Parable of the Sower

[Silvertusk]

Hi Guys.

Just wondering if you can cast your eyes over a sermon I am preaching next week - see what you think.

Scripture Matthew 13:1-23

13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?”

11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:

“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’[a]

16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

18 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. 22 The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. 23 But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Sermon

I was reading Matthew for Everyone by Tom Wright. A series I recommend for as the title suggests brings the books of the New Testament to everyone in a fresh and contemporary way, but of course staying true to the message and meaning of the text. One of the discourses in Matthew is the parables. As everyone knows the parables of Jesus represent some of his core teachings and are so rich with powerful challenges to us all. One particular one that I am seeing in a new light, prompted by this book is the Parable of the Sower.

As Jesus was telling this story the listeners would understand the analogies he was using as there were perfect examples of the type of land he was talking about around them. Palestine was unfenced at that time with land not really marked off so travellers would make many walkways across fields eroding paths over time, giving many opportunities for seed to fall on waysides.

Rocky lands would have very little top soils so no real roots would take place and the sun could be pretty hot in Israel at times. Palestine was abounding in thorns, where up to sixteen varieties of thorny plants could grow. Some thistles in the Plain of Gennesaret would grow so tall that even a horse could not push through them. Jesus knew the land and the people extremely well and so the people could relate to his stories – there might well have been many farmers listening to him at that time when he was telling this parable.

Jesus would finish most of his parables with the words “Whoever has ears, let them hear”. In this case this prompted his disciples to ask him directly why he taught in parables. With these words Jesus is inviting us to just go a little further to understand the true meaning of his stories. This is not on the level of Gnosticism as sometimes been misinterpreted but simply to have that motivation to want to go a little deeper. Jesus tells us in Matthew 7:7

7 “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.”

God will never impose himself on us in any way to impinge our freewill. He is the constant, ever present and it is us that either moves away from him or draws closer. Here he is inviting us to make that move – Ask, seek, listen and the door will be open to you and you will hear and receive the meaning of the story.

Looking at the quote from Isaiah Jesus is giving us a warning and one that has been verified through history. As we have seen there are groups of people who hear and see Jesus and his teachings but do not hear and do not see the meaning behind them. Now I do not think this only refers to the unbelievers but you only have to look at some of the actions of the church through the centuries to see that people who profess that they are Christian are living lives with calloused hearts, closed ears and closed eyes.

Let us now get to the core of this parable and that is the seeds itself. The four types of soils that the seeds are sown in represent four different types of hearts of the people receiving the word of Jesus.

The seed that is sown on the wayside is the harden heart. No root is taken and therefore it is left exposed for the birds – or as Jesus explains, the evil one to snatch away. Today this could represent atheists, people who have no inclination to listen or to try and seek meaning in the Word. They have already made up their mind about Jesus and therefore are indifferent to his teaching. On another level this could also represent the legalists who don’t really care for the message apart from what they can achieve for themselves through it by layering on constraints and rules to obscure the message for others. They have lost the concept of grace and piled on works and regulations, the Pharisees of old. And there are those who sit in churches and listen to sermons and then quickly forget what was said, turning to gossip and criticism as the devil sows a different seed in their hearts. It is plain to see that the good seed has not taken root.

Next we have the seed that falls on the rocks. This represents the shallow heart. A quick joy is experienced as the message takes root but this is only faith at a superficial level. As Jesus explained to the disciples, when persecution or trouble comes along, they quickly fall away. How many people do we know or have met that when life is good they have “faith” but as soon as the storms come in they deny God so quickly when ironically it is the time when they should be reaching out to him the most. If only they had read a little deeper into scripture and realised that Jesus didn’t say that life will be always be happy if you follow him, but the joy that will come with the richer relationship with the Father, his Son and the Holy Spirit supplants all possible conceivable suffering. It is all the more important in some cases that we tell people in this category the truth behind the Christian life and what it may bring, but under no circumstances when things go wrong does it mean that God has abandoned them. These people may have that small mustard seed growing within them and need the nurturing of kind witness and support of more mature Christians to take them past that superficial level of understanding.

