Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

Introduction

Matthew 13:1–2 (NASB95)

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.

Even Though this is the Beginning of a New Chapter…

The First Sentence Makes it Obvious that We’re Missing Something

“That Day”

What Day?

“Jesus Went Out of the House”

What House?

We are Jumping Right into the Middle of a Context

Chapter 13 is Directly Connected to Chapters 11 & 12

So, in Order to Understand Chapter 13…

We Need to Remember What Chapters 11 & 12 Were About

Chapters 11 & 12 are Really Easy to Summarize

They are All About Jesus Being Rejected

First, John the Baptizer was Doubting Him

The Cities Where Most of Jesus’ Ministry Took Place Rejected Him

The Religious Leaders (Scribes & Pharisees) Rejected Him

Even to the Point of Blaspheming the Holy Spirit

And His Own Family had, Up to this Point, Rejected Him

At the End of Chapter 12, We See Jesus Speaking to the Crowds Inside a House…

When His Family Wants to Speak with Him

We Aren’t Told Whose House He is in, But We Could Assume it to Be Peter & Andrew’s

That Sets the Context and Setting for Our Passage

Matthew 13:1–2 (NASB95)

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.

Chapter 13 is Taking Place on the Same Day that Jesus was in the House Speaking to the Crowds

He Decides to Go Down to the Beach and the Crowds Follow Him

So He Then Gets on a Boat and Sits Down

When a Rabbi Would Teach His Students/Disciples, He Would Sit

So this Indicates to Us that Jesus is About to Speak to These Crowds

His Reason for Getting On the Boat was Probably to Distance Himself From the Crowds…

So That They Could Hear Him Better

Sound Travels Better Over Water

The Traditional Location is Called “The Cove of the Sower” or “Sower’s Cove”

Would Have Made for Great Acoustics (4 Pictures)

It’s Named After the First Parable that Jesus Tells the Crowds

The Parable that We are Going to Study this Morning

Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

This is the Beginning of Jesus’ 3rd of His 5 Major Teaching Discourses in Matthew

2 Weeks Ago We Studied Verses 10-17

There Jesus Told His Disciples Why He Began Teaching in Parables (Illustrations/Stories):

Because His Generation had Rejected Him

Teaching in Parables Would Allow Him to Continue Revealing the Secrets of the Kingdom to His Disciples…

While at the Same Time, Concealing Them From Those Who Reject Him

All the Parables Besides this First One Start Off with:

“The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…”

They Each Reveal Secrets or Mysteries About the Reign of King Jesus

But this First Parable Answers a Very Important Question:

“Why Do Some Accept the Messiah and His Gospel But Others Don’t?”

If Jesus Truly is the Messiah, Why is He Experiencing So Much Rejection?

Why Aren’t People Responding in Faith and Allegiance to Him?

Matthew 13:3 (NASB95)

And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow;

So Jesus Begins His First Parable: The Parable of the Sower

We Can Assume the Sower is Employing “Broadcast Sowing”

That’s Where You Scatter the Seed By Hand All Over as You Walk Up and Down the Paths of the Field

What Jesus Says Next was Often the Case

Matthew 13:4–8 (NASB95)

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.

With Broadcast Sowing:

Some Seed Would Land on the Hard-Beaten Walking Paths

They Wouldn’t Sink into or Be Plowed into the Dirt…

So Birds Would Come and Eat Them

Some Seed Would Land in Places of Shallow Soil Above a Shelf of Bedrock

This Shallow Soil Would Warm Quickly in the Sun

This Would Cause the Seeds to Sprout Quickly

But Because There was Nothing But Rock Underneath…

The Roots had No Room to Grow and No Water Supply to Keep the Plant Hydrated

So it Wouldn’t Last Long

Some Seed Would Land in Places Where Thorn Bushes Were Already in the Process of Growing

The Seed Would have to Compete with Thorn Bush Seeds and Roots for Nourishment

Oftentimes the Thorn Bush Would Overpower the Seed and it Would Receive No Nourishment

