Sow Seed & Sleep In Peace

Introduction

“Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world.” – Robert McKee

“That’s what we storytellers do. We restore order with imagination. We instill hope again and again and again.” – Walt Disney

“Homo sapiens (humans) is a storytelling animal that thinks in stories rather than in numbers or graphs and believes that the universe itself works like a story…” – Yuval Noah Harari, a Jewish atheist

Storytelling is a craft that has been around since the beginning of time. In fact, before Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the oral story tradition is the means God used to preserve His word.

In humanity’s history, storytelling has been a way to “escape” reality. We love to hear stories of fairytales, wizards, etc.

All the greatest storytellers have these fantastical stories that spark imagination and wonder.

Except for one storyteller. The greatest storyteller.

This storyteller was not interested in listeners escaping reality, He was interested in listeners being confronted with reality.

He was unlike any storyteller who came before Him or after Him, and today we look at one of His many stories He told.

The Parables of Jesus. We now see the parables of Jesus (earthly stories to convey spiritual truth) becoming popular in His ministry. Why? Because His ministry had been to the Jews (the message of the kingdom), and He gave them straight truth. They rejected it. NOW, His ministry to much broader, to the Jew AND the Greek. To those who would not understand a theological exercise in the Jewish tradition. His message becomes more accessible to the common man through the illustration of His parables.

The first parable recorded in Matthew’s Gospel is the parable of the Sower. This would be very common for the contemporary people of Jesus’s day. The Sower (or planter) had a method of draping a bag of seed over his shoulder, taking a handful of seed, and broadcasting over his field. He would walk up and down his field and do this all the day long to cover as much ground as possible. In doing so, the seed would fall on 4 types of soil.

The Stubborn Soil

Mark 4:4 “4 And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.”

- Hard/Rocky. This would be like pavement; it was on the outside of the field. Hard-packed dirt. The seed could not penetrate this hardened soil.

The Shallow Soil

Mark 4:5–6 “5 Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. 6 And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away.”

- Not necessarily rocky, but shallow. There was a lot of runs in this landscape that had a thin layer of limestone just below the topsoil. So, these seeds would hit the ground and plant themselves in the topsoil, yet when it would hit rock, they would die.

The Strangled Soil

Mark 4:7 “7 Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain.”

- The Soil looks perfect on the surface, but lurking underneath are weeds that feed off the germination of the good seed that is planted. Once the good seed begins to flourish, the weed feeds off its life and chokes the good seed out.

The Soft Soil

Mark 4:8 “8 And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.””

- The good soil. This is soil that is soft and receptive to the seed that has been planted. The seed can grow and flourish in this soil. Yielding “a hundred-fold, sixty fold, thirty fold.”

*Purpose of Parables*

Mark 4:9 “9 And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.””

Not everyone in attendance that day would go on to understand what it was that Christ was saying.

The true meaning of this parable would only be revealed to the ones whose hearts were seeking to know the truth Christ was conveying.

This statement is at the same time an invitation and a judgement

It is an invitation to the one who is humble enough to come to Christ is search of the truth.

Yet, it is a judgement to the one who does not seek Christ, he is already condemned by not even being able to understand the words Christ is speaking.

Mark 4:10–12 “10 And when he was alone, those around him with the twelve asked him about the parables. 11 And he said to them, “To you has been given the secret of the kingdom of God, but for those outside everything is in parables, 12 so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ””

Jesus offered a twofold explanation for using parables: to conceal truth from the hard-hearted while revealing it to those who believed.

Thus, He was saying to them, “To you [who believe in Me] has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God, but those who are outside [who have rejected Me] get everything in parables.”

The followers of Christ possessed the ears to hear, and Jesus willingly disclosed the meaning to them. When Jesus told a parable to those who believed, it was a revelation of grace that made spiritual truth clear.

The word mystery refers to something hidden that will at a later time be revealed.

In this case, the OT contained many “mysteries” regarding future salvation that were know being revealed in the person of Christ.

However, He only revealed that to the ones who had a heart humble enough to seek after Him.

Then, He quotes Isa. 6:9-10 regarding the children of Israel in the days of Isaiah. They had rebelled against God so many times, and He had sent a prophet to them so many times to have them turn back. But, in their rebellion, they refused. Therefore, God says, “Enough.” And He hardens their hearts to where they now CAN’T understand.

At that time, Nebuchadnezzar’s army invaded soon after and the prophecy was revealed. They were judged for rejecting God.

Historically, this was fulfilled *again* in AD 70 after the Jews rejected their Messiah (Jesus).

Spiritually, this prophecy is fulfilled every time someone steps into eternity having heard the message of the Gospel so many times but having hard hearts against it.

So, then Jesus goes on to explain this particular parable to the disciples:

The Parable Explained

The Sower: The one who shares the Gospel.

The Seed: The Gospel message.

The Soil: The hearts of men. The Soul.

1. The Stubborn Soil

Mark 4:15 “15 And these are the ones along the path, where the word is sown: when they hear, Satan immediately comes and takes away the word that is sown in them.”

a. Clown: This is the person stubborn to the Gospel. Does not and will not believe in God. This is the person who has said in his heart “there is no God.” (Proverbs)

b. Carried Away: Who lives their life in complete opposition. Doesn’t matter how close they are in proximity to the good soil, there heart is hardened and rigid toward God.

c. Covered: It doesn’t matter how much the Gospel is showered on them; its seed will not grow.

