by Mr. Titus Menezes
Matthew 13:1-8; 18-23
This evening we have for our study a parable – the parable of the sower. We all love stories and usually preachers begin with a story and relate the message with the story. In this parable we have the story of a sower.
Before we proceed with the understanding of this passage we must understand Matthew has placed the parables two chapters which speak on the Kingdom of God. It is in relationship to this that we have the parable of the sower.
There are a few words which are central to this passage:
- seed
- soil
- fruit
and I invite you to pay attention to the passage. Read Matthew 13:1-8
In the end it was fruit-bearing that made the difference wherever the seed was sown. If the sowing was unfruitful, the sower’s work was a waste – a waste of seed, time and effort. The sower must be a mad man to throw good seed on wasteful ground.
The final fruit-bearing tells us the condition of our life. Fruit-bearing is the only external appearance as to whether the gospel has had an effect on our heart and our life. If it produces in holiness and love to God and man then it has been sown on good soil but if we have been merely promising people but not performing people then we know that our hearts have been the hard, stony or thorny surfaced.
I know we all have the tendency to judge a speaker of the Word but tonight it is going to be different – no I am not going to judge– the Word will judge us. The condition of our heart will be brought out clearly in that whether we receive or refuse the Word.
Lets pause for a moment and reflect the number of sermons and homilies and teachings we have heard since our childhood. We did not have to become a charismatic to listen to the word. What has happened of it? Has it produced fruit or was it all a waste? Did the good Lord of ours waste His effort? Surely each one of us is answerable on the last day and none of our excuses will stand. We all have heard and heard and heard the Word. If we were in some remote place where the Word of God has not reached, I believe the Lord would forgive us but we are here in the city of Mumbai where we have so many occasions every week to listen to the word.
Before we analyse the soils, let us first understand THE SEED.
It was the same seed that was sown in the soil. There was no difference in it. Not only was the seed same, the sower too. If there were two different seeds and sowers there was a high chance of seed not producing fruit but here the sower was one and the seed same. The effort was the same
This is one parable whose meaning is explained along with it. We know in this passage Jesus is the sower and His Word the seed is the same and yet, it produced different results. In one it produced a hundred fold while in the rest none. Where could the problem be? All the soils received the seed in the same proportion but it did not give the same output. There must be then something definitely wrong with the soil.
This passage speaks of four different soils:
- Fell on the path
- Fell on rocky ground
- Fell among thorns
- Fell on good soil
Fell on the path – In Palestine the fields were long narrow strips and the ground between the strips was like a way. We have a similar way in India as well. It was a common path and therefore was beaten hard by the feet of countless passers-by. This is what Jesus meant when he said path. We know the seed requires loose earth so that it penetrates and can draw its nourishment but here it is hard and so there is no penetration into the earth.
Fell on rocky ground – the rocky ground was not ground filled with rocks or stones. It was actually a thin skin of earth on top of an underlying shelf of limestone rock. The earth might only be a few inches deep before the rock could be reached. On such a ground the seed would germinate quickly because the ground grew speedily warm with the heat of the sun. but when it sent its roots down in search of nourishment it hit rock and would be starved.
Fell on thorny ground – this was a deceptive ground. When the sower was sowing it looked like clean ground where all the weeds and grass are removed but there still remained the fibrous roots. Every farmer knows that the speed at which these weeds grow, very few good seeds can equal. The result was that the good seed and the dormant weeds grew together but the weeds were so strong that they throttled the life out of the seed
Fell on good soil – the good ground was deep and clean and soft; the seed could gain an entry; it could find nourishment; it could grow unchecked and it brought forth abundant harvest.
Analyzing the soil with regards to our lives, in v18-23, we read all the four cases were hearers of the Word. The only difference was in their understanding. The word remained at the head level and very few could take it to the heart level. That’s were the problem arose. And that’s where we can distinguish between the fruit-bearing soil and barren one.
I will quickly run through the first two soils as I believe most of us gathered here have passed this stage else we would not be here.
