2023.12.31 Non-Communion Service

Introduction

Jesus is still in a season of opposition. People are questioning and accusing Him, and are generally not following Him. Most of His preaching has fallen on deaf ears. And He is starting to make a more clear distinction between the crowds that are around Him, and His actual followers, His disciples, His true family, those who actually believe in Him and have faith.

And today, Jesus speaks on that distinction again in the parable of the sower.

and the big question that Jesus is looking to answer is this: Why is Jesus ministry so far been so unsuccessful? Why aren’t people believing and following?

Text

Matthew 13:1–3 ESV

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow.

So as we can see, crowds are gathering around Jesus to see Him and hear Him. But they are just crowds. and they are crowding Him. So Jesus, in order to speak in an unencumbered fashion, goes on a boat and speaks on the sea, since it gives Him some personal space and sound carries extremely well over the water.

And He doesn’t preach a usual sermon. He tells the crowd a special kind of story called a parable: A parable is a short, fictional story that acts as a metaphor to reveal a greater truth. Jesus’ parables usually reveal the truth about the Kingdom of God that He is in the process of bringing. And this one is called the parable of the sower. Someone who scatters seed to grow crops.

Matthew 13:4–9 ESV

And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 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, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”

Now my Job is usually to explain to you what this parable really means, But Jesus actually will do that Himself later. So we are going to come back to this with Jesus in a little while.

For now, let’s move on to verse 10.

Matthew 13:10 ESV

Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”

The disciples ask a really good question. Jesus ministry is not successful by all appearances, people aren’t following, the crowds are not repenting, and now, Jesus is speaking to people in these cryptic stories.

So the real question is? Jesus, in light of how things are going, why are you now, on top of that, speaking in parables?

and it’s a good question. So let’s see what Jesus has to say in verse 11:

Matthew 13:11 ESV

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.

There are two kinds of people: People who get Jesus and people who don’t.

But what’s the big difference between the two? Whether God has given someone faith. and with that faith, someone can then begin to see the knowledge, the secrets, the truth about The Kingdom.

the things Jesus is preaching and doing are simply beyond understanding. No one can by their own reason or intelligence believe in Jesus. So even our faith is not something we do, but a gift from God.

And God has revealed the secrets of the kingdom to some, and not to others.

the disciples are the ones who have received. The crowds, not so much.

Matthew 13:12 ESV

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.

So through Jesus ministry, those who have faith will only understand more as they observe Jesus, and those who don’t will only be more confused, more lost, and they will understand less and less as time goes by.

and that’s the point, says Jesus in verse 13:

Matthew 13:13 ESV

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.

Jesus has revealed everything directly to these people. He is not new on the scene anymore. He has been so clear, so explicit, ad so generous in communicating who He is and what He is doing. But still the crowds do not believe.

So as Jesus speaks in parables, He still is reaching out to the crowds, but in a different way

And at the same time, he is acknowledging the reality of these people, who have already heard, but refuse to believe.

So those who have heard and have not rejected God’ gift of faith, they will only increase in knowledge. But those who keep hardening their hearts and refuse to believe, they will get what they want.

And this isn’t the first time something like this has happened. Jesus is acting like a prophet whose mission is a total failure by human standards. And that’s what happened to the old testament prophet Isaiah too!

Long Story short, God sent Isaiah to preach to Israel, His own people. They had already rejected God and God knew that they wouldn’t listen to Isaiah. But God sent Him anyway. but rather than the people repenting ad turning to God, the shut their eyes and ears and just sank further.

And Jesus is experiencing the same:

Matthew 13:14–15 ESV

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.” 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.’

God reaches out. God cares. God is right there speaking to them, but those who reject God cannot make sense of what He is saying, because they don’t want to.

But it’s not all bad news:

Matthew 13:16–17 ESV

But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 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.

Because there are still those to whom God has given this faith and they have not rejected it! those are the disciples. And even though the world is hardened, we still recognize and rejoice in what God is doing! The kingdom of God really is Here in Jesus, even if it doesn’t meet our flawed expectations.

But even though God calls us all, only a few believe.

Here are the reasons not all people believe:

Matthew 13:18–19 ESV

“Hear then the parable of the sower: 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.

There is spiritual warfare by the devil to ruin and God’s people and snatch them away.

Matthew 13:20–21 ESV

As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 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.

life as a christian is not easy. And some people, even if they believe, simply fold when under pressure and their faith is challenged.

Matthew 13:22 ESV

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.

And of course, the love of money, the constant worrying, it leaves no room for faith.

Application

Between all of those, it’s no wonder people aren’t turning to Jesus. Back then and today. most people reject Jesus outright, and many of those who believe either get scared or distracted or have doubts and fall away. And from our perspective, that can be very discouraging. Are we doing it wrong? Is Jesus really the one?

and even though the disciples are quite concerned about Jesus’ success rate and the numbers of new people, Jesus is not stressed, and he shares with us the knowledge about the kingdom that will to put us at ease.

In this parable, Jesus is the sower. And He’s not a good sower. He throws seed on everything he sees. not just the soil of the field, but on the pathway, into the thorns, everywhere. In the same way, Jesus preaches the kingdom to all people. Not because He is bad at it or foolish, but because He is generous, sowing even where he knows it will not grow.

But he reality was and is, that most people didn’t care anyway and choose not to believe on the God who came to save them. And God will always invite, but never force people to believe. So even though it is death for them, they can still choose not to hear the message of life Jesus proclaims.

And for us, understanding this reality can really help us.

people love to ask: why isn’t our church growing? What can we do differently?

Well, sure there are things we can do and we should always try our best, but ultimately, it is God alone who gives faith. We are simply the instruments through which he sows generously and recklessly. So even though we should be har at work and looking for God’s activity, we also shouldn’t be surprised if people don’t care, or believe for a little bit and leave again.

Call committee:

And though the devil is interfering, and the world is enticing, and fear and worry are distracting the people, we still rejoice, because we still get to see day by day that God is at work, people are turning to Him, and eve right now, He is increasing our knowledge of His kingdom, which has come to us in Jesus.

And as He continues to teach in parables, He will reveal the kingdom in a way that is inviting and fresh, but that also confirm those whose hearts are already hardened. So that those who believe have ears to hear, and those who reject will not be able to hear, because they refuse to let the message travel from their ears to their hearts.

Reading

Matthew 13:1–23 ESV

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 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, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.” Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 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. 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. 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. 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.” 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.’ But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 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. “Hear then the parable of the sower: 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. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 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. 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. 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.”

Confession