Grace to you and peace from God our Father and our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen
The text for this meditation is written in the 13th Chapter of the Gospel according to St Matthew: Verses 1 – 9 & 18 – 23:
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on the path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched; and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 Let anyone with ears listen!”
18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what is sown in the heart; this is what was sown on the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet such a person has no root, but endures only for a while, and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word, that person immediately falls away 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing. 23 But as for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”
One does not have to be too advanced in years to be amazed by the incredible technological advancement in all manner of farm and agricultural machinery. The continually evolving development of robotics reduces the human input, and human error for that matter. In some areas the machinery can drive itself. In the area of grain crops, the harvesting equipment can monitor the yield as it works its way through a field. In turn, other equipment can use that yield data to meter out fertiliser and other chemicals in precise amounts in order to produce the best yield in the next crop.
The whole point of this technology is for the farmer to do what all businesses want to do … get the best return on investment. You want to invest in seed, equipment, fertilisers, and other chemicals so that you get the most cost-effective yield. On the other hand, you don’t want to waste any of your investment.
First century farmers in Israel didn’t have all the technology that we have today, but they still wanted to get the most they could from their investment. They would make sure that all the seed they sowed fell on good soil. They would avoid throwing seed on hard packed roads, rocky ground, or thorns. They wanted all the seed to produce a good crop.
This morning, we heard Jesus tell a parable about a different kind of sower. The people who heard Jesus tell the parable would say that the sower was very careless. (Matthew 13:4–7) “Some seeds fell along the path, other seeds fell on rocky ground, and still other seeds fell among thorns”. This sower is sowing the seed everywhere.
Later, Jesus took the disciples aside and explained the parable. He tells them that the seed being sowed, is the proclaimed Word of God. In this context, the sower is anything but careless, he sows with abundance in all places, spreading the message of God’s generosity and His mercy; even in the most unlikely places. The proclamation of the Word of God is for all people in all places and times. We are told in (1 Timothy 2:4) “[God our Saviour] desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”.
To understand the relevance to us today, the careless sower could be anyone who shares the Word of God. It could be an apostle, prophet, priest, teacher, the head of a household, or even just one friend sharing God’s Word with another, it could be you or me. In each case Jesus has promised that the Holy Spirit will be at work when the sower shares the Word of God. The teaching of the parable is that those who proclaim God’s Word are generous with it. They throw the Word of God everywhere.
Different people, though, respond differently when they hear the Word of God. That is the main illustration of the parable. Jesus broke the response into four different categories … the well-travelled path, the rocky ground, the thorny ground, and the good earth.
Jesus began with those who simply reject the Word. He said, (Matthew 13:19) “When anyone hears the Word of the kingdom and denies it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path”. Although God wants to save everyone, there are those who reject the Word and resist the Holy Spirit. They remain in unbelief and under God’s judgment by their own choice, allowing the devil gets a foothold, and the Word means nothing to them. They have hardened their heart against the work of the Holy Spirit by simply refusing to believe.
The hardened soil of the path reminds us that there is a real battle going on for the lives of men, women, and children. Satan makes it his business to cast doubts about the Word of the Kingdom. This was his strategy at the beginning. (Genesis 3:1) “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” The evil one’s first words to Eve replaced God’s Word with doubt. Already, the evil one was coming and snatching away the Word that was sown in Eve’s heart. The hardened soil and the birds represent the devil snatching the Word and taking it away from us.
Then there is the rocky soil. At first the effect of the Word on the rocky soil seems hopeful, but then tragedy strikes. Jesus said, (Matthew 13:20–21) “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away”. Here the seed produces results just for a while in that thin layer of topsoil of enthusiasm. This type of person receives the word with joy. They join a local congregation. They may even become quite active, but because there is no root to feed from, if their faith is tested in ways we all experience, they wither and fall away.
In reality, we as Christians and church leaders can easily fall prey to the ‘rocky soil’ scenario.
The decline in worshipping membership of Christian churches over the past three decades saw the introduction of the ‘Christian Marketing Movement’. This was a movement ( and still is in some cases) where modern pop music, fun and entertainment became central to the worship service. The sermon was modified to avoid ‘boring’ anyone, and in a subtle way the central message of God’s Word became subordinate to the desperate need to grow in numbers.
