The Parable of the Sower, Pt. 1 (02/13/2000)

The Kingdom of Heaven and the Purpose of Parables

We spend some time before we got into this chapter in the Old Testament talking about the mixed multitude and we're gonna look at chapter 13 of Matthew which talks speaks of the kingdom of The Lord and The fact that it does include at least the way the phrase is used in the Bible.

It includes what Jesus called wheat and tares and good fish and bad fish, etc. And we'll get to some of those parables as we go, but we started out here in the first part of the chapter with this parable of the sower and There's a lot to be learned from this parable.

So we'll be in it for today and probably another Sunday at least. So let's have a word of prayer and we'll get started with chapter 13. Father we ask that you would bless the Bible study time now and that your Holy Spirit would move among us and Work in our hearts teach us spiritual truths that Maybe we've not seen before.

That you have for us today that we would need in our lives until you come back so so that we might be better servants for you and As we go into the fields With the Word of God that we might know what to do with the Word of God and we ask it in Jesus name.

Amen. Let's start with verse 1. We'll do just a little bit of review in case you weren't here last Sunday. The same day went Jesus out of the house and sat by the seaside and great multitudes were gathered together unto him.

So that he went into a ship and sat and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things into them in parables. Saying and then this Begins the first parable and I want to stop just just a moment.

We're gonna pick right back up there in a minute. But let's talk about what a parable is who can remember from last time what a parable is somebody tell me what a parable. What's a good definition? Doesn't have to be technical.

But just what is one? All right. What what kind though? What is usually used that's right. Usually it takes something very common to us in life something. That's just everyday life that all human beings know about.

Something that as soon as this story begins to be told your mind just says I've been there I've seen that before and then Jesus would take that and teach a spiritual truth with it. That the interesting thing about parables is that it didn't always work that way with everybody that was there in the auditorium or on the On the seashore as this case was.

Let's look down here because they asked him look at verse 10. They were curious about this. They said why do you speak to them in parables and Look at his answer in verse 11. We talked about this last time, but I want to review it a little bit.

He answered and said unto them because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. But to them it is not given so we have to understand there are two groups of people there's you and there's them and Jesus said to one group.

These mysteries are given to the other group. They are not given in Verse 12 says for whosoever hath to him shall be given and He shall have in more abundance. But whosoever hath not from him shall be taken away even that which he has and then he talks about the fact that this goes back into the book of Isaiah the prophet Isaiah and it is a fulfillment of that prophecy because they seeing see not and Hearing they hear not neither do they understand and in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah excuse me, which saith by hearing you shall hear and ye shall not understand and seeing you shall see and you Shall not perceive for this people's heart is waxed gross and their ears are dull of hearing and their eyes They have closed lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their Ears and should understand with their heart and should be converted and I should heal them.

But blessed are your eyes now that word but is very important here because it's a contrast. It's like woe be unto those who are in the above group, but blessed be you. Because your eyes can see in your ears for they hear.

Now the interesting thing about verse 11 if you get into some of the very Greek grammar of this passage It begins to reveal some things that a lot of people in the world They do not remember about the Bible and about God in Verse 11.

It says look at the phrase where it says because it is given unto you. You see that It is given unto you. In the grammar of that when you look at the verb given it is found in the perfect tense. Now let's remind each other what that means because the only one that usually remembers that is mrs. Rogers and she's not here today because she teaches it every day we forget but the perfect tense means That the action in this sentence Was not done by you.

It was done by one greater and above you and it was done to you that's what it means when it says it's passive and So when it says it is given unto you it means this is not something you could have done on your own.

This is not something that you can make happen. It had to be done to you by God. It had to be given to you by God himself. It is truly speaking of the gift of faith That God gives and who can remember whose faith it is.

God gives us. The Bible tells us It says the faith of Jesus Christ. Isn't that amazing? I've come to understand that the faith that I have that saved me was not David Mitchell's belief. It was Jesus's faith that God gave me.

And I've even studied this year and I've looked through the entire Bible and I've not found one human being Other than Jesus who ever believed that what God said was right. No one ever believed God except Jesus and Those to whom God gave Jesus's faith.

