Parables Wk#1

Good morning & Welcome to New Hope. It is our pleasure to gather and worship with you this morning. And it is our prayer and mission, that together, we are becoming more and more like Jesus. It’s why we do this. It’s why we teach. So that we hear, learn, grow, apply, & do the word of God…for the building of His Kingdom. So we’re glad you’re here!

It’s an especially exciting Sunday because we kick-off a new series. This month we’ll be digging into some of the red-letter sections in the New Testament - meaning that they were words that Jesus directly spoke to teach the people.

And more specifically, Jesus taught using parables. Parables are...

Stories…Illustrations…Figures of speach…Comparisons…Come along side

They are not to be taken literally “Kingdom of Heaven/Mustard seed”

The best teachers have a way of contextualizing complex truth in an everyday way that is understandable. This is what Jesus did. He took complex spiritual truths and spoke of them in simple everyday terms so anyone could understand.

And here’s the other reason Jesus taught in parables...

Those who wanted to know the truth could

Those who really weren’t interested or willing didn’t

If you’re hungry and have a desire to learn - you can and will

If you’re content, full, good enough, and lack desire - you won’t

Preconceived notions & opinions drastically sway how you listen / or don’t.

If you already know what you need to know then what is there to hear?

He who has ears…let him hear!

The

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 3. The Meaning of the Parable of the Sower, 13:18–23

Jesus has made the point that the parables are meant to conceal truth from those who lack genuine religious seriousness (like his scribal opposition), and he proceeds to set his close followers apart from that kind of approach to religious truth. The parable may go over the heads of Jesus’ enemies and of the careless crowd, but those who have committed themselves to Jesus will not remain in ignorance.

Parables are meant to conceal truth from those who lack genuine

The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel according to Matthew 3. The Meaning of the Parable of the Sower, 13:18–23

Jesus has made the point that the parables are meant to conceal truth from those who lack genuine religious seriousness (like his scribal opposition), and he proceeds to set his close followers apart from that kind of approach to religious truth. The parable may go over the heads of Jesus’ enemies and of the careless crowd, but those who have committed themselves to Jesus will not remain in ignorance.

(NLT)

18“Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds:

The genius of Jesus is in what he uses as the stories to teach spiritual truth.

(NLT)

19The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts.

The careless hearer

Those who hear the message:

One commentator wrote that in Palestine the fields were long & narrow; and the ground between was a right of way commonly used by travelers as a path. As you can imagine like a path that is traveled by many, it becomes very hard and packed down.

Well, as seed was being scattered by the farmer, you can imagine that some of it would fall on this footpath. It would be about as good as throwing some seed here on the floor.

In Palestine, the fields were in long narrow strips; and the ground between the strips was always a right of way. It was used as a common path; and therefore it was beaten as hard as a pavement by the feet of countless passers-by. That is what Jesus means by the wayside. If seed fell there—and some was bound to fall there in whatever way it was sown—there was no more chance of its penetrating into the earth than if it had fallen on the road.

For Jesus says that those who represent this soil hear the message but don’t understand it.

The careless hearer does nothing with the word they hear. They simply hear for the sake of hearing, and not for the sake of doing. The problem is initially internal - lack of desire, passion, commitment. And because nothing is done to understand and apply the message, the evil one comes and does what he does best - snatch away the seed that was planted.

Let’s not be confused by what Jesus is saying. It’s not that the message is difficult or that there isn’t the capability to comprehend. It’s that they hearer is careless. The hearer chooses not to listen. There is a lack of desire, passion, commitment, willingness to listen with intent to understand.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 68). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

But even moreso, with intent to do and become. This hearer chooses not to listen, not to learn, not to grow, not to apply, & not to do anything with the message.

We show up to church; We go to events; We attend a class; We stand in worship and our minds are made up. We check a box; We came to church; We did our duty; We hope that it’s good enough. We are careless & apathetic towards growing more like Jesus.

And the evil one shows up and does what he does best without anyone even knowing it. He snatches away the message that was sown into the heart hearer.

The careless hearer does nothing with the word they hear. They simply hear for the sake of hearing, and not for the sake of doing. The problem is initially internal - lack of desire, passion, commitment. And because nothing is done to understand and apply the message, the evil one comes and does what he does best - snatch away the seed that was planted.

Jesus taught in such a way that everyone could understand…if they wanted to. It’s the whole reason for teaching in parables. Simple, relatable, understandable, contextual. Not complex. No need for advanced education or learning to grasp the concept and apply it.

Are you a careless hearer?

Are you a careless hearer?

(NLT)

20The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.

(NLT)

21But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

The happy hearer

One commentator suggests that the ground wasn’t necessarily full of rocks, it was that there was a thin layer of soil on top of an underlying shelf of limestone rock. The soil may only be a few inches deep before you hit rock.

Seeds planted in this type of soil would germinate quickly because the soil temperature grew warm from the heat of the sun. The same thing that gave the seeds its rapid beginnings was also the same thing that hindered their longevity - there was no depth. When its roots would grow down in search of nourishment and moisture, it would meet only rock. It would dry up and starve.

The stony ground was not ground filled with stones; it was what was common in Palestine, a thin skin of earth on top of an underlying shelf of limestone rock. The earth might be only a very few inches deep before the rock was reached. On such ground, the seed would certainly germinate; and it would germinate quickly, because the ground grew speedily warm with the heat of the sun. But there was no depth of earth; and, when it sent down its roots in search of nourishment and moisture, it would meet only the rock, and would be starved to death and quite unable to withstand the heat of the sun.

