The Root of the Matter

While there doesn’t seem to be much difference in the soils Jesus described in his parable of the sower but rather the amount, the plant produced by the soil in each case was very different. Remember—each group heard the gospel, the same gospel, and there’s no indication that one group heard it any less than another.


But the seed sown in rocky soil “sprang up quickly”, not putting down any roots of spiritual maturity. I’ve used sewing thread to represent the barely there root.

The Root of the Matter 3

But the fourth seed landed in really good soil, putting down deep roots to take in all the necessary nourishment. I’ve illustrated the parable with the black mustard plant (the one Jesus refers to in other parables), which has a tap root—if you’ve ever gardened, you know how hard it is to pull up one of those!