Author: Gary Witcher

Parables Three

As great multitudes press at Jesus, He finds it difficult  to  reach all the people with the message He has come  to share.   So the Master decides to get into a boat and push out a short distance from the shore. He then sits down and begins His teaching.  By the way,  we are used  to having teachers stand up to speak.  In the  culture of  Jesus'  day,  the rabbi's sat down to teach.
"Behold, the sower went out to sow," the Lord begins in Matthew 13:3, "and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and devoured them.
"And others fell upon the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of  soil. But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because  they had no root, they withered away.
"And others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and  choked them out.
"And others fell on the good soil,  and yielded a  crop,  some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
What is the earthly story that Jesus is using to make His point?  A farmer goes out to plant seed in his field.  Remember that we are  talking about a first-century farmer who sows his seed by taking a handful  and throwing it out on the surface of the field.
Obviously, some of the seed is going to land on the road that borders the field.  Some will wind up in rocky soil that has not been  cultivated. And still other seed will come to rest in the weedy areas along  the edge of the field.  The farmer does not have  time  to make sure  that every single seed lands in the proper place.  Nor can he afford to stop short of sowing to the very edges of the field.
When Jesus completes the story, His disciples ask why He speaks  in parables.  He replies that, by using parables, He can direct His  lessons to those who have their minds open to spiritual matters.  Those who do not care about Jesus and His message will simply hear a story about a  farmer and some seed, and they will wonder why anyone is wasting  time  listening to this teacher.  But spiritually-minded people will  look  beyond  the simple story to grasp the heavenly meaning that lies behind.
Remember that the sower remains the same  throughout  the story,  as does the seed.  The varying results are due to differences in the soil.  A parallel account in Luke 8 identifies the seed as the word of God.
As we seek the heavenly meaning to this parable we are  fortunate  in that Jesus Himself explains what He is trying to communicate.
"Hear then the parable of the sower,"  Jesus explains beginning  in verse 18.
"When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it," He continues in verse 19, "the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart.  This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road."
Between the time Jesus gives  the parable and  the  time when He provides the explanation, He comments on people who hear and yet do not hear or understand.
"Do you not yet see or understand?" Jesus asks His disciples in Mark 8:17-18.  "Having eyes, do you not see?  And having ears,  do you not hear?"
On this occasion Jesus has just warned His followers to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod.  Their minds go immediately  to  the fact that they have no bread to eat.  The Lord has to explain  that  they don't need to worry about their physical needs.  Then He points out, as we find in Matthew 16:12, that He is talking about false teaching as  leaven. They have heard but have not understood because their minds are blinded by material things.  Earthly minds cannot grasp heavenly messages.
Some people hear the word of God.   But  they have no  interest  in spiritual matters.  Just as seed cast on a  road  is quickly  trampled underfoot and eaten by the birds, this word has no effect on the lives of these people.
"And the one on whom seed was sown on  the  rocky places,"  Jesus continues in Matthew 13:20-21, "this is the man who hears  the word,  and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself,  but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, he falls away.
How do we feel about "fair-weather friends?"  We've all  seen  them; people who are always around when things are going well and nowhere to be found when problems arise.   How must God  feel  about  "fair-weather Christians?"  We've all seen them; people who are always around when  the weather is good and no problems exist, but are nowhere to be  found when it's too hot or too cold or too wet or too dry or too early or  too  late, or when it's time to tackle some unpleasant situation.  We should  clarify that they are around when the weather is good but not too good.   In  the latter situation they can usually be found at the lake.
As Jesus points out, these people have no firm root.  A plant in this condition is not long  for  this world,  just as a Christian in  this condition is not long for the kingdom of God.

"And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns," Jesus continues with His explanation in Matthew 13:22-23, "this is the man who hears  the word, and the worry of the world, and the deceitfulness of  riches  choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful."
The account in Mark 4:19 adds "desire for other things" to  the  list of spiritual weeds,  and Luke 9:14 mentions  "worries and riches and pleasures of this life."
We get the message, don't we?  At least, we get  the message  if  we care about spiritual truths.  Luke 16:14 pictures the Pharisees scoffing at Jesus for making this point.  It's no surprise that some people  today do the same thing.  But the fact remains that we cannot give top priority to both material and spiritual considerations.
Jesus instructs plainly in Matthew 6:24 that no one can serve  two masters; we cannot serve God and riches.
"For those who are according to the flesh set  their  minds on  the things of the flesh," Paul explains in Romans 8:5,  "but  those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit."
"For many walk," Paul points out in Philippians 3:19-19, "of  whom  I told you, and now tell you even weeping, that  they are enemies of  the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose god  is  their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things."
"Set your mind on the things above," the Holy Spirit  through Paul orders in Colossians 3:2, "not on the things that are on earth."
In 2 Timothy 3:1-9 we find a list of people who are labeled in verse eight as "men of  depraved mind"  and  in verse  13 as  "evil  men and imposters."  Verse four includes "lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God" in the list.
"You adulteresses,"  James 4:4  charges,  "do you not know  that friendship with the world is hostility  toward God?  Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God."
What trend do we see in our modern society?  As we discover  by reading these first-century warnings, the problem is certainly not a new one.  But should we be concerned about the snowballing materialism  that surrounds us and threatens the futures of our children?
Notice that the plant that springs up among the thorns may look  like a perfectly good specimen.  The problem is that it has  consumed all  its energy just to make itself lock good, and as a result it has nothing  left to use in producing fruit.  Why do we grow wheat plants, anyway?  Is it to have pretty stalks, or to harvest grain?  Why do we have Christians, anyway?  Is it to have them look good or to have them bear fruit?
So far we have considered three kinds of soil.  Fortunately there is one more kind yet to be examined.
	"And the one on whom seed was sown on  the good ground," Jesus concludes in Matthew 13:23, "this is  the man who hears  the word and understands  it;  who  indeed bears  fruit,  and brings  forth,  some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."
There are those, then, who hear the word of God and allow it to grow in fertile hearts. They act upon what they hear and thus become fruitful.
Since Jesus does not describe any additional kinds of soil,  we must all fit into one of these four.
What kind of soil are you?  Are you the soil along the road?  Do your priorities of material concerns keep you from understanding what Jesus  is trying to say?
Are you rocky soil?  Are you quick to spring up and equally quick  to fade away?
Are you soil that is full of weeds?  Do you allow riches and worries of the world to choke out what Jesus is trying to teach you?
Or are you good soil?  Are you willing to put Jesus  first and obey what He commands?  Are you willing to act upon what you learn and become a fruitful Christian?
Are you willing to obey the truth that will set you free?

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission." (www.lockman.org)