Growth – The Parable of the Sower | Matthew 13:1-23

April 9, 2014

INTRODUCTION

We all really want to grow in the knowledge and understanding of our Lord Jesus Christ. We want to grow in the word? How does growth really happen? What can we do so that we can grow and mature into Christlikeness?

We are in the section of the parables of Jesus.

Matthew 13:1-23

¹That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. ²Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. ³Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. ⁴As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. ⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow.

⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. ⁷Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. ⁸Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. ⁹Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The Reason for Parables

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

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

“Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

¹⁴In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

¹⁵For 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.’

¹⁶But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. ¹⁷For 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.

Sower Parable Explanation

¹⁸“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: ¹⁹When 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. ²⁰The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

²²The 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. ²³But 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.”

This is the first parable in this section of Matthew. Also a foundational parable and a long discourse of Jesus.

CONTEXT

In Matthew 11-12, people doubt Jesus, opposition to Jesus is increasing and getting intense. Jesus is accused by the Pharisees of working miracles in the power of the devil. Jesus’ conflict with the religious leaders is increasing and they are plotting to kill Jesus.

That conflict is impacting the way that Jesus can communicate the truth to the disciples and crowds. People’s hearts were hardened to accept Jesus and refused to accept him as their Messiah. The very presence of Christ drew out of the heart of man their sinfulness, rejection, and rebellion. So, Jesus shifts his teaching primarily through parables when he addresses the crowds from this point onwards.

What Is A Parable?

It Is The Comparison Of Two Subjects For The Purpose Of Teaching.
It Proceeds From The Known To The Unknown. Parable is the utilizing the familiar to explain and understand what is unfamiliar or to explain a familiar to understand a deeper truth. Jesus used parables to teach people.
It Is A Common Everyday Story With A Spiritual Meaning. Earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Parables are often misinterpreted.

The problem is when we try to find deep spiritual meaning with every element of the story when Jesus is usually trying to illustrate one or sometimes two points. A parable is different than an allegory. In An allegory, every element of the story has a symbolic meaning.

Why Did Jesus Use Parables?

Jesus used parables, not for hiding the truth but for the purpose of drawing people into the truth. Jesus was connecting the kingdom message to real life rather than using tough theological terms.

Three Reasons Why Jesus Used Parables:

To illustrate not obscure: A parable can convey high complex moral truths in a way that is really understandable and relatable to one’s own life. The sermon on the mount is filled with parabolic story telling. This is the move toward a primary way of teaching now.
To direct, not confuse: The entire purpose of the parable is to direct an audience toward a spiritual, moral or philosophical truth in relatable terms.
To engage and enforce: The parable is meant to engage the mind, to draw the listener in so that they become an active participant in arriving at the moral point that is being illustrated.

“Jesus concealed the word in parables, ……which had enough light to convict and convince them.” – T. F. Terrance

Matthew 10:14

In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

What about the Prophesy? Here Jesus says that Israel has so rejected the multiple chances YAHWEH has given through the centuries and now when they Messiah has come, they have rejected him and their hearts are hardened. Now the hardening of their hearts will become perfectly revealed by the coming of their Messiah, they will miss the Messiah.

This is a question from Isaiah 6

Matthew 13:14-15/Isaiah 6:9-10

¹⁴In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

¹⁵For 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.’

Even to this day this is true. When the light of God gets into the people in the way of the gospel, it draws out of people either a willingness to surrender or a rejection of Jesus. This is not about God hiding the kingdom and its truth, but it is about the people of God rejecting their God who made himself available. Are you calloused today?

Now, let us move into the Parable.

The Famer/Sower, The Seed, and the Soil

Matthew 13:3-9

A farmer went out to sow his seed:
Some fell along the path.
Some fell on rocky places.
Some fell among thorns.
Some fell on good soil where it produced a crop, a 100, 60, or 30 times.

Three main elements: The Famer/Sower, The Seed, and the Soil

The soil is the human heart.
The seed is the word.
The sower is Jesus.

Jesus is giving the word into the human heart. The sower and the seed is the same. Which means that the word is for all but the environment of that soil impacts how we respond to the word. There is no different types of soil but just different types of environment that impact the soil.