The seed that falls among the thorns is the one that I can most identify with. These people hear the word and try to follow it but get choked by the world and all its distractions. To be honest I would at times describe myself as one of these people who is desperately trying to scramble out of the thorns to the good soil. How many times a day do I give my problems to God and not despair at the growing mountains that they seem to be turning into? How many times do I instead of worrying about money, tithe to God in the full and let him look after my finances? How many times do I forget to acknowledge God altogether for the good that is happening in my life and the blessings that I do have? How many times do I let the sins and temptations of the world create a stronghold on me and for short periods of time lose sight of God altogether? How many times do I let these thorns choke me and not instead reach out to God’s Word and lose myself in his love, grace, forgiveness and mercy? How many times do I let the devil speak lies into my thoughts turning me from the path that God wants me on to give me life to its fullest? How does one get onto the good soil from here?

One method is to surround yourself with a good Christian fellowship that can inspire you and encourage you. I am truly blessed with that where I am. As you should be a witness to others, let others also be a witness to you. Find time for God as often as you can and reach out for God in other people. God maybe using other people around you precisely for that purpose. Do give everything to God and in everything seek God’s will. Pray pray and pray some more. Jesus tells us not to worry and he means it. The world will happen whether we like it or not, it is up to us to face it with a trust in the knowledge that God is with us, clothing us better than the grass in the fields and feeding us more than the birds in the air. Trust in the Lord for he is good and his love endures forever says the psalmist and I think we should take his word on it.

Straight after Jesus tells us the parable of the sower he tells us another parable. I don’t think it is any coincidence that this is also about seeds.

Matthew 13:24-30

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

The fact that this comes straight after the parable of the Sower I think is deliberate. In the one Jesus warns of the danger of the Word of God falling on ground where the thorns may choke the listener, here he provides a glimmer of hope for those people. If we endure and seek God through all our lives then he will pick us out from the mess and bring us home. This also gives us some encouragement and answer to why God does allow bad things to happen as he can see the end picture and knows that removing the bad may hurt the good even more. The message here is to endure and trust in God.

The final seed represents the heart that is free. These are the people who hear God’s word and believe it with all their heart and soul. They put into practice what Jesus taught and really are a light on a hill. I believe that these are the people who have that peace of certainty, the peace that the Lord brings. They know what they know is true and through all weathers, through all storms they can feel the presence of God with them. This is a beautiful place to be and at moments in my life I can feel that I am there albeit briefly at times. Forgive me for being selfish but I want more of this. We should all here want more of this. These are the people who display such wonderful fruits of their faith but with the quiet humility of a servant. These are the type of people who when faced with adversity, persecution and torture stand strong giving all glory to God and boast in the work of the Lord. These are the people that when faced with death, have a smile on their face and can say with the hope that is unbreakable “Lord I am coming home!”

We should all strive to be the people with the good soil in our hearts. We should let the words of Jesus fall on ears that are open, we should see the mission of our Lord with eyes that are clear and we should seek understanding in our hearts so that they may be healed and may our crops yield hundredfold because of the light of our Lord shining in us.

[neo-x]

Its a nice sermon Silver. I liked reading it. It's straight, simple, to the point.

a few minor points.

1. The seed which fell on the path exactly represents, legalists, not atheists, at least in the context. By definition, nothing grows on the path for it is well tread. Jesus immediate audience compromised of plenty of such people. People who while have the chance of receiving the word are hardened in heart so much that they would not even entertain it.

2. The seed which fell on rocks, withers because it has no connection to water. Rocky ground has no water. The point here is not what is available to the seed but what isn't. Water being an essential requirement. You could emphasize on faith with lip service (no faith at all) to a real foundation in God. of a seed which has its root in the waters of life, so it shall not wither, Cr Ref. it with John 4, woman at the well.

3. A good ground automatically does not ensure good results. Imagine, a good ground has to be watered, it has to be trimmed, it has to cleaned from rocks and thorns. You have to keep the birds away. It requires effort and care. Cr Ref it to Jesus being the true vine, and God the father being the gardener. And here the importance of fellowship and a pastor also springs up for this is why the ministry is given to ministers. Cr ref with Ephesians and five ministries which ensure that the good ground is kept good and fertile.

Just my two cents.

[Silvertusk]

Thanks Neo - that is very helpful - I will amend certain bits and add to it.

[Jac3510]

Silver,

I also think this is looks good. It strikes me to be a bit short for a sermon, but then, when I preach, I maybe go too long-about 35 or 40 minutes! Anyway, for what it is worth, preach theorists talk about the four functional elements of a sermon: explanation, illustration, application, and argumentation. A sermon should always be a balance of the first three, with the fourth sprinkled in as necessary. You have provided a lot of explanation, which means just what it sounds like. You have explained well verses you are reading. You would probably do well to try to add some illustration and application to each of the four types, though. You mentioned atheists and legalists, for instance, but what if rather than talking about it vaguely, you told a story? Have you ever encountered a legalist who just refused to hear the Word? People love stories, and they drive home that point.

Second, while you explain the text well, some preaching theorists distinguish between a homily and an exposition, in which the former is essentially a running commentary with some application added here or there whereas the latter is built around a single idea called the Big Idea or the Central Theme or Central Idea of the Text, etc. You have leaned a bit toward a homily here, whereas I tend to side with those who think that exposition makes for a more transformational message. Ask yourself, what is the point Jesus is trying to make here? Why was He talking about four kinds of people? To what end? Just what was He talking about? I would submit that, in this passage, it has something to do with Jesus wanting fruitful disciples. If so, you would tailor all of your "points" (here, the four kinds of soils, plus your helpful discussion on the wheat and tares) so that they support the big idea you are preaching. You may ask, "Are you bearing fruit for Christ? If not, let's look at this passage and see what Jesus says can cause a person to fail to produce fruit -- first, some people fail to produce fruit because they have a hard heart . . .," etc. The importance of all of this is that people go home with a single, actionable idea--the sermon becomes transformational rather than just informational.

Third, with exception to the one time you put the word faith in quotation marks when discussing the second type of soul, I want to commend you on not getting off on theological rabbit trails. It's very easy, given our obsession with the Calvinist/Arminian debate, to jump into questions like, "Would those people really be saved?" But Jesus doesn't address that point in this text. He just says that some people don't produce fruit because they don't have faith, some because their faith doesn't last, and some because their faith is crowded out by too many other concerns. Those who are ready and willing to receive the Word, who have no distractions and are really focused on Christ, they will bear fruit--some a little, and some a lot. There's enough to preach on here without importing theology, and I would argue that is good preaching, because now you are preaching what the text says rather than on theological implications that you draw from other passages.

So, yeah, just my thoughts. I hope they're a bit helpful. Let us know how it goes!

[Silvertusk]

Silver,

I also think this is looks good. It strikes me to be a bit short for a sermon, but then, when I preach, I maybe go too long-about 35 or 40 minutes! Anyway, for what it is worth, preach theorists talk about the four functional elements of a sermon: explanation, illustration, application, and argumentation. A sermon should always be a balance of the first three, with the fourth sprinkled in as necessary. You have provided a lot of explanation, which means just what it sounds like. You have explained well verses you are reading. You would probably do well to try to add some illustration and application to each of the four types, though. You mentioned atheists and legalists, for instance, but what if rather than talking about it vaguely, you told a story? Have you ever encountered a legalist who just refused to hear the Word? People love stories, and they drive home that point.

Second, while you explain the text well, some preaching theorists distinguish between a homily and an exposition, in which the former is essentially a running commentary with some application added here or there whereas the latter is built around a single idea called the Big Idea or the Central Theme or Central Idea of the Text, etc. You have leaned a bit toward a homily here, whereas I tend to side with those who think that exposition makes for a more transformational message. Ask yourself, what is the point Jesus is trying to make here? Why was He talking about four kinds of people? To what end? Just what was He talking about? I would submit that, in this passage, it has something to do with Jesus wanting fruitful disciples. If so, you would tailor all of your "points" (here, the four kinds of soils, plus your helpful discussion on the wheat and tares) so that they support the big idea you are preaching. You may ask, "Are you bearing fruit for Christ? If not, let's look at this passage and see what Jesus says can cause a person to fail to produce fruit -- first, some people fail to produce fruit because they have a hard heart . . .," etc. The importance of all of this is that people go home with a single, actionable idea--the sermon becomes transformational rather than just informational.

Third, with exception to the one time you put the word faith in quotation marks when discussing the second type of soul, I want to commend you on not getting off on theological rabbit trails. It's very easy, given our obsession with the Calvinist/Arminian debate, to jump into questions like, "Would those people really be saved?" But Jesus doesn't address that point in this text. He just says that some people don't produce fruit because they don't have faith, some because their faith doesn't last, and some because their faith is crowded out by too many other concerns. Those who are ready and willing to receive the Word, who have no distractions and are really focused on Christ, they will bear fruit--some a little, and some a lot. There's enough to preach on here without importing theology, and I would argue that is good preaching, because now you are preaching what the text says rather than on theological implications that you draw from other passages.

So, yeah, just my thoughts. I hope they're a bit helpful. Let us know how it goes!

Very helpful - thank you Jac and again it has prompted me to want to make a few changes. The time for the sermon is only about 10-15 minutes so I guess I have to be brief. But I definately take your points on board. I would class myself as a lay preacher and do not have sound professional theological training - so this advice is very helpful.

[PaulSacramento]

I think the parable that follows, the one you quoted:
http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Matthew%2013.24-30

Is an important one that tends to get lost at times and this is why:

24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
28 “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
29 “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

What does Jesus say here?

Do NOT try to separate them yet because YOU do NOT know which are which and in trying to separate them you will undoubtedly kill the good along with the bad.
Only Christ knows which are the "weeds" and He will tell when it is time ( and presumably which are the ones).
Sometimes in our zeal to defend and protect the Church we THINK is right we forget that that only Christ KNOWS.

Does this mean we should ignore what is being preached that goes directly against the teachings of Christ?
NO.
It does mean that we must be cautious when dealing with the "gray area" or the "interpretive traditions/doctrines" we have or others may come forth with.
Imagine being the "stumbling block" that Christ warns against?
Imagine being a "persecutor" of a view that we "know" to be wrong that Christ then tells us is right?

We must never lose touch with the one things that we are 100% sure about:
We are NOT perfect, we are NOT infallible, we most CERTAINLY make mistakes.

[believeme2]

I like what you have done here Silver. However, my preference is that the explanation of the parable be more personally applicable to everyday life experience. Many have the idea that this parable is dealing with "the lost". However, that is probably only true in the case of the wayside soil. This parable deals with obstacles to faith that leads to obedience and a fruitful life which is a major concern for every believer, not just "the lost".

I agree wholeheartedly that the wayside soil hearer represents someone with preconceived ideas and beliefs. Spiritual insight is key to understanding and understanding this parable is key to insight profitable for fruitful living. All people including believers have preconceived ideas and beliefs that are wrong in some way. After all, people are not omniscient and do not know all truth and people are fallible and are subject to making errors in judgement and mistakes. So then the best way to know what is true is to be omniscient, failing that, the best alternative is to know someone who is omniscient and they tell us. Unfortunately, the problem is that we prefer our own belief (which is based upon our limited understanding) instead. This is properly recognized as the absence of faith since preconceived ideas are not overthrown by the truth. Since preconceived ideas are firmly entrenched, the truth is discarded in favor of what is already believed instead. For a believer this might represent wrong doctrine which will fail to bring anyone into obedience or a fruitful life because it is the truth that is known that will make someone free not unsound doctrine. If the truth isn't accepted, it can't be said to be known, if it isn't known, it can't make anyone free. On another level the wayside soil might be said to represent a mental obstacle to the truth.

Regarding Stoney soil I cannot agree with the comment that rocky soil has no connection to water. For one thing rivers and streams are commonly full of rocks. Secondly, the parable is figuratively speaking about soil, not water, which is a distinctly different element. Stoney soil represents a heart that does not exhibit enduring faith in the face of difficulties. This is like a fair weather friend that abandons you at the first sign of trouble. The stoney soil hearer abandons the truth that leads to obedience and a fruitful life because obedience to the truth is difficult due to personal suffering. Faith is abandoned because the validity of both the truth, and the benefit that the truth promises, seem unobtainable because of the intensity of the suffering encountered while waiting for the promise. Stoney soil represents a heart that abandons faith due to the difficulty of enduring suffering. On another level the stoney soil might be said to represent an emotional failure which is an obstacle to obedience to the truth.

Thorny soil represents a heart that is distracted by the strongholds and moral failures in their life. While a Stoney heart abandons faith due to the difficulty of enduring suffering, a Thorny heart abandons faith due to the strongholds and moral failures in their life which brings about a suffering from guilt or shame, as opposed to the suffering from enduring, until that for which one is having faith materializes. On another level the thorny soil might be said to represent a failure of the will as an obstacle to obedience to the truth.

Having said all of that, the main thrust of this parable is to bring about understanding in the hearts of the hearers so that they can be successful in living fruitful lives. I think this perspective helps to do that by removing it from an abstract theory or theological premise and placing it directly in the middle of relevancy for their lives.