2. The Shallow Soil

Mark 4:16–17 “16 And these are the ones sown on rocky ground: the ones who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy. 17 And they have no root in themselves, but endure for a while; then, when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately they fall away.”

a. Superficial: The great pretender. Has no genuinely good soil about them. Can act the part, but there has been no root planted within this soil.

b. Surface-Level: This soil is deceptively good-looking soil. But, only on the surface, the heart has not had the root of the Gospel latched onto it. This is common in 21st century. “Gospel” promises of joy, peace, and comfort with NO confrontation of sin and repentance. So, this soil is not properly conditioned.

c. Sad: This soil ultimately disappoints all those around it. At first it sprouts so beautifully, even more so than the other soil. But is altogether taken down at the first sign of trouble. The Shallow soil oftentimes discourages everyone around it.

3. The Strangled Soil

Mark 4:18–19 “18 And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, 19 but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”

a. Unwilling: Not willing to give up the pleasures of the world in order to follow the Gospel. Not willing to Give everything up to follow Christ. The world tells us Jesus can just be bookmark in the book of our life, but God’s Word tells us differently (Rich Young Ruler).

b. Uncommitted: The soil was never prepared to genuinely give its all to the seed that was planted because it stored too much room for the weeds. This is a picture of the world and its pleasures. This heart cannot commit to the gospel because it is hung up on the things that the world can bring to it.

c. Unfruitful: Ultimately, this soil can bear no fruit. Therefore, it is not good soil. Was this heart saved, and then lost it? No. The absence of fruit is more telling of the fact that it was never saved to begin with. No matter if it walked an aisle or raised a hand. If this soil was never truly conditioned and rid of the weeds for the seed of the Gospel, it was never truly planted.

Matthew 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

1 John 2:15 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”

4. The Soft Soil

Mark 4:20 “20 But those that were sown on the good soil are the ones who hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.””

a. Secured: The Holy Spirit stirs the soil of mans heart, He accompanies that seed, and plants it deep within the heart of man. And once that seed has taken root, there is NO taking it out. There is no removing that seed. It is secure in the arms of God! “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:28)

b. Saved: The soil then sprouts unto life eternal. Jesus says it yields “a hundredfold, sixtyfold, thirtyfold…” It bears the fruit of a true plant of The Lord in His field.

Conclusion

So what do we do with Jesus’s words here? There’s two applications to this text.

First: The Sinner

The sinner is called by these verses to examine himself and see if he be in the faith. Look at the soil of your heart, is it good soil? OR is it shallow, stubborn, or strangled?

Do you have a true, genuine faith in Christ? OR are you just a surface-level Christian who doesn’t really love Jesus? Are you so caught up in the world that you’ve never even thought about Jesus for more than five minutes but you call yourself a Christian because you come to church sometimes?

Secondly, and I believe maybe the most overlooked, the application for the Saved Person

Which is this: Look again at v. 13, Jesus asks this, “Do you not understand this parable?”

The disciples did not need to be saved in the moment, so why is it so important that they understand?

Because this parable gives us the foundational knowledge of what it means to share our faith, and be sharers of the Gospel. Exactly what these disciples would be doing.

As children of God, as saved individuals, we are all called to be witnesses for Christ. To share our faith with those around us. This is something we naturally want to do, because we have people that we love that we want to see saved and in Heaven with us.

So, we assume the role of the sower… But what does the sower do? Simply this: v.14 “The sower sows the word.”

Then, we have five more verses, you know who much more we hear the sower doing? Nothing.

Why? Because its the sower’s (our) role to cast the seed, but ONLY the Holy Spirit can condition the soil.

We do not have the power/ability to convert someone’s heart. We do not posses the ability to persuade someone over to Jesus. There is only One who can do that: The Holy Spirit.

I know you are in here, and you have that loved one: mother, father, husband, wife, son, daughter, etc. who is lost. And you have told them, and told them, and told them. And prayed and begged God to do something, but nothing is changing.

& it is natural for us as humans, who believe we have more control over things than we really do, to look at that situation, and fret. To worry, to have anxiety, to beat our fists on the ground, to blame ourselves, to wonder why God would allow this….The list goes on.

Here’s Jesus’s words to us: Sow the seed, and leave the cultivation and conditioning of the soul/soil to Me.

Sow the seed: Tell them about a God who hates sin, and that they are guilty of that sin. Tell them that if they are planning on pleading the Law when they stand before God, that they will stand condemned. If their good works are what they are counting on, they will be condemned to an eternity in Hell.

Then tell them that same God is rich in love and mercy, and He sent His Son to assume my standing as a sinner. And was condemned on the cross at Calvary in my place. Therefore, God judged Jesus for my sin, and He died, and rose again. And because of that, I, having put my faith in Him, and justified in the eyes of God and will spend eternity resting in the work of Christ. And that same mercy has been extended to them if they will throw themselves at the feet of Christ and put their faith in Him as Savior and Lord.

THEN, lay your head on your pillow and go to sleep in peace. Knowing this, Christian: You have done all that your Lord has commanded of you. You cannot bear the burden of being the Holy Spirit in someone else’s life…we have to lay it at the feet of Jesus and trust God that He is sovereign over the souls of men, and He will work all things together for the good of those who love Him.