Compacted Soil – The Pathway.
Rocky Soil.
Soil in Thorn Bushes
Good Soil – A nonobstructive environment where the word can go deep and become fruitful.

HF: This parable is about understanding God’s word and the challenges of comprehending the truth of Jesus Christ.

Growth Environment 1: The Unreceptive Heart

Matthew 13:4

As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.

Matthew 13:18-19

This is the seed that has fallen in the pathway and the birds came and took it away.

There is a spiritual reality here. The birds come and take the seed away, the birds represent the evil one, the devil. There is a spiritual world that cannot be seen with the eyes, but we experience it.

1 John 5:19

We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one.

Jesus says:

John 8:44

You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.

There is a whole dominion that is against God and against his ways. Jesus is saying here that there are some whose hearts are not responsive, they are unreceptive to the word because they are so closed off to the truth. This is not just the nonbeliever who comes and says I do not want to believe the word. This happens to us. This is applicable to us believers. The parable is applicable to believers.

What I see in the different environments of the soil is that, the soil of my heart can often become rocky, it can often become with thorns that choke out the life. It can often become hard and unresponsive.

Example

You hear the word of God being preached every week here. There are things that speak directly to you. And if you don’t respond to that truth, you don’t respond to that conviction, you don’t respond to that call to action. If you don’t not respond, then the word that is spoken and ministered to us and not responded to actively will fade away. The enemy, this world’s system will take out what was placed there, because you never responded to it, you never allowed it to actually take root.

We are so selective when it comes to our receiving the word and obeying it.

I read the word of God but I use my tongue in speaking bad words.
I don’t steal but I lie.
I am faithful to my wife but I do not give time to my wife, I am with my friends.

We have selective obedience and we justify one behavior by telling the other. The word of God comes to us and says, “Stop that, do this.” But we don’t do what the word says and justify our lives.” So that word planted has not fruit in your life and therefore the enemy takes it away and it leaves you unreceptive.

When believers first have a pattern of sin in their life, there is this huge conviction, repentance, but they are still not acting upon what has been demanded of them. Then you fall back into that again, and then you are not as guilty and then it happens again and now you don’t feel anything about it at all because the soil of your heart is becoming so hard like that concrete road so that the ways of this world is just driving over and whatever is spoken just hits into this hard concrete and just bounces off. The word cannot penetrate there. This is about a lot of us sitting at church every week.

It is the heart that is working hard against what it means to be a follower of Jesus because it is under the rule of the evil one. This person knows Christ but his life is under the influence of the evil one.

The Unreceptive Heart: Pathway, Devil takes it away.

Growth Environment 2: The Non-Productive Heart

Matthew 13:5-6

⁵Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. ⁶But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Matthew 12:20-21

²⁰The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. ²¹But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

The people with a non-productive heart have an excitement and a willingness to hear God’s word. They are so excited to hear God’s word, but they are not productive, they do not respond to it. Since they have not root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away.

They love the excitement of the experience, the gatherings, but when it comes to living in a self-giving sacrificial way, there is no enthusiasm. This is about a daily engagement, a daily surrender to the very reality of the living Christ, not only on Sunday. When that is neglected, what happens is that you think you are walking fine with Jesus, you went to church, did your 20 minutes of devotion, I did fast, and gave to God. When we begin to describe that as to what it means to be a Christian, you got a shallow root. Because the root is not abiding in Christ moment by moment and what is going to happen if we are headed this way is that people will be name sake believers but really not in Christ.

You are to cultivate that real personal knowledge, having deep roots in the words of Christ. Otherwise when challenges come, difficulties come they get frustrated and walk away from faith. The excited people can fall away from faith if you have no roots.

Growth Environment 3: The Destructive Heart

Matthew 13:7

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.

Matthew 13:22

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.

Lack of responsiveness is driven by worry and anxiety. This is giving ourselves to the world instead of giving ourselves to Jesus and His kingdom.

Here we see this divided heart. This is the person who keeps one foot in their religious life and one foot in the world system. Jesus said:

Matthew 6:24

“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

This is the reality that the word will not take root in us, the word will not survive in us if we take so much of the world in that we look more like the world than we do Jesus. We love our culture, we love our city, we love what the corporates do but we also love God. It is easy to lose ourselves in loving the world than loving Jesus. It is easy to assimilate, it is easy to surrender to world pleasures, to give ourselves to the world, to the freedom.

