“Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it…And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.” Mark 4:3-4, 15 (NKJV)As we continue to look at the parable of the soils, we must look at the first soil that Jesus mentions in His parable. This is the soil by the wayside. There are a few things we need to note about this soil.
1. Seed falls upon it. It is present when the Word is broadcast.
2. It is located by the wayside. It is a path that is trodden down and hard. People have walked this path over and over again, and now it is firm. Nothing much grows here, but it remains a comfortable and easy path for people to walk in.
3. Birds can easily see the seed and remove it because it just sits on top of the soil. Chances are the birds know this path well and have often feasted upon the seed that has been thrown there in the past.
We are thankful unto Christ Jesus for He has gone on to explain what He means by this parable. This soil represents those people who are by the wayside where the Word of God is sown. He tells us that they hear the Word of God, but Satan comes immediately and snatches the Word of God from their hearts.
With that said, let us now re-examine the soil in light of what Jesus has told us.
1. This person is one who sits under the proclamation of the Word of God; he/she very well may be regularly seen in the congregation and very well may be a member of the local body of a church. They may even be in leadership. This soil is best represented by the Pharisees of Jesus day; they were the religious leaders of their time. They were not only responsible for knowing and sharing the Word of God with the people, they also had listened to the words of Jesus himself many times. But this soil is not limited to them alone, for there were surely many in the multitude that day that sat under Jesus’ teaching without seemingly any effect.
2. This person is by the wayside. They may hear the Word of God, but it never penetrates. Their hearts are trodden down and hardened by the feet or the traditions of men. Their way is an easy way to walk, but there is no life in them. People can easily get caught up in the traditions of religion and still be dead unto God. No ritual or traditions have ever or will ever save man from the wrath of God.
3. This person unknowingly gives Satan reign over his/her life. They may sit and listen to the Word of God; but because it is never allowed to penetrate their lives, the Word is snatched away with no effect to the hearer.
This person believes that he/she is in the kingdom because of the actions that he/she does, but there is no change. This soil cannot be saved for it shows no evidence of God’s supernatural work in their life. There is no self-examination because there is no life; they are cold, hard, and dead. The saddest part about this soil is the fact that, even if they hear the Word of God, it never penetrates their heart. They may even think that the Word of God that they hear is intended for someone else because they think themselves to be okay. They are not sensitive to their own sin for they have never been awakened to it. They may readily see the sins of others, but, once again, there is never any self-examination.
Are you saved? If given the opportunity, how would you prove it? If you are banking on the things you have done for God, let the following Words of Christ be a resounding and clear warning for you.
“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’” Matthew 7:21-23 (NKJV).My hope for you is that God breaks the ground of your heart that the Word may penetrate and produce fruit. It isn’t enough to penetrate the ground of the heart; there must be fruit as we will see in the next three soils. Can the soil by the wayside be saved? No, not as it is. This soil must be broken and changed by the only One who can do that—God. So I ask again, are you saved? Have you repented before the One, True, and Living God? If not, you are lost; you are not saved. Will you even now run to Him? Will you even now beg at His feet for mercy?
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