Sowing in Stone (Matthew 13:20)

Matthew 13:20 says, "But he that received the seed in stony places, the same is he that hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it..."

The most important factor about these parables, is that what is constant, is the "seed". The word of God is the same, and has the same powerful potential to produce a favorable harvest. The life-giving attributes, of the seed, of the word of God, remain the same, but the results are determined by the soil that receives the seed.

STONY PLACES

The KJV, and other translations, leave a somewhat  false impression, in meaning, with this phrase. The initial imagery that is conveyed, [especially for those that have any type of  agricultural background], is soil with a lot of rocks or stones, that have to be removed, before a person can properly plant their crop.

However, this is not the true meaning of the Greek word used here. There is a large portion of the land of Israel, that is very rocky, and is totally unsuitable for any type of agriculture. It is not that it contains rocks, but that IT IS ROCK! The meaning of the word here is a solid mass of rock, that has a sprinkling of soil upon the top of it, giving the illusion that it can be planted.

This is the same word that is used, where Jesus tells Peter what He will build His church on.

"... you are a stone, and upon this 'mountain', I will build my church..." (Matt. 16:18). [ In a very literal sense, He was saying, "...you are a piece of (this) rock, and upon this massive mountain of unshakeable; unmovable; rock...I will build my church..."]. The word means, a solid mass of rock, a mountain.

Therefore, before the seed was ever sown on this "soil", the potential for growth, or even receiving the seed, for future harvest, was "nil". It is totally impossible to grow any type of vegetation on rock.

IMMEDIATELY 

The words that follow, in this verse, convey that reality. The person receives the seed, with "joy", and responds,  "immediately". In this context "joy" speaks of a strictly emotional response based on nothing more than the mood of the moment, and "immediately", speaks of rashness.

The context of the word "immediately", and its derivative in Mark 4:16, speak of the superficial nature of individuals, who without a full understanding or proper comprehension, get emotionally stirred up, but their lack of a true conversion evidences itself at the first sign of opposition.

A farmer would be considered totally ridiculous who attempted to harvest a field that had never been planted. It is just as ridiculous, to assume that people are true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, just because they have "said the sinners prayer", even though there is absolutely no evidence that they were ever "planted" with the seed, of the word of God. [Jesus did say that you will know a tree by its fruit (Matt. 12:33), not by what people tell you about themselves]. You can't plant seed in stone.

That is not to say that people in this category cannot or will not, at some point, be converted, when the condition of their heart changes, but not while they are solid stone. There has to be proper soil, to receive the seed. We need to keep sowing, but we also need to be wise enough to recognize when the seed has not landed on soil, but on stone.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours.