Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Introduction: Setting of the Parable
begins with “that same day...” The day had already been a busy one.
Backing up to we see the following events had already transpired:
Jesus healed a demon-oppressed man, but the Pharisees accused Him of doing so by the power of the prince of demons.
This lead to Jesus’ teaching on “blasphemy against the holy Spirit” ()
Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, who in return demanded a sign.
Jesus promised no sign would be given except the “sign of the prophet Jonah.”
()
Jesus’ mother and brothers came and sought to take Him from the crowds.
They were worried He was “out of His mind” (), but Jesus responded, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
Whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” (Mt.
12:46-50)
What we see in is growing opposition, and even opposition on multiple fronts.
The Jewish leaders are becoming angrier and more combative.
Jesus’ own family is worried and far from supportive.
Jesus retires to the Sea of Galilee, but there He launches into a great discourse - a sermon comprised entirely of parables.
The parables mostly share a common theme - the concept of the Kingdom.
In the midst of adversity and opposition, Jesus taught about the kingdom He was establishing.
These are the parables we find in :
Parable of the Sower (and explanation): vv.
3-9 (18-23)
Parable of the Weeds (and explanation): vv.
24-30, 36-43
Parable of the Mustard Seed: vv.
31-32
Parable of Leaven: v. 33
Parable of the Hidden Treasure: v. 44
Parable of the Pear of Great Value: vv.
45-46
Parable of the Net: vv.
47-50
Again, most of these parables pertain to Christ’s kingdom.
The parable of the sower is unique, however.
Instead of being a parable about the kingdom, it is a parable about hearing and responding to God’s Word.
Thus, it is a fitting introduction!
The parable of the sower and soils was a call to the audience to open their hearts and listen to the words Jesus was teaching.
It was a reminder to ensure their hearts were like the good soil which recieved the seed and produced fruit.
Thus, when Jesus concludes the first parable He exclaims, “he who has ears, let him hear!”
The Parable Given
As He commonly did, Jesus used stories and pictures that His audience knew well.
The agrarian picture He used was one the people of Galilee would have recognized intimately.
He related His message in a way the people could understand if they desired to do so.
The process may sound strange to us, but it was fairly common in Palestine.
Sometimes farmers tilled their fields before sowing seed, and sometimes they didn’t.
When it came time to plant, the farmer would walk through the field casting seed on the ground, or by letting seed fall from a bag with holes as he traversed the field.
As he sowed, he knew there would be some seed that wouldn’t produce.
The reason for this is explained:
The Path
Some seed would naturally fall on or by the paths that were used to walk through the field.
Here the ground was hardened, and thus the seeds couldn’t penetrate the earth.
Because the seeds just rested on top of the earth, they were easy pickings for birds that came and devoured them.
Obviously such seeds would bear no fruit.
The Rocky Soil
Rocky soil is common in Palestine, and sometime the rocks are just below the surface of the dirt.
It wasn’t that the sower is intentionally spreading seed on rocky ground - it’ s that the soil looks normal, but it is shallow.
Seeds will penetrate the dirt and begin the growing process, but because of the shallow dirt and rocky base, roots won’t be able to grow very strong.
Without proper roots, the beginning plants won’t get the moisture they need, and the sun will actually scorch them.
Although the seed was planted and even began growing, once more no fruit would be born.
The Thorny Soil
Again, it’s not that the farmer intentionally cast seed into ground covered by thorns and thistles.
Once more, the ground probably looks like all other ground.
The thorns aren’t already there, they grow up with the plant from the seeds.
The thorns are weeds that grow alongside the actual plants.
These weeds and thorns steal the nutrients and choke out and starve the plants.
Once again, the seed is planted and growth begins, but death is the result before there is any fruit to be born.
The Good Soil
Finally there is the good soil.
Here the seed takes root, grows, and ultimately bears fruit.
While we miss the surprise here, Jesus’ audience must have been surprised by the yields he mentioned.
100, 60, and 30 fold refers to how many seeds are harvested compared to how many were planted.
Thus, a 30-fold crop would produce 30 times the amount of seed that was planted.
The yields Jesus mentions are astounding.
An average crop was somewhere around 10 fold.
30-fold harvests weren’t unheard of, but they were great harvests.
60 and 100 fold harvests were bumper crops!
Some Observations
The seed (which we will see in a moment is the Word of God) is the same.
It wasn’t the seed that lead to unfruitfulness.
The same seed that produced 100-fold also produce nothing.
Thus, growth isn’t simply based on the seed.
The soil all appears the same: As we mentioned, the sower didn’t intentionally spread seed on hard, rocky, or thorny ground.
At the outset, all the ground looked the same
The application here is that we should not try and determine which people will most likely respond to the gospel.
We simply spread the word of God.
Some will respond, others won’t.
In truth, however, we can’t tell at the outset which people will receive the gospel and faithfully obey it and which ones won’t.
Thus, like the sower, we simply spread the seed.
What makes the difference is what’s underneath, or what’s added to the soil.
While all the soil looked the same, it wasn’t.
Some was packed from travelling.
Some had rocks under the surface.
Some had “bad seed” that lead to the growth of thorns and weeds.
Some was simply good, receptive soil.
The Parable Explained
Mt. 13:18
Understanding the Pictures
A key to understanding a parable is knowing what the various elements in the story represent.
We should be careful to not over-allegorize every detail in a parable.
Doing so has lead to some fanciful and frankly false ideas.
Each parable contains at least one primary lesson however, and possibly a couple more, and those are the main pictures we need to determine.
Thankfully, in this parable we have the symbols or pictures explained for us.
The Seed = the Word of God
The Soils Represent: Our Hearts
Mt.
Lk. 8:
This isn’t merely about emotions - heart refers to our inner being and will; out desire and motivation.
The Birds Represent: Satan
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