Scientists tell us that the fastest animal on earth, with a top speed of 120 feet per second, is a cow that has been dropped out of a helicopter.”
This is a true story: An 80-year-old lady called the police on her cell phone and said, "Help me please. I’m in the parking lot at the mall and someone broke into my car. They stole the CD player, the steering wheel, the gearshift lever and the pedals. I don’t know what I’m going to do?" The dispatcher said, "Stay calm, ma’am, and I’ll ask the police officer to get to there as quickly as possible." Ten minutes later, the police station got a message from the investigating officer, he said, "Please disregard the distress call. The lady got in the back-seat car by mistake." Hey, we all make mistakes.
Matthew 13
I think this is probably one of the more difficult parables to study because of the structure; and if you look at this parable as a whole you’ll notice that Jesus is interrupted half way through telling it by a question that has very little to do with the parable; their question actually has something to do with parables in general.
So, basically, Jesus disciples were missing the point of what He was trying to say. It’s as though you were telling someone that a man with a black hat is going to steal your car and they answered by saying, ‘Where do you think they bought that hat?’
So, what happens here; is that Jesus answers their question but then goes back and explains the parable. And when you see what happens here; you get the impression that His disciples often miss the point of why He came, what He was trying to do, what He did do and what they were supposed about what He did.
And yet, Jesus ever so patiently explains spiritual truth like He’s talking to little children and in effect He was because His disciples never really knew what was going on until after He died, returned and the Holy Spirit breathed on them all.
So, let’s read this passage with the understanding there is a break in the middle and I’ll see if we have time to deal with both.
1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. 3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
(Now, notice before we go on that the disciples are not asking anything about what He just said; they don’t care who the sower is, what the seed is, what happens to the various seeds or even what it was they were told to hear. They completely changed the subject and asked Him why He was speaking in parables? In other words, they didn’t get it and rather than ask Him to explain it, they just changed the subject. It’s hard to tell if they just didn’t understand or didn’t care but they tried to change the subject by asking a question which Jesus answered and then He went back and interprets the parable. OK, now, pick it up again in verse 10.)
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
(And then, He goes back to the parable and explains what it was all about.)
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
What you’ve got to understand here is that Jesus has been delivering a series of messages to believers and He used His miracle working power to confirm that He had the right to say the things He said but the Pharisees were saying that His power had come from Satan.
So, it says, in verse 1 that on the same day, He went out of the house and sat by the sea and there was such a great crowd gathered that He sat in a boat and taught the crowds that were gathered on the shore.
Many of His teachings like the entire Sermon on the Mount which are found in Matthew 5-7, John chapter 6 and passages like this one are dealing were dealing with different kinds of people who it says were believers and yet we see they were reacting to His message in different ways.
For instance, in Matthew 5-7 Jesus gave the longest of His sermons which were recorded and in this sermon He taught believers how they ought to live. In chapters five, He began with the beatitudes which are the personal characteristics that ought to mark the life of every believer and then He pointed out how believers are the salt of the earth and then said they are to be obedient to the word of God and not be like the Pharisees who were just pretending to be. And then He warned about sins of the heart like murder and adultery and pointed out that the thought was as bad as the act and that indicates that none of us are better than the other; it’s just that some of us haven’t been caught yet. And then He went on to marriage and pointed out the seriousness of the commitment because this is a commitment we make to God and not just to one another. And then He forbids believers to make oaths or promises they have no intention of keeping and then says we need to put people ahead of things and warns us that people will take advantage of us. And then He concludes chapter five by telling us we need to be as loving toward others as our Father in heaven is toward us.
In chapter 6 He tells us we need to have the proper attitude in giving, in praying, in forgiving and in fasting. And then He warns us about our attitude toward the treasures in our lives and how our perspective in life affects everything. And He concludes the chapter by teaching about money and encourages us not to worry because God who clothes the flowers of the field can take care of us as well.
And then He concludes this sermon in chapter 7 by warning us not to judge one another but to make sure we enter the kingdom of heaven on the narrow path because there are many who are heading down the wide path and they think they’re heading for heaven but in fact they’re on their way to hell.
And the sermon ends with a series of warnings when He says, you’re going to know the true believers by their fruit and fruit is referred to in scripture in two different ways. There is the fruit of the Spirit and this is described for us in Galatians 5:22 and 23 where it says, ‘The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.’ And then there is also the fruit of a productive life where someone is saved and then takes what Jesus says seriously about their responsibility to share what they’ve received with others.
