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Matthew 13:1-23—That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. ² And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.

³ And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. ⁴ And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. ⁵ Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, ⁶ but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. ⁷ Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. ⁸ Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. ⁹ He who has ears, let him hear.”

¹⁰ Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” ¹¹ And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. ¹² For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. ¹³ This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. ¹⁴ Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

‘You will indeed hear but never understand,
and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

¹⁵ For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and with their ears they can barely hear,
and their eyes they have closed,

         lest they should see with their eyes
and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart and turn,
and I would heal them.’

¹⁶ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. ¹⁷ For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

¹⁸ “Hear then the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. ²⁰ As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. ²² As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. ²³ As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Jesus has already had a busy day. This day began back in Mt. 12:1 with Jesus and His disciples walking through grainfields. The disciples were hungry so they plucked heads of grain and ate them. The Pharisees accused Jesus that His disciples were breaking the Sabbath laws. But Jesus insists that He is Lord of the Sabbath (12:1-8). Jesus then goes on to enter the synagogue and heals a man with a withered hand. This really sets the Pharisees off and they conspired against Jesus to destroy Him (12:9-14). But Jesus knows they want to destroy Him, so He withdraws from the synagogue and heals all sorts of people. A demon possessed man is brought to Him, and Jesus heals the man. The Pharisees accuse Jesus of casting out demons by Beelzebul. Jesus proves that their accusation is absolute nonsense (12:15-37).

What happens next is almost comical. Some of the scribes and Pharisees make a request of Jesus. They ask, “Teacher, we wish to see a sign from You” (12:38). Jesus tells them that He will give them no sign except the sign of the prophet Jonah – i.e. His death and resurrection (12:39-45). After this, Jesus’ mother and brothers come to find Him and get Him to stop talking. But Jesus says that His mother and brothers are the disciples who believe in Him (12:46-50).

Now we come to our text: “That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about Him, so that He got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach” (13:1-2). The disciples were probably relieved. Jesus is getting away from the opposition, and He is going to teach again similar to how He did in the Sermon on the Mount. When Jesus taught on that mountain, He opened up God’s Word and made it plain and clear, and the people were astonished at Jesus teaching and authority (7:28-29).

But Jesus teaches with the parable of the Sower and the Seed, and the disciples don’t like this. They are disappointed. “Why do You speak to them in parables?” they ask (13:10). It is as if the disciples are saying, “Jesus, don’t You see how much trouble You’ve stirred up today. People are rejecting Your message. The Pharisees hate You, and You are separating us from the crowds and even Your own family. Now, You are teaching in parables? Come on, clear things up! Teach them plainly so they can understand.”

Jesus answers them, “I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. You disciples, you see, hear, and understand. But they have hardened their hearts. So even what they have will be taken away.”

A couple of things to note about this: First, see that Jesus is still teaching to them. He is still graciously preaching the Word of God and bringing the reign of God to the crowds who have rejected Him. Second, see that by teaching them in parables, Jesus is acknowledging the reality of the situation – He is teaching outsiders. He is teaching people who have rejected Him (Gibbs). If the outsiders are treated as outsiders, maybe, they will wake up and become insiders. Maybe they will stop rejecting God’s Word.

Now, Jesus explains the whole parable to the disciples.

Jesus explains that the seed is the “Word of the reign [of God]” (more on this in a minute). The Word is sown in all sorts of places where normal farmers wouldn’t want to waste good seed. Some falls on the path and is devoured by birds. Sometimes, Satan simply snatches away the message, and the hearers never believe. These satanic birds don’t even give the seed a chance to sprout. This sounds terrible, but what happens when birds eat seeds? Right, eventually, they have to “get rid” of them – if you know what I mean. The seed is not on the original soil anymore, but it is still good seed and can still sprout, if it lands on good soil.

Some seed falls on rocky ground. That seed sprouts up, but soon dies. Some people hear Jesus and believe, but there is no soil so there are no roots. Tribulation or persecution comes and the plant immediately withers.

Some seed falls among thorns. These people hear and believe Jesus, but they get chocked out by the cares and worries of this world.

Notice, most of the ground where the seed falls fails to produce.

Consider for a moment, do you see yourself in any of these three types of ground? Do you hear the Word of God and forget about it right away? Or do you find yourself falling away when trials and persecutions come your way? Do the things of this world choke and strangle you?

Repent. Soil can’t make itself good. Soil needs to be worked over to become good soil. Pray. Pray that God will work you over so that you will become good soil. That work may be unpleasant and hard, but it will produce. Take every advantage available to you to hear the pure Word of God taught rightly. Dig deep. Find the nourishing soil fertilized by the crucified body and blood of your Savior.

Again, most of the ground where the seed falls fails to produce.

But there is a fourth place where the seed falls. Some seed falls upon good ground, and it produces unimaginable amounts of yield. Apparently, even a ten-fold yield is an almost unheard of by farmers. Jesus is saying that this seed is producing thirty, sixty, and even a hundredfold. This is some good, fruitful seed. Jesus doesn’t say exactly what this fruit is, but it likely refers to good works (Mt. 5:13-16). Whatever the fruit is, it is good and there is a plethora of it.

Jesus explains that the seed is the Word. Now, some say that we Christians need to get out there and sow the seed of the Word. They say we need to send pastors and missionaries all over our communities and throughout the world to sow this seed. But that misses the point, and it ignores the Scriptures that teach us that Jesus Himself is the Word of God in the flesh.

Jesus is the Word. Do you see what that means? It means that God the Father is the Sower, and Jesus, God the Son, is the Seed. The Father sowed Jesus in the fullness of time by sending His Son (Gal. 4:4). The Father has sent Jesus. He is the Word who came into the world and enlightens every person (Jn. 1:1f). Jesus became flesh and was sown among us. But many have rejected Him.

Jesus has “already, literally been sown everywhere in the world – and quite without a single bit earthly cooperation or even consent” (Capon see also Ro. 10:18). We Christians produce fruit when we simply bring the Good News of the Word, the Seed of Jesus Christ who is already there. We announce that Jesus is present as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. We proclaim that His cross, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension is already present for them for their forgiveness.

Dear saints, go out in joy, produce good fruit, and proclaim that Jesus has come to forgive the sins of everyone you meet. Announce this Good News to your family, friends, and neighbors. God’s Word will not return to Him empty; it will accomplish the very purpose for which He has already sent it (Is. 55:10-11).

He who has ears, let him hear.  Amen.[1]

The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

 

[1] I am especially indebted to Robert Farrar Capon’s book Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Parados, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus for this sermon.