Now when God gives you the gift of faith as it says here He answered and said of them because it is given unto you to know The mysteries of the kingdom of God to understand the mind of God to understand the things of God.

It's been given to you. It is a gift of faith. It's the same faith Jesus had and He gives it to us and then we can respond with belief for the first time in our life a lot of people get the Cart before the horse, I think a lot of people think that the man chooses to believe and so then God saves him and The fact is God gives you Jesus's faith.

So that you can believe for the first time the light comes on. That's why Jesus called it being born again, can you imagine? When Matthew would all use my family. I love to use America use Katie. No, I use Matthew.

Can you imagine when Matthew was in his mommy's tummy still and he calls out? To her and says now mommy. I Will be a good boy if you'll let me be born. In fact, I'll start being good right now and I'll believe in you.

I believe you can give me everything. I need in life. If you'll let me be born. Does that make sense? That's not how it happened. Was it? He couldn't do that because he didn't have at least physical life in this world yet.

But you know what, you know what happened the moment I mean, I was there when he came forth into the world when he was given birth. You know what? The first thing he wanted was he wanted his mama. All of a sudden I'll promise you he had great faith in her.

He believed in her. He said Lay me right there on top of her close to her and that's the same way. It is spiritually I don't know why we think it's different. Jesus said you must be born again. He used it as the perfect example.

It has to be a gift faith has to be given to you. You have to be born before you can live. You have to be born again before you can ever believe in God or obey God or love God. You have to have that light.

Come on. Just like Paul did on the Damascus Road when he looked up and said Oh Lord What would you have me to do? He wasn't saying that before he saw Jesus was it? It all happens instantaneously and we have trouble understanding it, but I'll promise you that this gift He answered and sent of them because it is given unto you.

This gift has to be given before you can respond with belief or love or faith or good works or any of it. It comes from God first. God is always the one who initiates. It's used in another example in the Bible where it speaks of Jesus as the bridegroom and us is the bride.

Now the way it used to be in the world. Young people you teenagers in case you don't know how it's supposed to be. Used to the way it was it was always the young man who initiated the relationship. It was not the young girls who were calling the guys on the telephone.

Don't do that. It's inappropriate. Let the guy call you and only if dad allows it but the the young bridegroom would see the one that he thought was his and he would then pursue her and begin to woo her and She could care less about him at first.

But she finally responded with love because he first loved her and there's another example. So it always is initiated with God and that's why this is in the perfect tense. It is something that is given to you.

It's not something you can do on your own. It's passive. Now. Look at verse 14 and Endem is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah of which saith By hearing you shall hear and shall not understand and now this is going to be very important to understand the parable.

We're about to study. They heard but they did not understand and they saw but they did not perceive. Now this word understand in other words, it was striking their ear. So they were hearing the message.

But that's as far as it went with some people. But then there were other people that it went beyond that and they understood now the Greek word for Understand if you remember from last time it comes from two little Greek words soon, which means together and a may he which means.

What does that mean. Oh to put to place. So it means to place together. So to understand literally means to be able to put it all together where you understand it. It's far more than just hearing something.

It's hearing it with a heart that understands it. And then this word perceive where he says some people could see Jesus standing there teaching. They could see but they couldn't perceive and this word perceive is Ido in in the Greek language.

And it means to behold in the sense of knowing and being aware of something. So it's interesting that he uses the senses the eye and the ear and he said everybody there saw it and heard it. But not everyone heard with understanding or saw with perception.

But some did. Now, why is it that some didn't though? Look at verse 15 it tells us why remember all of this is answering their question. Why do you teach in parables? Jesus said because it's not given for some people understand this stuff.

What does that mean? That's an awesome statement. It goes against everything. We've been taught in modern theology. It's exactly what Jesus taught over and over again. Why is it that some did not have this ability to understand and perceive even though they heard and they saw.

Because this people's heart is waxed gross. Now that waxed gross is passive. That's kind of interesting because it means the heart did not do this on its own. Have you ever studied about Pharaoh in in the book of Exodus?

