“Becoming a Worker of the Harvest”

Scripture: Matthew 13:1-9

We know that Jesus taught in a straightforward manner sometimes, and at other times, he spoke in parables. Have you ever wondered why? It wasn’t necessarily due to the audience – his disciples received instruction both ways, while the Pharisees tended to get it straight from the hip. Perhaps it was more about the topic than it was the listeners, but regardless, even we tend to remember the parables more easily than the direct teaching.

Parables were a way to put the ideals of heaven into a context that every day folks could easily understand and relate to. He spoke about crops, and sheep, and weddings, and fishing, and servanthood, and treasure, and family. But even though the stories were offered in a secular setting, every parable had a far greater lesson imbedded within it - lessons that must to be learned by every person who would follow him. And in our parable for today, Jesus actually explains its significance in later verses.
When the disciples asked Jesus why he spoke so cryptically, he replied, or at least implied, that while he was more direct with them, he wanted others to think about the underlying theme of his stories, and to seek out the divine truth that each contained. Their willingness to do this would be the sign of a committed and dedicated student, and in their honest seeking, they would become true followers of his Way.

Today’s parable is no different. In it, Jesus would tell a story about soil and seed, but the lesson would be about receiving and sharing and teaching and living the gospel message.

Read Matthew 13:1-4

So who is this farmer? Who is the one who is sowing in such a widespread, and almost reckless, manner? At that time, it would be Jesus Himself, but looking toward the future, the “sower” would soon become the disciples and early apostles, and today, it is you and me. The main point is that there is no “harvest” unless there are “sowers”, and there is no spreading of the word unless someone lives and shares the Good News of Jesus Christ! (Romans 10:14-15) Essentially, this parable is about the Church and its responsibility as members of Christ’s family, and how we have a part in spreading the word of God throughout the world!

But not everyone who hears the message will be saved, and Jesus outlines 3 conditions where the Good News will not grow in a person’s life. These verses consider the first condition – the seed which falls on the world’s “beaten path”, and, being exposed to all kinds of worldly attacks, it can easily be stolen before it ever has a chance to germinate.
In verse 19, Jesus teaches that if the message cannot be understood – and that includes the sower’s obscuring of the truth of Christ – Satan will quickly intervene and destroy any chance that it will ever grow in the heart and life of the individual.

Remember that the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 begins with making disciples, and only later calls us to teach about obeying Jesus’ commandments. The first step, therefore, is to convince others that Jesus is worth discovering. Discipleship is about seeking. And rightly so. If we begin with teaching about condemnation and atonement and consuming the flesh and blood of Christ before a person ever decides that Jesus is worth learning more about, how far do you think you will ever get before the person’s eyes glaze over and they turn their back on both you and faith?

Satan would have a field day with that approach!

Read Matthew 13:5-6

The second condition – that of rocky and poor soil – is also a situation where the burdens of earth can easily bring a negative influence to its development. Plants need roots for several reasons. First, they bring nutrients from the soil into the plant, nourishing it and feeding its growth. Second, they provide stability when the forces of earth, such as wind and heavy rains, come against it. Third, as fast as the plant grows, so does the root system, and if it doesn’t, the plant will be doomed. And rocks get in the way of growth.

In verses 20-21, Jesus explains that humanity needs “roots” in their lives, too. While rocks inhibit the feeding and stability of a plant, there are also a number of situations that can prevent our growth in faith – things such as an overly busy and consuming lifestyle, a demanding job, the lack of Christian friends, our failure, for whatever reason, to study the word of God intentionally and truthfully, and our lack of honest and faithful worship.
Without growth in the basis and purpose for our faith, our spiritual growth and faith development will be nearly nonexistent. And without a foundation in our faith, we will be vulnerable to the attacks that will always come from life. Things like loss of employment, financial difficulties, conflicts in our marriage and other relationships, betrayal by our friends, the world’s hatred for Christians, and on and on.

Faith is vital in our lives, but our roots of faith provide us with nurturing and stability. We can't overlook the strengthening of life’s spiritual roots as we live our life in Christ.

Read Matthew 13:7

The third condition – thorns – create a conflict and completion against the plants that can either diminish the desired crop, or in some cases, can actually choke it out and kill it. Sometimes, thorns will grow where the field has not been properly prepared to receive the good seed; other times, thorns are introduced to a field by the wind or other outside forces. Either way, the crop is going to suffer.

In verse 22, Jesus tells us that our spiritual thorns – those things that can obstruct or diminish our faith – are things that we have some control over. The Lord offers two examples of spiritual thorns – the worries that come into our life, and our buying into the world’s lie that wealth and power is a desirable thing.

First, Jesus taught us about worry in Matthew 6:25-34. He says that worry is all about the future, and that worrying about something that has yet to come is a waste of our time. We are reminded that our heavenly Father already knows what we need for life, and that he will see to our every need. He compares our needs to the feeding of the birds and the “clothing” of the wild flowers. Neither one of them does anything to prepare their food or to care for their appearance, and yet they exist quite well. So why worry about something that you have no influence over – just go on with life (the birds and flowers do!), and trust God!

The second issue is “the deceitfulness of wealth”. In Luke 12:16-21, the Lord tells another parable - that of the “The Rich Fool”. This lesson is about greed, about the accumulation of more and more resources – far more than we could ever use. Instead of using his crops and other resources to help others, he kept them securely locked up in larger and larger barns, presumably to be for his own use in years to come. But in the parable, he would never get to use them, as he was about to lose his life.

Worries about those things that don’t deserve our attention, and our striving for greater and greater wealth and position, will never do anything to further or benefit our lives – it will choke all of the goodness out of our soul, and our faith will become flat and useless.

Life, as we all know, can become thorny, but we can also refuse to let them take control.

Read Matthew 13:8-9

Good soil is comparable to a receptive heart. It is a heart that is open to the word and ways of Jesus; it is a heart that intentionally allows the depth and glory of God to grow fully and securely within; it is a heart that refuses to let the world’s lies infiltrate and take control of a weakened or battered faith; it is a heart that desires the truth of God; it is a heart that seeks and strives to know the love and glory of Jesus Christ, and none other.

And when our heart becomes the very place where the seed of salvation can grow, it is then that we can become the next “sower” of the seeds of faith. And some of the sowing that we do will also be kept from growing by the world, and some will fall among the rocks, and some will get choked out by the world’s thorns. But that isn’t to be our concern. We are called to sow as intentionally and generously as we possibly can. And when we freely share the word that lives and reigns in Jesus Christ - much of it will also fall on hearts that yearn for the newness and goodness that only our Lord can bring.

Spread the seeds of faith as widely, as hopefully, as faithfully as you can. And watch for the incredible harvest that comes from it.