“Good Harvest, or Poor?”

Scripture: Matthew 13:3-9

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, was, without a doubt, a radical pastor and a highly effective teacher and preacher. And that should be seen as quite a compliment, as it also perfectly describes Jesus! John would be barred from all the Anglican Churches in England, and Jesus would be banned from synagogues throughout Judea and the Galilee. They both found new opportunities beyond the walls of structure, and within the freedom of the fields and roads and lakeshore. John was constantly under attack from the Anglican hierarchy, as well as by the British gentry, while Jesus would be threatened by the Jewish clergy and Pharisees, and arrested, tried, and convicted by the Sanhedrin, the highest court of Israel.

Followers and congregations of both would primarily consist of the common people, and they would be shunned by the upper society of their respective days. And the message they brought to this world? For both of these men, the message was unconventional, and initially rejected by the world.

And the truth that each proclaimed? That salvation was no longer based in the things that we give to the world, but rather in the life and faith we give to Jesus Christ. It has never been, and never will be, about works, and it has always been, and always will be, about surrender of this world and putting all of our hope in God.

The difference between John Wesley and Jesus Christ, other than Jesus being God and Wesley just one of his preachers (!), is that Wesley spoke in terms that were as clear and blunt as he possibly could, while Jesus chose parables for much of his teaching. Parables, as we have seen before, were plainly about worldly responsibilities and tasks, because God wants us, initially, to understand the concepts of true life, and as we begin to grow and trust in Jesus, we then begin to put a divine understanding into the story.

Today’s parable, and Christ’s divine lesson, is found in “The Parable of the Soils”.

Read Matthew 13:3

One of the drawbacks of Jesus’ parables is that they were, of course, based on the cultural and economic norms of that day, which are significantly different than what we are typically used to. Agriculture was the dominate business in 1st century Israel, but not so much today. Israel was under occupation by an oppressive Rome, and even though there are regions of our world where this level of hatred still reigns, most of us haven’t got a clue as to what the fullness of persecution can do to human lives. So our first task is to understand what Israel already knew.

In today’s lesson, we discover that planting a field in those days was also a little different than what we know as farming. No tractors, no plows, no planters, no machines whatsoever – just a bag of seed, carried by a man, spreading the seed by hand, letting it fall wherever it landed. Not especially efficient, but it was all they had. But what does this have to do with God and his ways?

The farmer sows seed to produce a crop of grain, while the follower of Christ sows the seed of faith, that a harvest of souls may be gained for the Lord. The ancient farmer spread the seed throughout the field, never choosing where it landed, and neither should we. In our Christian witness, we must never choose between who we share Jesus with, and who we don’t. After all, we never know who might be open to the gospel, and who isn’t – some will open their hearts and minds to the word, while others will remain closed to the truth of God, but we have no idea as to which is which!

Read Matthew 13:4-7

Jesus continues, not with why we shouldn’t be selective, but why some don’t receive the Lord. And we have to wonder - why this is so important? While we aren’t actually told why, it’s possible that Jesus may have wanted to prepare his disciples for rejection. They had already seen some signs that the Jewish leadership was going to oppose everything that Jesus said and did, and as his ministry continued, the conflict would also continue to grow. And the Lord wanted them to understand that persecution and personal attacks would soon be their lot, too, and that avoidance of the oppression was not to be an option.

The first problem that the faithful would experience is that some of the “seed” they shared would fall on hardened hearts, and would never be able to even begin to grow and work within them. There are several reasons for this failure to accept the word, with the first being prejudice. This could be as simple as bigotry against Christians, and certainly could be based in other aspects of spiritual blindness.

A second reason may be pride and contentment in a personal lifestyle or belief. No one likes to be told that they’re wrong, and that God wants them to make a change in their life. “I’ve known that this is the truth all my life, and it’s become an important part of who I am! Who are you to tell me that I’m wrong?” The problem today is that truth has become relative, that our truth is just as right as anyone else’s, and that no one has the right to say otherwise.

The second problem that keeps a seed from bringing in a great harvest, is when the seed falls on shallow soil, where there is inadequate nourishment to sustain growth, and the young and fragile seedling soon dies.
The spiritual equivalent is seen in the lack of commitment that defines the shallow faith of many in the church today. They come into the church, attend worship, and little else. And as soon as something is said or happens that they disagree with, they leave to find a different church, and only stay there until the next conflict arises.

The problem is that in our striving to learn from Jesus, we need to remain at his feet, and commit to discovering, and accepting, the truth of his ways, regardless of what we have to give up in favor of him. It requires both personal and corporate study, it demands a deep desire to bring honor and joy to the Lord, it needs to deepen us, and grow us, in the ways of God himself.

The third issue that Jesus points out is a little different than the first two. It’s about what others do to “choke” the faith out of us. In the parable, it is thorns that choke the stalks of grain. In our faith, it is the doubt and cynicism and lies that the forces of worldly darkness sow within our soul. And it is only if we are stronger than the world’s thorns that our faith will remain true to the word of God.

Read Matthew 13:8-9

But when the seed falls on “good soil”, the possibilities exceed all expectations. But Jesus’ teaching wasn’t just for his disciples in the 1st century – it is for all who have ever preached or witnessed or taught or served or proclaimed the power and majesty and love of Almighty God that lives and reigns by faith in Christ Jesus.

Jesus reached out to countless thousands of people throughout the region. He preached to the common people of the Galilee, he challenged the aristocracy of Jerusalem, he comforted the sinners, both Jewish and gentile alike, and he loved them all deeply, he sided with women and Samaritans, he healed the sick and lame, and he even did it on Sabbath, much to the dismay of the Pharisees! He loved, and nourished, and corrected, and brought the truth of God to this world, and in the world’s way, he was hated and condemned for it.

And wouldn’t you know it, he calls each one of us to walk the same road that he traveled. We are to share the grace and glory of Jesus with those who want to hear and learn, as well as with those who will denounce and berate us for our faith. We are to introduce the worthy and the unworthy to Christ, in spite of whether we are comfortable with them or not, and whether we think they will accept him or not. We are to be a witness to the hope and promise that a life in him will bring, whether others will claim his truth or not.

Earlier, we saw how closely the ministry of John Wesley followed that of the Lord Jesus. I leave you with one quotation from Wesley: he said “You have one business on earth – to save souls.”
I hope that John would forgive me if I make a slight change to his words – We have one business on earth – to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ throughout the world, so that, by faith, HE can save the souls of all men and women.

Will the harvest of souls be great or small? That’s up to each one of us! So cast the seeds of faith as widely, as deeply, as faithfully, as truthfully, in as many places, in as many ways, and as often as you possibly can, and on the Day of Jesus’ return, the harvest will be incredible!

May it be so for all of us.