How many of you studied that recently anybody fairly recently, isn't it interesting as you go in there and you read about that that one verse it'll say and Pharaoh's heart was hardened. By the Lord, it'll say God hardened.

Hey Pharaoh's heart you go down read a couple of verses below that. It'll say and Pharaoh hardened his heart. Then you go down to three verses later. I'll say and his heart was hardened by the Lord. That's amazing, isn't it?

Well this group of people that could not perceive and understand this thing. It says their heart was waxed gross and it's passive. It means the heart didn't do it on its own. It was acted upon by a higher force.

Now I will admit that it could mean in this sentence that the heart was acted upon by the people themselves. That they just grew hardened and did not want to listen and for several generations. They hadn't listened these Pharisees hadn't but it could also easily mean that the heart was made that way by God himself.

To fulfill his purposes just like he did Pharaoh. But I'll tell you one thing. They were not given this gift to understand these mysteries. Why? God and his purposes did not choose to give it to these people but look what else it says in verse 15 and Their eyes.

They have closed circle the word they because this is not passive. This is active. Which means they did it themselves. What does that tell you that tells you they did exactly what they wanted to do? Their will was coming into play.

God has given man a will. God has allowed man to make choices and These people made a choice and they chose to close their eyes. Now you answer this. Are they responsible for that? Will they answer for that someday?

If they close their eyes. To being able to behold Jesus. Yes, they certainly will. They'll be judged for that very action. And so this is what Jesus answered when he said why do you teach in parables?

I mean, it's you can't just read over that you have to study that it teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man in the same phrase. Now wait, that's just a little bit of review.

It's interesting according to Criswell. Approximately 35 of all of Jesus's teachings were in parables. That's quite a large amount. He often spoke in parables. Last week we discussed the fact that Jesus gave his answer to why do you teach in parables?

And we just hit on it a little bit this morning. Let me tell you what Ryrie says. How many of you have a Ryrie study Bible anybody got one? This is what Ryrie says about this. Concerning why did Jesus teach in parables and I quote he taught in parables.

So that the only ones who could understand and be saved were quote Those who are properly related to him. In that interest, what do you mean by that? You'd have to ask Ryrie what he meant. But he says it fairly well, doesn't he?

Now Ryrie is interesting because he has a way of saying that where it doesn't offend anybody. You know what I'm saying? It really today we live in a day where it would be offensive to people if you said God chooses who he wants to.

I Mean that would offend people. And then you know now we as parents it's okay for us to Choose to have children and You know to choose to spend probably more time with our children and we do other people's children because these are our children.

It's okay for us to favor our children, but it's not okay for God to. Anymore because God has to love everybody now because we're in a day where everybody's preached God loves everybody. But my Bible teaches he loves his own and he has set his love upon his own all the way back from Deuteronomy 7 which takes it all the way back to before you can wherever far back you can go and pick a time.

It's before that He already loved you. Now don't get mad about that be glad about it. Imagine it. It will if you go home and you think about it. It'll make you fall on your face and praise God because he chose you because he didn't have to in theory.

But you know what, you know, I didn't have to because he never made the decision. He's always loved you now, that's deep, isn't it? But that ought to make your heart happy even when things aren't going well, even when the circumstances aren't right you can't stop that love.

He set that love upon you before anything was made that is made. And he certainly set it upon you before you did good or bad. Just like the little babies born before death. I mean Matthew couldn't get born by promising to be good.

He was born his mom and dad took care of all that and he was brought into this world with nothing to do with himself. But once he was here all of a sudden he could respond to us and we can respond back and he can respond back and and so.

It's interesting here that Ryrie says he taught in parables. Because only those who had who were properly related to Jesus would be saved. By that he meant the elect. I'll put it in plain English. What does Matthew Henry say about this?

This is beautiful. Matthew Henry says a parable like the pillar of cloud and fire. Turns a dark side towards the Egyptian. Which confounds them but a bright side towards the Israelites which comforts them.

A parable is a shell that keeps good fruit for the diligent, but it keeps it from the slothful in that something and. Then Matthew Henry went on to say the hearing ear and the seeing eye are God's work.

