The Sowing that Never Stops – Pentecost 7

The Sowing that Never Stops

Pentecost 7 T Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

INI

God’s Word is powerful. It always accomplishes it’s purposes.  There’s no clearer example than when the prophet Jonah reluctantly gave a 5-word sermon to the Ninevites. His delivery was half-hearted. Because He hated the Ninevites. They were his enemies. He didn’t want to preach to them because He knew that God’s Word was powerful enough to cause repentance. But according to God’s grace, His Word was sowed upon the hardened hearts of Israel’s enemies, and God caused great fruit to grow. The WHOLE city repented of their sins. Why? How can that happen from a 5-word sermon? Because God’s Word IS powerful!

Have you ever wondered, if God’s Word is THAT powerful, why doesn’t EVERYONE who hears God’s Word repent and believe the Good News that the kingdom of God comes among us in the person of Jesus?

That’s the question the parable of the Sower answers. It’s purpose is not to exhort us, the readers and hearers of the Gospel – causing us to ask questions like “What kind of soil am I? What do I need to do to really make sure I’m the good soil, so that I might bear fruit godly fruit?” The purpose of the parable isn’t to instruct per se, but to explain. To describe what’s happening in Jesus’ ministry.

If you look at the beginning of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells us what success in His ministry looks like. And it’s not healings and miracles. It’s not walking on water or casting out demons. Right after He was baptized, what Jesus started preaching showed the purpose for His ministry. In Matthew 4:17, He preached this: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” The Kingdom of heaven was in their midst with Jesus. And success was measured by people’s repentance.

Well, up until Jesus gave the parable of the Sower, was this ministry of repentance successful? Certainly not by our standards. Jesus had performed most of his miracles in the Galilean cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. But was Jesus satisfied with their response to His gracious miracles? Not at all! He said “Woe to you Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brough down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.”The most wicked cities in the Old Testament would have repented at Jesus’ ministry, says He. And yet, the lost sheep of Israel have rejected their own promised Messiah. The people He showed grace to has rejected Him. They didn’t repent.

And then, in Matthew 12, Jesus heals a man’s withered hand on the Sabbath. Instead of rejoicing for this miraculous work of God, the Pharisees planned how they were going to KILL Jesus. Later in the chapter, the Pharisees accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul.

         It doesn’t seem like there’s a lot of success stories of repentance in Jesus’ ministry. The leaders, who’re expecting the Messiah to come, have rejected Jesus and His message of repentance. The crowds seemingly just want the miracles, but not so much repenting of their sins. So, if Jesus is the Messiah, and He brings the kingdom of God, whose word is SO powerful that the wicked nation of Ninevah would repent of their sins with a lousy five-word sermon, why isn’t all of Israel responding to Jesus’ preaching and ministry with repentance?

         It’s quite the mystery, isn’t it? Does it make God’s Word seem powerless? If Jesus’ ministry is truly from God, why does the kingdom not seem to be taking root in the people?

         Part of what Jesus is explaining here is that it’s not the Seed that’s the problem – that is, the word of the Kingdom. And it’s certainly not the Sower of the Seed, that is, Jesus. The problem is the soil, which is the human heart.

         So, why doesn’t everyone who hears the Word of God repent of their sins and receive the kingdom of God with joy? Because we’re the problem. Our lack of repentance is the problem.

         Jesus explains that the Word of God is met in one of four ways by the human heart – and only one of them includes repentence. First, like a seed that falls on the path and is soon devoured by the birds, so does Satan come and snatch away God’s Word from people’s heart when they don’t understand it. This is like the Pharisees and leaders whose hearts are completely hardened to receiving what Jesus has to say. Today, this might look like someone who is militant against Christianity or hearing what the true message of the Gospel is about, instead of its caricatures.

