The Seed Dies
„And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear."” (Matthew 13:3-9)
We have talked a lot about the parable of the sower, and we have also examined it in connection with Zechariah chapter 13. We have always approached it in the way that the seed sprouted in 3 areas, and what the consequences were. However, we did not talk about the fact that the seed that fell on good soil had to die before it could bear fruit.
„Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” (John 12:24)
However, we have often talked about the fact that we must die to ourselves in order to live for God. This involves giving up our own desires and plans. In other words, this means that the seed dies in order to produce fruit. However, in the parable of the sower, the seeds that fell among thorns and rocks did indeed die, yet they did not produce fruit. How is this possible? They set out on the path of faith, but did not reach their destination. These are the ones who suffer the worst, that they die but do not bear fruit. That is why the judgment is greater for those who were once followers of God, but turned away from the path leading to God.
„But when a righteous person turns away from his righteousness and does injustice and does the same abominations that the wicked person does, shall he live? None of the righteous deeds that he has done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which he is guilty and the sin he has committed, for them he shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:24)
So the righteous person who has denied his faith, who has turned away from God, will not benefit from his righteous deeds. That is, his fate will be worse than the unbeliever who has lived his whole life according to his own will.
„It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."” (Mark 4:31-32)
What Jesus meant by this is interpreted in many ways. I believe that the main message of the parable is not in the size of the seed, but in the faith of the seed. Although we might not think that a seed could have faith, believers interpret faith in many ways. We already know that faith is action, faith means obedience. Basically, it means doing what God says, even if we don't understand why.
„For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
For good deeds, that is, for fruit production. The mustard seed, like any other seed, knows its job. If it is in good soil and receives water (if the right conditions are given), it will sprout and then bear fruit, and God will provide the right conditions.
And the size of the mustard seed contains the message that although it is small, it can accomplish great things. Let's read it again:
„It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade."” (Mark 4:31-32)
What does it mean that birds can build nests? Mustard is not actually a tree, but it can grow into a bush and can even grow several meters high. Smaller birds are indeed able to build nests in it. When God determined man’s food after creation, he gave man every plant and every fruit that has a seed in its fruit. Mustard is one of these. So the fruit of the mustard plant is also food, that is, in the parable we can also be those dead mustard seeds that sprout and grow and produce food. But as we read from Jesus, not only was the fruit the only blessing, but it also became a place for birds to live.
But what could this mean? The fruit means food, and the nest, for example, means security. Because there are those who only go to the tree to feed (like Nicodemus, who went to Jesus secretly at night, but did not follow Him publicly), and there are those who, in addition to food, also seek security, like Jesus' close disciples.
What I also find very interesting is that the Word of God calls unbelievers dead. But even a seed must die in order to bear fruit. But how does something die that is already dead? In the Word of God we see that those who do not believe in God are dead, but those who repent are passed from death to life:
„Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” (John 5:24)
So if we have passed from death to life, we must die again in order to live according to the will of God:
„If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:1-3)
This is when we voluntarily lay down our lives (doing God's will instead of our own) so that others can feed on our fruit and thereby glorify God. This is the dead seed through which we can bear much fruit, but the amount of our fruit depends on how much we lay down our lives:
„And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold."” (Mark 4:8)
We can say that it is not good to die, but we live on in our fruits. These fruits can produce new fruits through their seeds. This is the building of the kingdom of God.
Antal Farkas
(January 11, 2025)
