.Ms 85, 1894, par. 15–17+1 The good seed is a remedy for sin-sick souls, and when it becomes part of a person's life it brings results that reveal God's love and the gospel's transforming power.Ms 85, 1894, par. 15–17 Good ground is an honest and good heart that, when God's light exposes sin as transgression of the law, acknowledges it, keeps the word, and does not brush aside appeals to conscience.Ms 85, 1894, par. 15–17 By contrast, a partial reluctant reception leaves room for Satan's seed and the thorns that choke and destroy the truth.Ms 85, 1894, par. 15–17 The good heart is not sinless, but it yields to the Holy Spirit's conviction, confesses guilt, recognizes its need of God's mercy, and sincerely and believingly seeks truth in order to obey it, since faith is necessary to receive God's word.COL 58.1–59.1 By contrast, chosen blindness kept truth from reaching the heart and brought retribution, whereas disciples welcome instruction and believe what they hear and see.COL 58.1–59.1

Hearing or reading alone is not enough, for the word must be attended to, thought and prayed over, given entrance with purpose, received into mind and heart, and acted upon.ST Feb 2, 1915+3 Those who listen every day to the living oracles must hear with purpose to give entrance to God's words, rather than being surface-ground or stony-ground hearers who gather up the chaff and pass by the precious treasures of truth as if of no consequence.Ms 177, 1897, par. 2–4 Each lesson received and applied bears fruit unto eternal life and helps perfect Christian character.Lt 75, 1892, par. 3–4 The word kept in the soul so that Satan cannot take it bears fruit in obedience, good works and a Christlike life, and this fruit grows with patience, with true Christians enduring affliction without distrust or despair, entrusting cares to God and waiting for His salvation even when they cannot see the outcome or purpose of events.ST Feb 2, 1915 Light kept outside the heart, without personal benefit or obedience, hardens the heart and brings condemnation in proportion to the importance of the light rejected.Lt 75, 1892, par. 3–4 The seed sown in preaching needs personal care to take root, for without effort to cultivate the soil much of the message is lost, and the heart must be softened and subdued by the Spirit of God.6T 68.1 Perverse talk and the tattling, wicked tongue sow evil seed in minds which will bear its harvest, while the good-ground hearer promotes the honor and glory of God by sound speech seasoned with grace and performs the appropriate action God requires in each opportunity of life, for God will not hold guiltless those who neglect it.Ms 177, 1897, par. 2–4

Understanding may be only dim at first, yet seeds of life can lodge in the heart, take root, and later produce the fruit of a changed and blessed life.2SP 295.1+1 Some who eagerly hear the words understand them only dimly at first, yet the words can take root in their hearts and later bear fruit, and those who at first grasp the meaning imperfectly may afterward receive the word fully into their hearts and produce blessed fruit.2SP 295.1+1 Good soil represents a heart that receives and understands heavenly truth and bears fruit, but a heart filled with self-exaltation, self-righteousness and condemnation is hopeless profitless soil where heavenly truth cannot take root.ST Dec 3, 1912+1 Such a heart supposes others are at fault, speaks strong hard words of reproof and condemnation that crush hope and courage, grows roots of bitterness at the goodness of heart seen in the works of true Christians, is full of evil thoughts, suspects the purest, makes a man an offender for a word, and gives all faith, honor and love to exalted self.ST Dec 3, 1912+1

The good seed is a remedy for sin-sick souls, and when it becomes part of the life it reveals God's love and the transforming power of the gospel.Ms 85, 1894, par. 15–17 Fruit that restores the moral image of God in the soul would make the world far different if received.CT 438.3–4

By Christ's grace the natural person, shaped by hereditary tendencies, nationality, education, and circumstances, is changed into a new person with a new heart, new purposes, and new impulses.TEPD 43.1+2 Receiving the seed is receiving Christ's word as spirit and life, as eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the Son of God.2MR 92.4 That change becomes visible as fruit borne in differing measures, thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold, in the heart, in the speech, and in the character.TEPD 43.1+2

Bearing fruit means a transformed character shown by a spiritual and practical life, living on every word that proceeds from the mouth of God, with Christ dwelling in the heart and the believer dwelling in Christ.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27 It includes the fruit of the lips in appropriate words to the glory of God, pure and holy service, sanctified conversation, and zeal in good works.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27 It is seen in tenderness, kindness, and courtesy, and in moral strength, firmness of purpose, and solidity of character that gives rest and fitness for good work.STB 654.3–655.2+1 The rich clusters borne by branches grafted into Christ the Parent-stem are righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and the influence leads others to know the bearer is led and taught by Jesus and draws them to Jesus.STB 654.3–655.2+1 Such fruitfulness comes through faith that works by love and purifies the soul.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27

