Let's jump right in!
He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, “Behold, a farmer went out to sow. As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them. Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn’t have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth. When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away. Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them. Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matt. 13:3-9 WEB)
Let's picture the scene. Jesus leaves the
house and makes His way to the seaside. The multitudes, eager to hear Him,
become so numerous that He must get into a boat, and make it His pulpit.
Then He starts teaching.
What is remarkable is what went on before this
parable. Going back a few chapters, we see Him:
1. Harvesting grain with His disciples,
because they were hungry, and being accused by the Pharisees of breaking the
law about no work. He then reminds them of what King David did--eating
the consecrated bread--and how the priests break the law by doing the
sacrifices and yet are innocent. He reminds them that mercy, not a blind
adherence to the Law, is what God desires and then proclaims Himself to be the
Lord of the Sabbath. (Matt.12:1-8)
2. He then enters a synagogue, where Sabbath
services are in full swing, and heals a man with a shriveled hand. He
reminds the leaders that in doing good on the Sabbath, the Law is not
broken. The Pharisees are so livid that they "plotted how they might
kill Jesus." (Matt. 12:9-14)
3. He withdraws from that place and heals
the sick and thus fulfills Isaiah's words about God's Chosen Servant, Who will
bring hope to all. (Matt. 12:18-21)
4. He then heals a demon-possessed man, and
the Pharisees attribute His power to the Devil. Jesus says, in no
uncertain terms, that attributing the work of His Father to Satan will never be
forgiven. He then talks of how a tree's fruit indicates what kind of tree
it is. He then excoriates them for their evil hearts and that their very
words have condemned them. (Matt. 12: 33-37).
5. In response to the Pharisees wanting a
sign, Jesus offers the ultimate one: like Jonah, He will be held in the
darkness of the earth for three days and then He will reappear. He talks
of how utterly unwise this generation is and how they have provided a
habitation, in their thoughts and actions, for evil.
6. His mother and brothers show up and want
to speak to Him. In the heated exchange with the religious leaders, has
His family detected some danger and do they wish to whisk Him away from the
leaders' menacing gazes? He gently reminds them and His disciples that
doing the will of His Father constitutes His family.
So, now, (no coincidence here) that He tells the
parable of the sower to the waiting crowd, and in His mind, He surveys all the
different people who have been listening to Him recently.
Later, with the disciples eagerly inquiring of
Him, He explains the meaning:
Hear, then, the parable of the farmer. When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown by the roadside. What was sown on the rocky places, this is he who hears the word, and immediately with joy receives it; yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. What was sown among the thorns, this is he who hears the word, but the cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. What was sown on the good ground, this is he who hears the word, and understands it, who most certainly bears fruit, and produces, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty. (Matt. 13:18-23 WEB)
We could stop here, but Jesus isn't talking in
general terms. The disciples have already seen the various
"soils" in action. The sower is God and the seed is His
word. Notice, He casts it far and wide. Now, does a sower throw the
seed just anywhere? No. He is going to throw it upon tilled soil,
prepared and ready. He doesn't cast His seed on stones, on volcanic rock or on
a lake. He casts it on the soil of human hearts prepared by the tillage
of the Holy Spirit.
Now, the disciples just experienced watching the
first instance of where the seed falls--on the hearts of the Pharisees who are
so hardened in their hearts that they attribute God's miracles to Satan.
The Holy Spirit tills, but the rocks of pride, the drying sun of hatred and the
eroding rains of judgment have rendered the soil unfit to receive the words of
the Almighty, spoken through His Son.
The ones with shallow hearts, will receive the
word with joy, but later will fall away because of temptation. The
disciples just experienced this with the healings. They saw how the
people rejoiced when the man's hand was healed and how eager the people were to
follow Jesus. But when the fear of disapproval, the disdainful gaze of
the leaders fell upon the people, did they turn away? When Jesus'
own family showed up, rejoicing earlier over the wonderful things He was doing,
but now afraid that He was attracting the wrong kind of attention, did they,
too, lose heart in Him and His ministry?
The leaders and many of the richer people, whose
lives directly benefited from the way things were, did Jesus threaten their
status with His kingdom built on love? Did they wither away, leaving
smaller and smaller fruits behind? Was their place in society more
important than Truth?
Jesus scanned the crowd as they sat on the
shore. He could see into the hearts of those whose soil, tilled like all
the others, were willing to receive the "word with a noble and good heart,
keep it and bear fruit with patience." (Matt. 13:18-23 NIV). Ah,
there it is: a soil tilled by the Spirit, watered with the rains of
sincerity and seeking, warmed by the belief that here stands the very One of
Whom their prophets heralded would come. Even after they felt the
scorching heat of others' disapproval, they were willing to grow in the
knowledge of Him and the One He sent.
He must have smiled, seeing those disciples--now and in the future--whose
soil would produce an abundant and far-reaching crop. He thanked His Father, in His heart, for those followers whose love for Him would never fail.
But He also knew the price that is paid when a seed,
a kernel, falls on the soil:
The price they would pay, we will pay, is
enormous. His death will bring us life, and His blood will water the
soil. We will be His witnesses to His work in the soil of our
hearts.
Cast the seed of His word. Trust the Sower to
go before you and pray for a harvest. He did no less. We can do no
more.
So, what can we glean (pun intended) from this parable? We were created for fellowship with God, pure and
simple.
If we see a field filled with weeds, rocks and
debris, we want to clear it out, till the soil and plant something
beautiful. Later, when the plants send
forth their sweet perfume and the colors of all kinds of flowers take our
breath away, we are grateful for this fact:
we do reap what we sow.
Sow beauty, reap beauty.
Sow ugliness, reap ugliness.
The Sower in the parable looks at the barren land and
wants to see beauty: tall grasses swaying
in the wind, later to be harvested to feed many. God looks on His now barren earth (He started
the planet in a garden) and longs to see beauty in His children: growing in the Son and feeding the
spiritually hungry. God's covenant-love here is
seeing what is not—barren fields, empty hearts, sin’s ravages--and bringing
forth something of eternal value:
Forget the former things;
do
not dwell on the past.
See, I am doing a new thing!
Now
it springs up; do you not perceive it?
I am making a way in the wilderness
and
streams in the wasteland.
The wild animals honor me,
the
jackals and the owls,
because I provide water in the wilderness
and
streams in the wasteland,
to give drink to my people, my chosen,
the people I
formed for myself
that
they may proclaim my praise.
(Is. 43:18-21 WEB)
Do you see yourself as His harvest? He loves to watch you grow, for it is He that cast the seed into your heart.
He rejoiced when you resisted the evil one and not
let him steal the seed.
He loved your joy, but loves it even more when His
truth keeps reaching into your heart and taking root, growing strong and
sturdy. You may be buffeted by
oppression or persecution, but your roots are deep.
He loves that the allure of this world cannot
uproot you. You’re happy than you are in
solid ground, and not the shifting and lifeless soil of the world.
He rejoices at your many baskets of fruits brought
to harvest: He loves how you love Him,
share His Word, and praise the Sower with your life.
God is about growth, abundant, springtime and harvest, and He wants to start with you.
I just realized today is Pentecost--this was the ultimate casting of seed to bring in a harvest of a new and living way. Praise God!
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