The Bible uses a lot of agricultural metaphors.
The prophet Isaiah describes Judah as a vineyard planted on a fertile hillside. “He dug it up and cleared it of stones and planted it with the choicest vines. He built a watchtower in it and cut out a winepress as well. Then he looked for a crop of good grapes…” (Isaiah 5:2)
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all include Jesus’ parable about the sower and the seed.
These three gospels all contain a parable about a vineyard too. “There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit.” (Matthew 21:33-34)
In the gospel of John, Jesus makes it even more personal: “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:1-2)
The place of God’s people in these parables and metaphors varies. Sometimes we’re the vineyard collectively, sometimes we’re the stewards of the vineyard, and sometimes we’re the seed or the branch upon the vine.
God’s place never changes. He is always the Landowner, the Master Gardener, the Farmer.
God’s expectation never changes either. He always looks for production from his vineyard. He always desires his seeds to mature and yield a crop.
As most of you know, I like to garden. This year I planted squash and tomatoes and lettuce and peppers and a few other things. I really enjoy gathering the produce from my garden. But, to tell you the truth, I am always a little amazed when there is produce to gather. Gardening for me is a hobby. Whatever crop my garden yields is bonus.
For God, gardening is not a hobby. For God, gardening is not a diversion from other, more important, activities. God is the Master Gardener. His expectation never changes. He always looks for production from his vineyard. He always desires his seeds to mature and produce a crop … “multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times.” (Mark 4:8)
But the reality is that the vineyard does not always meet the gardener’s expectations. Isaiah used the metaphor of the vineyard in the context of proclaiming to Judah God’s disappointment. Despite all the loving care the Gardener expended, the vineyard in Isaiah’s time was producing sour grapes.
The reality is that the seeds do not always mature and produce a crop. Some seeds are trampled and eaten by birds. Some seeds put down only shallow roots and wither for lack of moisture. Some seeds are choked by thorns and experience only stunted growth.
“He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 8:8)
Seeds have to come up, seeds have to mature, in order to produce a crop. Maturity does not always come easily or quickly. There can be obstacles to maturity.
In the parable of the sower and the seed, Jesus identifies three categories of obstacles to maturity.
Before we look at these obstacles in more detail, I want to touch on one more idea.
Depending on soil and weather conditions, seeds grow more or less well. Some never germinate. Sometimes roots lack depth, so that the plant dies as soon as weather conditions are less than ideal. Sometimes weeds interfere with growth.
People are like seeds. Depending on our environment, people grow more or less well as followers of Jesus Christ. Some never come to faith. Sometimes faith is shallow and fades at the first sign of trouble. Sometimes the distractions of this world interfere with growth.
On the other hand, people are not like seeds. Seeds are passive. Seeds have no ability to nurture their own growth or the growth of other seeds. Seeds do not even have the ability to look to the gardener or to turn away from the gardener. People need not be passive. People can not plant faith within themselves nor can they make themselves grow by force of their own will, but they can nurture (or hinder) their own growth and they can nurture (or hinder) the growth of others. People can look toward the Gardener, or people can turn away.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
As Jesus explains the parable of the sower and the seed to his disciples, the first obstacle to maturity is unbelief. “Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” (Luke 8:12)
Most people have to hear the good news many, many times before they really hear it—before it sinks in as truly good news and they turn their lives over to Jesus. Every time the good news comes close to sinking in, the devil comes along and tries to snatch it away. Many times he succeeds.
Picture this. A delivery boy rides his bike down the same block every morning. He tosses a rolled up newspaper onto the step of the third house on the right every morning. His aim is perfect, and the newspaper always clunks against the screen door and then falls to the top step. Every morning the man who lives in the third house on the right hears the clunk. Every morning he sets down his coffee cup and goes to the door. Every morning he looks out the window in the door. He sees nothing, so he returns to his coffee.
What happened to the paper? Well…the neighbor’s dog is a retriever. Every morning, when he hears the whir of the delivery boy’s bike, he takes a position at the edge of the yard of the third house on the right. Every morning, when he hears the clunk of the newspaper hitting the door, he takes off running. Every morning, he snatches the newspaper in his teeth and disappears around the corner before the man inside has finished setting down his coffee. The fourth backyard on the right has a growing number of little mounds of freshly dug earth, each one concealing a neatly folded newspaper. The man in the third house on the right gets the news every day, but he never really gets it and he never actually opens the door.
Perhaps you know someone like this. Many of us have members of our own family who have heard the good news again and again and again, but have never really heard the good news. Is there anything we can do? Two things…We can keep our bike in good repair and our throwing arm limber, so that we can persevere in delivering the good news. And we can pray that the day comes when the dog fails to snatch the newspaper, so that the news that is delivered may be received and the door may be opened.
Perhaps you recognize yourself as the man or woman in the third house on the right. You’ve come to church a hundred times, or five hundred times. You’ve heard the good news a hundred times, or five hundred times. But you’ve never really heard it, and you’ve just realized it. You’re just starting to hear it. If so, take heart, and open the door to your heart, for Jesus is knocking. Jesus loves you. Jesus died for you. You don’t have to save yourself. You can’t save yourself. Confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, and you will be saved.
