The Sower, The Soil, & Our Role In It All

Secular -

A woman was worried about her husband who had recently joined the church. She told the pastor, "He's becoming too religious. He wants me to give away my jewelry, sell my expensive car, and donate all our savings to the church!"

The pastor paused and asked, "Are you sure he's praying, or is he just looking for a way to get rid of you?"

Historical/Cultural Context -

This Gospel is written by Matthew, also known as Levi who was a former tax collector. It was most likely written between AD 50-60. Matthew left everything behind to follow Jesus. Matthew wrote primarily to Jewish believers—people who knew the Old Testament well. Matthew had one goal: to prove that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, the King of Kings, and the fulfillment of God’s promises. Connecting the Old Testament prophecies to the life of Christ, proving that every word God spoke was coming true in Jesus. The key themes of the Gospel include Jesus as King, The Kingdom of Heaven, Fulfillment of Prophecy and discipleship.

Biblical Text -

Matthew 12:46–13:23 NKJV

While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?” He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - We Need To Be Sensitive To The Holy Spirit, While Applying Jesus’ Words & Sowing The Seed Of The Gospel.

Life Point- Be Sensitive To The Holy Spirit

Exegetical -

Matthew 12:46–50 BSB

While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him. Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.” But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Homiletical -

Jesus is talking and His mother and brothers were outside. But Jesus was trying to teach them a spiritual truth.

He ignored the fact that they were outside and continued with His teaching.

Now some may see this as rude but remember that in all Jesus said and did He was sinless. No sin could or can be found in Him.

You see, for Him to see His earthly family was a good thing, but He had a mission to perform. He had Kingdom work to do.

Sometimes God calls us away from the good things, to do the work of the Kingdom, which is ultimately the better thing.

Or calls us away from the work to sit at the feet of the Master. This is called being sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

Doing what God has called you to do. To know which way to go is a matter of Spiritual conscience. Spiritual understanding.

Are you understanding what the Spirit is telling you to do today?

Luke 10:38–42 BSB

As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to His message. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord replied, “you are worried and upset about many things. But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Mary chose the thing that was actually needed at this point. The words of life. Sometimes we are so busy about being busy that we forget to sit at the feet of the Master. Could God be calling you to just turn off your electronics and pay attention to Him?

Look at what Jesus did in this occasion. He points to His disciples and says these are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.

Look, when you come to Jesus and spend time with Him; You are His family.

Hebrews 2:11 BSB

For both the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.

You are the Family of God. God calls you His family, if you are His.

That being said, if I am God’s and yet I don’t spend time with Him, that’s not much of a relationship is it?

Try pulling that with your wife or husband. Don’t spend time with them and see how good your relationship is then.

If you belong to God, you need to spend time with Him. If you spend time with Him you will become sensitive to what He is saying to you. You will become sensitive to the Holy Spirit.

How do you spend time with Him? Prayer and study of the Word of God.

Illustration -

Remember the story of the Wright brothers? They faced numerous failures before they successfully took flight. But it wasn't until they became attuned to the wind patterns and how their plane could glide through those currents that they truly soared. Our journey with the Holy Spirit is like that—if we keep our ears open to His whispers and nudges, we'll navigate through life's challenges and rise above them. We must listen and adjust.

Life Point - Apply The Words Of Jesus

Exegetical -

Matthew 13:1–17 BSB

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow. But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings. Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold. He who has ears, let him hear.” Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Homiletical -

The very same day that Jesus asked who is my family? He goes and sits by the sea.Probably to rest and recuperate. But what happens?

The crowd found him and then the crowd began to grow. So he launches into a boat to teach them

Why would He launch out into a boat?

There are 2 reasons

1) To escape the throngs of people pushing in on him. Jesus didn’t have modern security agents to hold them back like we do today.

2) To amplify His words. Jesus didn’t have modern sound equipment either. So the acoustics coming off the landscape and off the water would have amplified his voice so that people could hear Him.

Then Jesus speaks to them in parables. Which are stories with a moral or spiritual point that has a correlation to real life.

Would Jesus ever speak in such a way that someone would not be saved? During this time the answer is yes. He quotes Isaiah:

Matthew 13:14–15 BSB

In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn, and I would heal them.’

So He is speaking to those who have spiritual insight. Notice He says that “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”

He also says that the righteous men and the prophets of the Old Testament longed to see this day and to hear these parables, but they didn’t get to do that.

Folks parables are to be understood by the believer. They are not for the unbeliever per se. You ever wonder how so many people mess up the Bible? It is because they don’t have the Holy Spirit within them illuminating the scriptures to their minds; and yet even Christians struggle with the Bible in some aspects. That’s why the pastors, teachers, evangelists and those of us that are called to the ministry, notice I said called you don’t just decide one day you are going to be a pastor it is a calling from God. That is why we exist. That is why we are here, which is to help and to train in righteousness.

If you are a believer you have the ears to hear. Are you listening. This parable is to be applied to your life.

Illustration -

When your learning to drive, your instructor, probably, constantly reminded you to keep your eyes on the road. It was simple advice, but it changed how you maneuvered. Similarly, Jesus' teachings are our GPS; they direct our lives if we just focus on them. Applying His words is like adjusting our rearview mirror - it helps us see both where we've been and where we're headed, ensuring we stay on track with God's purpose for our lives.

Life Point - Be The Sower

Exegetical -

Matthew 13:18–23 BSB

Consider, then, the parable of the sower: When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away. The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

Homiletical -

Now Jesus takes His disciples aside and explains the parable of the sower. That is what we call this parable. In this parable you are the sower and the seed is the Gospel. We are to through that seed far and wide. How it grows is how people respond to the Gospel.

The seed along the path when the Gospel is not understood, the Devil comes and take it away. These people are hard ground and they are not going to listen for very long to the Gospel.

Not ice the second one when persecution comes they have no real root and they are gone. These are people that will come and respond joyfully and you think they may stay, but they don’t. Because they can’t handle trouble or persecution so they fade away just as quickly as they sprout. Who needs Jesus and His people if it’s going to be this much trouble. That is their attitude.

The seed among the thorns is the one we have to look out for, you see they may stay for years but eventually the cares of the world, their jobs, or wealth begin to choke out the plant and they begin to fall away.

I have friends like this. They used to be all about Jesus when you went and visited, talking about who they would win to Christ. But slowly it became all about their stuff when you went to visit and nothing about Christ. When church did come up they always had an excuse why they didn’t go. Then eventually bitterness came up in there hearts about the people who go to church and how hypocritical they are.

Well ya’ll know what I think about hypocrites in the church right? You just come on down, the church always has room for one more hypocrite. We can all be hypocritical at times. Don’t forsake the body of Christ because people are hurting and are fallible.

Then there is the good soil and they produce a good crop of spiritual fruit. These people multiply what they have of Jesus and re-sow their seed into others lives yielded massive multiples of good crop as they do.

Then the sower story repeats again with each individual in the church. At least that’s supposed to be the way it happens

Folks, we need to be the sower.

Life Principle– We Need To Be Sensitive To The Holy Spirit, While Applying Jesus’ Words & Sowing The Seed Of The Gospel.

Call to Action – altar call….