And He concludes this sermon by saying, that not everyone who claims to be a believer is really a believer. They might claim to be believers and actually be an active member of the church but they’ve never really repented of their sin. And then He concludes the message of these three chapters by saying, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.”
I want you to see something here that’s actually in a lot of places in the New Testament and even though I’ve read it over and over again for the last forty years, I’ve missed it. Listen, Jesus is not talking to believers and non-believers but He’s talking to believers and those who think they are because of the things they do.
For instance, He begin in chapter 7 by talking about the narrow way and the broad way and both of these roads look like they’re headed in the same direction but the narrow way leads to heaven and the broad way leads to hell. The people on the broad way think they’re on their way to heaven and as far as they’re concerned they deserve to get in because they’ve given their money, they’ve worked in the church and they’ve attended more services than anyone else. And when they find out they’re not going to heaven they’re going to say, ‘Well, after all I’ve done.’ And the bottom line is; these people are trusting in themselves and all they’ve done to save them.
And when Jesus concludes chapter 7 and warns about a lack of fruit these people will say, ‘Spiritual fruit like character traits don’t matter because I am what I am and since I was born with those genes and how can you expect me to live anyway else? But, the fact is, if you don’t have the Spirit of God who indwells us at salvation, there’s no way you can display the fruit of the Spirit. But, the fruit of ministry is different because I believe there are non-Christians who have pastored churches, taught Sunday School and even led people to Jesus Christ.
I heard a testimony of a man who taught at Moody Bible Institute who said, ‘There were two men who were stuck in his little town and they wanted to make some money to get home. One of them was a preacher’s kid and he said, ‘Let’s set up a tent, I’ll preach, you lead the singing and we’ll take up an offering and split.’ They did and a few people came forward. Then they took down the tent and left town with the cash. And this teacher at Moody Bible Institute was one of those who came forward. So, did God use them? Yes. Will they be rewarded? They already were, when they took the money and left.
Listen, there are all kinds of people who are associated with all kinds of churches who are involved in every kind of service but that doesn’t mean they’re saved because you’re either saved by the blood of Jesus Christ or you’re not.
Listen, counterfeit Christians can teach, preach, profess faith, do miracles, and perform good works according to Matthew 7. The counterfeit Christian claims to be preaching Jesus Christ but he is actually preaching a Jesus who will save you but allow you to be lord of your own life. The counterfeit thinks you can be justified without being sanctified or cleansed from sin without being purified. The counterfeit preaches you can turn to the Lord without turning from your sin.
The counterfeit’s gospel is a message of an easy-going salvation where all you have to do is accept the Lord by saying a little prayer and you’ll be saved forever. It doesn’t matter if you go to church, if read your Bible or if you end up spending your life on dope and booze; it’s OK because once you’ve prayed the sinner’s prayer you’ll be saved from hell forever.
What can we do about the problem of counterfeit Christianity? The answer is; nothing. We can’t be sure whether someone is spiritually immature or just playing the game. The Lord clearly instructs us we are to leave the counterfeits alone and He’ll deal with them in the final judgment at the end of time.
And then John 6 is the chapter where Jesus tells a great crowd of disciples, they have to be so committed to Him that they’ll eat His body and drink His blood and it says many of them left. Listen, they were called His disciples and these weren’t people who were grossed out by his illustration but they were scared off by His command for commitment. And again, we have believers and non-believers who are referred to as disciples.
And then we come to this parable where Jesus is demonstrating how people respond to His message and this one is so difficult not to understand but to listen to and His disciples actually try to get Him to change the subject half way through because they didn’t want to hear anymore.
So, here’s the message and I’m sure of a few of you are saying, well, it’s about time. There are four responses to the word.
First, is the seed by wayside. Jesus said, some seed fell by the wayside and later He explains there will always be those who hear the message but weren’t actually listening and then rather than having time to think about what they heard, the devil came and took it away.
This could be describing the kind of people who hear the word preached at a funeral or a wedding and they simply ignore the message because they were just there for their family or friends. It’s not that they forget the message but they never really hear it. I had a guy say to me after a funeral, ‘That’s the first time I actually heard the message and I go to church every Sunday.’ I said, ‘What do you do when the sermon’s being preached?’ And he said, ‘I meditate.’ And I said, ‘You mean, you day dream.’ And he said, ‘Yeah, that’s what I do.’
