Jesus' Parable of the Sower & Soils
Matthew 13:1-23

Teaching t08781

Introduction

This morning we begin a series on Jesus' parables concerning the most important theme in the Bible—the kingdom of God. In Matthew's gospel, we find two different clusters of kingdom parables—one in chapter 13 and another in chapter 25. We'll spend the next four or five weeks studying the parables in chapter 13, and then we'll look close out our series with the ones in chapter 25.

Let's dive right in and read the first parable—the parable of the sower and soils (read 13:1-9). Before we read Jesus' explanation of this parable and seek to apply it to our own lives, we need to be clear about the main theme of these seven parables (read 13:10-11a). Jesus says these parables describe a portion of God's kingdom that he calls “the mysteries of the kingdom.”

A biblical “mystery” is not something purposefully vague or difficult to understand (like a modern day mystery novel)—it is simply a truth not revealed until now. The mysteries of the kingdom of God refer to a portion of God's kingdom that was not clearly revealed in the Old Testament. That's why they were so privileged (read 13:16-17)—they were getting new information about God's kingdom that even the Old Testament prophets did not know. Read and explain 13:34-35; 51-52.
In order to appreciate what was new, we need to know what was old. The Old Testament view of history was very straightforward. Since Adam's choice to live independently from God, we live in what one biblical author calls “this present evil age”—an age dominated by rebellion and evil. But God is sovereign over history, and one day he would replace this present evil age with his own kingdom, when the wicked will be judged and righteousness will reign. The event that separates these two periods of history is the coming of God's Messiah (read Daniel 7:13-14).
Now Jesus affirms this picture—but he adds some crucial additional information about the coming of Messiah and the establishment of God's kingdom. What the Old Testament prophets called the coming of Messiah is actually his Second Coming. Prior to that time, Messiah would come—not as a reigning King but as suffering Servant—to die for the guilt of a rebellious humanity who God loves. His first coming would usher in an unanticipated form of God's kingdom that is different in important ways from the kingdom in its fullness. This is what Jesus calls “the mysteries of the kingdom” and describes through the seven parables in Matthew 13.

This is the period of history we live in! Through these parables, then, we learn about how God's kingdom is at work in the world today, and about how we can benefit from and cooperate with his activity.
The key to understanding this parable is to ask: What does it reveal about God's kingdom that they did not already know? That's where we should start with this parable . . .

2 Key Contrasts

In its final phase, God's kingdom will come dramatically to all humanity in the arrival of the King himself in all of his glory and power (read Matthew 24:30). But during this phase, his kingdom comes and spreads through the sharing of a message to individuals. In Luke 8:11, Jesus explains that “the seed is the word of God.” Jesus begins his explanation in 13:19 by saying, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom . . .”

This “word” is the message Jesus proclaimed, which is recorded for us in the New Testament. It is the message that Jesus is the rightful King of your life, and that he is worthy of your allegiance because he loves you enough to die for your sins. It is the message that God is offering you the gift of membership in his kingdom—his forgiveness, eternal life with him, and a personal relationship with him now. This message comes to you as you read the gospel of John, or listen to the witness of a Christian friend, or hear a teaching like this one . . .
Like a seed, this message may appear small or unimpressive (especially compared to the Second Coming), but it has tremendous spiritual power. Just as a small, seemingly insignificant wheat seed has within it the power to bear hundreds of bushels of wheat, so this message has the power to change your life (your standing with God, destiny, purpose, etc.), and to affect others' lives through you as you share it with them—if you respond properly to it . . .

And that's the second way in which this phase of God's kingdom is different from its final phase. When Jesus returns, his kingdom will come with irresistible force—overturning governments and sweeping individuals into either heaven or hell. But during this phase, its effect on you is in proportion to your chosen response. God in his mercy is presently allowing you to decide what you want to do with his kingdom, how you want it to affect your present life.

This explains why the same message has such different impact on different people, or even on the same person at different times. It isn't that the message changes, or that God's power to work through the message changes—it is your response to the message that determines how much impact it is having on your life. How much can this message transform your life? Exactly as much as you open yourself to its influence.
This parable warns us of the three most common wrong responses to the Word, and explains what the right response looks like. As we look briefly at each of these responses, focus on your own present response (not others) and whether you want to change it. (The soils are not fixed—I've been all four.)

BESIDE THE ROAD: Unreceptive

Read 13:4. First-century farmers broadcast the seed and then plowed it under. Footpaths and roads commonly wound right through the fields. Because of its packed-down condition and immunity to plowing, the seeds falling here were quickly gobbled up by the birds before they could germinate.

