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The next parable may again be a familiar one:

‘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 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, let him hear.’ (Matthew 13:3-23)

At a first glance

Now this parable is a great example of how we ought not to lean on our own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). I heard a preacher recently take this text and talk about the seeds that God plants in our hearts, through prophecy, circumstances, and so on. While the content of what he said was not necessarily bad, I do think we ought to take this parable as an example of one which Jesus’ original intention could be different to our own inclinations. Let’s do a quick summary of this parable before then seeing what our Lord said this parable means. Jesus talks about ‘a sower’, and gives four examples of where the seeds land: (1) they land on the path and are eaten by birds, (2) they land on rocky ground and wither, (3) they land among thorns and are choked, and (4) they land on good soil and produce grain. For the moment, let us leave our understanding at that.

Jesus’ intention

Now the disciples had real difficulty understanding what Jesus was saying. In fact, I think they got pretty annoyed – I know this is reading a little too far into the text but I get the feeling that Jesus’ disciples really wanted some good ol’ manly theology, but what they got was Jesus’ narrative stories. The disciples’ frustration overflows in Matthew 13:10, where we are told that ‘the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?”’ How often do we get cross with Jesus for not speaking to us in the way we would like him to? Just a thought. But let’s trust the way that Jesus chooses to present something to us. In any case Jesus did break down this parable for us in Matthew 13:18-23. I’ll not reproduce it here but will look at each of the four categories in turn:

1. The path

Seeds falling on the path represent those who hear the gospel but do not understand it. The birds represent Satan, who ‘snatches away what has been sown’ (v19). Let’s not just leave this as an interesting statement, but allow it to challenge us. Can we successfully communicate the gospel to unbelievers? If I started a conversation with a non-Christian this afternoon would they understand the word I gave them, or would it be snatched away? Let’s do our best to get the gospel in our head to the point that we can present it in any situation in a way that is easy to understand.

2. The rocky ground

This is the person who hears the gospel, immediately falls in love with it and is filled with joy, but who then ‘falls away’ (v21) as soon as he hits a tough time. This is why we must be careful of what has become known as the ‘prosperity gospel’. At the time of writing this article a leading Christian ministry has as its latest message available for download this title: ‘You are blessed and cannot be cursed’. While Bible truth is held within this message, the overarching sentiment is not one which I think is biblical. If I ‘cannot be cursed’ then what happens if bad times do come? Does this mean that the Bible is lying to me? Or should we respond like Job, and declare ‘the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.’ (Job 1:21)? How about the life of Jesus, who should be our example? He gave up everything, humbling himself even to death. It seems silly to me that the aim of Christian life as presented by some preachers seems to be to become unlike Jesus. We must be careful not to allow ourselves to present the gospel as a get-rich-quick scheme, or even a get-well-quick scheme. We must present it as the get-a-tough-life-quick scheme, because that is so often what happens. If we do not disciple young Christians in the art of suffering well, they will be like those represented by the seed falling on rocky ground. Leaders, be warned.

3. The thorns

This is the person who is surrounded by ‘the cares of the world’, namely ‘the deceitfulness or riches’ (v22). This, I think, is linked to the previous point. We must be careful to train young Christians in the art of seeing with an eternal perspective. It is so easy to be distracted by the temptations that surround us. We are presented with promises of fulfilment through sex and money in almost every media form, and it is the easiest thing in the world to bow to that temptation. What fool would turn down the offer of becoming richer and richer? Let me tell you who: Jesus. Just read Luke 4, as he turned down Satan’s offer. Would we turn down that offer? Would those we lead turn down that offer? Be careful. Let’s promise to be fools, but ‘fools for Christ’s sake’ (1Corinthians 4:10).

4. The good soil

This final person is the one who hears the gospel, understands it, and bears fruit (v23). In case we’d missed it, this is where we are aiming. We need to make sure that we, and those we disciple, are good soil. We need a good, solid foundation, based on (1) solid and regular Bible teaching, (2) extended and regular periods in the presence of God in prayer, and (3) full, active involvement in relationship with the local church. These are the questions we must ask ourselves, and this is how we must respond. For each of these we should ensure that we are encouraging those we are discipling to do the same:

1. Do we read the Bible every day?

2. Do we joyfully submit to sermons on at least a weekly basis?

3. Do we pray on an ongoing basis, ready to jump into intimate prayer if needed?

4. Do we pray for an extended period every day?

5. Do we regularly attend a local church?

6. Are we in close relationships with several within the local church?

7. Do we serve actively in the local church?

So how are you doing? How good is your soil out of 7? I honestly want to warn us that if we are scoring less than four, the seed in our lives may be in danger of falling onto a different patch of land. Let’s be encouraged to allow God to make our soil more fertile. If we do, then by God's grace we will surely be used by God to become more fruitful, as Jesus promises in this text.

"Chip Shots from the Ruff of Life" from Tom Kelley

Choking can be Hazardous to Your Eternal Health