It's a fact folks. It's not popular today. And when Jesus taught about the sovereignty of God, they would always pick up stones. They would always have the stones in their hand ready to cast them at him.

The Sower, the Seed, and the Four Kinds of Soil

Now let's go into Matthew 13 19 and take a look at this parable we were at. We were at verse 4. Let me read that and we're gonna jump forward to verse 19. Verse 4 says. Well, let's we got to do verse 3 and he spake many things and to them in parables saying and now he's going to begin the parable behold a sower went forth to sow and When he sowed some seeds fell.

And he's going to talk about four different places the seed falls four different types of soil. But the thing we want to start with this morning is that the sower went forth to sow. Why? Because that was part of God's purpose.

This is picturing a farmer who goes out and just scatters the seeds throughout the field. The seed represents the Word of God. The field represents the world in the sense of the earth and all of the people in the world.

It does include it includes every human being on the face of the earth. Now what's interesting about it is God tells us right there what our job is. Our job is to sow the seeds everywhere. It does not tell us we can tell immediately whether the soil that it hits is Right for the seed or not.

He never said that was our job. Our job is to throw the seeds everywhere. Now, let me tell you what a hyper Calvinist is in case someone ever tries to accuse you of being one since you believe God's in Control now all of a sudden you're gonna be called a hyper Calvinist someday.

A hyper Calvinist is someone who believes you don't have to sow the seed. A Hyper Calvinist is someone who believes God does that too. He sows the seed and you don't have to sow any and God never told you to sow any and that of course is false.

The very first statement in this study is that you have to sow the seed we call that witnessing don't we? Now sometimes our idea what witnessing is a little off depending on what we've been taught. Witnessing just means to sow the Word of God.

Sow the Word of God, it doesn't mean to sow the Romans Road or the Isaiah Road. I used to know roads in just about every book. It means just give the Word of God out where you go. You could be sitting at a coffee table.

Speaking with a friend and you could have another person walk up an acquaintance that recognizes you and walks over to the table. And they're talking about, you know the Dallas Cowboys and how sorry they are and all of this stuff in the world and and All of a sudden you could just you could just throw out some little phrase that comes from the Bible.

And it doesn't wouldn't really necessarily matter what it is. But it I'm sure that the Holy Spirit would put it in your mind or you wouldn't even thought to say it. But you just might say something like well tell you what though Lord sure is good, isn't he?

That'd be kind of a weak thing to say. But I mean if you said that You know what? That person is gonna respond in one way or another when you say that all you got to do is watch his eyes. And you start to seeing soil a little bit you start to see soil.

I Mean you might see some rocks. Or you might see some thorns and thistles around this person. Are you might see you might not see anything really? But you might see their eyes brighten up and say what you know, he is good, isn't he?

And all of a sudden they respond in a positive way. You might throw another seed, you know, the farmer doesn't. How many of you have done some gardening? All right, when you want to plant if you wanted to have Watermelon come up.

Would you just put one watermelon seed there? Or would you put several? So when you're sowing seed, don't you want to get it you want to get an abundance of seed out there? You want to if any if you want to air air on the side throw a little bit too much right.

Throw the seeds. So we start this study by understanding that our place in all of God's work is Simply to witness to put the Word of God out there where we are. Where if you go to the grocery store the beauty shop?

Barbershop. Wherever you go or Put it out there. You don't have to give them the Roman road. Just say something about the Lord say something about the Word. Throw out a Bible principle that God places in your heart.

If all of a sudden it comes in your heart. Don't let it go away. That's probably the Holy Spirit saying, you know, I'm putting this here because this person over here needs to hear this. So work it into the conversation somehow.

In a natural way if you can Sow the seed your job is to go forth sowing seed. Do we have that we can move on now that was deep wasn't it? Now as we get into some of this we find out what our job is not.

But we do know what our job is is to sow the seed. So he goes out to make the long story a little bit shorter. He sows the seed. It hits four different kinds of soil it hits the pathway. There used to be a pathway in between where they could walk through.

