Matthew 13:1-23
What Kind of Soil Are You?
I’m not a gardener, nor do I play one on TV – but my wife is. And I’ve tilled around a bit – and dug into the soil we have around our house to put in sprinklers and the like. It’s bad stuff – with lots of clay. I have learned the clay doesn’t grow things very well. Clay soil doesn’t letter the water through and drain away. The result is you get rotting roots and lakes. We have a lake every year in our front yard – in fact when it gets really cold it turns into an ice-skating rink – except that it’s only about five feet long, no where near enough room for a triple Lutz.
Clay soil isn’t good – but neither is super sandy soil. Sandy soil let’s the water through too quickly, leaving plants high and dry. Then there’s silty soil. Silt is the fine stuff that’s left over after muddy water evaporates. Silty soil is powdery and also let’s the water through without holding it long enough to do any good – and it blows away easily.
Clay soil sticks together, is sticky and dense. Sandy soil is harsh and gritty and won’t hold any shape and crumbles too easily. Silty soil feels smooth but won’t hold shape either and blows away.
The best kind of soil, I’ve learned, is really a combination of sand, clay, silt – and organic matter, or humus. It molds into your hand, yet crumbles apart when squeezed. They call it “loam.”
So that brings us to today’s passage in Matthew. In chapter 13, Jesus puts on the gardening gloves, picks up a packet of Burpee Seeds and heads into the garden of life to teach us lessons about how to make the soil of our lives the best it can be.
13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake.
Jesus had already had enough of conflict – accused of being aligned with Satan, being accused of craziness by his family – He goes out and sits by the lake – the Sea of Galilee.
No wonder – perhaps he was trying to get a little peace. And it is peaceful there – gentle waves lapping on the pebbly shore line. It is good to get away sometimes – just sit somewhere peaceful and reflect on what’s happened, who you are, who God is – get some perspective. If Jesus can do it, so can we.
Unfortunately, His peaceful sit doesn’t last long.
2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore.
Jesus didn’t get in the boat to escape – He actually got in the boat to better talk to the people. The flat water you see acts as a natural amplifier. At my family’s cabin in Northern California we could often hear the fishermen out in their boats talking in normal conversation, but because the flat water reflected the sound, we could hear it hundreds of yards away.
But Jesus here changes His preaching style – instead of speaking directly about His mission and His kingdom – he tells stories – we call them parables. “A parable is a simple story illustrating a moral or religious lesson” according to the dictionary.
This is the beginning of Jesus telling stories. Let’s read the first one:
3 Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop-a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 He who has ears, let him hear."
Now first I want to make an editorial comment. Some people criticize the writing and reading of fiction – stories that are not factually based. Those that have this opinion should read this story, and the many others Jesus tells. There is no farmer, no field, no birds – and yet at the same time they exist all around the people.
This story, I believe, was a work of fiction, grounded, so to speak, in everyday life, told to make a point. That’s good fiction – a story with believable characters, with tension, suspense, and a satisfying ending.
I don’t think there is anything wrong with writing of reading fiction – but my question is, what is the point? If the point brings to light a truth about man or God, and reflects an accurate picture of the world as revealed in the Word – then it can be very positive.
The problem with non-fiction is that we spend so much time focusing on the thing that happened (and there’s nothing wrong with that) that we sometimes miss the broader point.
Why is Jesus telling stories? It’s because He wants to remove the “real” element – the politics and philosophy and arguments, to bring out the deeper truth.
Good stories are designed to make you think – but Jesus has an even better reason for telling this one. For those who don’t care, or have already made up their minds, this story would seem foolish and would have been dismissed. But for the curious and those eager to know more, the story is full of potential meaning, and draws the listener closer to the God instead of further away.
I love what happens next. Jesus disciples - who were not exactly the brightest penny in the bunch - are clueless.
10 The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
Notice they don’t come right out and say “what in the world was that?” Not wanting to show their ignorance, they say “why do you speak to the others in stories?”
How often do we try to appear smarter than we really are so as not to come off sounding stupid? I can’t remember the number of times I’ve just nodded my head up and down to someone as if I’m comprehending what they’re saying when I really don’t have a clue. Too many people have gotten themselves into real trouble that way. If you don’t know something, ask – or at least, take someone aside later and ask them.
Now, I really don’t blame the disciples. Jesus has been speaking very plainly up until now. Suddenly he tells this stories – and I’m sure the boys were scratching their heads. You probably would be too. We hear the story and we go “right – that’s the parable of the sower – I heard that one in Sunday School.” But these people had never heard this kind of stuff before.
And Jesus makes a really interesting point.
11 He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.
The Aramaic word “secrets” can be translated “mysteries.” It involves things hidden. Does this mean that God hides important information from some people? Well, in a way, yes. What He means is that those who are sincerely seeking God will understand the truths in the stories. Those that don’t care won’t hear anything but a meaningless tale. Furthermore, to those religious leaders who thought they had so much – all the position and power would be taken away because the only thing that really carries weight in God’s economy is knowledge – knowledge of Jesus. And for those of us who seek Him, He will give that knowledge in abundance.
