july 16 2023
July 16th 2023
Old Testament: Isaiah 55:10-13
Psalm: Psalm 65: (1-8) 9-13
Epistle: Romans 8:12-17
Gospel: Matthew 13:1-9, (10-17) 18-23
Sermon Text: Matthew 13
Sermon Title: “The Sower went out to Sow”
Grace to you and peace, from God the Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
“My Word, shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it”. (Isaiah 55:11) “And He told them many things in parables … then the disciples came to Him and said; Why do You speak to them in parables?“. (Matthew 13:3, 10) “Hear then the parable of the sower”. (Matthew 13:18) Jesus’ parable of the sower tells both the good and the bad ways in which the Word of God is received by those who hear it.
“And Jesus told them many things in parables saying; a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose, they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among the thorns and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear”. (Matthew 13:3-9)
Later that day, after the crowds had gone home; “the disciples came and said to Him; Why do you speak to them in parables? And Jesus answered them”; (Matthew 13:10-11a) but not in the way you might expect. Here again today, we have words of Jesus that are hard to reconcile with the image some people have of Him. In fact, even though Jesus drew great crowds at first; these words of His caused many to be offended by Him and to walk away; and that offense continues today.
“Jesus answered them; to you it has been given to know the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables”, (Matthew 13:11b-13a) Jesus said.
So, parables are meant to both reveal and conceal, depending on the state of the person hearing them. For those in whom the Holy Spirit has worked faith in Christ through Word and Sacrament; they will gladly continue to hear the Word and grow in their faith and produce fruit as Jesus declared; “some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty”. (Matthew 13:8b) On the other hand, those who oppose Jesus and continue in their unrepentance, will lose even what knowledge they have of Christ; they will lose saving faith. Jesus will affirm them in their unbelief.
“I speak to them in parables, because seeing, they do not see and hearing they do not hear; nor do they understand. Indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled which says, You will indeed hear, but never understand, you will indeed see, but never perceive. For this people’s heart had grown dull, and with their ears, they can barely hear, and their eyes have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them”. (Matthew 13:13b-15) This is from Isaiah 6, where the Lord called Isaiah to preach to the people of Israel, but also told him that few would listen to him; that their hearts were already hardened against the Word of the Lord.
Jesus taught them in parables for the same reason; they continued to reject Him. The parables Jesus taught were for the unbeliever a sign of their judgment; because they rejected His teaching. “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. For truly I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see and hear what you hear, and did not hear it”. (Matthew 13:16-17)
If you haven’t figured it out yet; the seed Jesus is talking about is the Word of God, His Word; the Holy Scriptures; the Bible. Jesus explains the parable to the disciples, to those who want to learn from Him, and so He explains it in this way. “When anyone hears the Word of the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one (the devil) comes and snatches away what is sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path”. (Matthew 13:19)
We heard in the Old Testament reading, “My Word, which goes out from My mouth; it shall not return to Me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose and succeed in the thing for which I sent it”; (Isaiah 55:11b) but this does not happen without a fight, for Satan immediately comes and tries to steal the Word. Do you not know that the preparation of sermons; preaching and teaching of the Word is a battle with the devil himself? Do you not know that the devil is working, trying to destroy the faith that God has given to you? That is why we/you are called to be an active listener of the Word.
Thus says the Lord, “these words I command you this day shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise”. (Deuteronomy 6:6-7) So, “receive the Word of God with all eagerness and examine (study) the Scriptures” (Acts 17:11) for God has promised to bless you through the Word.
Jesus continues, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the Word and immediately receives it with joy; but he has no root in himself; but he endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution comes on account of the Word, he falls away”. (Matthew 13:20-21) These are ones who respond, positively, emotionally to the hearing of the Word, but when the good feeling is gone or when the suffering begins, they often cannot endure. This is why Jesus repeatedly warns of suffering for our faith; that we might be prepared for it.
