There were stony ground hearers among the followers of John; of them it is written,

"Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth. . . . He was a burning and a

shining lamp; and ye were willing for a season to rejoice in his light." These stony

ground hearers heard the word, "and anon with joy received it," yet they had no root,

persecution for the sake of the word discovered their shallowness, and soon they were

offended. It was for such that the Lord uttered the words, "Blessed is he, whosoever shall

not be offended in Me" (Matt. 11: 6).

The prominent characteristic of John's ministry was, "to prepare the way of the Lord,

and make His paths straight." It was hard work, with little apparent result. Two of his

own followers proved to be hearers of the good ground variety, for on the second day of

his proclamation, "Behold, the Lamb of God," they followed the Lord, one of them being

Andrew, Simon Peter's brother.  The first sowing of the parable of the Sower is

peculiarly descriptive of the first preacher of the kingdom---John the Baptist.

Following immediately upon John's ministry was that of the Lord Jesus Christ. The

Lord commenced his ministry with the same words as John used, "Repent, for the

kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4: 17 with 3: 2). In association with Himself the

Lord sent forth the Twelve (Matt. 10:), and the Seventy (Luke 10:). This ministry, looked at

it from the external standpoint, was not much more successful than that of John

the Baptist.

The characteristics of the "stony ground," the second sowing hearers, are seen

everywhere. The stony ground hearers were shallow. The wayside hearers rejected the

testimony of God against them, but the stony ground hearers received the word with

joy--for a while!  In Matt. 4: 17-25 we have the preaching and its effect. "His fame

went throughout all Syria"; "and there followed Him great multitudes." Mark 12: 37

supplies us with a statement which coincides with the character of the stony ground

hearers. "The common people heard Him gladly." "He that received seed into the stony

places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it, yet. . . . by

and by he is offended."

In John 6: we have a record of defection. After the Lord had uttered that marvellous

word concerning Himself as the living bread, and how He came to give His life for the

life of the world, we read, "many therefore of His disciples, when they heard this, said,

This is a hard saying, who can hear it"? "From that time many of His disciples went

back, and walked no more with Him." In Luke 4: 14-29 we have another illustration of

this self-same spirit. After the Lord's discourse in the Synagogue, we read, "And all bare

Him witness, and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth.

And they said, Is not this Joseph's son?" By the time He had finished His message to

them, however, we read, "And all they in the Synagogue, when they heard these things,

were filled with wrath, and rose up, and thrust Him out of the city, and led Him unto the

brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast Him down headlong."

Herod himself exhibited much the same character. "And when Herod saw Jesus, he

was exceeding glad, for he was desirous to see Him for a long season, because he had