Bearing fruit also means doing the work God has given to each person in cooperation with Christ, wearing His yoke and not a yoke of human manufacture, and learning His meekness and lowliness.Lt 317, 1905, par. 7–9 Hearing of the word humbles pride and works genuine repentance, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness in holy conversation.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27 Hearing and speech are gifts held in trust to be used to God's glory, so those who have ears must hear as for life and hear to a purpose, take heed, obey, and glorify Him by their words if they love Jesus.Ms 73, 1897, par. 25–27

The word kept in the soul so that Satan cannot take it bears fruit in obedience, good works, and a Christlike life.ST Feb 2, 1915 This fruit grows with patience, enduring affliction without distrust or despair, entrusting cares to God, and waiting for His salvation even when the outcome or purpose of events cannot be seen.ST Feb 2, 1915 Good-ground hearers carry the principles into daily life so the lesson remains with them, while others who are stirred at first fade through worldly cares, temptations, and unfavorable surroundings and return to indifference.2SP 234.1–2 Christian growth is gradual, like grain developing from blade to ear to full grain rather than instantaneous sanctification, and bearing fruit includes learning duty and obeying God's will.3MR 68.1–2

The harvest is gathered for the Master through true faith that works by love and purifies the soul, as truth fully accepted softens the heart and seed sown continually springs up.Lt 20, 1894, par. 4 It appears as souls converted and added to the church, the standard of truth lifted in a place, and believers becoming useful workers whose influence does much for the cause of truth.Lt 50, 1887, par. 17–19 The good seed sown in soul-saving work is watched over by God and made to spring up and produce an abundant harvest even when the work begins amid great difficulty.Lt 75, 1902, par. 5

The heart is garden soil that must be cultivated with diligent, persevering labor in preparing, sowing, and culturing, with no expectation that raw ground will at once yield a harvest.ED 111.1–2+1 The soil is broken up by repentance, and by conviction of sin awakening people to their danger and need of healing so the gospel seed can find lodgment and take root.ED 111.1–2+2 Hardened hearts need to be broken up, evil growths and tendencies that choke the good grain must be uprooted by earnest effort in the name and strength of Jesus, and even soil once overgrown with thorns can still be reclaimed.COL 56.1–2+3 The Spirit works upon the heart to refine and discipline it so it can bring forth fruit to God's glory, and people are responsible for resisting the Spirit or allowing hardness and evil growths to hinder the word yet can choose to cooperate with God in this cultivation.COL 56.1–2+1 Children and youth are to learn this by themselves preparing the soil, sowing the seed, and carrying on the work of cultivation.ED 111.1–2

Hearts are made ready when truth is fully accepted and softens them, and when they are softened and subdued by the Spirit and by Christ's teachings and love.Lt 20, 1894, par. 4+2 Personal, Christlike sympathy and ministry can soften even a hard heart where argument alone fails, keeping the seed from being lost in shallow soil or choked by thorns.COL 57.1–2+1 Teaching believers to live by Christ's life and character, deny self, serve and endure for Him, trust His love, and work for the lost helps truth take root and removes evil growths at their roots.COL 57.1–2 Seed sown in preaching needs such personal care to take root, for without effort to cultivate the soil much of the message is lost, while true faith works through love and purifies the soul and the resulting harvest is for the Master.Lt 20, 1894, par. 4+1

The mind needs proper, daily cultivation, for when neglected it becomes overgrown with ignorance just as uncultivated soil grows weeds and briers.4T 442.2 When thoughts are captivated by fictitious reading and storybooks and directed in a wrong channel, the field is preoccupied and the channel obstructed so God cannot impress heavenly thoughts upon the intellect, though the Word would give themes for thought and meditation upon eternal realities.Ms 67, 1890, par. 6 The more powerful the capabilities of the mind, the greater the evil if thus perverted, leaving the mind unprepared for the impressions God would make and without soil prepared for the heavenly seeds of truth.Ms 67, 1890, par. 6