The first obstacle to maturity is unbelief. Those who do not hear the word cannot grow in the word.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The second obstacle to maturity is shallow faith. “Those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away.” (Luke 8:13)
In Matthew and Mark, the time of testing is described as “trouble or persecution because of the word.” In other words, it isn’t just any hardship that threatens to kill shallow faith, it is trial that comes on account of faith. Shallow faith has not taken root in the center of the heart. Shallow faith happily calls out, “Jesus is Lord,” when the going is easy, but begins to pull away from that declaration when the going gets rough.
There are at least two types of trials that can wither shallow faith.
One is persecution. In one way or another, our identification with Jesus causes us to be ridiculed or oppressed or rejected or imprisoned or injured. Shallow faith is quick to deny Jesus to avoid the pain of persecution.
The other is trouble in our own minds as our old ways of thinking and being are increasingly challenged by the One we have called Lord. In one way or another, our identification with Jesus causes us to rethink old opinions and attitudes and behaviors. Shallow faith is quick to limit the Lordship of Jesus to those parts of our lives where our behaviors are not required to change. Shallow faith is quick to limit the Lordship of Jesus to those parts of our minds where our thoughts and opinions are not required to change.
Faith that has some roots can stand firm in Jesus in the face of persecution and take a step towards maturity. Faith that has roots can soften the rigid structures of our old ways of thinking and being, so that we might be molded by the Holy Spirit and take a step towards maturity.
Last week I shared a quote that applies equally well here. “If faith never encounters doubt, if truth never struggles with error, if good never battles with evil, how can faith know its own power. In my own pilgrimage, if I have to choose between a faith that has stared doubt in the eye and made it blink, or a naïve faith that has never known the firing line of doubt, I will choose the former every time.” (Gary Parker as quoted by Lee Strobel, The Case for Faith (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 2000), 243. Found at sermoncentral.com.)
It’s important for faith to put down roots, so that when the time of trial comes, it can be a time of refining faith and not killing it. How can faith put down roots? Through study of scripture, through prayer, through worship and fellowship with other believers, through confession, through service. Every time you listen for the Holy Spirit to speak in scripture, every time you come before God in prayer, every time you bow down before God and truly surrender your heart in worship, your faith is growing roots. Every time you confess your sins and acknowledge your own frailty, your faith is growing roots. Every time you give sacrificially of yourself to help another, your faith is putting down roots. As you deepen your fellowship with other believers, your faith is putting down roots, and you are connecting to brothers and sisters who can help you stand firm when the time of trial comes.
The second obstacle to maturity is shallow faith. Those who do not retain the word cannot grow in the word.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
The third obstacle to maturity is stagnation or stunted growth caused by the distractions of this world. “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature.” (Luke 8:14)
Life in this world is complicated.
On the one hand, security of any kind is hard to come by and so we worry. We worry about our physical security—what will we eat, what will we wear, where will we live, who will take care of us when we are unable to take care of ourselves, how will we provide for those whom we love and have responsibility for. We worry about our emotional security—how do others perceive us, will we be rejected or ridiculed, do my friends and family really love me or am I really all alone, would they still love me if they really knew me, how can God (who does really know me) forgive me and really love me, what do I do with all this anger or fear or hurt or sadness inside of me. We worry about the security of those we love—will my son ever find the right woman, will my daughter ever get a job, will my wife ever get well, will my husband ever admit his addiction. In this world, security of any kind is hard to come by and so we worry.
On the other hand, the same world that draws us into worry also offers a multitude of temptations from riches and pleasures. How can I find time for daily Bible study when my favorite TV show is on every day? Do I really want to take time to listen to God during prayer (he might ask me to give up Monday night football or spend less money on vacations and more on furthering his kingdom)? I can worship on the golf course, can’t I? I don’t really need other believers, do I? If I confess my sins and acknowledge my frailty, I might actually have to change my ways. I serve...I serve in ways that feel comfortable for me and give me pleasure; why should I serve in ways that stretch me out of my comfort zone and have no obvious benefit in fun for me? This world offers a multitude of temptations from riches and pleasures.
The world we live in is strewn with thorns and thistles. It takes perseverance to turn our thoughts and actions again and again from life’s worries and riches and pleasures to the word of the Lord.
The uncertainties of this world feed our anxieties. It takes perseverance to turn our security again and again over to the Father who knows us, loves us, and is more than capable of providing for us.
The riches and pleasures of this world tend to close our eyes to the long view. It takes perseverance to weigh again and again the transitory riches and pleasures of this world against the eternity of life in the presence of the God who gives life, but when we do we are reminded that this world has nothing to offer that can compare to the riches and wonder of God.
The third obstacle to maturity is stagnation or stunted growth caused by the distractions of this world. Those who do not persevere in the word cannot grow in the word.
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some fell along the path, some fell on rock, some fell among thorns, and some seed fell on good soil. Some never germinated because of unbelief. Some withered because their faith had shallow roots. Some did not mature because the distractions of this world stunted their growth. There are many reasons why seed might not grow, but the seed that does grow “stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a good crop.” (Luke 8:15)
He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
