Scripture Mark
4:13
DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PARABLE?
IT'S OBVIOUSLY ALL ABOUT YOU - THE
SOWER!
For a moment, become an amateur pastor
or theologian, and see if you can give an answer to the following three
questions:
1. If the gospel is the power of God—why doesn't everybody that hears the gospel become
a Christian?
2. If the Bible is the Word of God—why doesn't the Bible have the same effect on everyone
who reads it?
3. If Jesus is the Son of God—why doesn't everyone believe in Jesus?
If an
alien were to come to planet earth and ask for a report on what god is
worshiped, what religious book is followed, or even what religion is practiced,
Christians would have to give a minority report because the vast majority of
this world is not Christian. Major religious groups:
Islam (24.1%) Irreligion
(16%) Hinduism (15.1%) Buddhism (6.9%)
Folk religions (5.7%)
Sikhism (0.3%) Judaism (0.2%)
(total 67.8%)
Christianity (31.2%)
Jesus told a parable to answer all three
of the previous questions. In fact, it is one of the most well-known parables in the Bible. It is known as the parable of the sower.
As you listen to this parable you will
find three main components: the Sower, the seed, and the soil. The Sower is the Christ follower, the seed is the scripture, and the soil is the soul of the unbeliever.
HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD
Mark 4:1-20
Again, Jesus began to teach by the lake.
The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat
in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water's
edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said:
"Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed.
As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and
ate it up.
Some fell on rocky places, where it did not
have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when
the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had
no root.
Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up
and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
Still other seed fell on good soil. It came
up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying 30, 60, or even a 100 times."
Then
Jesus said, "He who
has ears to hear, let him hear."
10 When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him
asked him about the parables. He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been
given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so
that, "'they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but
never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!'"
13
Then Jesus said to them, "Don't
you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?
The farmer sows the word.
Some people are like seed along the path,
where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the
word that was sown in them.
Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear
the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they
last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word,
they quickly fall away.
Still others, like seed sown among thorns,
hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and
the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear
the word, accept it, and produce a crop — 30, 60 or even a 100 times what was
sown."
Now a seed cannot plant itself, it needs
a Sower. In the parable the Sower is the Christ follower—it's you and me.
That's what God has called every Christian to be—a seed Sower. Psalm 126:6
says, "He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing,
shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him."
DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PARABLE?
IT'S OBVIOUSLY ALL ABOUT THE SEED - THE WORD
OF GOD!
Now how do I know this? Because Jesus
tells us.
In Luke 8:11 Jesus said, "The
seed is the word of God." A seed is productive. The very purpose of a
seed is to be planted, grow, and produce fruit. The word of God produces spiritual
fruit in Christ followers. 1 Peter 1:23, "...having been born again,
not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives
and abides forever."
There is no more powerful influence that
can be planted in someone's heart than that of the logos, the Word, Jesus who
is found in holy scripture. We can say we are responsible to
spread the word, which is true. But it would be much better to be like
Jesus and turn it into a question. Is it possible, that I am qualified and so
blessed that I get to spread the seed of the Word of God?
When
we interpret this parable as something evangelistic - three soils that receive
the word ultimately don't get the goal - salvation of the soul. That
doesn't mean the word is ineffective. It means the soil is not ready to fully
receive the seed - the word. Seeing this as evangelistic, we can let ourselves
off the hook at least 3 out of 4 times that we sow the seed.
Jesus is using this parable to teach us
what the kingdom of God is like. What if it is not about how to get into the
kingdom, or about the word, but how people live by the word once they are in
the kingdom?
DON'T YOU UNDERSTAND THIS PARABLE?
IT'S OBVIOUSLY ALL ABOUT YOU - THE SOIL!
The real focus of this parable is not on
the Sower or the seed, it's on the soil. Even the best Sower,
with the best seed, will never have a harvest unless he/she has
good soil. Now the soil is the soul, or the heart. Jesus said in verse 19, "When anyone hears the word of the kingdom,
and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what
was sown in his heart..."
Hopefully, the reason you came to church
today was to hear the Bible read, taught, and preached. I cannot over emphasize
how important it is to read the Bible and hear the Bible. But listen
carefully. Jesus is going to teach us that though you read the Bible with
your eyes, and hear the Bible with your ears, you receive the
Bible with your heart! The soil of this parable is, in fact, not about
the unbeliever, but about the follower of Jesus.
Did you know the Bible is the only book
ever written that requires the right heart to benefit from it? You can read a
novel or a newspaper with a cold, hard, wicked, indifferent heart and get all
the information you need. But the Bible is a closed book to anyone whose heart
is not right with God. Jesus talks about four kinds of hearts, and they are all
likely represented in every church today. You are listening to me right now
with one of four kinds of hearts. I want you to identify which heart is yours
as you listen to these descriptions.
I.