Someone can come in here on a Sunday morning and preach absolute error and a few people will come to the door and say, ‘That was a great message today, pastor.’ And that’s true in any church. Some people go to church because it’s Sunday and not to hear the word of God. And no matter what they hear, Jesus says, the devil will take it away.
The wayside is like the pathway that runs beside a field. It’s hard because it’s been walked on for so long that nothing can get through. And yet, these people will always be in church and some of them will tithe and a few may even hold an office. But, there’s no personal love for the Lord or for His word and they’re doing what they feel they should be doing but regardless of how much they do Jesus says they’re still lost.
So, their response is a lack of response. It’s not like they’re rejecting the things of God but more like they’ve never thought they were worth considering. And when they hear an invitation, it’s not for them and when they hear about multitudes in hell, they think, well, there’s probably no one there I know. And every time they hear and ignore the message it’s easier to resist.
And there are probably some by the wayside who attend because it’s something they’ve always done and during the sermon they’ll be thinking about their business, their garden, their hobby or a thousand other things but they’ll never hear the word. And at the end of the message they’ll think, that was nice but it was irrelevant.
And it says in verse 19, ‘When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.’ How does he do that? He just whispers, all you have to do is be good and do your best and everything will work out in the end.
I think Satan’s greatest tool is procrastination. You know you should but there’s no need to do anything about it now.
We had a deacon DOWN EAST by the name of Norman Stultz and he and his wife Pat are both with the Lord now but they were very faithful to the Lord and also to the church. I remember one day I was visiting Pat was in the hospital and she told me how she and Norman got saved.
She said they had been coming here o the church for a while and one morning at breakfast Norman said, ‘Today is the day we’re going to go forward and give our lives to the Lord. We’ve waited long enough and today we’re going to do it.’ Pat said, ‘But what if there’s no invitation?’ And Norman said, ‘It doesn’t matter, at the end of the service we’re going forward.’ And that morning the pastor didn’t feel like giving an invitation and as he called for the closing hymn Norman grabbed Pat’s arm and said, ‘Were going.’ And they went and didn’t stop until the day they went home to be with the Lord.
Well, the problem with this seed on the pathway was, it had no roots. There was no way it could ever get any water or any kind of nourishment. And sometimes, I’ve seen people who attended church for years and then something happens in their lives, whether it’s a terminal sickness or death of a loved one or even a financial crisis and somehow the ground moves beneath them and they reach out to God and find in Him a resting place.
And sometimes people can be hard to the things of the Lord simply because they’ve been up so late the night before that they’re wasting our time being here.
I remember a pastor preaching a message one time and he said we all need to prepare our hearts to receive the word by getting a good night’s sleep the night before. And I was amazed what a difference that made.
And then, second, we also need to ask God to open our hearts and give us understanding. After all, none of us are coming here to be entertained.
And then third, we need to ask Him how this message applies to my life and not the person sitting beside me.
So, all of us need to ask God to plow up the hard soil of our hearts so His word can germinate and give us the life we need.
II Second, some fell on rocky soil.
This is not talking about earth that has rocks in it but it’s a shallow layer of earth that sitting on a deposit of solid rock. And the real reason this plant dies; isn’t because of the scorching sun but because it doesn’t have deep enough roots to deal with the heat of various kinds of trials that come into everyone’s life. After all, the same trial that can destroy one person’s faith can prove the quality of the next.
Everything depends on the roots. If the roots are shallow the plant will dry up and die but if the roots are deep, then the plant will not only survive but will end up giving life to many other plants as well.
The sun is absolutely necessity for all plants because without the sunlight the process of photosynthesis won’t take place and even if the plant somehow survives it’ll end up being useless. The bottom line is; we all need to put down roots and these roots will help us persevere in the time of trials. It’s the lack of roots that cause so many Christians to wilt and wither when they face the trials and tribulations that come to everyone.
The problem is; they read everything but the Bible and they can tell you all the names of everyone in every show on TV and some can even name all the members of every professional sports team but they couldn’t find the book of Lamentations if there was a cash reward.
Listen, we need to be growing spiritually and that means being in the word of God and that and only that will help us put down roots so we can endure when the difficulties come. And if you haven’t experienced any yet, don’t worry; you’ll get your share.
