#1269 Matthew 13 Part 1 Horticulture of Hearts

 

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

The Purpose of the Parables

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says:

“‘“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

15 For this people's heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed,

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

The Parable of the Sower Explained

18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23 As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”

The Parable of the Weeds

24 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, 25 but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. 26 So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. 27 And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

31 He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. 32 It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

33 He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

34 All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. 35 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet:

“I will open my mouth in parables;

I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

36 Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” 37 He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and t- & he reapers are angels. 40 Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, 42 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

The Parable of the Hidden Treasure

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value

45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.

The Parable of the Net

47 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. 48 When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. 49 So it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous 50 and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

New and Old Treasures

51 “Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” 52 And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.”

Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief. Matthew 13 ESV

Matthew 13:2-9 & 18-23  For the Kingdom

A sower went out to sow - Jesus has moved out from the shore into a boat, and probably to help with the crowd pressing in. It is a rural area along the shores of Galilee, so His parable is an easily understood, tangible, relatable, physical, picture, that He is using to describe a spiritual reality. He is using the familiar to acquaint them with something not so familiar. 

Some seeds fell along the path - Well, a path is worn in, the soil is tampered, like you prepare the earth where you are going to pour a floor. It is hardened, there are no air pockets, the soil is not broken up, tilled, will not accept the seed. The seed will just lay on top, and the birds that are watching this will come down and easily steal them away. Too much foot traffic here to germinate seed, and the soil is too hard for the root to penetrate. Jesus breaks it down further for His disciples in verse 19, we learn that the seed is the word of the Kingdom, the gospel message. We also learn that the soils are hearts, and the seed never changes, the message is always the same, but the outcomes change according to the heart. This soil, heart, belonging to the path, is hardened, it doesn't understand the gospel message, and so it won't be received. Verses 10-16 give more insight into this condition, and I will move to that in the next post. The seed here on this path is resisted by the soil, and what doesn't get eaten by the birds gets trampled under foot. When I was young I used the excuse of people who called themselves Christians, for why I didn't believe it was true. I used the excuse of unmet expectations, fleeting and changing feelings, disappointment, all these things as means to tamper my heart, to make it impenetrable. I heard the gospel message, I could regurgitate it, but I didn't understand it, I needed to be broken.

7Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, 8do not harden your hearts, as you did in the rebellion, in the day of testing in the wilderness, 9where your fathers tested and tried Me, and for forty years saw My works.… Hebrews 3: 7-9

…11But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder; they stopped up their ears from hearing. 12They made their hearts like flint and would not listen to the law or to the words that the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the earlier prophets. Therefore great anger came from the LORD of Hosts. 13And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.… Zechariah 7: 11-13

Birds come and devour them - In verse 19 He explains that the evil one comes and snatches away. If you don't understand, if the message never breaks the surface, then you really don't want it, and it is easy for the devil to come and provide you another explanation. It is easy to believe something else when you don't want to believe this, when you want a substitute, something other than God, then the devil is sure to provide it, another gospel, another religion, claims that the word of God is obsolete, old fashioned, out of fashion, a fairy tale. I wanted to be an atheist, and I thought that was intellectual ground, not having to care, having no great, high, moral standard, no absolutes associated to morality, no good or evil. I was tampering my heart, building up resistance all the time. 