Stubborn Hearts Reject The Word
"And as he sowed, some seed fell on
the path, and the birds came and devoured them." (v.4) When Jesus talked about the path He was
talking about something similar to our sidewalks. In Israel people would walk
through fields, and they would take the same path over and over again. So as
many people walked along the same path, the ground would become rock hard. This
was soil where the seed could not get in. It could get on
the ground, but it could not get in the heart. Jesus said there
are some Christian hearts just like that.
There are people who come to church
every Sunday, and when they hear a sermon it goes in one ear and out the other.
It literally hits them like water running off a duck's back. Their heart is a
roof surrounded by gutters and all the water of the word of God just washes
right off of the roof into the gutters, down the drain, and never does them any
good.
Hebrews 4:7 says, "Today, if you
will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts."
Every time you hear the truth preached it will either soften…or
harden your heart. Truth is
just like the sun. The same sun that melts the butter also hardens the clay.
II.
Shallow Hearts Remove The Word
"Some fell on stony places, where
they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had
no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they
had no root they withered away." (vv.5-6) If you've ever been to Israel, you know that much of
Israel is limestone and bedrock that is covered over with a thin layer of soil,
identical to our property at Put in Bay. Whenever you plant seed on this soil
it cannot take root because though it appears to begin to grow, it runs into
hard rock.
You see, the first soil was soil where
seed could not get in; this is soil where seed cannot get down.
"For when tribulation or
persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles." (v 21) They're like a person who wants
to march in the army as a four-star general, but when the first fighting
starts, and the first bullet flies, and the first bomb hits, they are the first
one to desert.
There's an article titled, 178 Seconds
to Live. It was about the results of twenty pilots in a simulator. Each of the
pilots were skilled aviators but had not taken instrument training. As long as
the weather was good they were all experts in flight and had no trouble flying
the plane. But these pilots were placed in a simulator and asked to keep their
plane under control as they flew through simulated clouds and bad weather. All
twenty of the pilots lost control of their planes and crashed in an average time
span of just 178 seconds. These pilots who were very capable at keeping the
plane aloft in good weather, couldn't survive three minutes in bad weather.
III.
Strangled Hearts Restrict The Word
"And some fell among thorns, and
the thorns sprang up and choked them." (v.7)
Now the first soil was where seed could
not get in. The second soil was where seed could not get down.
But this is soil where the seed cannot get out. It is sown among
thorns, weeds, and briars, and the life of it is literally choked out.
What did Jesus mean by this? "Now he who received seed among the thorns is
he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful." (v.22) There are three things, according to the Lord,
that can literally choke the spiritual life out of a person, and can prevent
them from having a true relationship with God.
1-There are the problems of life that we
all have, and unfortunately people don't realize that Christians have problems
just like non-Christians.
2-There are the prosperities of life;
the tendency to make this world your home, and care everything about the world
that is here, and nothing about the world to come.
3-There are the pleasures of life; the
desire to make sure that you live in comfort and ease and not
count the cost of following Jesus Christ.
Jesus here is describing people that
probably makes up most of the church worldwide today, who are trying to hold
Jesus with one hand and the world with the other. These are people who make a
decision for God because they are broken over their sins, but they're
never broken from their sins.
This describes a heart that was
unprepared because it was so full of malignant weeds and thorns it never really
allowed the seed of the gospel to bear fruit.
Many years ago there was a famous
gangster who lived in Los Angeles named Mickey Cohen. He was known for several
things: He was Jewish, he lived an extravagant lifestyle, and he was a friend
of many of the Hollywood celebrities. He met a man by the name of Bill Jones.
Bill Jones was a Christian who served time in prison and had gotten to know
Mickey Cohen and began to share Jesus with him.
He finally persuaded Mickey Cohen to go
to a Billy Graham Crusade. Cohen heard the gospel and prayed to receive Christ
into his heart. Bill Jones was so elated! What an impact this famous gangster
could have for Christ; not only because he was Jewish, but also because of the
influence he could have on the underworld.
It wasn't long after his so-called profession of faith, he dropped Bill
Jones and began hanging around with his underworld mobster buddies again. Well,
this very much upset Jones who went to see him one day, and said, "Mickey, you're a Christian, and as a new
Christian you don't need to be hanging around these mobsters anymore unless you
are going to try to win them to Christ." This is what Mickey Cohen said: "Jones, you never told me that I had to give up my career. You never told
me that I had to give up my friends. You never told me I had to give up the way
that I make money, and the way I stay on top of the world. I mean, after all,
there are Christian movie stars, Christian athletes, and Christian businessmen;
what's the matter with being a Christian gangster? If I have to give up that;
if that's what Christianity is, count me out." That is exactly the kind of heart that was
strangled by the prosperities and the pleasures of this world, and the
spiritual life was choked out.
IV.
Surrendered Hearts Reproduce The Word
"But others fell on good ground and
yielded a crop: some a 100-fold, some 60, some 30." (v.8) Here Jesus talks about a soil
that is fertile and a soil that is fruitful. Now what kind of heart is this?
