In the parable of the Sower, Jesus spoke of four types of ground: the path, the rocky soil, the thorny soil, and the good soil. When explaining this parable, our focus often turns to the rocky and thorny soil, and by understanding these, we gain some insight into what good soil represents. Yet, we tend to overlook the seeds that fell along the path. This neglect is serious, for it increases believers’ ignorance about their responsibility. When God gave the Law, it emphasized commands of “do” and “don’t,” which often led people to fall into what they should not do. But now, Jesus shifts the focus by teaching us what we ought to do. If we begin to live by what He calls us to do, we will not be preoccupied with what we must avoid.
Seeds On The Roadside
The four types of ground represent four conditions of the human heart: the first is the heart that does not understand the Word; the second is the one that hears and receives it but cannot hold on to it for long; the third understands, yet out of fear of rejection or persecution from the world, turns away from it; and the fourth is the heart that listens attentively, observes, understands, and lives according to the Word.
When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. – Matthew 13:19 (NIV)
The seeds that fell along the wayside symbolize those who fail to understand the Word. This condition of the heart is often compared to people of the world who neither know the true God nor live according to His will, but instead follow their own desires. Yet, an important question arises: if God Himself instructs us not to cast pearls before swine, why would He allow His precious Word to be given to those whose hearts are unprepared, such as the Gentiles? When we reflect on this, it becomes clear that the Word is spoken not merely to those who have heard about God, but to those whom God already knows and calls His own. Therefore, the four conditions of the heart described in this parable must be understood as referring to people who know God.
Applying this to the first ground—the wayside—it is worth noting that Jesus did not say the seeds fell on the road, but on the roadside. Roads in His time were not paved as we see today; they were simply paths formed by the repeated footsteps of travellers across sandy soil or fields. Over time, the soil of such paths became compacted, firm from absorbing rain and enduring wind. When a seed fell on such ground, it could not take root. Instead, the wind or passing travellers would push it aside.
These are hearts that fail to grasp the true meaning of God’s Word. By merely reading the Scriptures and repeatedly hearing the message, they establish a place for themselves and call it “Christianity.” Over time, the framework of Christian religion has grown thicker and harder, shaped by traditions and rigid doctrines—much like the hardened path where the seed of the Word falls by the wayside. Such people pass on the Word to others without truly understanding it themselves. Their common notion is that immersion baptism alone connects a believer with God, and they tirelessly repeat this teaching. With a false sense of having attained full understanding, they continue to share what they hear or even use it to influence others—without ever allowing the Word to penetrate their own hearts. Thus, the first type of heart described by Jesus represents the religious leaders and people who hardened themselves by clinging to the law while ignoring grace. To expose this condition, Jesus reminded them of what His Father had spoken long ago through the prophet Isaiah in the following verses:
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’ – Matthew 13:14-15 (NIV)
Following the religious tradition and custom hardened the hearts of the people so as to view the Scripture differently without letting the Word to cultivate their own hearts. God brought up the state of mind of people also through another prophet in the following verse:
I wrote for them the many things of my law,
but they regarded them as something foreign. – Hosea 8:12 (NIV)
The Seeds Fell At The Roadside In the Bible
Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. – Genesis 2:15 (NAS)
It is striking that after Creation, God instructed man to cultivate the ground, and after Redemption, Jesus instructed His followers to pray that they may not fall into temptation. Both commands reveal a deeper truth: they are often misunderstood as outward duties for the sake of others, while their primary purpose is inward—addressing the condition of the self. When God told Adam to cultivate the land, the true land to be cultivated was the heart, so that it might be prepared to hear and obey God’s voice.
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” – Matthews 26:40-41 (NIV)
In Gethsemane, Jesus urged His disciples to watch and pray so that they themselves would not be led into temptation by the evil one. Yet many have misunderstood this, assuming that Jesus sought their prayer support so He would not fall. Even after His resurrection and ascension, the call to watch and pray remained—not merely for others, but for believers themselves, lest they fall into the snares of the devil or be blinded by the god of this age.
Not only religious rituals, but even speaking about the truth without living it can harden our hearts. In such a condition, we risk missing the gracious message of God’s Word and become mere messengers to others without being transformed ourselves. Jesus sent His disciples to proclaim the Good News, to share the truth He had taught, to heal the sick, and to cast out evil spirits. They carried out these tasks with joy, yet their hearts remained hardened, for they still expected Jesus to overthrow the Roman empire and establish an earthly kingdom in Jerusalem. Was this not because they had trained themselves only to deliver the message, but had not truly received its meaning? If they had, they would have found strength and understanding when Jesus fulfilled His redemptive mission in perfect obedience to the Father. The question remains for us: Are we truly receiving the message before we preach, or are we hardening our hearts by delivering it without first letting it transform us?
Saul hardened his heart by striving to keep the law perfectly, believing that in doing so he was serving God. But on his way to Damascus, as he went to persecute the followers of Jesus, God met him and took away the sight that had been blinded by the god of this age. In its place, God gave him true vision—the ability to see the light of the Gospel. With this renewed sight, Saul began to cultivate his heart to receive God’s message in the right perspective. While many others hardened their hearts and refused to share the Good News with the Gentiles, Saul embraced the call to proclaim it. A seed that once fell by the wayside is now sown in fertile soil, where once there was only a path.
This is the time for us to examine ourselves: are we pushing aside His Word to the roadside because our hearts have become hardened like the path in a field? Or are we cultivating our hearts to make them like good soil? God once told Adam to cultivate the garden, but in reality, He was also asking him to cultivate his heart. Yet Adam neglected the Word of God, setting it aside like a seed pushed to the roadside. Then the daily walk with God, meant to be a living fellowship, became for him a mere habit instead of a life-giving experience.
God calls everyone, but only those who respond are able to cultivate their hearts and receive His Word in the right spirit. The message that once fell upon Saul’s hardened heart was later transformed him, taking root in the good soil of his renewed spirit, and it yielded a hundredfold. Paul himself later testified that the Gospel is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe (Romans 1:16). Likewise, let us carefully cultivate our hearts, so that we may receive God’s Word in the right spirit and bear fruit—thirty, sixty, and even a hundredfold in spiritual blessings.
The Jordan Valley 
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