         Second, like a seed that falls on rocky ground and immediately springs up but was scorched by the sun since there wasn’t any root, this describes someone who receives God’s Word with joy, but as soon as any persecution or trial comes on account of the Word of the kingdom, they fold. This describes the crowds who followed Jesus because they loved His miracles, but they abandoned him as soon as it may have cost them their life. For example, the crowds that welcomed Jesus in on Palm Sunday were silenced quickly when their King was put on a cross. Today, this might look like someone who goes to a Christian retreat, or respond to a sermon with such a ‘spiritual high’. But then when opposition comes from friends or family, the spiritual high fades away and they stop coming to church, praying, and the like.

         Third, like a seed that falls on thorny ground and gets chocked out as it grows, so do the riches, cares, and pleasures of this worldly life choke out living the faith. This may describe those who try to follow Jesus, but prioritized other things first, and life with Christ took a backseat to everything else – to careers, financial security, family ambitions, or the demands and pleasures of everyday life. This is probably the most common of the three unfruitful soils within the church today. It’s the nice, well-meaning cultural Christian who wants Jesus – so long as He can fit in the empty spaces between the perfect career, the perfect house, and the perfect kids who do all the activities that might look good on a college resume. They may come to church, listen to the sermon, genuinely want to grow. But as soon as they’re out the church doors, the pursuit of worldly endeavors chokes out a living, active faith that produces fruit. Quietly, faith gets choked out. We must be on guard against such things.

         Then, there’s the seed that falls on the good soil and produces fruit. This is the one who hears the Word of God, understands it, and bears fruit from it. God may give different amounts of growth to different people – some may only bear fruit thirtyfold, some sixtyfold, and others a hundred! This describes the small faithful gathering that followed Jesus wherever He went in ministry, typified in the Scriptures by the 12 disciples. Today, this describes the one who comes to church, hears the Word of God, understands it, repents of the sins that need changing, and daily follows Christ. But notice, the soil isn’t the cause for the growth. It’s the Sower, and the Seed that causes the growth. Christ is the one who gives growth to the Christian as they mature in the Faith. He’s the one who grants understanding of God’s Word and reveals the kingdom to them.

         So, which soil are you? Do you see how other people in your life exhibit characteristics of one soil or another? But if we show characteristics of one of the types of unfruitful soil, does that mean we’re doomed? That we can’t ever become good soil?

         Not at all! The parable doesn’t teach that someone who resists God’s Word today can’t receive it tomorrow. The Sower keeps sowing. Jesus continues His work of calling sinners to repentance through His messengers, just as He has done throughout history! He continually gives us opportunities to hear God’s Word and respond to it in repentance and faith. That’s the grace of God to us! He doesn’t give up on us. And He doesn’t give up on our families and friends who are described by the three soils that bear no fruit. He continually gives His Word to them that some seed might eventually fall on good soil. God never gives up sowing seed to sinners.

         Take Peter for example. On the night Jesus was betrayed, Peter cracked under the threat of persecution and death. He denied knowing Jesus THREE TIMES that night! When the rooster crowed, what did Peter remember? The Word of the Lord. The same Word that predicted that Peter would betray His Lord. How did Peter’s heart receive this Word? With extreme contrition, sorrow, and repentance. Jesus never abandoned Peter because He failed to be the good soil when it mattered most. He kept sowing His seed to Peter. Jesus requested first to see Peter when He rose from the grave. He met Peter on the beach after His resurrection and restored him in the forgiveness of his sins, and cultivated good soil in his heart that had been previously unfruitful.

         So, it is with you and me. Each time we come here, Jesus works on our hearts. To make us bear fruit in our lives. He convicts us of our sins through the preaching of the Word. He cleanses our sins through His body and His blood. And we are restored to our Heavenly Father through His absolving Word.

         So, take comfort in this: your hope isn’t that you’ve done whatever you can to be the good soil. Your comfort and hope is that the Sower refuses to stop sowing His seed in your ears and your hearts. He sows time and time again through the forgiveness of your sins in the Means of Grace to cultivate a living, fruit bearing faith where there was previous hardness of heart. That’s what Christ did in His ministry, and that’s what He continues to do today until that day when He gathers His harvest into His eternal kingdom.

INI

Pastor Joshua Ralston