First of all, it is receptive to
the word of God. This is a person who "hears the word." That
means instead of "going in one ear and out the other" this is
a person who has the word go into his ear, get into his mind, and down into his
heart.
But this is also a soil that is responsive
to the word of God because it not only hears it, but understands it. The word
"understands" means to understand with comprehension and to be
willing to do what you understand.
That's why Jesus said this soil is reproductive
of the word of God because it bears fruit. That is the real key—fruit. Everything
else is just talk. If the word of God is not bearing fruit in your
life, you're not studying the word of God; you're not hearing the
word of God; you're not receiving the word of God. You're not living
the word of God!
I heard about a woman who came into the
house one day and said, "Honey,
we've got trouble with the car; it's got water in the carburetor." The husband said, "Water in the carburetor, that's
ridiculous." She said,
"I'm telling you, the
car has water in the carburetor." The husband said, "You don't even know what a carburetor looks like. Where
is the car?" She said,
"In the swimming pool." Right actions, which the husband
was missing, not only come with the right hearing, but also the right
understanding.
The Gospel is the power of God, the
Bible is the word of God, and Jesus is the Son of God, but you will only
believe this and receive this with a surrendered heart.
There is not a greater joy in a pastor's
life than to see when that very thing happens.
Some time ago, a pastor got a call that
a man in Laurel, Mississippi died. Interestingly, his name was also Cohen, and
like Mickey Cohen he was Jewish. But his story had a different ending.
The church where this pastor served
sponsored a Starlite Crusade, and had invited Terry Bradshaw, who at that time
was the quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers, to come and give his
testimony, after which this pastor was going to preach.
He writes, we were meeting in the
football stadium. Unbeknownst to me, a man by the name of Pacey Cohen was
driving by that stadium on his way home to commit suicide. He didn't even know
the crusade was going on. But he saw the big marquee out front that said,
"Hear Terry Bradshaw, Quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers." Well,
it just so happened that Pacey Cohen was a big Steelers fan. So he pulled into
the parking lot, walked into the football stadium, went up into the stands, and
his intention was to hear Bradshaw, enjoy one last slice of life, and go home
and blow his brains out.
After Bradshaw finished, there was
really nothing to keep Pacey Cohen there, but he said later for some reason he
didn't get up and leave. He had never heard the gospel or the Bible preached in
his life. I got up and preached a simple gospel message and gave the
invitation.
Pacey was sitting on the very top row of
those bleachers, and inside he was literally dying because the Holy Spirit of
God was moving on his hard heart. At first he did not respond. Then before we
sang the last stanza of the invitation, I looked up into the stands and said,
"There is someone here
that tonight will be your last night on earth if you do not come and give your
heart to Jesus Christ. If you do not come tonight you will spend eternity
separated from God."
Now the amazing thing is, Pacey swore I was looking him right in the eye. But I
don't remember it, and besides there were 3,000 people there that night.
Pacey stepped out, and I will never
forget it because out of that 3,000 people, even though we already had close to
70 people saved that night, he was the only one who came forward on the last verse.
He gave his life to Christ and joined our church. I baptized him, and can you
believe this—he became a full-time evangelist for Christ.
His wife told me when I called her that
even though he was dying of lung cancer and could only breathe sixty seconds
without an oxygen mask, that on the Monday before he died, he led his nurse to
Jesus Christ. God took a stubborn heart, moved it to a shallow heart, moved it
to a strangled heart, and changed it to a surrendered heart. What he did for
Pacey he can do for anyone, and he can do it for you.
The parable of the sower and the seed
reminds us of the need for faith and faithfulness. This parable raises the
question, "What is the Kingdom of God like? Is it like four soils?"
Who first named this the “parable
of the Sower?” The only worse title might be the “parable of the
seed.” Why either “Sower” or “seed”? The “Sower” has no presence in
this parable whatsoever. The Sower does his/her job and moves on. Likewise the
quality of the “seed” is never at issue in this parable. The “parable of the Sower”
is really all about the soil. The soil is the only thing that can change -
meaning your heart is the only thing that can change in this parable of Jesus.
CONCLUSION
1 Corinthians 3:5-9
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is
Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe — as the Lord has
assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made
it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God,
who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one
purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor. For we are God's
fellow workers; you are God's
field.
What kind of soil is your heart today?
Like
a hard path and you believe but want nothing else of Christ and His word in
your
life?
Like
the rocky soil, you believe but you spend so little time in fellowship with
Jesus and
his word that you quickly dry up and
just stay that way?
Like
a plant that is growing, you are among thorns and briars and allow the cares of
the world to choke out what could be an amazing spiritual journey?
Or,
is your heart the way Jesus wants it to be, like good soil? Good soil is where
your life is producing Holy Spirit fruit that will last and produce 30, 60, or even 100 times what you could have ever imagined?
How
do you answer Jesus today? Don't
you understand this parable?
