Seeds for 09/04/2023 - Matthew 13:1-23
Scripture: 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…
“Listen then to what the parable of the sower means… 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.” (13:1-3, 18, 23. Read the whole passage here.)
Observation: Jesus sometimes taught in straightforward instructions and metaphors (the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7 is a prime example) and at other times taught in parables, such as those we find here in Matthew 13. Today, we’ll take a brief look at the parable of the sower*. It is, of course, the namesake of this daily scripture reflection.
The seed is the Word of God, the message of the kingdom. The farmer/sower is Jesus and the soil is the human heart. The condition of the heart impacts whether the Word is received. There’s a contrast between the path, rocky ground, and thorns on the one hand, and the good soil on the other. Each of the first three types of soil have obstacles that deter the seed from taking root. The person who is like the good soil, however, is receptive to the Word taking hold in their life.
First, they hear the word and understand it (13:19). Someone can hear the Gospel and not understand it, as the other types of soil demonstrate.
To borrow Paul’s clear formulation, we are saved by grace through faith. Good works or right opinions do not earn for us a right standing before God. We are saved by the grace—the unmerited favor—of God in Christ through His perfect, sinless life, His sacrificial death on the cross for our sin, and His victorious bodily resurrection. To truly understand that message is to know that salvation is a gift to receive, not an accomplishment to achieve. Our heart is humbled and we say yes to God’s saving grace.
Next, something amazing happens—the expanding impact of grace. One person who understands the Gospel produces a crop “yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” One life changed by the Gospel leads to more lives changed by the Gospel. We are not saved by works, but we are saved for works. This could be through one’s own testimony—explaining the Gospel to others and inviting a response, through participating in one’s church by giving and volunteering in its ministries, through living a Christian life and modeling it for others, all of the above and/or more. There are myriad ways that yield can come about. The point is that one of the marks of authentic faith is that it impacts others. How that happens is the work of the Spirit in each believer.
Application:
Do you understand the Gospel—that we are saved by God’s gift of grace, which is received by faith in Christ’s life, death, and resurrection?
Whose authentic faith contributed to yours?
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, may your Word and your Gospel take root in my heart. Impact others through my witness and service in your kingdom. Amen.
*Note: The reason I’ve written a brief reflection on this text is because I’m currently writing a book based on the parable of the sower, Jesus’ diagnosis of the human heart, and historic Christian spiritual disciplines. It’s about 50% complete and I hope to have the manuscript done by the end of this year. Seeds readers will be the first to know its status. Prayers welcome.
“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 13:23)
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