Seeds fell on rocky soil: The rocky ground was not ground filled with rocks; it was what was common in Palestine, a thin skin of earth on top of an underlying shelf of limestone rock. The earth might be only a very few inches deep before the rock was reached. On such ground, the seed would certainly germinate; and it would germinate quickly, because the ground grew speedily warm with the heat of the sun. But there was no depth of earth; and, when it sent down its roots in search of nourishment and moisture, it would meet only the rock, and would be starved to death and quite unable to withstand the heat of the sun. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 68). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

Those who hear how wonderful God is to save them from the firey pits of hell and are so thankful for being introduced to a wonderful savior named Jesus.

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., p. 68). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

Those who hear how wonderful God is to save them from the firey pits of hell and are so thankful for being introduced to a wonderful savior named Jesus. The happy hearer sees the Gospel as good, loving, gracious, forgiving, and wonderful - which it is. But as soon as trouble or persecution comes - they’re out. They take what’s good and decide to pass on ideas taught by Jesus like “Suffering for the Gospel, first must be last; last must be first, become a servant to all, feet washing, loving our enemies...”

The happy hearer longs for the Gospel to be good, and loving, and gracious, and forgiving, and wonderful. But as soon as trouble or persecution comes - they’re out.

And because this hearer has no depth; Their well has run dry; There is nothing in the reserve tank; Spiritual resources are a scarce commodity.

(NLT)

When the going gets tough…The tough pulls over and has a sack lunch ;-) No…The tough get buckle in. The tough lean in and lean on Jesus.

More than just “falls away”. They take offense. Are repelled & want nothing to do with the fullness of following Jesus.

Are you a happy hearer?

21But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.

Are you a happy hearer?

(NLT)

22The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced.

The distracted hearer

And still the same commentator wrote... The thorny ground was deceptive. When the sower was sowing, the ground would look clean enough. It is easy to make a garden look clean by simply turning it over; but in the ground still lay the fibrous roots of the couch grass and the ground elder and all the perennial pests, ready to spring to life again. Every gardener knows that the weeds grow with a speed and a strength that few good seeds can equal. The result was that the good seed and the dormant weeds grew together; but the weeds were so strong that they throttled the life out of the seed. Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 68–69). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.

The distracted hearer hears the word, however, there are too many things happening that take priority.

The thorny ground was deceptive. When the sower was sowing, the ground would look clean enough. It is easy to make a garden look clean by simply turning it over; but in the ground still lay the fibrous roots of the couch grass and the ground elder and all the perennial pests, ready to spring to life again. Every gardener knows that the weeds grow with a speed and a strength that few good seeds can equal. The result was that the good seed and the dormant weeds grew together; but the weeds were so strong that they throttled the life out of the seed.

Are you a distracted hearer?

Too busy; too preoccupied; too involved; too much work; too many meetings; too much Netflix; too much recreation. Often the biggest challenge isn’t that they’re bad things, because much of what we do is “good”. But often good can crowd out what’s best.

And we just never get around to prayer; we never get around to reading the word; we never get around to serving others...

Are you a distracted hearer? What is it that distracts you?

Barclay, W. (2001). The Gospel of Matthew (Third Ed., pp. 68–69). Edinburgh: Saint Andrew Press.Are you a distracted hearer?

(NLT)

23The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!

The committed hearer

Open & receptive; willing to learn & grow (humble); understand (thought it out, know what it means for them, accepts it & applies it to their lives; They obey and do (take action). And as a result they produce fruit!

Are you a committed hearer?

Our mission is the be a church of disciples who make disciples, so our hope is that everyone in the church is a committed hearer. And what I’ve learned and know after being in ministry for a handful of years is that ministry / disciple making is hard work. It’s not easy. There are extreme highs and extreme lows. The people business is challenging.

Seed sowing does not usually produce quick results. One commentator wrote, “There is never any haste in nature’s growth. It takes a long time before an acorn becomes an oak, and it may take a long time before a seed germinates in the heart of an individual. But often a word dropped into someone’s heart in childhood lies dormant until some day it awakens and its memory brings resistance to some great temptation or even preserve that person’s soul from death. We live in an age which looks for quick results; but in the sowing of the seed we must sow in patience and in hope, and sometimes must leave the harvest to the years.

I recently had the tremendous joy of hearing of a young man who was recently baptized. He was a young man who I had the privilege of coaching over the many years. He was a quiet young man - usually having to force him to speak up and really even to smile. It wasn’t because he was mean or a punk. He was simply quiet, reserved, and unassuming.

I don’t ever remember having a “Jesus” conversation with him. Never walked him through the plan of salvationHe got baptized a few weeks ago and I received this message from someone close to him…

“Hi Shane. I wanted to let you know that ......... got baptized this past Sunday. This is something (those close to him) had been talking with him about the past 4 years. When he met with one of our pastors recently, he shared how much you had impacted his life. I wanted you to know that the seeds you planted really mattered! Praise Jesus!”

Look… I don’t share this to say what an awesome guy I am. I share this because we never know the impact we can have on those around us. The work of becoming a disciple, and becoming a disciple-maker is hard work, but it’s what we’re called to become…and it’s worth it!

So as the ushers begin making their way forward, during our offertory time we have created a short reflective video to continue in worship. I’d encourage you to consider and reflect on the thoughts and ideas you see on the screen. Let’s pray.

Offertory...

Send off: If anyone is still interested in going on the mission trip to the DR, there’s still space available. Please stop out at the Info Desk and let them know.