Spread the Seed but Work the Soil
Matthew 13:1 – 9, 18 – 23
In the message last week we remembered and acknowledged that Jesus offers and promises us that He will take on our burdensome yoke, that he will relieve our weariness and tiredness if we simply believe and trust in the future hope that he can provide to us, as always, if we are simply willing to ask. This week the Spirit leads us to another ramification of the condition of our hearts and souls when we become burdened and hardened by what life throws at us.
So much of the teaching that see from Jesus during his three years of ministry was impromptu “walk and talk” or “sit and say” sessions. Much of it was just the Jesus, the Disciples and the followers of Jesus such as Mary Magdalene walking from town to town and talking. Jesus would see something that provided a teachable moment. The Mustard tree story as well as the Healing of the 10 Lepers story in the Gospel of Luke 17 are examples of “Walk and Talk” teaching.
By contrast “The Sermon on the Mount” was a “Sit and Say” session. In that case Jesus shows up and so many folks flock around to see him and hear him that He simply sits and teaches. Our lesson today is one of those “Sit and Say” sessions.
In our lesson Jesus comes out of the house where he is staying and as the scripture says “sits by the lake”, the lake we know it more specifically as the Sea of Galilee. Maybe he came to find some time to be alone in prayer with his Father but so many people see him there and begin to gather around him that he climbs into a boat and drifts just offshore so that more people can see him. The water amplifies the sound of his voice and the surrounding hills echo it back so that all can hear. It is a natural amphitheater.
So that is where we find ourselves today, in Matthew 13 and Jesus is speaking from this boat in the Sea of Galilee to a large, enthralled crowd. As Jesus begins the conversation, he is using one of his favorite teaching tools, the Parable. In fact, we will see him use this technique, in this chapter throughout the rest of the month.
When I think of Parables, I think of those picture books that are often strung around the family room after our grandson has spent his day playing and asking for books to be read to him. He can’t read the words of course, but he can see the pictures and relate them to other things that he sees in the world around him and he seems to find some context and familiarity because of it.
Parables are picture stories, common images that help us relate to the truth behind the Word. As we imagine Jesus in a small boat, on the water of the lake, looking out at the crowd and in the distance, he sees the farmers tending to their fields and he launches into his lesson. Can you see the images in your minds eye? Can you see the boat, the crowd and the farmers working the farms? That is the power of a Parable!
There is something different, something unique about this lesson however because it comes in two different parts. As you can see that in our Message lesson there are eight verses between the end of the Parable and Jesus’ interpretation of it. It is a distinct difference in tone and content between the first part, the Parable about the Sower who goes into the field to sow seeds seemingly haphazardly and then the second part which is the interpretation of the Parable that Jesus provides only to the disciples about four different kinds of soils which impact the fruitfulness of the seeds.
Pastor David Lose tells us that parable itself describes a sower who is ridiculously generous with the amount of seed he scatters, throwing it not only on the good soil but on soil that even non-farmers can recognize weren’t good bets: thorny soil, dry soil, and even a beaten path. This makes this sower not simply generous but seemingly wasteful. Seed was not cheap in the ancient world, and anyone who listened to Jesus’ parable would have recognized the sheer apparent wastefulness, the recklessness, of such an approach to farming.
When we get to Jesus’ interpretation of the parable, Lose says, the generosity and wastefulness of the sower and the amazing abundance of seed isn’t even mentioned. Instead, the focus has shifted entirely to the soils, drawing an analogy between the different qualities of soil and different kinds of believers.
In this parable the Sower is to be understood as Jesus himself, spreading the seeds of salvation, reconciliation, redemption and sanctification over unbelievers and believers alike. The Soils represent the receptiveness, responsiveness and attentiveness of the hearts and souls of the hearers of the Seeds of Grace that are spread over them throughout their lives. One of these soils is going to paint a perfect picture of all our hearts from time to time. See if you can identify what kind of soil you are today as we look at these descriptions:
Hard Soil – refers to the narrow footpaths that ran beside and through the fields. When the seed fell on the footpath, it could not penetrate the soil and it remained there in the open, only to be devoured by the fowls of the air. The seed never had a chance.
