In the familiar parable of the seeds that fall on four types of ground my mental picture always was very literal. The stony ground had lots of little rocks sticking though the soil, weedy ground had scattered tiny plants growing in it, etc. You have to think what an idiot that sower was not to avoid those bad conditions. William Barclay's commentary enlightened me again by pointing out that, knowing sowers and soil as they did, Jesus' listeners understood the key element to His parable quite well. All the types of soil probably looked very similar ... so we don't know what type of soil the seeds are falling on until the test of time makes it clear.
It is in fact quite likely that he (Jesus) was looking at some sower sowing his seed as he spoke. The parable speaks of four kinds of ground.
(i) The common ground in Palestine was split into long narrow strips; between the strips there were paths which were rights of way; when the seed fell on these paths, which were beaten as hard as the road, it had no chance of getting in.
(ii)There was the rocky ground. This does not mean ground that was full of stones but ground which was only a think skin of earth over a shelf of limestone rock. In such ground there was no moisture or nourishment, and the growing plant was bound to wither and die.
(iii)The ground which was full of thorns was ground which at the moment looked clean enough It is possible to make any bit of ground look clean simply by turning it over. But the seeds of the weeds and the fibrous roots of the wild grasses had been left in it. The good seed and the weeds grew together, but the weeds grew more strongly; and so the life was choked out of the good seed.
(iv) The good ground was ground that was deep and clean and well prepared.
Barclay also suggests a reason for Jesus telling this parable that goes beyond the common interpretation that I have heard before. I like it and think that, as in many other situtations, it is perfectly likely Jesus would use this teaching opportunity for a dual purpose.
It is suggested that the parable is really a counsel against despair. Think of the situation. Jesus has been banished from the synagogues. The scribes and the Pharisees and the religious leaders are up against him. Inevitably the disciples would be disheartened. It is to them Jesus speaks this parable...
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