The minds of children and youth are like soil in an uncultivated field that must be cultivated with unceasing care and sown with the precious seed of Bible truth, lest unless watchful guard is kept the enemy sow tares that spring up to bear evil fruit.CT 136.4 Guarding and cultivating means teaching them to reject trashy, exciting tales and to turn to sensible reading that leads the mind to take interest in Bible story, history, and argument, throws light upon Scripture, and quickens desire to study it.CT 136.4 Books of science and philosophy where the thorns of skepticism are only partially concealed, vague fanciful fairy stories, and works on Scripture subjects weaving in fanciful human interpretations are bad seed growing in the young mind to bring forth a plentiful harvest of infidelity, whose result is seen in depravity.CT 186.3–187.2

Seed sown in the heart must be guarded afterward, for opposition can catch it away and neglect can let it wither.6T 74.1–2 Continued meetings and follow-up work help people who are convicted and wish to accept the truth to retain it and grow from it.6T 74.1–2 Worldly cares, possessions, and riches make the heart like hardened ground or ground choked by thorns, leaving no room for heavenly things and making Christ's invitation ineffective.ST Apr 22, 1875 The seeds of truth are choked by the spirit of the world when they do not spring up and bear fruit, in contrast to the good-ground hearer who receives and understands the word and therefore bears fruit.ST Apr 22, 1875+1

The seed is to be sown everywhere, even where the soil is poor and no result is seen at once, and the sower must not stop because some falls on unreceptive ground, for Christ's sowing illustrates the ministry of His servants who must spread truth widely though hearers respond differently and the harvest differs as thirtyfold, sixtyfold, and a hundredfold.7T 35.3+1 Fruitful extension of Christ's kingdom of truth and righteousness by teaching truth defeats Satan's purposes, but it requires the teacher to impart only what he knows by experience, having made the Word his own, knowing Christ as wisdom and righteousness and sanctification and redemption, and declaring His power and coming and eternal life not as supposition but as an eyewitness who has seen and bears witness.Lt 86, 1907, par. 8–9 Sowing is to be done after Christ's example as the divine Teacher, with care and anxiety and self-denial and continued sacrifice for the good of others and with His mind, without weariness in well-doing, trusting God to quicken seed that may lie dormant until grace convicts the heart and awakens it to life to spring up and bear fruit to God's glory, and those who do this unselfish earnest persevering work are co-workers with Christ and heavenly angels in saving their fellow men.TBC1872 111.1

Fruit does not come from listening to sermon after sermon where only a few points are retained and lose force while other things choke the seed, but when truth for eternal interest is impressed point by point in plain simple teaching, with Bible readings and points and texts fastened in the mind and questions asked and answered, after the pattern of Christ who instructed crowds wherever He went.Lt 29, 1890, par. 10–12 Proclaiming Christ as Saviour and His redeeming love with the truth can win hearers to Him so the seed springs up and bears fruit to God's glory in differing measure by the good-ground hearer who receives the word and understands it.GW 158.1 The Holy Spirit makes the seed productive in some hearts when truth is shared through papers and conversation and timely words, with results varying among hearers, and God watches over good seed sown in soul-saving work and causes it to spring up and produce an abundant harvest even when begun amid great difficulty.Ms 55, 1908, par. 3+1 The young worker's sharing of truth with people in isolated places is sowing seed for a harvest, for the word is sown to be heard and understood and bear fruit, and those convicted by hearing show its work though not every hearer has yet received it fully.Lt 188, 1900, par. 4–5

The good seed is the word received into a receptive heart, where it may remain hidden for a time before taking root and bearing fruit only after the Spirit works upon the heart, in differing abundance, so the worker cannot know beforehand which labor will prosper and must leave the result with God.GW92 402.3 Lessons Jesus taught could remain in attentive hearers' hearts and then be repeated for future generations, for truth received in the mind may not show effect at once yet can spring up to glorify God and help save many.ST May 2, 1878 The word of truth received in the heart can remain buried for years beneath worldly influences and pleasing fables, yet later spring up and bear fruit to God's glory when earthly sorrow or affliction softens the heart.RH Jul 14, 1903 When the teacher's work is wrought in God, lessons of divine truth linger in memory even of the most careless students, and the Holy Spirit waters the sown seed so teaching God's Word is sowing on good ground even when it seems to have little effect, often springing up after many days to bear fruit to God's glory.STSE 97.2