Cause Effect
Fell on the path This is the one who 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 the hearer with the shut mind – there are people in whose minds the word has no chance of gaining entry. There are many things which can shut a man’s mind – prejudice (narrow-mind), pride, fear of new truth, an immoral character / lifestyle. He knows he is on the wrong path but wants to go his way
Fell on rocky ground
This is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while and when trouble or persecution arises on a/c of the word, that person immediately falls away
This is the hearer with the mind like a shallow ground – some people are at the mercy of every new craze. They take up a thing quickly and drop it as quickly. They must be in fashion. There is the initial enthusiasm but when things become difficult they abandon it. it can be the same thing with the word. Say at a retreat or a program like that - on hearing the word, we are swept off our feet with an emotional reaction but a little difficulty comes and that’s the end of it. Christianity has its demands and these demands must be faced before it can be accepted.
The third soil mentions of seed falling among thorns. This is the area I would like to dwell a little more.
Fell 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
These are the ones who hear the word attentively and receive it into their hearts and understandings, so that the seed grows though the fruit never comes to perfection. We all appear under the influence of godliness. We exhibit plenty of leaf, greenery around us but there is no corn in the ear, no fruit, no substance in our Christianity. In Mangalore, in the backyard we have two mango trees which for the last 25 years have not produced a single fruit. It only occupies space and has been used as a support for the black pepper creeper.
We believe in the truth, salvation, repentance, redemption but that’s about it. We have other priorities in life. Jesus has to wait. Friends these are the thorns – your priorities and mine which choke out Christ out of our lives.
Note one thing the seed sown among thorns continued to grow. It was not snuffed out. In the midst of all these priorities, our knowledge of Christ is increasing, we can understand, we can defend and we are fooled into believing that we are growing stronger in Christ.
We see the shape of the ear (grain ear); the stalk has struggled up through the thorns until you can see its head and we expect there will be grain. But when we take a closer look only the sheaths are present in the ear and no grain. There are many of us who have received Christ, attend prayer services but Christ is not the priority. He holds the second place or lower in our lives. The stalk is overshadowed with a thicket of thorns and is so choked that it bears nothing. Christ is buried beneath worldliness.
Elaborating a little further on the thorns – each of the synoptics makes a mention of the thorns differently. As we know, each gospel was written to a specific audience keeping in mind their situation in those times. Matthew writes – the cares of the world and the lure of wealth choke the word; Mark adds - the desire for other things come in; Luke further mentions - pleasures of life
When the sower threw the seed he must have not noticed the thorns. As I said it was all leveled to the ground but its fibrous roots were still in the ground. Some of the characteristics of thorns:
Thorns are natural to the soil – since the fall of our first parents these are the firstborn children of the ground. Anything which hinders religion is not extra-ordinary – it is to be expected in us fallen human beings. Grace is from above, thorns are indigenous, home grown. Sin is very much at home in the human heart and like any weed or thorn will outgrow. Friends, if the way to heaven has to been shown it requires cultivation and time but if are to choose the path to hell easy is the way of destruction – it’s all a matter of neglect and you will reach there in moments
We have all heard this so often it takes a generation to build a name but its destruction is all in a day. Evil things are easy things for they are natural to our fallen nature, right things like flowers or fruits need cultivation. So if any of us is injured by the cares of the world and the lure of wealth, it is not surprising, it is natural. We only need to be on guard and this is what we have been given in our theme for this year Col 4:2 – be alert….
The thorns were established in the soil – they were not only natural inhabitants of the soil they were rooted and fixed in it. Our sins within us grasp our faculties and will not give up, they will not give way to the Spirit of God to minister to us without a desperate struggle. Sin runs through and through our nature – remember the words he who says he does not sin is a liar. The roots are deep and even if you remove the major ones the fibers still remain ready to grow again. If sin has held us for 20, 40 or 60 years, it would be foolish on our part to assume that holy things will just walk over it. There is no such thing as instant conversion. Christ is a tender plant in a foreign soil with an unhealthy climate while sin is on home ground strong and sustaining.
