Thorns: In The Gospels

Parable of the Sower

The Parable of the Sower is mentioned three times in the Gospels, Luke 8, Matthew 13 and Mark 4.

It is a story about a Sower who sows seed.

Some of the seed falls on the path, some on rocky ground, some amongst thorns and some on good soil.

Only those on ‘good soil’ grow to produce a crop.

The Meaning of the Parable

Jesus is asked by the disciples as to what this parable means. He responds by telling them the seed is the ‘Word of the Kingdom’. Sometimes the Devil steals this word, sometimes the cares of this World overwhelm it and sometimes the rocky ground causes it to wither and fail.

He then proceeds to tell them how the word does not grow to maturity unless the heart is receptive.

The Word of the Kingdom

According to the Orthodox Study Bible, the ‘Word of the Kingdom’ is the Gospel. This phrase is used by Matthew and Mark in the Parable of the Sower.

As the Gospel is preached, it is sown into the hearts of all people.

In some cases, the seed germinates and grows. But the thorns or the cares of this World, crowd out the seed and it dies.

From the imagery in the Old Testament, thorns are described as worthless, unproductive, ensnaring and entangling. If we map these onto the Parable of the Sower, then the cares of this World are worthless when compared to the gifts God gives. These cares can entangle and ensnare us, whereas Christ sets us free.

Life is full of worries, but when we allow the cares to overtake and grow above our relationship with God, we become overwhelmed and distracted. We lose focus and become lost in a maze of competing distractions.

Word of God

In the Gospel according to St Luke, Jesus does not use the phrase ‘word of the kingdom’ for the seed, but uses the ‘Word of God’.

When we see this phrase, depending on our Christian tradition, we may understand it to mean the Scripture or Jesus.

In John 1, we see Jesus is revealed as the Logos, the Word.

Though in other areas of the New Testament, we see Jesus speaks the ‘word of God’.

Luke 5 v 1

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.

I understand that not only did the 1st Century Jews see that the ‘Word of God’ is mediated to them through Scripture, but the contemporary Jewish philosopher, Philo of Alexandria, understood the ‘Word of God’ to be a person. In fact, he links the Logos to the Angel of the Lord.

The Third Interpretation

There is a third interpretation which is shown in Acts 6, where the ‘word of God’ spreads. Jesus can’t spread or grow, neither does Scripture, so therefore it likely relates to the message of the Gospel.

Acts 6 v 7

So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly…

How do we resolve this, when the Bible says Jesus is the Word of God, Scripture is the Word of God and the message of the Gospel is the Word of God?

When we read the phrase ‘Word of God’ in the Bible, we need to use the context of the verse to understand whether it is talking about Jesus, the Bible or the Gospel Message.

Biblical Examples

Here are some Bible verses to think about. Who or what are these verses referencing when it says the ‘Word of God’?

Romans 9 v 6

It is not as though God’s word had failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel.

1 Thessalonians 2 v 13

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.

Luke 3 v 2

During the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.