But Some Seed Would Land on Good Soil

This Seed Would Receive the Nourishment it Needs to Grow and Produce it’s Crop

Some Crops Will Produce More Seeds Than Others

But No Matter How Many Seeds Fall On Bad Soil…

The Crop Produced From the Good Soil…

Will Produce More Than Enough to Make Up for Any Seeds Wasted

Jesus Ends His Parable By Saying:

Matthew 13:9 (NASB95)

“He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus is Calling Upon the Crowds to Not Just Hear What He’s Saying…

But to Listen and Understand What He Means

What Does He Mean?

He is Going to Explain the Parable to His Disciples in Private…

Because They are the Ones Who Have Accepted Him

Matthew 13:18–19 (NASB95)

“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 Seed in Which the Sower is Sowing is the Message of the Kingdom:

The Gospel - “Repent and Submit to Jesus the Messiah and He Will Rescue You”

The Different Soils are the Hearers of the Gospel

The Hard Soil on the Walking Path is the Hard-Hearted Person Who Immediately Rejects Jesus as Messiah

Since this Person Rejects Jesus as Their Lord and King…

They Open Themselves Up to the Devil Being Their Lord

But He Isn’t a Lord that Provides Nourishment and Growth

He’s a Roaring Lion Seeking to Devour Them

Or, in this Parable, a Flock of Birds Who Come to Take the Gospel From Their Hearts

He Doesn’t Just Want Them to Reject Jesus…

He Doesn’t Want Them Even Thinking About Him or His Gospel Ever Again

Unfortunately, We Meet Many Hard-Hearted People Like this in the World Today

People Who Have No Desire to Know or Live Their Lives for Jesus

They Don’t Realize it, But They are Slowly Being Devoured By Satan

We are to Continue Loving, Serving, and Praying for These People

And We Keep Sowing the Seed/Offering the Gospel to Such People

But, in the End, There’s Nothing We Can Do if They Choose to Reject Him

Remember the Question this Parable was Going to Answer:

Why Do Some Accept the Messiah and His Gospel But Others Don’t?

Some Don’t Accept Jesus as the Messiah Because They Simply Don’t Want to

But There’s More Than One Reason

Let’s Look at the 2nd Soil

Matthew 13:20–21 (NASB95)

“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.

The Shallow Soil on the Bedrock are Those With a Shallow Faith

They Hear the Gospel and Immediately Accept it with Joy

They Believe Jesus is the Messiah and They Submit to Him as King

They Rejoice in Their New Found Blessings and Promise of Life in the Age to Come

But When Suffering and Persecution Comes, They Immediately Give Up On Jesus

They Want to Be Glorified with Jesus, But They Don’t Want to Suffer with Him

They are Fair-Weather Christians

They are Faithful Only When There’s Something to Be Gained…

But Never When There’s Something to Be Lost

They Aren’t Interested in Counting the Cost of Discipleship

Because if Jesus Costs Them Anything at All, They Lose All Interest in Him

They Want Jesus, But They Also Want:

Their Health, Family, and Life of Comfort and Ease

But Jesus Never Promised Any of These Things to His Disciples

He Commanded the Willingness to Give Up These Things to Have a Relationship with Him

And He Promised that Every Sacrifice Would Be Worth it

This Type of Shallow Christian Disagrees

Why Do Some Accept the Messiah and His Gospel But Others Don’t?

Some Don’t Accept Jesus Because They Aren’t Willing to Suffer for Him

Matthew 13:22 (NASB95)

“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.

The Thorny Soil are Those Who Live in Idolatry

They Hear the Gospel But Don’t Produce Any Fruit

Why Not?