But; this passage is talking about unbelievers who heard the gospel and then made a public decision; but after making a really big deal about how they were lost and then found; they fall away at the first hint of persecution. You see, their decision was simply an emotional one. They were in every service and volunteered to help with anything and everything but somehow persecution came and it doesn’t say whether they were persecuted by Christians or non-Christians but it came and they said, ‘Well, if that’s what being a Christian is all about; then you can forget it’ and they simply walked away.
Were they saved? This passage says, no, but we have no right to judge the heart of someone else.
III And then third Jesus, spoke about the thorny or weedy soil and these were the plants that were surrounded by weeds and thorns and they choked the life out of the good ones. And as much as I hate to say it because it doesn’t sound very evangelical; there are some people you need to avoid simply because they can choke the spirituality right out of you. Some of them are worldly and others are can be so negative that fellowshipping with them can only lead to depression.
My wife’s grandparents were fantastic Christians. Her grandmother was so against the idea of social drinking that she wouldn’t allow any root beer in the house. Well, they had a couple of relatives that used to drop in for a visit every Sunday afternoon and then they’d want to stay and spend the evening and being hospitable her grandparents would stay home and visit with them. After this happened a few times her grandmother said, ‘We’re going to church and if you want to come you’re more than welcome.’ They said no thanks but her grandparents went anyway. They weren’t going to allow someone else’s values to choke the spiritual life out of them.
Well, it says here that the weeds grew up quickly and choked the plants and they did this because weeds consume all the water and nutrients that were meant for the plants and the plants ended up starving to death.
These weeds represent the cares of life and the desire for things that choke the Word of God out of the lives of people. After all, if you spend all your time and energy chasing the wrong things you’re going to die spiritually.
We had a friend who had a good job at a university and he and his wife were involved very in the church and his kids were in the Christian school; but one day he got a call from a university out west and they offered him a big promotion and lot more money but the problem was it was in a town where there was no evangelical church. And to him, there was no temptation because as he said he had everything he wanted and there was no temptation in the least.
Listen, if “the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth” are choking out your spiritual life then you need to make some changes. Money is never to be a goal for the Christian life. Jesus said, “Do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’... But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” In other words, if you put Him first, He’ll take care of the details.
Let me meddle in your money for a minute. I believe every believer ought to tithe because the Bible clearly teaches it and if God doesn’t have a hold of your wallet then He probably doesn’t have your heart either. If you aren’t giving Him the first part of your income, then you can’t say He’s first in your life. Tithing is the Biblical command to give God the first ten percent of everything you earn.
I remember when I first heard a message on tithing I was making forty dollars a week and I thought, four dollars! That’s insane. And I wrestled with God for hours but in the end, I said, ‘I’m going to trust you to take care of my needs and ever since I gave Him those four dollars, I’ve never thought about the issue again. Listen, do yourself a favor and start giving God’s way and then start serving others. Get involved in some kind of ministry and spend your time in God’s work and He’ll bless you for it.
People are always saying, ‘I don’t know what my spiritual gift is?’ Well, who cares what your gift is, just do something and allow God to bless your efforts. In the end, He’s not going to ask you, why didn’t you get a degree or two, why didn’t you make more money or why couldn’t you be the best at everything you did? He’ll be more concerned with what you did.
And the results of your life will be like the fourth seed where it says, ‘he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
This is describing someone who’s not only saved but they’re having a positive impact on the lives of others.
The question I want to pose to you also points to me and the question is, what kind of soil are we? How do we respond when we hear the word of God? Like the first soil, does it roll off like water off a duck’s back? Or like the second, do I listen but forget what I heard as soon as I walk out the door? Or, am I like the third where the things of this world are too much with me? Or, am I like the fourth that bears fruit in three different quantities?
Listen, the first guy might hear the word but it never sinks in. If you asked them what their favorite verse is they’ll say either Psalm 23 or John 3:16. The second guy might get stalled over bitterness or a certain sin and never has any kind of victory or joy in his life. The third guy might get involved with the world around him and owning it becomes his goal in life but the fourth has a hunger for the word and this hunger gives him the desire to make sure that others have it too.
If you truly want to live a spiritually productive life; then ask God to plow the soil and prepare your heart to receive God’s word and He’ll help you put down roots so you can persevere through the trials of life that will come. If you do these things the seed of God’s word will produce a harvest in your life and then some day you’ll hear the voice of God when He says, ‘Well done, thou good and faithful servant.’
