In Jesus Holy Name July 19, 2020
Text: Matthew 13:24-25 Pentecost VII - Redeemer
“The Parables of Matthew 13”
The Seed is the Word of God… We Just Sow
The parable of the Seed and the Sower in Matthew 13 provide answers to the disciples regarding the success or failure of the Word of God. In order to understand the parable of the Seed and Sower, and the parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13 you must read it in the context of Matthew 12.
Matthew 12 begins with Jesus and his disciples walking in the grain fields. When the Pharisees see the disciples rubbing the grain in their hands, they challenge Jesus for allowing His disciples to break Sabbath rules. “Jesus: It is a Sabbath day. What your disciples are doing is considered work.”
“Majoring in minors was the expertise of the Pharisees. By nature they were rule keepers in order to please God. They were focused on traditions, rituals, and “bylaws”, rules and regulations of the Jewish religion. When Jesus arrived, many Jewish leaders missed the spiritual reality of Jesus because they were blinded by their religion.” (Who Broke my Church Kent Hunter p. 155)
This parable of the Seed and Sower is the first in a list of seven stories Jesus told in Matthew 13. (Read verse 1-3) Jesus gave these parables on “that same day.” What same day? The Sabbath. Later the same day, the Pharisees on the same day accused Jesus Christ of working miracles by the power of the Devil.
In other words: Jesus… “If you are who you say you are, why doesn’t every one believe in your message? A second question might be: “why are the religious leaders rejecting His message?” These are questions that still ring across the centuries. Why does a wife believe and her husband reject? Why does one brother become a missionary and the other a pornographer? Why do two children raised in the same family end up with completely different values? How is it that the same Word of God produces such differing results in the human heart?
Jesus said the seed is the Word of God (Luke 8:11). It’s the only thing that has the power to change the human heart. Preaching alone won’t do it because we cannot talk people into a new heart. Our words have no power in and of themselves. Programs won’t do it. Programs are helpful in creating fellowship and community….but changing the human heart is the work of the Holy Spirit.
I’ve helped start a Lutheran School. Did all the children who attended over the past three decades remain in the Christian faith? I don’t know. I’ve lead different retreats and bible studies, been trained in Evangelism Explosion and I went to several of the big Promise Keepers rallies. I was involved in the District Youth Committee when there were no District wide youth events. I’ve been on the District Board of Directors…but without the Word of God being preached at those events and in our churches they will not produce fruit that lasts.
Here is the central teaching of the parables in Mathew 13. There is nothing wrong with the seed. The seed is the Word of God. The same seed that the birds eat is the same seed that produces a good crop. It’s the same seed that produces a plant that withers away or gets choked by the thorns. Our job is to sow the seed but as we sow, we need to be realistic. Some seed will fall on the hard path, some on the stony ground, some on thorny soil, and some will fall on good soil. But you can’t know in advance where all the seeds will fall.
(Sermon by Ken Prichard Keep Believing Matthew 13)
Preaching the Gospel, the Word of God produces different results. That happens in every church. Jesus told this story, this parable of the weeds so we won’t be surprised and we won’t be discouraged when things don’t go the way we expected.
The farmer in this parable freely scattered his seed. Pastor Scott told us last week that the farmer was happy to scatter the seed with freedom. He carried the seed in a pouch slung around his neck and threw handfuls in every direction. He knows that a certain amount of the seed will fall on the beaten path where it cannot take root.
What the farmer doesn’t know—and can’t know—is where the
stones and thorns are just under the surface. And therefore he also doesn’t know where the good soil is that produces lasting fruit. It is in his own best interests to sow his seed as widely as possible. The same is true with the Gospel we possess. The best way to reach more people is to sow the seed, the Word of God.
We do the sowing. We did not create the seed. We do the sowing. We did not create the sun and soil needed to nourish the seed. We do not provide the rain. We till the soil, we tell the story of Jesus. The seed must do the work, but it needs a receptive heart to bring forth fruit. What does a farmer do with unproductive soil? He plows it up, throws out the rocks, pulls up the weeds, waters the ground, and plants it again. God farms the human heart like that.
Jesus told the disciples and us to be His witnesses, where we live, work and play. A witness simply tells their story. The parables are stories. Every Christian has stories. Your stories are not about you. They are God Stories. They are stories about God’s work in your life.
Just this past week I was at the cancer center to receive another necessary shot. On walking into the office, the receptionist noticed my ring with a cross and asked about it. She wanted to know if it was a class ring. Why did my ring have a cross in the center. It was a chance for a story. While waiting for the nurse to give me the shot, he asked how our church was doing with the new regulations. It lead to a short conversation, a “story” about how we are doing “Worship”. He asked me to write down our web site so he could watch what we are doing. “That is a God story.” You have a story.
Maybe your spouse failed you. You learned a new level of forgiveness. God worked new hope in your life. That is a God story.
Maybe in this pandemic you lost your job or had a major crisis. Neighbors prayed for you, or with you. You joined a bible study. God saw you through the crisis. That is a God story.
You and I are to share our “God Story” with our unchurched friends at work and in our neighborhood. Do the math. Tell one “God Story” twice a week, with
an unchurched person for 52 weeks you will have reached 104 people. If just 75 members of Redeemer tell two 2 “God Stories” a week for 52 weeks that equals….7,800 stories told in one year. What if that doubled next year. If 150 of us tell 2 stories a week about how God has influenced our lives, that would be 15,600 “God Stores” in year two. How do you think God would use these stories to grow His Kingdom? It is His job. Our is to tell the story.
Jesus said, “The harvest is great. The harvest concept is about receptivity, when the crop is ripe. When people listen to your “God Story” then you know there is an interest in spiritual things. When people feel stress… as many do in our culture, or when they are going through a transition, such as a marriage, a divorce, death in the family or worried about “home schooling their children this fall… stress is a reality. Share your “God Story”. A God story is not an invitation to attend church.
This is why Jesus said we are “witnesses”, story tellers, not religious professors. Remember my story? It is God’s Spirit who encouraged the office secretary, the nurse to ask questions. He asked to look at our worship service on Youtube. Tell your story. When the harvest if ripe, when people talk to you about their Jesus curiosity, then share your “God Story” again. Introduce them to your friends who also have “God Stories”.
Think of the woman at the well in Samaria. She had a poor reputation in her village. Jesus wasn’t supposed to talk to a woman. She wasn’t supposed to talked to a Jewish man. But she had a “God Story” to tell her village. They came with her to the well to meet the man Jesus. He stayed in their village two days.
Who Broke my Church Kent Hunter p.178
Be a friend. Listen to your conversations. Will you have ears to hear their pain, their stress, their worry? Share what God has done in your life. Sow your “God Stories” recklessly. Let the Seed fall where it may. Let God bring growth. It’s that simple.
