1. Matthew 13:23 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

What does the good soil in the Parable of the Sower refer to?

Matthew 13:23 (ESV)

23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

In short

Matthew 13:23 speaks of the good soil, which will bear fruit. In Matthew it is all who hear the word and understand it; in Mark it is all who hear the word and receive it (Mark 4:20); and in Luke it is all who hear the word and hold fast to it (Luke 8:15). Each evangelist mentions part of the message in Matthew 13:23.

In Matthew 13:23, Jesus proceeds to speak about the good soil, which will bear fruit. In the Gospel of Matthew we read that it is the people who hear the word and understand it; in the Gospel of Mark it is those who hear the word and receive it (Mark 4:20); and in the Gospel of Luke it is those who hear the word and hold fast to it (Luke 8:15). Each of the three evangelists mentions a part of the whole message contained here in Matthew 13:23.1