The thorns were bound to grow – there is a lot of vitality, life strength in evil. First the thorns set up a few tiny shoots. These shoots branched out and more and more came to keep them company until the stalk stood as a lonely thing in a thicket of briars and was overshadowed by them. They blocked the wheat, crowded it out, some twisted around it, some went through it and held by the stalk by the neck till it was choked.
The thorns sucked away all the nutriment from the stalk – it was starved. Soil can hold a certain amount of nourishment and if the thorns have it, the seed / stalk must go without it. There is only a certain amount of thought and energy a person has and if the world gets it, Christ cannot have it. If our thoughts run on care and pleasure what is left for Christ.
That is the way the thorns serve the stalk. They starved it by devouring its food, they kept of the air and sun resulting in the stalk becoming weak and shriveled and quite unable to produce the grain which was expected of it. So it is with us professing Christians – we are fairly religious but by no means zealous, we seek the pleasures of the world but not the way or as much as others indulge in. we say – ‘we have it in control’ but soon the thorns grow and it becomes doubtful which will win – sin or grace, world or Christ. As it is said we cannot serve two masters….
Just as there are four soils, Matthew, Mark and Luke together mention four types of thorns:
Cares of this world – this comes to the poor or those in poverty – what I shall I eat, drink or wear. But anxiety comes to the rich also. In addition to eating and drinking, how shall I get more, how shall I store it up, how shall I increase and so on. Care dwells with wealth as well as with poverty. It is this care of the world we are warned against. It is an ambition in life to keep up with society, to be respectable and to keep up appearances.
If we let this care grow in our soul, it will choke up Christ. You cannot care for both God and mammon. There is a care which is proper and there is an anxiety which is improper. That is proper care which you can cast upon God for we read in scripture - cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for you and there is an improper care which we dare not take it to God but bear it ourselves. Anxiety, worry will eat out Christ.
Lure of wealth – Our Lord does not say wealth but the lure of wealth. The two grow together. Wealth is even more luring. It lures people into getting more of it. for when gain is kept before man, he can go to any extent to have it. We have so much literature on how to be prosperous, successful, win etc etc and we spend our time seeking it.
Along with wealth come an awful lot of vices which at first cannot be suspected. He is a self made man, he has built his empire, he is self sufficient and the list is endless. You have a lot of friends who admire you and you begin admiring yourself. You want to have a name in society, your social circles change with Christ taking a back seat.
You say no I don’t love money but all thoughts and energy are running after it. A person cannot be eager to get, eager to keep and eager to increase and eager to become a millionaire and at the same time be a servant of the Lord. As the body grows rich, the soul becomes poor.
The desire for other things – anything apart from Christ is the other thing. I spoke a few months back on idolatory – where is your focus – on God or on other things. If our focus is on these ‘other things’ the good seed is choked.
Pleasures of life – Does a cricket match, a program on TV, leisures, recreation stop you from attending a prayer service? No I am not against it. we all need it but when it grows beyond proportion, becomes a vocation it will choke out Christ. Some work to fund these leisures. We live in an age of amusement and with each passing day it is growing. Everybody craves for it.
2 Timothy 3:1-5 “in the last days distressing times will come. For people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, etc etc ……lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to the outward form of godliness but denying its power”. It does not say they will not love God but the pleasures of life will take a priority. A great enemy of Christianity is the ‘cult of comfortableness’ – susekat.
Whatever be the thorn, the final result was the seed was unfruitful. The thorns and briars could not pull the seed up or throw it away but they choked it. Our businesses, cares, desire for other things, pleasures have not torn up our Christianity by the roots. It is still there, the only thing it has been unfruitful. Something that is choked is not good for much.
Just imagine this situation a thief has entered your house and you are unguarded – you are choked and there is nothing much you can do – you are helpless as you watch him walk away with everything.
Many of us are leading a choked Christianity surrounded by the cares and pleasures of this world. We call ourselves Christians because we are called so. That’s about it – the substance is missing.
