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Harvest Expectations

My text for today is The Parable of the Sower in Mark 4. I don’t particularly think of sowing this time of year, but of the results or rewards of what was sown. Did you know you will have a harvest even if you do not sow or even if your crops fail? It won’t be what you want or what you expect, but something will always be there—even a crop of absence.

To look at the parable of the Sower, we can consider the character of the Sower as an essential part of the story. We can examine the seed’s place in the story. Or we can look closely at the role the ground plays. Today, I want to look at the four different types of ground that Jesus talks about—starting with the Good Ground first. Good Ground for good crops is what we want in life. But what happens if I do not have Good Ground?

Jesus described good ground in Mark 4:8.

 

“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew, and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

 

That sounds like promising ground. Good ground grows things. Depending on several things, it can yield bumper crops of 30, 60, or 100-fold. That’s what we want. We want what we put our heart and soul into to produce positive outcomes. Luke 6:45 “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things.” Notice that good ground takes the treasure of the heart.

Good ground that meets harvest expectations is often the ground that God has made special. It can be like a river delta. The Children of Israel lived on the Nile River delta when they were in Goshen. It can be a special place, such as the Fertile Crescent, which now forms a large arc from Egypt up the coast through Israel and swings back east and south through Iran and Iraq. Fertile ground can support a wide variety of plants. If it is planted in crops, it yields a substantial amount. If it is left to itself, it grows what is there: grasses, bushes, trees. When left to itself, it has no heart direction to connect it to a good crop from good ground.

The thing is, if it is left to itself to grow whatever is there, sometimes it gets things right and good, and sometimes, the weeds overtake. We lived in the Hill Country of Central Texas for many years. That ground could grow many things. But it needed the encouragement of water. When the rains did come, the prickly pear cactus multiplied, the yucca plants bloomed, and the beautiful, poisonous Blue Bonnets covered the fields. If it were fall and it rained, the ragweed grew over six feet tall and dusted everything with its sticky yellow-green pollen.

As a comparison, when we lived in PA for a couple of years, we discovered that the ground was special. It would grow carrots that were about two feet long and as big as a man’s upper arm around at the top. The incredible thing was that they were neither tough, woody, nor bitter. Both types of ground were well able to grow a variety of crops. Immediately, we can see that something different is happening. In PA, the heart of the Amish farmers was evident in their hard work and dedication to the land, which nurtured the excellent carrot crops.

Let’s look at that difference. One step back from a soil that grows amazing carrots is the soil that grows amazing ragweed and cactus. Both types of ground are capable of growth. This leads us into the good ground that grows thorns. Jesus talked about the thorn-covered ground in Mark 4:7. He said that when the seeds fell on the ground that was prone to the wild, thorns would grow. In other words, cactus or, here in Missouri, blackberries, thorn trees like lotus, and wild roses so thick you need a chainsaw to get through them. Jesus said that when the thorn bushes were growing, they choked out everything else. If we are looking for a crop of wild blackberries or wild roses just for their fragrance in the spring, then we have accomplished our crop. But if we planted blueberries and the wild blackberries came up and overtook our blueberries, we would not have a crop of blueberries. We might call this ground focused on the Cares of the World.

What causes good ground to grow these thorn bushes? Part of it could be that nothing else has been asked of the ground. My grandpa created an excellent garden spot by removing prickly things and improving the soil in Central Texas. He did this by eliminating the cactus and snakes that lurked under every rock. And that brings us to the rocky ground Jesus talked about in Mark 4:5-6

“Some seed fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.”

To grow things in rocky ground requires a particular type of plant that really doesn’t care about the finer things or being beneficial to the world around it. We might call this ground Self-Centered. The plants that grow here, Jesus said in verse five, have little root. The rocks warm the area, allowing the seeds to grow quickly. But when the sun is high in the sky, the rocks become hot, creating a space where it is impossible to thrive. This little plant’s roots cannot reach the moisture to sustain it, and because they are too tall and seeking importance, they have nothing to shade them. They are without mentors and no protectors. We might look at a picture of a tiny, solitary tree growing in a crack in a huge rock and be inspired to continue growing despite all costs. There is a courage about that, but is the courage misplaced? Yes, that tiny tree might be the very thing that splits the rock. But will it grow and flourish because it is in a grove? Or will it be battered by all the strong winds, heavy rain, and suffer from lightning?

The final type of ground Jesus talked about was the wayside. We don’t typically think of sowing seed along the sides of a road, although it is sometimes done with wildflowers. The wayside is a place of much movement. Back then, it would be the feet of people, oxen, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, and loaded carts. Today, heavy trucks and cars with exhaust choke all but the most rugged of wild plants. Perhaps think of a wayside as a dusty gravel road. As long as it is traveled, nothing grows there. Yet if something falls, it is fair game for birds. We might call this ground A Table Set for Robbers.

Jesus talked about the place where the seeds are so exposed that the birds can see them easily. Another type of wayside could be a plowed, prepared field. I have seen huge flocks of birds fill the air and swoop down, devouring every seed tossed on a piece of ground that has been tilled. Seeds sown on open ground, whether along a road or a prepared field, are vulnerable to the birds. This ground offers nothing to protect the seeds from birds. In Mark 4:15, Jesus tells his disciples that seeds that fall on this ground are fair game for Satan. Jesus explains here that the seeds are His Words that give life and hope. Yet if they land on this vulnerable ground, they are easy stolen and can offer no life to the ground. Nothing is gained. The seeds do not grow, and the ground remains barren.