Delayed fruit appeared when listeners who believed the disciples' testimony about Christ's resurrection remembered His earlier words and believed the gospel, so the seed He had sown sprang up and bore fruit.RH Jun 8, 1911 Nicodemus illustrates a response where fruit was not apparent for a time, for for three years he watched Jesus and pondered His teaching and weighed the evidence including the raising of Lazarus.4RED 18.1 Seed lodged in some listeners' hearts at Jesus' trial later grew into abundant faith, as awe and reverence for Him developed into full faith in Him as the world's Redeemer.3SP 121.2 Where soil is unprepared the seed does not spring up to bear fruit and hearts are not moved by gospel proclamation, because Satan linked with present religionists sends evil angels in human form to mingle with hearers to suggest and insinuate, criticizing and misapplying and misinterpreting and misconstruing the words of Christ and His messengers so they lose force, and Christ presented truth in parables as the only way to rebuke sin without personal offense amid such opposition.Lt 140, 1903, par. 11–13

Sowing succeeds in difficult fields through health work and personal care, for practicing the simple principles of health reform relieves the sick and suffering and opens otherwise closed fields where seeds of truth can produce an abundant harvest.Ms 55, 1901, par. 8–10 Relief and gratitude at a health institution can make people more open to truth, which when nourished in them leads some to accept and defend the faith as the good seed takes root and grows and bears fruit to God's glory.1T 492.1–493.2 When a suffering person is softened and receptive to divine influence, a Christian physician or nurse can bring God's promises and present Jesus, so truth as precious seed planted in the heart takes root and bears fruit in the good ground that receives and understands God's word.CH 372.3–373.1 Prayer meetings and the trust and openness they foster build confidence and weaken prejudice and prepare the way for the seed of truth to take root in some hearts.HRP 10.1+1

The seed of truth has already been sown through missionary publications, and when the Spirit brings deep conviction and truth is seen clearly, those impressed in mind can understand and obey it and stand for the Lord despite opposition and pressure from family or church ties, bearing fruit in differing measures as good-ground hearers.GC88 612.2 Sowing the seeds of truth means teaching believers how to present truth-filled books like Christ's Object Lessons and Ministry of Healing with thorough instruction in handling and offering them beyond only selling periodicals, and this sowing does good wherever taken hold of in earnest because readers draw lessons of highest value from precious truths.JIOKP 44.1–3 Speech can carry truth to many as precious seed sown in human hearts, and earnest work in sowing is connected with the need to share truth.RH Sep 28, 1905+1 Camp-meeting preaching carries the hope that truth sown will lodge in hearts and bear fruit, for good soil is the hearer who receives and understands the word and bears fruit in differing amounts.ST Jul 8, 1875 The good seed sown through Bible teaching bears fruit to God's glory, and the young worker's sharing in isolated places sows for a harvest where those convicted show its work though not every hearer has yet fully received it.Lt 25, 1872, par. 1–9+1

Children's hearts are soil to be prepared from earliest years by tenderly and lovingly teaching them to give heart and mind to Christ and become His disciples, and parents should cultivate minds and form good habits so the word can take root in the receptive heart that hears and understands and bears fruit.CTBH 67.3+1 Sowing good seed in good soil in childhood when the mind is impressionable can produce fruit unto eternal life, and early instruction plants seed whose good fruit lasts through eternity and influences others.4T 499.2+1 Lessons taught from the cradle plant truth in tender minds that bears fruit and gladdens parents' hearts, teaching self-denial and self-control, enjoyment of nature's beauties, exercise of body and mind in useful employment, sound constitutions and good morals and sunny dispositions and sweet tempers, living not for present gratification merely but for ultimate good, and that yielding to temptation is weak and wicked while resisting is noble and manly.RH Oct 28, 1915 Searching the Scriptures with youth sows the word like seed in good ground, for the good-ground hearer both hears and understands God's word and bears fruit in differing amounts through clear instruction in Bible truth.6T 106.1 The verse is life-and-death instruction to be read and heeded as warning bearing on the future destiny of beings for whom Christ gave His life, calling for prayerful self-examination over who will stand acquitted without spot or stain before Christ's judgment seat, because the saved must form faultless character in sight of a pure and holy God and every man will be judged by deeds, and bearing fruit means doing God-given work in cooperation with Christ, wearing His yoke and not one of human manufacture and learning His meekness and lowliness, loved and ministered to by angels in every phase of life and taught daily an experience in the meaning of the divine beatitudes.Lt 317, 1905, par. 7–9