In the early 2000’s, I was a ‘Locum’ Pastor, filling in for the Pastor on leave, in a church of moderate size. This church had two bands and two data projectors that worked in sync with lyrics and graphics. This whole atmosphere was so dynamic, that I felt intimidated and almost apologetic about preaching a regular sermon. The long standing well-grounded congregation members, deeply embedded in the faith, were reluctantly allocated a time slot for a ‘traditional service’, but their numbers remained steady. The dynamic 10:00am service was packed with young people who were really animated and energised; it was really happening, and growth was amazing. About one year after I filled in there, the Pastor with all the moves and music moved to another parish. Within three months of him leaving, the 10:00am service numbers diminished fairly rapidly. The seeds of God’s Word had not been sown in good soil. When the entertainment stopped, and the challenges came, they fell away. It is just as Jesus said. “[They endure] for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately [they fall] away”.
The third scenario illustrates a similar tragedy. Jesus said, (Matthew 13:22) “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful”. Once again, the seed sprouts. Once again, this type of person joins a local congregation. The problem here is that the cares of this world are more important than the Word of the kingdom. A late party on Saturday night or even late-night television is more important than being rested up enough to receive God’s Divine Service. Football matches, Athletic contests, music, dancing class and other extra-curricular activities are more important than Bible class or family devotions. Basically, there are so many things to do in this world that God’s Word becomes an afterthought instead of a priority. The thorns represent the world enticing us away from the salvation proclaimed in the Word of the Kingdom.
The last type of soil illustrates the fruit that God’s Word can bear. Jesus said, (Matthew 13:23) “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” This time, the roots of God’s Word run deep. It thrives and produces a harvest. In fact, the numbers that Jesus used are miraculous yields for that time and place.
It should be well noted though, that even the good soil is dead until God’s Word takes root in it. The power comes from God and He uses His Word to distribute that power. God works in us as we read or hear the Word. He brings us into His family as that very same Word combines with the water of Holy Baptism to join us to Christ in His crucifixion. He sustains and strengthens our faith with the Word combined with bread and wine as He offers Himself to us in His body and blood. These are the Means of Grace whereby God works the power of His Word in us.
Jesus makes it very clear in this parable that it is the deep roots of the seed that produce the fruit. Then He tells us that the seed is the Word of the Kingdom and the roots are the understanding of that Word. Therefore, when Jesus talks about the depth of the roots, He is talking about the depth of our understanding of the Word of the Kingdom. He is also talking about the effect that the Holy Spirit has as He works through that Word.
When the roots of the Word of the Kingdom run deep in us, we see that all of Scripture points us to the salvation we have in Jesus Christ. The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Holy Life of the Saviour – a life that He lived in our place because we cannot keep the law of God. The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Holy Death of the Saviour – a death that satisfies God’s holy and righteous justice against our sin. The Word of the Kingdom reveals the Resurrection of the Saviour – a resurrection that assures us that the Holy life and innocent death of the Saviour were accepted as payment in full for all our sins.
The devil, the world, and our own sinful nature want to drive us away from our Saviour. Their first step in alienating us from God is the same now as it was in Eden: “Did God actually say?” They constantly strive to prevent the growth of the roots of the Word. They constantly make the case against regular church attendance and regular Bible study. When we think it is not important to have an insatiable appetite for the knowledge of the Word of the Kingdom, we are playing right into the devil’s hand. That is exactly what he wants … humans who are weak because the Word of the Kingdom has not put deep roots into their hearts.
Jesus encourages us with the words, (Matthew 13:9) “He who has ears, let him hear.” Hearing is how the Holy Spirit gives understanding to us … how He causes the Word of the Kingdom to grow deep into our hearts. Hearing is how the Holy Spirit reveals the salvation of Jesus Christ to us. It is as the Old Testament Prophet Isaiah tells us: (Isaiah 55:10–11) “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, 11so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it. May the Word of the Kingdom dwell and grow deep in your hearts. Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
The love and peace of our Great Triune God that is beyond all human understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
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