Hearing The Word Of The Kingdom
Parables Of The Kingdom • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Text: Matthew 13:1-9;18-23
Children’s Bible Page: 1040
Between going to the Southern Baptist Convention, having a guest church planter preach, and my family vacation this past week, I am so thankful for the many voices that have proclaimed God’s word to His church body over these past weeks,
And I am also extremely excited to be preaching this morning.
As we continue in the summer, I plan on my sermons this summer to all come from Matthew 13.
In Matthew 13, we find what are commonly known as the Parables of the Kingdom.
I thought that in an election year, it is common for people to be thinking on politics and the nation, and my heart is always that even in the midst of times like this, we would primarily have our eyes fixed on the Kingdom of God and His Christ.
So, I look forward to focusing on these parables of the kingdom of God together.
Matthew 13:1–9 (ESV)
1 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.”
Matthew 13:18–23 (ESV)
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.”
Introduction: Two friends in high school who loved Jesus
I had the privilege of going to a Christian high school, and I had a good friend who I spent a ton of time with during those years.
We played on the basketball team together, spent nights at each other’s house, and worshipped Jesus side by side in school chapel and spiritual emphasis weeks.
We went to different colleges, and by our second year in college, I was growing in Christ and being trained for gospel ministry, and my friend had abandoned the faith altogether, and has continued in that abandonment to this day.
It is difficult for someone who has been so profoundly changed and transformed by faith in the gospel to understand how others who have heard and seemingly believed this same gospel to then turn their backs and reject it completely.
How do two people sitting side by side, listening to the same preaching of the gospel, and seemingly walking in the same direction for a sustained season, end up in such different places when it comes to faith in Jesus?
I wonder if some of you have had this same kind of experience of knowing someone who used to love Jesus and walk alongside you in the faith, but is now very distant or has abandoned the faith altogether?
No doubt, the church in our culture at large is experiencing this in such a dramatic way that monikers of being “dechurched” and “deconstructing your faith” have become common place in the popular cultural dialogue.
This notion of a one time “lover of Jesus” falling away and rejecting the faith seems even more confusing to us reformed types who take seriously the doctrine of the “perseverance of the saints” and take seriously Jesus’ words when He said:
John 6:37 (ESV)
37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
And Paul’s words in:
Philippians 1:6 (ESV)
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
And how about:
Romans 8:29–30 (ESV)
29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
These verses so assure us of the work of God in salvation being a work that He begins, that He sustains, and that He completes, so what are we to think of someone who has a season of genuine love for Jesus who then walk away?
These are the kinds of situations and questions we find Jesus and his disciples in the midst of when we come to Matthew 13.
In the book of Matthew, Jesus’ disciples are following Him, and growing in love and understanding through Jesus’ teachings and miracles, yet in chapter 11 and 12, we read of some surprising opposition to Jesus and His message.
In chapter 11, Jesus explains that many people in the very generation who heard the preaching of John the Baptist and experienced the miracles of Jesus were coming to completely wrong conclusions about them.
He then speaks woes on cities that had gladly experienced the great and mighty works of Jesus but did not end up accepting his teaching.
In chapter 12, Jesus exercises a demon from a man only to be called a demon himself by the religious leaders of his day.
And at the end of the chapter, just before our passage today, we see Jesus’ mother and brothers try to get an audience with Jesus, and Jesus replies that his true mother and brothers do the will of His father in heaven, insinuating that even his mother and brothers, who obviously loved Jesus, did not yet truly believe in him.
How is that possible?
How were the disciples to understand the sometimes joyful yet finally insufficient responses of those around them to Jesus, when they themselves have gone all in with Him?
That is exactly the situation Jesus speaks into in this parable of the sower.
And the main point he is going to reveal to his disciples and to us is that the word of the kingdom is received in different ways by different hearers.
He makes that point not only by the words he speaks, but also by the speaking technique he uses in speaking a parable.
Now, a parable is a short practical everyday kind of story that is used to illustrate a more profound spiritual truth.
Jesus tells his disciples that he teaches in parables for the purpose of helping those who believe grasp and understand the Kingdom of God better, yet they are also used in judgment on those who do not believe by keeping spiritual truth obscured to them.
I think it is instructive for us to note that Jesus is the only teacher in the New Testament to teach in parables.
None of the sermon of Acts, or writings of the apostles include parables, which makes sense when you consider Jesus purpose in using parables.