We can imagine here a person who hears the Gospel, but who doesn’t “understand it”. It doesn’t sink in for them, they cannot make the connection between the promises of the Gospel and their own life. Maybe they have become calloused and cold toward the things of God and refuse to hear. For whatever reason, the seed of the Gospel cannot penetrate the soil of their heart.
Stoney Soil is common in Palestine. This soil looks like it is ready to be planted and looks good and productive. The seed cast there will germinate and quickly spring up into a promising plant. But, because there is no depth to the soil, as soon as the sun beats down on the tender plant, it withers and dies without producing any fruit.
This kind of soil represents the heart of a person that makes an emotional response to the Gospel and claims that that is exactly “what they need”. But the excitement quickly wears off. The early passion soon fades and the spirit withers and there is no fruit produced.
Thorny Soil – this soil also looks like it is ready to be sown, but beneath the surface are the unseen roots and seeds of thorns and weeds. When the seed falls here, it quickly springs to life and gives every indication that a good harvest will follow. But the other roots that were already there choke out the tender plant. This plant withers and dies without producing any fruit at all.
This soil represents someone that wants to have the fruit of the Good News influence their lives but there are too many other encumbrances, too many other competing negative influences that they are unwilling or unable to remove from their lives and these things crowd out and kill the good plants. The Seeds of Grace must have all the soil or the competing growth of unholy interests will take over. A decision must be made or there is no fruit.
Finally, The Good Soil – Some seed falls onto good ground that had been worked and prepared. It had been tended and was ready to receive the seed when it came and the plant flourishes. When it matures it produces much desirable fruit that honors the farmer and the creator of the seed.
This soil represents a heart that has been tended to by God as well as the believer. God provides us with the knowledge to Work the Soil so that as the seeds of Grace come our way, we are willing and able to nurture it into fruit that is pleasing and worthy to God.
In my opinion there are three Truths found in our lesson today:
First: This lesson is for those yet unsaved souls in order that they might recognize their heart about God’s Word among the characteristics found in the soil of their heart and chose to react differently in the future so that they can find an Eternal home.
Second: This lesson is for those that have already found Salvation through the life-giving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, yet they find the path of Sanctification difficult and challenging when obstacles and barriers get in their way. Maybe it is simply that the burdens that they are bearing is causing them to respond indifferently or unenthusiastically to the direction of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
Dear ones, considering everything that we talked about last week, all of the burdens that we carry, with the way that the world is weighing us down, making us tired and weary, can you be honest with yourself for just a few minutes about the condition of the soil in your heart and soul? If you can, ask yourself the following questions:
- In what kind of condition is the soil of my heart these days?
- Have I become hardened to the things of God?
- Am I shallow or unresponsive in my reaction to Him and His work around me?
- Am I constantly distracted, burdened and defeated by disobedience and the cares of the world?
- Do I have competing forces in my life that leave little room for growth or fruits?
- Am I bearing the kind of fruit I should be bearing?
Hear the Good News my Friends………..
The third Truth that is found in our lesson is that no matter how we answered those questions, no matter the condition of our soil is, there is always a willing Sower and more than enough Spiritual Seed to cover our tired and restless hearts and souls.
Our Father is always generous to his children and is always anxious to spread more seed onto the barren soil of our hearts and souls if we are willing to Work the Soil so that the seed can thrive and produce much fruit. All ground can be turn into producing ground with enough work and attention. Similarly, all hearts can be turned into faithful hearts with enough work and attention.
We live at a time and place where we often feel like there is just never enough grace to be found in the world around us. There is not enough money, or clean water, or fresh air, or fuel, or security, or happiness, or prestige or compassion or love for humanity or… well, you name it.
David Lose says that feeling comes from what we see on TV, hear on the radio, read in the newspaper or on the internet naming what is wrong, what is lacking, what we should fear, and then offering their solutions to all our problems. It makes us believe in a profound sense of scarcity and inadequacy, eventually making us believe not only that we do not have enough are ultimately we are not enough.
The Good News is that we don’t have to be enough because we have a God that is more than enough, and He is always willing to give us more than we need to be fruitful. He will Spread the Seed we must Work the Soil. Knowing that our soil is not always as receptive, responsive, and attentive to His call on our lives it is a blessing to know that God continues to graciously scatter seed on all kinds of soil; Hard, Stony, Thorny and Good, giving us time to Work the Soil to live into our promise of fruitfulness. Amen.