Because the Gospel Isn’t the Only Seed Planted in Their Hearts

The Worries of this Age Consume Their Minds and Distract Them From Jesus

The Main Cause of Worry is Lack of Faith

We’re Not Talking About Mental Illnesses and Chemical Imbalances that Cause Anxiety

We’re Talking About Worrying/Stressing Over Things that Pertain to Everyday Life

Things Over Which God is in Control

We Believe that if We Aren’t Worrying Then Things Will Fall Apart

We Believe Ourselves to Be Our Provider of All that We Need

This is Placing Ourselves in the Place of God

This is Idolatry

Thorny Soil Doesn’t Just Worry, But it Also is Deceived By Wealth

Money, Possessions, and the Pleasures They Bring can Be So Deceptive

They Can So Easily Trick Us into Believing They are Our One True God

They Promise to Bless Us

They Promise to Rescue Us From All Suffering, Pain, and Hardship

They Promise to Give Us the True Abundant Life

Thorny Soil is Happy to Have Jesus in Their Life…

But He Shouldn’t Expect Much Devotion Out of Them

They Have Many Other Gods to Please…

And Jesus Can Often Be Found Near the Bottom of the List

Thorny Soil Often Calls Itself a Christian…

But Actual Devotion to Jesus is Non-Existent

It’s Hard to Devote One’s Life to Jesus…

When You’ve Already Sworn Allegiance to so Many Others

Why Do Some Accept the Messiah and His Gospel But Others Don’t?

Some are Unwilling to Accept Jesus Because They’re Too Busy Serving Their Other Gods

Matthew 13:23 (NASB95)

“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.”

The Good Soil are Those Who Have Good Hearts

They Truly Listen to the Gospel and Open Their Hearts to it

Upon Hearing the Gospel…

They Accept Jesus as Their Messianic King and Submit to Him Entirely

By Doing so, They are Nourished and Grow Up into a Fruit-Bearing Plant…

That Produces Many More Seeds of Their Own

Through Their Devotion to Jesus, They Multiply the Gospel

Through Their Devotion to Jesus…

Many More Will Have the Opportunity to Know and Accept the Good News

Application

With a Simple Story About Sowing Seed…

Jesus Has Laid Out in Great Detail the 4 Primary Responses to His Gospel

There are Hard-Hearted People Who Reject Jesus Right From the Start

There are Shallow People Who are Never Truly Dedicated to Him

There are Idolatrous People Who Make Jesus a Lesser God in Their Life

There are Good and Open-Hearted People Who Truly Give Their Lives to Jesus

Each Person Here is Represented By One of These Soils

There May Be Some Here Who Have Been Outright Rejecting Jesus

You Know the Gospel, But You Have Yet to Give Your Allegiance and Devotion to Jesus

Satan is Ruling Over You, But it Doesn’t Have to Be this Way

There May Be Some Here Who are Shallow in Their Faith

When Things Get Tough, You Give Up

When Things Got Tough for Jesus, He Didn’t Give Up

He Endured Because of His Love for You

When Things Get Tough, Love Him and Don’t Give Up

There May Be Some Here Who are Living in Idolatry

Your Loyalty is Divided and Jesus Doesn’t Have Your Whole Heart

You Can Keep Placing Your Trust in the Things of This Age…

But Don’t Be Surprised When These Gods Fail You

Jesus has Offered to Carry Your Burdens and Give You Abundant Life

Devote Yourself to Him and Throw Your Gods in the Trash Where They Belong

I Hope Everyone Here is Good Soil

I Hope Everyone Here Believes the Gospel of Jesus…

And is Devoting Themselves Entirely to Him

I Hope Everyone Here is Producing Fruit for His Glory

I Hope Each and Everyone of Us are Living as Ambassadors/Representatives of Jesus

I Hope the Gospel of King Jesus is Being Shared Because of Us

If You’re Not a Christian, Then I Hope You’re Good Soil

Because Good Soil Would Devote Themselves to Jesus By Becoming a Christian This Morning

Christians, We are the Production of the Sower

We are What We are Because He Planted the Gospel in Our Hearts

And the Sole Purpose of a Christian is to Be Like Jesus

That Means Being Sowers Ourselves

Sowers Who Don’t Discriminate or Judge Soils

But Broadcast the Gospel Everywhere