HOW IS YOUR SEED DOING?

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. Then He told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around Him was so large that He got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in His teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times.”

Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop—some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown.”

Mark 4:1-9, 13-20

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When He said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 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. Those on the rocky ground 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. 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. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

Luke 8:1-8, 11-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
It’s the fall here in Virginia and the time to get the lawn ready for the winter months to ensure all is well come spring. Maintenance this time of year involves applying fertilizer as well as sowing grass seed. Once the latter task is completed, there is always this exercise of watching the lawn with the intent of seeing how well the new grass is growing. If sown properly, results should be evident; if not, then your efforts were possibly fruitless.

Why this opening on sowing seeds?

Because as we see, it is central to Jesus teaching in our passages today from the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and John, each of which look similar on the surface but I want to use Luke’s account as the foundation for this message. Look again at his words here:

After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.

While a large crowd was gathering and people were coming to Jesus from town after town, He told this parable: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up. Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

When He said this, he called out, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.”

“This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. 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. Those on the rocky ground 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. 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. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”  Luke 8:1-8, 11-15

In this passage from Luke’s Gospel, we find Jesus fresh off His experience with a woman who scripture tells had lived a sinful life. You may recall that she fell down at Jesus’ feet, washed them with her tears, and then dried them with her hair before anointing them with perfume from an alabaster jar (Luke 7:36-50).

After telling the woman that her “faith had saved her” and telling her to “go in peace”, Jesus “traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God” with His disciples in tow. Of interest, Luke tells us that there were a group of women present with Jesus as well, some of which had been “cured of evil spirits and diseases”. We’re told the names of some of the women - Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Susanna - who helped support Jesus and His disciples “out of their own means”. Of interest, Mary Magdalene and Joanna were two of the women who went to Jesus’ tomb and found it empty after His resurrection (Luke 24:9-10).

Well, as was customary when Jesus went somewhere, we read where a large crowd had gathered as people came to Jesus from “town after town”. This led to something else that was very customary, Jesus taking advantage of a big audience to do some teaching which in this instance came in the way of a parable.

Now a parable was nothing more than a story used to convey a spiritual or ethical message. In the case of this parable, Jesus used two objects most people would be very familiar with, a farmer and the seed he sowed to hopefully produce a harvest. Note here that there were four specific places that a seed could be sown, each rendering different results. Let’s look at them one at a time with their associated meanings, meanings which we find Jesus giving after first telling the parable.

1. Seed sown on the path.

“A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path; it was trampled on, and the birds ate it up.”

“The seed is the word of God. 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.”

Before we start with this analogy and the three that follow, we need to attach meaning to the two main objects: the farmer and the seed. Jesus doesn’t leave this up for interpretation because He tells us that the seed is the “word of God” and so if the seeds being sown are God’s words, then God has to be the Sower (the Farmer). So Jesus is telling us that God is sowing His people with His word and the impact of that word depends on the person it is planted in.  

In the first example, the person who God implants His word are the ones not committed to Him, the ones who are prone to the influence and attacks of the devil. In the case of those in this first example, Satan enters in and takes away the words of God from the hearts of those He tries to plant in. The end result is that there is no yield produced from God’s efforts. The person ends up unbelieving and unsaved.

2. Seed sown on rocky ground.

“Some fell on rocky ground, and when it came up, the plants withered because they had no moisture.”

“Those on the rocky ground 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.”

The second scenario Jesus talks about is the one where a person may believe in God and receive His word gladly but that word fails to take root because as soon as trial and tribulation comes upon the believer, they lose heart during their time of testing and their faith dies away with it.

3. Seed sown among thorns.

“Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up with it and choked the plants.”

“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.”

The third scene Jesus paints is when God sows His words into the heart of a believer and those “seeds” begin to germinate and grow before being choked to death by the “weeds” of life represented by worries, riches, and pleasures. These people never get the chance to mature spiritually because they surrender themselves to the world’s ways.

4. Seed sown on good soil.

“Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up and yielded a crop, a hundred times more than was sown.”

“But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop.”

Here’s we find Jesus saving the good news for last because there is a situation where God’s word bears the intended harvest within the heart of a believer, We read where that believer who represents “good soil” will have a “noble and good heart” which will allow them to “hear the word, retain it, and use it to produce a great yield, one Jesus says be far greater than the seeds that were sown. Obviously, this is the outcome the Lord is looking for from all His people.

So where do you stand on this matter?

How is your “seed” doing?

Which of the places where the farmer sows the seed best represents you? Are you the path, the rocky ground, the thorns, or the good soil?

The answer will provide a great indicator as to how healthy you are spiritually and how effective you are accomplishing the Lord’s will and way through the guidance and direction of His word.

Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
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