Destructive.

It makes us unfruitful.

What happens is that this is the reality that so many fall into.

Growth Environment 4: The Productive

Matthew 13:8

Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Matthew 13:23

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.”

This is a good environment. What is the productive heart? someone who hears the word and understands it.

Here is the definition of understanding: “This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Understanding and production should be synonymous with one another.

Productiveness is a surrender. Fruit is the result of genuine discipleship.

What kind of obedience is Jesus is calling us to? Believe in Jesus.

When he was asked by the crowd what must we do to the work of God? John 6:29 Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Belief leads to action.

Jesus is saying is hears my word and understand it. Who hears my word and does it. This is a wise person. What brings our wisdom? Jesus is our wisdom. He is our truth. What Jesus is inviting us is to allow him to engage in every facet of our life. Our fruitfulness places itself in how we love our family, the way that we work with integrity, the way that we serve our community.

I would say that it is an increasing hunger and desire and love for Christ himself and a giving of ourself to his way and a refusal to take our life in our hands any longer and to say, “Jesus whatever it is you want of me, whatever it is lay down or pick up, I will do and follow.

The only difference between his disciples and the crowds around him is it they understood one thing in all of their lack of their understanding, is that Jesus was the answer what made them disciples. That is what made them disciples, not that they got it but they knew that Jesus had it. That is the gift, that is the source of our understanding.

The Difference Between The Disciples And The Crowds:

Left everything & followed Jesus. The disciples earlier left everything when Jesus called and followed him.
Asked when in doubt. There were times they did not understand Jesus. They disciples were willing to ask Jesus what they did not understand. So they could see Jesus for who he really is.
Eager to understand the truths of the Kingdom.

Matthew 13:10

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

Mark 4:10

When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.

Matthew 13:16-17

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

Matthew 13:11

He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”

The disciples came to Jesus, stay with him when the crowd come and go, spent time with him, followed him, asked questions when they did not understand, and used every opportunity to grow. They ask the right questions to truly understand.

“We have as much of God as we actually want.” – A. W. Tozer

But you see the laziness of the crowd, they did not get it and walked away. Later many of his disciples left, it is because they were not willing to ask Jesus questions when they did not understand. Here, the disciples were humble enough to come to Jesus and ask, “We don’t get it.”

Jesus says it is to you the mysteries of the kingdom is given and explained, to you who asks.

Matthew 7:7

Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.

This is the difference we have between the disciples and the crowd. Left everything, followed Jesus, spent time with Jesus, and when they did not understand, they ask Jesus.

Matthew 13:12

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.

What does it mean when Jesus said this?

Knowledge of God’s word alone is not enough. We need to translate that knowledge into understanding and this should lead us to obedience. Knowledge is not just information gained, but it is personal life lived according to the knowledge of the word. The personal truth of the personal Jesus lived in our lives. Such people will grow and mature and produce fruit.

Matthew 13:23

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.”

Matthew 7:24

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The productivity of an understanding mind, the fruitfulness of the life that is given to Christ totally.

CONCLUSION

You see the power of this parable. It is easy to picture your heart as to how it is growing.

1: The Unreceptive Heart – Pathway – Evil one snatch away.

2: The Non-Productive Heart – Rock – Trouble or persecution.

3: The Destructive Heart – Thorns – Worry & Deceitfulness of wealth

4: The Productive – Remains, Abides, Understands God’s word

How well is the soil of your heart cultivated?

What is getting in the way of your growth?

Are there rocks, things that you refuse to let go off, that you don’t understand is hurting the plant?

Is there thorns, is there things chocking out Jesus out of your focus? Things that are taking over your mind, things that are captivating your soul?

Or is there sin of brokenness, something that is unrepented that Jesus is convicting you on and you lost the conviction altogether because your heart has become so hard so that you no longer even respond or are even moved by the word of God and the Spirit of God?

Or is it good soil? A good soil has to be churned, tilled; it has to be torn up. Remember the garden plough, the pickaxe, that is used to prepare a garden soil. It hurts your heart but it is good, it is a beautiful death that brings about life an abundance of 100, 60, and 30 folds.

Growth – The Parable of the Sower | Matthew 13:1-23