The Parable of the sower- the purpose of parables.
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The Setting
The Setting
That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea.
That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach.
This was necessary for Jesus to have room for Himself, but mainly it was for the crowd to be able to hear.
And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. “Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. “But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. “Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. “And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. “He who has ears, let him hear.”
And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;
We said this morning that Jesus spoke to them in parables.
R.C. Sproul- Most of Jesus’s parables are clear but they also contain a depth of meaning that only one with a right relationship to Jesus can comprehend.
Parable- literally meaning a story alongside.
It is illustrating truth.
A story of commonality with spiritual meaning and insights.
And just like with all truth. Just like with everything that ever comes out of Jesus’s mouth there will always be two responses.
In Jesus’s day there was two responses and today there is as well.
For the unbeliever- the natural man, the one still living in his sin, he will hear the words and the parables of Jesus and be unaffected by it other than it casts him further away at times.
For the believer- God gives to him understanding. What he hears, he searches more intently to understand even deeper, and God meets that need through the Scriptures.
What He says at the end of the passage is reflecting of this truth.
verse 9-He who has ears, let him hear.
The implication- There are those who do and those who don’t.
Like I said this morning, the disciples aren’t satisfied with this ending.
Basically Jesus speaks the truth and lets it sit.
He recognizes a central truth of our faith and salvation. That God must open someone’s ears.
So they ask in verse 10
And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
Now its interesting- Jesus begins this in this passage.
This is why the disciples ask. What are you doing?
Why are you doing this?
Listen to His answer
Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted.
These Jews and crowd that Jesus is speaking prove this later, but right now the disciples can’t understand.
Matthew 13:
“For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him. “Therefore I speak to them in parables; because while seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.
Jesus answered them, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. “For whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him.
Have you ever wondered why people just seem to see much and yet reject?
They’ve been blessed beyond measure and still don’t follow Christ.
Seeing- they do not see
Hearing- they do not hear- nor do they understand.
Essentially, they are blinded by their own senses.
They are blinded by their own rejection.
And at times, God brings judgment on these people.
For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
This is what happens.
This is why we must preach with urgency.
This is why we must live with urgency.
he goes on-
“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’
Matthew 13:14-
“In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled, which says, ‘You will keep on hearing, but will not understand; You will keep on seeing, but will not perceive; For the heart of this people has become dull, With their ears they scarcely hear, And they have closed their eyes, Otherwise they would see with their eyes, Hear with their ears, And understand with their heart and return, And I would heal them.’ “But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly 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.
Go with me to .
The Jews of this day are just like the Jews in the day of Isaiah.
And here is where the struggle comes in, because Isaiah sees the glory of God, no doubt excited, and has to go and preach to a people who the more he preaches the duller they will become.
They wording here is numb.
Ill be honest, at times I feel like Isaiah with some of my friends.
The more I preach to them, the more I see them becoming more and more numb to God’s word.
These people in Jesus’s day are seeing God himself, and they cant even see it.
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. “For truly 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.
Matthew 13:
Jesus illustrates this story.
In fact the parable of the sower was about exactly what he was teaching.
“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 the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. “The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. “And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. “And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”