Then Jesus explains Himself:
13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
"Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
"’You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
The Pharisees thought they had it all together. But in reality, their unbelief and refusal to even consider that Jesus was the Messiah actually shows that they literally fulfill what Jesus spoke about figuratively in the parable. Their hearts were so hard that His Word just bounced right off and the birds ate it up.
Do you know people who think they have it all together and scoff at the gospel? Their hearts are likely in the same condition. The good news is that God’s Word is like water – the universal solvent. Applied enough ways and over enough time, it can soften the hardest heart.
So now Jesus explains the story.
18 "Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: 19 When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. 20 The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. 21 But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. 22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. 23 But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
I want to make 4 points about this parable and our understanding of how Jesus Word affects our lives.
• Jesus Word carries with it great power
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.
Never underestimate the power of speaking the Word of God, the truth of God, the truth of Jesus.
• There is an important period of time after someone has heard the gospel
Notice that once the seed is sown, it is how the person reacts over time that makes the difference between becoming saved or not. Each step takes a little more time. Those that reject the Word outright – no time at all. Those that take it in, but not sincerely, not all the way – it takes a little longer to reject. Those who take the word in but don’t want to give up the world or become afraid at the first sign of trouble – eventually they reject it too.
So what I’m saying is that it is important after we get into conversations with people about the Lord to pray for them. Pray for four things:
1. A soft heart
2. A committed will
3. A sincere confession
4. An abiding devotion
• You don’t know the results of the sowing until the reaping begins
Notice that the seed disappears in the last three situations – we have a clue of what’s going to take place based on the environment: rocks and weeds vs clean soil – but it’s really not until the crop comes, or doesn’t come, that we see the real results of the seed.
What is the fruit? A changed life. A person who loves and is devoted to God. A person who yields themselves to Him. It’s not how many notches you can get on your Christian belt.
Remember the fruit? It is two things: love of God, love of others.
Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
John 13:35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
• Fruit comes in different sizes
Notice what Jesus says: He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
Not everyone one is going to be Billy Graham of Luis Palau. Not everyone yields a crop of a changed life of a hundred. And that’s okay. Listen – that’s okay. The important thing isn’t the size of your crop is the fact that you’ve produced a crop at all – proving that you have the seed in good soil.
So let’s stop beating ourselves up by comparing ourselves to one another over the size of our apples. Instead let’s rejoice when the Lord makes changes to our hearts.
Now I want to change gears a little bit and ask a simple question. How do you receive the Words of Jesus? When you read the Word, when you hear a Bible teaching, when you pray and God speaks to your heart – how do you hear it?
1. Hard. If we’re honest, sometimes we are like hard ground – and God’s Word just bounces right off. We ignore what God is telling us, we stop up our ears, or we reject it entirely. Then we wonder why our lives don’t bear any fruit. We’re like the seed sown along the path when we don’t care about or don’t expect to receive anything from the Lord. Jesus said the person who doesn’t understand the word has it stolen away. Let’s seek to understand what Jesus is speaking to our hearts.
2. Shallow. Maybe sometimes we are like the soil that allows the seed to sprout, but is not deep enough to let growth occur. We listen to the voice of God and think we know what He’s saying, but we don’t commit. We walk away from facing the mirror of the Word and we let it affect only a part of our lives, or just affect us temporarily. What happens is when any trouble comes, we haven’t made Jesus a deep part of our lives so we panic and whither away. It happens also when we neglect to continually take in nourishment and washing from the Word – we become parched and dehydrated and weak – no wonder the enemy trounces us!
3. Selfish. Maybe sometimes you hear what God says, but you interpret it to mean what you want to hear. Some people have done this and taken God’s Word to mean material prosperity and physical health. Some receive the Lord in order to see what’s in it for themselves. In that case the cares of the world become paramount because we’ve based our relationship on what we get, not what we give to God. And the temptations of the world become easy traps for us because we focus on ourselves and not on God. This is the way to unfruitfulness. It’s the way to unhappiness.
Philippians 4:11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
1 Timothy 6:6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
The answer to life is gaining God and finding contentment, not finding contentment by getting God to give you great gain.
Let’s instead be like the last soil – well watered by the Word, well tilled by trials, walked on, worked, prepared to receive – you know the best soil is made when you mix that which has died with sand, clay, and silt – in just the right proportion. Let God’s Word in deep – experience death of self, mixed in with who you are and who God wants to make you.
What kind of oils are you? Are you inflexible, self-centered, always wanting but never giving? Maybe you have too much clay. Are you harsh and gritty, never holding on to what God is trying to do in your life? Maybe you are too sandy. Are you a powder, not moldable for the Lord, able to be whipped around by every temptation or every wind of doctrine around you? Maybe you are silt.
But listen again to the description of good soil: “If it molds in your hand, yet crumbles apart when squeezed.” We need to let the Lord mold us, and when He brings trials into our lives we aren’t unyielding, we crumble before Him, letting Him constantly reshape and remake us into soil that will be prime growing material for His life lived through us.
Lord – let us have a soft heart, a committed will, a sincere confession, and an abiding devotion for You that the seed can not only sprout and grow, but produce much fruit for You.