“As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the Word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the Word and it becomes unfruitful”. (Matthew 13:22) The cares of this world; both the worries and the pleasures, can easily destroy a weak faith or lack of understanding of the Word. The Apostle Paul warns that it is through the love of money/possessions “that some have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs”. (1st Timothy 6:10b) But Jesus tells us that the Heavenly Father knows what we need for this life; “so seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you”. (Matthew 6:33)
We see in this parable the great spiritual dangers in neglecting the Word of God; of putting anything above it; but next Jesus speaks of those who receive the Word of God eagerly. “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the Word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty”. (Matthew 13:23) It is obvious/clear from this parable that the blessings of God’s Kingdom come from the seed of the Word of God; Holy Scripture.
Do you believe this? Do you believe the Holy Spirit working through the Word and Sacraments; is how God delivers His gifts in His church? Or do you believe His work has something to do with us; with our good works or our ability to persuade others with our wisdom; or with how nice and friendly we are; in other words, with our personality? We often want to take credit for ourselves when things are going well, as if it were we ourselves who bring people to faith, and we want to blame everyone but ourselves when things are going poorly.
The truth is that without the power of the Holy Spirit’s working, the Word will not accomplish anything; for it is the Holy Spirit who has called us by the Gospel and He calls the entire Christian church in the same way. (Paraphrase of Third Article explanation) Jesus said, “The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name; He will teach you all thing and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you”. (John 14:26) “Whoever is of God, hears the Words of God”. (John 8:47)
For this purpose, God has appointed the ministry of the Word and Sacraments as the means by which He has promised to gather and preserve His church in this world. As the Apostle Paul said, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth”. (1st Corinthians 3:6) “I worked hard … but it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me”. (1st Corinthians 15:10)
So, it is God who opens our hearts to Him, through the Word, He converts through the Word; He works and gives repentance and obedience through the Word; He stirs up and increases faith through the Word; He is a God of comfort, through the Word. “Therefore, people are to be diligently admonished often to attentively read, hear, and meditate on the written and preached Word, if they want Him to work” in these ways in their lives”. (Chemnitz, Enchiridion, page 43)
Do you want these blessings that God has promised? None of this will happen without the Word of God; which the author of Hebrews declares “is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart”. (Hebrew 4:12) Therefore, “let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16a) for our Lord said, “this is the one to whom I will look; he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at My Word”. (Isaiah 66:2)
Do you tremble at the Word of God or do you think more of your own opinions or the opinions of the world? Do you treasure the Word of God, holding it sacred and gladly hearing and learning it? Or do you despise the Word of God, not even bothering to hear it? Or do you hear it, but consider it of little or no value as if it is some sort of entertainment? Or do you make excuses for not hearing it based on your bad feelings about someone in the church?
We have dealt with some of these issues recently, but none of these are legitimate reasons for staying away from the preaching of the Word of God. Just a couple of weeks ago, we heard Jesus warn, “If anyone will not receive you or listen to your words, shake off the dust of your feet (as a sign of judgment) when you leave that house or town”. (Matthew 10:14)
You just heard in the parable of the sower what happens when the Word is rejected or made subservient to our own whims. At best it results in an unfruitful life and it often leads to the loss of saving faith; the loss of eternal life. “Therefore, we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it … how shall we escape (judgment) if we neglect such a great salvation”. (Hebrews 2:1-3a)
But you also just heard what results when the Word is received in faith, by the grace of Almighty God. For “man does not live by bread alone, but by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord”. (Deuteronomy 8:3) God promises that the Word will have its effect on the life of the believer, causing us to bear good fruit; to repent daily and believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith.
Knowing the blessings that God so freely bestows on us His people in His Word (and sacrament) we are to “seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near” (Isaiah 55:6) knowing that “His Word … shall accomplish that which He purposes and succeed in the thing for which He sent it”. (Isaiah 55:11) Amen
The peace of God …