Whereas Jesus’ disciples are like mailmen, seeking to take a message that does not originate with them and sharing it as clearly and plainly as possible for others to understand,
Jesus is the embodiment of the message of the Kingdom itself, and Jesus is God and judge, and he has the right to bless believers by making clear the message of the kingdom to them, while judging those who will not believe by keeping them in confusion.
So, what is it that God himself has to teach in parables about some different ways that the message of God’s kingdom is received?
1. The Word Is Taken Away By Satan
1. The Word Is Taken Away By Satan
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.
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.
Note here, this first person listens to the message of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus says that the message is sown in his heart.
You see, just because Jesus teaches four different responses to the gospel of the Kingdom in this parable does not mean that these are the only four responses possible.
Jesus does not even address the people who are openly hostile when they hear the message of the kingdom, because that makes sense and is obvious.
What gets confusing is when people sit and readily listen to the message, but do not fully receive it.
For this first seed and soil, the message is sown in the heart, but Jesus says the hearer does not understand it, so Satan comes and snatches it away like a bird does to seed that falls along a path.
This is person in the crowd who sees Jesus heal a man, and listens to Jesus teach of salvation into the kingdom of God, then they head home simply saying, “Wasn’t that a cool miracle and a great lesson? Now, what’s for lunch?”
They were there. They listened. They were pleasant enough. But Jesus says, they do not understand.
The word he uses for understand goes beyond an ability to simply repeat back what someone said.
It goes beyond simple comprehension.
The message of the gospel of the kingdom is so simple a child can understand,
So, he is not saying they cannot mentally comprehend the message,
Instead, the word understand implies an interaction or an engagement with the message.
It’s like if someone were to say, “What was it like to ride that roller coaster?”
And they answer, “Oh man, describing it won’t do it justice, you have to ride it for yourself.”
In the same way, these hearers can understand the words, but they are not willing to engage or look into if for themselves.
It’s the person who hears that Jesus died for sinners, but are unwilling to consider that they personally are a sinner for whom Jesus must die.
It’s the person who hears that Jesus rose from the dead, but does not concern himself with looking into it further for himself, because He does not discern how that would effect His life in any way.
And it’s confusing, because for you, this message had radically changed your life, your hope, and your future, because you have discerned your personal place in the story and personally believed on the message for salvation.
But, for this person, the gospel of the kingdom that was planted in their heart was not personalized or engaged with in any meaningful way, so the evil one snatches it away.
This reality helps us in a few ways:
First, it helps us understand it is our responsibility to share the gospel of the Kingdom plainly to others, but it is not our job to convince someone to make it personal for them.
We are not faithful to God only when we convince someone to make the gospel personal to them.
We are simply faithful in sharing the gospel and leaving the results up to God.
Second, it reminds us to pray and be fully dependent on the work of God in our gospel sharing, because there is a real enemy at work seeking to snatch away this message from those whom we are sharing.
2 Corinthians 4:3–4 (ESV)
3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
So, we pray earnestly that God would allow the hearts of those to whom we share to truly understand and perceive the glory of the gospel message for their personal salvation,
And we never quit sharing the simple message,
But we entrust the work of salvation to God as we pray for personal understanding and receiving.
I’ve heard many testimonies of people who heard the gospel five times, seven times, hundreds of times, yet, finally that next time, God opened their heart to understand it personally and receive it.
So, may we never give up praying and sharing, and entrusting souls to God.
And may we not despair when it seems the message is not being personalized, but may we continue on steadfastly in prayer.
2. The Word Is Joyfully Received But Finally Offensive
2. The Word Is Joyfully Received But Finally Offensive
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.
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.
The description Jesus gives is not as much soil with a bunch of rocks in it but instead ground where the bedrock is really close to the surface, so there is no depth of soil for roots to grow into.
So, when the heat of the sun hits the plant, it withers away because of weak short roots that cannot nourish the plant.
This is like the person whom upon hearing the gospel message of the kingdom, they receive it with joy!
To all of us Christians, it looks like God has saved them!
They are happy to hear and receive the message of the gospel.
They take all the outward steps. They are baptized and join a small group Bible study.
But notice, when the heat comes, they’re out.
When tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.
The word “falls away” holds the idea of stumbling over because of an offense.
Matthew 10:24–25 (ESV)
24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.
2 Timothy 3:12–13 (ESV)
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.
The very reason the book of Hebrews was written was to call the first Christians to continue in the faith even in the midst of great persecution from the Jews.
