In the Parable of the Sower, the good ground is the soil that hears the word of the kingdom and understands it, and only that soil bears fruit, yielding a hundredfold, sixty, or thirty. In three of the four scenarios the ground produces nothing of value: the wayside, the stony places, and the thorny soil. All the types of ground receive the Word, but God prepares the soil of only some. The critical factor is whether God has given those who hear the means to respond properly. The multitudes who heard Jesus, though they claimed Abraham as their father, lacked ears to hear. They showed some interest and even some willingness to repent, but their hearts were far from their King, so they had no depth. They wanted a messiah who would improve their political condition while leaving their religious system and moral state unchallenged. In fulfillment of Isaiah 6:9-10, they heard without understanding. Jesus' disciples, by contrast, were the good soil. He had prepared them to hear and respond, and they would yield an increase (Matthew 13:16-17; John 15:1-17).

The fertile ground consists of those who receive the word with a noble and good heart. These individuals keep the word. They observe it. They obey it. They follow its teachings. They bear fruit with patience or endurance. Luke uses two Greek words to describe the hearts of these people. They have a kalos or noble heart. This word means honorable. They have a beautiful heart. It is excellent. It is good quality. Well disposed. They receive things so well because their heart is excellent and wants excellent things. They want to accept excellent things and improve on these excellent things. God's word is excellent. It is beautiful. These people take it in and want to use it. They are described as having an agathos heart. This is necessary because agathos means upright or virtuous. They want to do what is right. They accept the word because they understand that it is the right way to go. They stick with it. It is not a passing thing. They accept it and it becomes permanent. They begin producing fruit over the long haul. They hear the word and understand it. They accept it. They bear fruit. They produce some hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. They are the receptive ones. They get with the program. They are out in the fields working and producing fruit. They follow all the steps. Because of that and because of their hard work and their application of what they have learned they bear fruit. They get better. They grow. They become more like Christ.