Read 13:19. This is the unreceptive hearer, signified by the packed-down condition of the soil on the road. When Jesus says such people do not understand the message, he doesn't mean they lack the IQ to cognitively assimilate the content. He means that they lack understanding because they refuse to consider responding to it (see context of 13:14,15). This response takes different forms—some by outspoken hostility, more by bland indifference, etc.

So the message makes no progress because their heart is hard. But something else happens. God's enemy, the devil, acts aggressively and creatively to neutralize the message. He does this in a couple of ways.

He will supply you with “reasons” to reject this message: “YOU'LL TURN INTO NED FLANDERS!” “YOUR FRIENDS WILL REJECT YOU!” “JESUS WILL RUIN YOUR LIFE!”
He will distract you from seriously considering it. No one has described this better than C. S. Lewis in his book, The Screwtape Letters.^¹ Screwtape is an experienced demon who is counseling a junior demon on how to handle his "patient's" recent exposure to the “seed.” He warns him not to argue against it because (READ EXCERPT). The only thing that has changed here is the sophistication of the distractions (MATERIALISM & “INFOTAINMENT”).

What about you? Does this describe your present response? You can change that response today by deciding to deliberately expose yourself to God's message (by coming to this series, for example), and by committing yourself to reflect on it (and even discuss it with a friend who believes it). What do you really have to lose by doing this? If it turns out not to be true, you have lost nothing. But if it turns out to be true, you have gained everything . . .

ROCKY SOIL: Insincere

Read 13:5. Explain limestone layer just below the surface. Spring rains cause seeds to germinate quickly and dramatically, but limestone prevents the roots from growing deeply so that the plants are burned by the summer sun.

Read 13:20-21. This describes the insincere hearer—the person who expresses a superficially positive response to the message, but he doesn't really receive the Word as the TRUTH to be followed—he only views it as a means to other things he wants. This is why he “falls away” when his connection to Jesus leads him into suffering (peirasmos). This response reveals the insincerity of his “commitment.”

What sorts of things do people want that leads to this kind of response?

Some want an emotional experience that will entertain them without changing the direction of their lives. When the buzz wears off, or when another more promising experience comes along, Jesus is jettisoned.
Some want to please parents, or hang on to friends or lovers whom they sense they are losing to Jesus. When this doesn't work, their "faith" in Jesus evaporates.

What about you? Has this been your response to Jesus Christ in the past? Have you been telling yourself ever since that you tried Jesus—but he didn't work for you? Maybe that's the problem—that you wanted him to “work for you”—accomplish your agenda, do your will, be your butler. Jesus will never be your butler—he loves you too much for that. But if you entrust yourself to him and his plans for your life, he will answer you in a way that goes beyond anything you can imagine.

AMONG THE THORNS: Compromised

Read 13:7. Perennial weeds grow year-round and border the field. Seed sown here will germinate and remain alive, but the weeds suck the life-giving nutrients so that the plant never produces fruit.

Read 13:21. This is the compromised hearer. If this is your present response, you have sincerely received Christ, so you know you are genuinely a member of God's kingdom.

You remember when your relationship with Jesus was close and he was changing your life and working through you to impact others. But that's a faded memory. You may say a prayer daily, attend a church service fairly regularly, even have a Christian bumper sticker on your car (ugh!). But when you are honest with yourself, you know that your experience of closeness with God and his power to transform your life has withered.
Why is this? You may tell yourself it's because that was a different phase, because you're in a stage of life that makes this impossible, or because that's only for fanatics. But Jesus disagrees with you. He has a different explanation, and he tells this because he loves you. He says your growth is stunted because you are capitulating to competing lusts for pleasure, wealth, comfort, people's acceptance &/or admiration'allowing them to steal your time and energy and attention away from what God says should be the number one priority of your life: learning his Word and applying it to your own life and sharing it with the people (both Christians and non-Christians) he is bringing into your life.

What should you do if Jesus is describing you? I can speak with authority on this because I've been here several times. You need to admit your compromise to him and tell him you want to have closeness with him again. You need to get personally involved with some other Christians who are serious about learning and applying his word. And you need to cooperate with his personalized “weeding” plan. What will this involve? I don't know, but he does and he'll show you (you probably already have an idea). Will it be painful? Yes, but which would you rather have—the dull, chronic pain of a spiritual deadness from a compromised walk, or the brief, sharp pain of responding to God's discipline that results in spiritual fruitfulness?

GOOD SOIL

Read 13:23. I don't need to explain this response because I've already described it by contrast to the other three responses. This is the person who is far from perfect—but who consistently makes understanding and following God's word the first priority of his life. The result is that your life fulfills God's purpose for it—and nothing is more fulfilling than this!!