In Hebrews 6, the writer talks about people who had shared in the fellowship of the Spirit, but fell away when persecutions came to encourage believers to stay the course even though some will fall away.
This is why we must be careful to present an accurate gospel that is clear on Jesus being both Savior and Lord.
You do not get Jesus’ salvation without also submitting to His lordship.
That is why it is the gospel of the kingdom, not just a gospel of personal wellbeing.
Too many people are preaching a message of “come to Jesus” and he will give you fulfillment in life, or he will make your marriage better, or he will make you successful and give you riches, or he will make all your problems go away!
And, of course, a mass of people hear and receive the message, but what happens when they start following Jesus, and it makes their life harder, their marriage harder, they lose opportunities for success and don’t get rich, and following Jesus actually adds to their problem?
What happens then? They end up abandoning Jesus because they are offended that He did not make good on his promises, when those were not the promises made of the gospel of the Kingdom to begin with.
The gospel of the Kingdom is that your greatest problem is your sin separating you from God, and Jesus dies for your sin and rises again to forgive your sin, give you right relationship with God as you submit to Him as Lord, and hold fast to the hope of eternal life.
The gospel is not come to Jesus and you will get these things you want.
The gospel is Jesus came for you so that you can have relationship with God for eternity.
Yet, for some, even if they heard the true gospel message, while they joyfully received the message in the beginning, when tribulation and persecution came, they became offended by the gospel and turned away from it.
Tribulation is more of the type of hard and difficult things happening in your life.
God, I give my life to you, but now I have cancer?
I give my life to you, and now my kids have abandoned me?
It’s blaming God for the hardships of life.
It’s revealing that the blessings of life in this world are of more value to you than the eternal salvation of God.
Have you ever been tempted to think that God is not upholding His end of the deal?
Be careful to go back and think through the gospel message and think through His promises and understand that the promise is of His forgiveness, His presence, His unending love, and eternal bliss in the life to come.
Persecution is the threats that come against the believer.
It’s clear in other places around the world how overt persecution causes some with no true roots in Christ to abandon the faith when they are faced with threats of beatings, jail time, or even death.
But, in our culture, the threats look a little more like being cancelled, missing out on social or business opportunities, being labeled as hateful, bigoted, uneducated, finding oneself on the wrong side of history for standing on the truth of the word of God and preaching a gospel of sinful man and Savior God.
Being mischaracterized as a political voting bloc or used to advance worldly agendas.
And as Christianity is scoffed at and marginalized more and more, some who first joyfully heard the message of the kingdom end up offended by it, for it does not win them the position and approval of the world that they desired.
This reality instructs us that while we share the gospel of the kingdom, we must call people to count the cost and understand that Jesus cannot be your Savior and not also be your Lord. What He says goes.
It also challenges us to remember that the goal is not to make converts, but to make disciples by teaching them all Christ has commanded.
Hebrews says after learning the basics of faith, we must continue on to maturity.
Meaning we need to be discipled in the doctrines of the faith, having a Christian worldview for all of life, and how to apply the gospel of the kingdom to every area of life.
3. The Word Is Choked By The Cares Of The World
3. The Word Is Choked By The Cares Of The World
7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.
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.
Note, once again, apparently, the seed began to grow, because then thorns grow up around the plant and choke the plant out.
You see, with the rocky ground, there was no depth of soil, so when the bad and hard things came, the word of the kingdom became offensive,
But now, the thorns don’t present themselves as the bad and hard things of life but as the seemingly good things and the blessings of life.
I mean, the cares of this world can be things like family, career, sports, hobbies, travel, politics, entertainment, technology, pursuits, talents, and dreams.
None bad in and of themselves, but all have the potential to choke out faith if they are greater in our hearts than God and His kingdom.
And the truth is, there are more opportunities and options for people and families than ever before, especially for those who have means of finances.
Travel, hobbies, sports, political engagement, endless entertainments, and none of these things are bad in and of themselves, but they can so easily choke out genuine faith.
Because a genuine faith is a cultivated faith.
It takes time and attention to cultivate a genuine faith throughout ones life.
You see, Jesus saves you by His love and grace in a moment, but then you walk genuinely with Him over a lifetime.
21 Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”
It takes time, attention, and dedication to love Jesus over a lifetime because loving Him means keeping His commandments.
