Matthew 13:1-17 - Maybe If I Actually Listened For A Change! - Part 1 Series

MAYBE IF I ACTUALLY LISTENED FOR A CHANGE! - Matthew 13:1-17 - Part 1

In the middle of an argument, my Mum would say something like this - "Maybe if you LISTENED for a change, you would understand what I am trying to tell you!" So often I am not so much listening but simply waiting for the other person to finish so that I can get across my point of view. Not really a very teachable position to be in.

In Matthew 13 Jesus says "LISTEN!" with even greater authority than my Mum, and that’s saying something. He addresses this problem of how different people are responding to Him. I can get caught up in all the arguments, but the real issue is to do with LISTENING. MAYBE IF I LISTENED... He is obviously about to mention something important, but as I read, it doesn’t seem all that significant. Just a simple story. The question is "Am I going to miss what He is trying to tell me because of my preconceived ideas about Him or my own points of view?"

It’s been a BUSY DAY for Jesus. He has been doing some amazing miracles and teaching with incredible authority. He has been bombarded with a steady barrage of artillery from the Pharisees by way of insults and challenges. It’s usually the religious people who criticize Jesus the most. He does not allow this to distract Him and encourages others to stay on track and LISTEN.

He says in effect that listening is like a "farmer" who has seeds to plant and he goes into the field and scatters them. The seed that falls on the "FOOTPATH" is eaten by the "birds". Other seed grows in "SHALLOW SOIL" with "UNDERLYING ROCK" and it wilts because it doesn’t have deep roots. Other seeds grew too, but they grew in a THORN infested area. They grew up and the thorns choked the tender plants (Matthew 13:3-8). I’ve got some thorny weeds in my garden like that.

It seems that this farmer does have some "FERTILE SOIL" in his field and it is the only ground that produces a crop worth harvesting. Even then he doesn’t get a very good crop in terms of his overall investment in seed. The crop he does receive from the fertile soil doesn’t all give him a 100% return. Some of it only yields 30%, and some 60%.

Just a simple story without explanation. In fact Jesus doesn’t seem as if He is going to give me an explanation at first.

But He goes on to tell me that anyone with EARS TO HEAR should listen and understand (Matthew 13:9). So this is not meant to be just a nice story. It has significant meaning and implications that are worthwhile for me to understand and apply.

Is that the FIRST CLUE to being FERTILE SOIL - having EARS TO HEAR? Is He talking about faith when He says "He who has ears to hear"? I don’t know yet. One thing is clear. There are those who don’t hear and don’t understand (Matthew 13:11-17). Apparently it takes an INTENTIONAL APPROACH if I am to understand anything Jesus says. Or, like the Pharisees, I can remain far too intentional about not listening to anything He says.

So the invitation Jesus gives me is "Listen!" God bless you today as you respond to Jesus by saying "What would my world look like if I listened to what Jesus is saying here and spent time intentionally seeking to understand how it applies to my life today."

Jesus looks to me as He speaks to the crowd in Matthew 13:9 (NLT) and says "Anyone with ears to hear should LISTEN AND UNDERSTAND." "OK Lord, I’m listening?"

Pastor Ross