So how does this all apply to us?

We discovered that our lives require good ground. And yet we also found that good ground can grow much that is not beneficial to us, because it is good ground. Then we examined the possibility of growth in places of opposition. The Sower in the parable is the same. The Seed (His Word) is the same. The critical part of the story is a person’s heart, which is the ground. If we look at the parable the way Jesus did, he was perhaps saying that the ground needs work to make things happen. If the ground is our lives, what we do, what we hope to accomplish, our crops, so to speak, then there are certain things to look out for.

If we are too open, if we rush into things, we may be like the wayside. All the information, the seeds, the knowledge, the prayers, the projects get swept away by others. Our lifetime is consumed by non-focused effort. Then time is gone, and it seems we have accomplished nothing, even though we always seem to be working hard. Working for the benefit of others is not a bad thing, but if it takes the place of the Word of Jesus growing in our hearts, the Word is of no effect. The way the Word of Jesus is taken or stolen from our hearts and thereby our ground full of potential, can look like being involved in many things, so that the seed Word does not have time to take root.

The heart of the ground of our lives that is vulnerable, trampled, or prepared and not planted soon becomes a rocky field here in Missouri. The rains wash the soil from the surface, exposing the rocks. Have you ever felt that way? Everything is too hard. Have you ever said,” It shouldn’t be this hard?” What looks like a quick solution often turns into more hard work.

It's part of my job here on the ranch to check the fences. After a storm, it's not uncommon to find branches and even whole trees fallen on the fences. Sometimes the trees are on the fence in gullies. This means lugging fence posts and heavy rolls of wire, maybe a chainsaw, down a steep descent —maybe 100 feet. It means carefully sawing out the tree and untangling the wires. It means driving new posts by hand and stretching new wire. Then it means lugging all the equipment back up that incline. Yes, there are days when it feels hard. And yes, there are rocks to contend with, even at the bottom of a gully.

But here’s the thing. There is hard work, and then there is work that is hard. There is work that is oppositional. It may seem just as Jesus described, a fantastic new experience, filled with excitement and joy. However, we find that it is filled with opposition and hard work. So, what can we do when we encounter rocks in our ground? In our hearts? Do we become as hard as a rock and bitter? Do we harden our hearts against the Word because of opposition?

There is a reason that things are hardened. A kitchen knife is made of hardened steel. A car wheel is made of hardened metals and alloys. We can also become hardened through challenging experiences that make us introspective, self-protective, and prideful. What do we cover ourselves with? Weeds and thorns.

Weeds and thorns are the hardy plants that grow in rocky, thin soil. This is a viable protection for vulnerable soil that has not been prepared or planted. The Word of Jesus, the seed, is not given a place to grow.

So the question remains. How do we attain Good Ground? Perhaps our hearts are always potentially good ground. Perhaps our hearts, as good ground, only need help to recognize that the Sower has the right Seed for our ground. Perhaps we need to see that it is not our work by itself that can adequately prepare the heart ground for the seed. As I study this parable, it appears to be a lifecycle.

Perhaps a person sees the Sower and recognizes the Seed. Then, if full hope rushes to prepare the ground without instructions. Possibly, Jesus gave a person the gift of music. That young life would be capable ground for that seed of music to grow. Perhaps the parents did not see that in their child, so there was no way for their wisdom and skill to help. Yet that child convinced them to buy a drum set or a trumpet. Although the parents allowed practice, actual lessons were not quickly forthcoming because it did not seem the efforts were amounting to much. The musical expressions may be hesitant, loud, or off-key.

However, if any music talent was recognized, something in the heart hardens, and in determination alone, the child moves forward. Suddenly, they are the first chair flute in the school band. They have worked diligently, and parents are proud of their work. Everyone looks up to the young performer. But something begins to happen. Exhausted from the limelight, travel, and competitions, this young person starts to feel like they're losing interest in their music. Perhaps even though they play the flute well, the music no longer holds their heart because of the demands of performance.

Other things start to crowd in. Basketball, volleyball, dance rehearsals, algebra, and younger brothers and sisters to help care for. The music gets buried under a mountain of other obligations and projects. The obligations and projects overshadow the gift, and the music is drowned out by all the other noise.

One day, someone quietly asks about your music. The question is brushed aside because it seems like too long ago and too much effort to think about music again. But I want to tell you that the good ground foundation laid early in life is still there—the efforts made with the seed Jesus gave you matter. There will be many opportunities to rush to prepare, only to find that the open field invites things to steal the seeds. The progression from barren field to rocks, to thorns of protection, and then newfound skill in working the ground with purpose will cycle many times in life.

The parable may explain this clearly. We will be in seasons of life. If we take each of the conditions of the ground as pointers to where we are and what we need to do next with the ground and the seed, we can move toward the life and work Jesus has for us.

The key is that the four types of ground represent heart conditions that influence our relationship with Jesus. Each ground is the next step in preparation for the next thing, and each step takes faith. If we encounter a newly plowed field, how can we protect the seed from birds? If the birds steal the seed, what can we do to keep the rocks from limiting us? If the field is already overgrown with thorns and brambles, how do we get it back to serviceable ground?

- Rev. Dr. Ginger Hayes serves as an adjunct professor at Nazarene Bible College.

Published: 10/29/2025

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