Other seeds fell on rocky ground - It didn't fall on a rock. I can give you a picture of this, one time I was driving out to see my brother, who lived in Nashville, and the traffic had come to a dead stop along the way. There were these wild flowers, poppies I think, and I got out to take a closer look. They went on for hundreds of yards, beautiful flowers, but on closer inspection, delicate, and attached to a rather bland weed. I didn't see any signs, so I decided to scoop some up with their soil, and see if I could start them at home in the mountains. When I tried to dig down, I realized there was barely a half an inch of soil, and below that was like a limestone plateau, and it was like this no matter where I tried to dig. You wouldn't grow a large tomato plant in this soil, only something small and fleeting. So the seed that fell here sprang up immediately and gave those that looked on hope, for we can't always see a man's heart to know the depth of the root, and much of what we learn or discern is over time. It stinks to be proven wrong when we have hope or think highly of someone, but sometimes it works quite wondrously the other way, where we thought there no reason to have hope, yet the Holy Spirit is plowing that very field and it produces a magnificent crop. Some people hear the gospel, have an amazing response, emotional, excited, and yet when the world, their family or friends, hear of it, and do not share the same joy, or laugh at them, or even worse, become violent with them because of their hatred of the truth, well this little plant withers quickly away. The soil is shallow, so the root is shallow, and it's ground dries up quickly in the sun of persecution.  Our Lord explains this in verses 20 and 21, and we have all seen this play out, when someone is tested by the culture, mocked, bullied, or no longer allowed to sit with the cool kids, they turn away. 

For whatever reason, I mean, we all deal with this. I’ve had people that I thought I had led to the understanding of the gospel and I’ve even met with them and met with them and met with them and tried to disciple them personally and pffst, they’re gone. They’re gone. I couldn’t see the rock down below either, but it was there. And eventually what happened was what looked like life was just a brief spurt but the roots couldn’t go anywhere. And when the sun came out, He says, “just scorched them, burned them.” And what is that? He says in verse 21, “Affliction or persecution because of the Word caused them to fall away.”

They never counted the cost. They never realized that, you know, to be a Christian could cost you something. To be a Christian could cost you a relationship. It could cause your own family to turn against you. It could cause some friends to turn against you. It could be a real price to pay. There will be a real price to pay. It’s the most joyous life there is but it is a cross bearing. And when there was some pressure – the word is “pressure” here, when there was some pressure put on the individual, thlipsis in the Greek, they couldn’t handle it. There was just no real root there. - J Mac

36A man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ 37Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me; 38and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.… Matthew 10: 36-38

Other seed fell among thorns - Verse 22 explains that the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches are the thorns, that is what is in this persons heart. Many change the gospel message for this very reason, and they offer up the thorns as another gospel, but it is deceit. The word of God never changes, and sometimes following the truth, speaking the truth, sharing the gospel, refusing to do what is wrong because of your relationship with God, well that can be costly. Some people have lost their jobs, positions, and the esteem of this world, and if that is an idol to you, something that you love more than Christ, well when the riches, comforts and conveniences disappear, then this heart goes with them. It will cling to a prosperity gospel, which doesn't save, or for the love of money and things, for very temporal and fleeting objects, this soil will pull out the gospel to make more room for the thorns straightaway. You would trade eternity for seconds here, and for someone who likes to count money, your math is bad in this, a thousand years of wealth here will still not compare. 

…35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and for the gospel will save it. 36 What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul? 37Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?… Mark 8: 35-37

…3I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ. 4For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily. 5I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.”… 2 Corinthians 11: 3-5

Other seed fell upon good soil - What is good soil? That is soil that has been prepared, tilled, meaning broken up, fertilized with nutrients. The sower just flings the seed, the gospel, and it falls everywhere, sometimes it fell on the rocky soil and even produced a plant, but no fruit. We can't always tell right away, so we are given the model of spreading the seed, never certain of just how much the return will be. We may see no fruit at all at first, but this is not a problem with the seed, it is an issue with the ground. To prepare a field one must plow it, remove the rock, remove the weeds, add manure and come and till it again. You are just the sowers, given the power of God unto salvation, the gospel, but it is the Holy Spirit who plows the field, and God Who provides growth. Jesus describes the good soil as the one who hears the Word of God and understands it. 

…7But I tell you the truth, it is for your benefit that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. 8And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9in regard to sin, because they do not believe in Me;… John 16: 7-9

…6I planted the seed and Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. 7So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. 8He who plants and he who waters are one in purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.… 1 Corinthians 3: 6-8