The crops some of the seed hit that pathway. It was hard almost like cement and the seed lay there and all of a sudden the birds would come and eat the seed. Some soil would hit a place that looked pretty good but if you got closer and examined it it had rocks all under it and the soil was just very thin on top of rocks and That seed would stay there and because it could easily take.

Get a start. It would spring up and The farmer might think well, this is growing faster than anything else and all of a sudden though When the height of the Sun comes up, it's scorched it and it just falls over and dies because it's on top of a rock and they can't take root and Then there's some that falls over here on some ground that just have to be kind of close to the edge of the property.

Gets up under there and there's thorns and thistles and it's just gnarly in there and it grows and it comes up in there. But all of a sudden it's just choked out by the weeds and thorns and thistles and then one fourth of The seed falls in place that he calls good soil.

Good ground and it comes up and it always does one thing and what's that? What does it do? It always yields fruit. Now, it doesn't always yield the same amount. Some 30 fold some 60 some 100 that's the story that Jesus told and they said why did you tell that like that?

What does it mean? Well, isn't it wonderful that his disciples had been given ears to understand and you know. What they not only had ears to understand they had a teacher who would go further with it.

They had a teacher that would take it beyond just the words on that paper right there. You do too. They heard the story. They had ears to hear it. But they didn't understand the depth of it. And so they asked Lord teach us more what you meant by this.

Did you know you can do that as you study the word? You can do that. And what happens when you do it is you come down in here in the verse 19 in verse 19 it says. When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not.

Then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the wayside. Verse 18. Jesus said hear ye therefore the parable of the sower. That's the Holy Spirit teaching you the depths of the truth that God gives us.

Well, when we look at this first soil. This is the pathway Jesus explained it to him. He said well. It's like when that seed hits that hard pathway the bird comes and takes it. He said what that really is that Satan coming and snatching the Word of God out of the mind of this person.

Before it ever gets to his heart. Is that a frightening? Visualization. Jesus taught this so this is exactly what happens. You can have a congregation of people you can put the word out there. But there's gonna be somebody out there that before it ever even gets to where they can think about it.

Satan comes and snatches that out that information is totally gone from their head it never even got thought about it never was pondered and it certainly never made it down to the heart and so Matthew Henry says this about this group of people.

Such mindless careless trifling hearers are an easy prey to Satan Who as he is the great murderer of souls? So he is the great thief of sermons. He plucks them right out of people's head before they ever can take root and Then he goes on to say this the saddest condition that a man can be in is to sit under the most lively ordinances with a dead stupid untouched heart and Yet a full fourth of the people Will be that way and I don't believe it's meant to be taken strictly mathematically.

It's probably far more than a fourth a fourth of the people. But we are we're picturing it here that a lot of this seed hits on hard ground. It will never in fact ever produce any fruit and that's sad.

But it's for two reasons. Now, let's go back and Review just a moment. Why is it? That this seed never produces fruit on this hard pathway. Well, what did Jesus say? When anyone heareth the word of the kingdom and understandeth it not.

What do we talk about a little earlier when we review about understanding? What does this word understand me? Put it together. This is a person who hears it with the ear it strikes his ear, but he does not understand it.

He doesn't put it all together. Why doesn't he put it all together? You're gonna cross the line here and be hated if you say it it had not been given to him. Now in the Greek language that phrase given to him is in the passive tense.

So can he give it to himself? Can he work up within himself and say I will understand this. I want to understand it. I found Jesus. Can he say that? Can't say that only time he can say that's after he found Jesus.

After Jesus found him. He has to be born before he can live. And he has to be alive before he can respond to God with love or faith or works or any of it. We've had the cart in front of the horse for so long.

We have to go back and relearn it and then when we teach the truth people go that can't be true. That would be awful mean of God to favor his own children more than the devil's. You got the both of you got the answer right there, why didn't they have this understanding?

Why is it that this the Satan was able to come and pluck the seed out of their mind? Why didn't they have the understanding because it had not been given unto them? That's the whole reason he taught in the parable in the first place is what Jesus said.

Now that's strange and even Matthew Henry said this is strange. Why did he mean when he says this is strange he meant in the way that men think this seems strange and it does because in the way that men think men are God and only when we understand who's God and who therefore because he's God determines everything and Makes the choices and chooses who his children will be only then will we start to really know God as God.