We all have the snack hot dog but neither is it hot nor anything doggy about it. – they say that’s the name it goes by. So true with us too – we only go by our labels as Christians but nothing beyond.
What life the stalk had was very sickly. The same is happening to us at this moment. Our prayer lives are weakening; no time for scripture reading, we have so many jobs, functions, programs, activities to attend. When this happens we know what our seed is going to bear.
Friends you may say there are thorns. Yes very true – there are thorns and none can escape it. when Jesus was on earth there were thorns and they made a crown of it and placed it on his head. Are we going to grow more of them to place it on His head and crush Him out? Paul complained to the Lord of ‘a thorn in the flesh’ and he received a prompt reply – My grace is sufficient for you.
These thorns as much as they brought pain to the Lord will bring pain to us. A thorn is thorn – it will tear you flesh, it will tear your heart, it will destroy anything that comes in its way. They are painful in getting, painful in keeping and painful in extracting. Worldly cares come with pain, they stay with pain and they go with pain.
A couple of weeks back I had a fish thorn stuck in my throat. While I ate the fish with relish, little did I know of the hidden weapon and how restless I was till it had gone. It left a sore throat, a visit to the doctor and his fees and medicine.
But still there is a use of thorns – my son when he gets a poke or a mosquito bite or a foreign particle in his eye, he comes running to me. Relate it. If the thorn causes you to run to the Father, well I pray for many such thorns so that we grow closer to our loving God. Let the thorns be like a hedge around the tender plant of Christ protecting it from the pleasures and the desires of the world.
Friends I would love to end here having gone to great lengths speaking on thorns but then the very purpose of this parable tonight will be lost. The climax of this parable is in the fruit-bearing.
The good soil, the fertile soil – this category was also among the hearers but they had one more dimension to it – they understood it. Understanding does not mean at the intellectual level but on the wisdom level, the heart level. It has to go deep, deep, deeper to have an impact. This soil is well ploughed and the roots can dig deep so that you have the best result. Some produced 100, some 60, others 30.
You may well ask why not all produced 100? Any sower will tell you that no two seeds will produce the same amount of fruit. Even twins will have different capabilities. Nothing is identical. So is the case here.
The level of fruit production depends on how much we allow the Lord to take hold of our lives. Jn 15:5 – those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit because apart from me you can do nothing. This abiding comes by being in constant communication with the Lord i.e. prayer and the degree of obedience to His will is the level of being-fruitful. More of immersion or bathing in His love is will result in the abundance of fruit.
In academics, they say aim for a 100 atleast you will land close to it, so too here, lets aim to produce a hundred-fold. Even if we end up producing 30, three 30’s will bring us close to the 100 mark.
You may well ask what is the fruit we are referring to – was the seed ours? No. how then can the fruit be ours? The seed was from God so the fruit will also be from Him – the fruit of His Spirit - love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. We are only the carriers, the agents, we have to allow Christ to bear abundant fruit in us.
Next, how many of us have seen, or heard, of a tree eating its own fruit? I have never heard of such a thing. That’s exactly the point. The fruit is not for our own consumption but for others. Others can tell of the fruit. This fruit is not in receiving but in giving which implies there is action. Also of what use is the fruit if it is not available for consumption and remains on the tree. It will only rot.
If there is no giving or action it means there is no fruit. What can you give if you don’t have? If there is no fruit we need to examine which soil are we carrying in our hearts. Identify the thorns that are stifling our life for Christ? Let us not be like the fig tree which could not produce figs and was cursed. Its never too late.
‘I do not have time’ – that’s the line we hear so often. Very true. This is the thorn for so many of us. A couple of weeks back I mentioned of the Canara Bank hoarding – ‘we all change for the ones we love’. If you love Christ and want to prove our love to Him to be genuine, friends we need to work on this thorn.
The passage ends with the line if anyone has ears, LISTEN! If your hearts have been ploughed tonight by the Word, let it carry on, to make you that fruit-bearing plant. Amen.