This parable is all about the need to persevere till the end. By comparing the Word of God to seed sown into four different types of soil, Jesus shows us that people respond in different ways when it comes to hearing the Gospel. This is one of the few parables that the Lord actually interprets for us.

The first soil type is an unworked hardened surface which was used as a pathway to reach a field. The seeds that fell there never really penetrated the surface and they became easy lunch for the birds. With the tendency in today’s society to live superficially, it comes as no surprise that people who actually hear the Good News can fail to respond to it in faith and therefore not receive it as the transforming word of life. The devil quickly snatches it away and they never come to the point of genuine conversion.