Because before that we are little God's causing it all to happen and God's up there said, oh Oh, there's one over there I'll save him and God's up there running around responding to what man does. Oh, there's one I got to save over there because the grandma prayed for so I got to save that one.

Well, what if grandma didn't pray for. Whoops can't save that one because grandma decided not to save her. Isn't that ridiculous that's what we've been taught for the last 50 years especially as Baptists.

But you go off in the Methodist some of the others that even farther back than that. They've been taught wrong. Well, I am so glad I can stand on the rock. That I can stand on one who is not changeable.

I can stand on one whose love does not depend on me. Are you are anyone but himself and that's the father? So here we see now in verse 19 Jesus says this person the Satan comes and snatches the seed out of his mind because he did not understand.

Why didn't he understand he had not been given the understanding. Now, let's go and look at this next verse. We move into a different kind of soil now. But he that received the seed into the stony places the same as he that heareth the word and Anon with joy receiveth it.

Now you would think this person was saved if you were sitting out there and you saw this happen. Let me read it to you the same passage from the book of Mark in Mark chapter 4 verse 16 It says and these are they likewise which are sown on the stony ground.

Who when they have heard the word immediately, that's what a non means by the way immediately receive it with gladness. But they have no root in themselves and so endure but for a time Afterward when affliction of persecution arises for the word's sake immediately.

They are offended. I Can think of many many stories of seeing this actually happen in real life through the life of this church. I remember I think I can tell this one because I don't think Anybody would remember it except Deborah and she's not here Charlotte.

Charlotte might but there is a young woman in her early 20s that was going to our church and she was saved and She was out walking for exercise one day and she looked up on the roof and she saw some builders up there building a house.

Hammering away at the roof and she saw this young man that caught her eye and he was blonde and tall and handsome to her anyway. What it and what I say beauties in the eye of the beholder. He wasn't bad-looking and She saw him up there and he looked down and saw her and beauty was in his eye of beholding as well and So he came down off that roof she was walking slow by the way, she was getting her exercise like this.

And he came down off the roof and went down there and Began to chat with her a little bit. She invited him to church. Now she knew this young man was lost. But she had an eye for him. So in her thinking She says what I'll do is I'll bring him to church and I'll win him to Christ and then I'll marry him and so she did bring him to church and he came to church and She had obviously been given him the Roman road.

Now. I'm not sure what her motive was. She care for his soul or or what but she gave him the Romans road and sure enough about the second Sunday He came down at all and prayed a beautiful prayer dear Jesus come in my heart and saved me amen, and he got baptized and somebody gave him a new Scofield Bible.

And he started reading that Bible. I mean he sprung up quickly. He was carrying that Bible. He was reading it. He was excited and so was she and They ended up getting married and that was exciting and all of a sudden he came to church one day and one of these old Fundamentalists came up and said, what are you reading there?

Let me see your Bible handed him that Bible. He looked up the front. He said new Scofield. Hmm. That's not the Word of God. It's not a KJV. That kid never came back to church. All he might. I don't think he ever came back, but I know it wasn't two Sundays.

He was gone hadn't been back in church since. Now, you know what you would say. In fact, I have said it for years. I blamed the guy that said that to him and rightfully so he should have never said that to that person.

But you know what if that person had been truly born again. That affliction. What is it? It says here and when Affliction or persecution arises because of the word They immediately are offended. He'd have been truly saved it would have hurt his feelings.

He'd probably had to go and whine to the pastor and get pat on the back a little bit but he'd have been back and He would have kept growing. Now that does not give the other person excuse to treat him wrong.

In fact Jesus said it'd be better if you had a stone tied around your neck you were cast into the sea then you make one of these little ones stumble but What's interesting about it is as it turned out that person didn't end up to be one of his little ones.

Anyway He was not saved. He was the stony soil. You've seen them how many of you don't raise your hands but how many of you have seen someone come and make a wonderful profession faith give their testimony and bring up all the gory details of their life and how Jesus saved me all of a sudden a month later you never see him again and They are gone.