Listen, if you never say “no” to anything else in order to say “yes” to obeying Jesus’ commands, you must ask yourself if your faith is genuine.
Following Jesus’ commands to make disciples and teach others what Jesus commands, continue to meet together as the church for worship and service, to study and abide in the word of God, to pray and commune with the Lord, to love one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, instruct one another, admonish one another, welcome one another…
Yes, genuine faith is a work of God’s grace in a moment, but it is also a continual work of God’s grace shown in a lifetime of saying “yes” to Jesus’ love by learning to obey His commands.
And that takes time and effort, and it is joyous time and joyous effort, but it is a grace filled effort that will lead you to prioritize other things second in order to put God first.
This is a particular challenge for us parents with kids these days.
Our world is trying to teach us that a well-rounded kid not only plays sports but commits to sports and travel sports and sports clinics, they not only study in school, but they join every academic extracurricular, they exceed in music, and they do community service.
There are more reasons than ever to allow the expectations of the world on our children to choke out saying “yes” to the kingdom of God and His church.
And my family does many of those things, but I take the lead in sometimes saying “no” to those opportunities in order to say “yes” to God’s church because I want my kids to know that Jesus will be there for them when all those other things fade.
And consider the deceitfulness of riches.
The more one owns, the more they must maintain.
One of the deceitful parts about riches is that they seem like a blessing from God until they become the very thing that keep you from genuine faith and relationship with God.
Many have said “no” to God’s commands in order to say “yes” to their careers.
Would we be willing to say “no” to our careers if that’s what it took to say “yes” to God?
What about when a second house, or a boat, or whatever it is leads you to never become more than a casual spectator with God’s church because your weekends have to be divided between church and your riches?
Has watching a church service online deceived some into thinking that they can cultivate a genuine faith from the privacy of their own personal kingdoms they have built from their wealth?
23 And Jesus said to his disciples, “Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven.
Have you found joy in keeping the cares and riches of the world secondary in your life in order to abide in the love of Christ as you love Him and keep His commandments as first priority?
This cultivates a genuine faith throughout a lifetime.
And its not about a certain amount, it’s about a heart of genuine faith toward God.
4. The Word Is Understood And Bears Fruit
4. The Word Is Understood And Bears Fruit
8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
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.”
Remember, what is the point of sowing a seed?
Well, you sow a seed to produce something!
In the same way, genuine faith produces and yields fruit!
The word understands does not only mean that the words of the message make sense, but that they are engaged with and internalized.
It turns from Jesus died for the sins of the world to Jesus died for my sins.
It turns from come to Jesus and He will give you what you want to come to Jesus and He will give you all of himself for eternity!
And here is the absolutely gorgeous thing about God’s grace working through the message of the gospel of the kingdom in order to bear fruit,
The fruit born of God’s grace is the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
Maybe you’ve heard my warnings over the past two points and concluded that I am some fundamentalist, legalistic, religious person who just wants to suck the fun out of life.
But, it’s actually the exact opposite!
Jesus warns us and tells us the truth because He knows if we do not heed His word, we are missing out on the deepest, most beautiful, and life-fulfilling joy that is found in hearing, understanding, engaging, believing, and obeying the message of the gospel of the Kingdom of God.
He who has ears, let him hear.
Jesus is going to flesh out this idea more later in the chapter when He says
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.
When someone loves you with a gracious, kind, and unconditional love, you come to love them in return, when you love them in return, you become like them and walk as they walked, and you take great joy in the things they take great joy in.
Will you notice one more thing with me about the bearing fruit of genuine faith in God by His grace?
Some yield one hundredfold, another sixty, another thirty.
I used to think that kind of meant that there are some Christians who are just better Christians than others, and so you should strive to be a one hundred fold Christian, and not just a thirty fold!
But, I had it all wrong.
Instead, what God is saying about His grace is: when I save you, you are mine.
Abide in my love, find your joy, and contentment, and satisfaction in me, and whatever I produce in and through you is my business.
You don’t have to compare your walk of faith with anyone else.
You don’t have to hear my warnings and look around and think, well, he owns a beach house! I bet his toes are stepped on.
You don’t have to look around and think, man, that family is at church every time the door is open!
I better get my act together.
I don’t have to look at the pastor down the street with 5 times the people and running three services, and say, “What’s wrong with me?”
No.
God will produce what He produces, and the gorgeous part about His grace is we can find all our satisfaction, joy, and contentment in Him no matter what!
Gospel
Pray.