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The Parable of the Sower Today's Treasure: " 'My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice' " (Luke 8:21). Christ's priority for the believer's life is not how much he or she studies the Word, enjoys attending Bible study, or discusses Scripture in small groups. His priority for the believer is to hear the Word and do it. Receive it internally. Express it externally. Based on Luke 8:21, our kinship to Jesus Christ is directly revealed through what we do with the Word of God. Studying God's Word is not just a good idea; it is the very warmth and vitality of the family bloodline—proof that we are family to Jesus Christ. The parable of the sower helps us understand the obstacles that can bring our kinship to Christ into question. Consider Christ's interpretation of the parable in Luke 8:11-15. He identified the seed as the Word of God. In the parable the seed falls on four types of soil. The seed that falls along the path "are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved" (v.12). The seed on the rock "are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away" (v.13). The seed that fell among thorns "stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life's worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature" (v.14). The seed on good soil "stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop" (v.15). Before we study the differences in each of the above, let's address a critical common denominator. All four had the same relationship with the Word: they heard it. We cannot overemphasize the importance of applying and obeying the Word of God. You see, all four types of soil heard the Word, yet only one produced a harvest. It is not enough to hear the Word! We have just stumbled on my greatest burden for the body of Christ. How many people sit in church services where Scripture is never taught? They're not even hearing the Word of God! Furthermore, what masses of believers hear the Word but continue to live in defeat because they don't apply it? Now let's consider each of the types of soil the seed of God's Word fell on. The seed along the path. Note the activity of Satan. Jesus pictured him as a bird of the air. Ephesians 2:2 calls him "the ruler of the kingdom of the air." Luke 8:12 tells us Satan possesses the ability to come and take away the word from a hearer's heart. The Greek word for "take away" gives the image of an owl swooping down, snatching its prey in its claws, and soaring back victoriously to its perch. Scripture implies countless reasons Satan desires to snatch the Word from us before we've internalized it. Contrary to the hopes of some, hell won't be an eternal party. No one will be glad they came. Eternity is a long time for regrets. Imagine the evil nature of one who seeks to keep people from being saved. The seed on the rock. The rocky soil represents the shallow hearers of the Word. These go a step further than those along the path. They do actually receive the Word. Perhaps you are troubled by the thought of Satan's ability to come and snatch the Word. Understand that Satan can't take anything the believing hearer claims. Once we've received the Word, it's out of his reach. He can try to distort our understanding of it, but he cannot steal it. As we'll soon see, however, we can give it up by our own volition. The rocky soil didn't just receive the Word. It received the Word with joy! How eye-opening to realize that we can hear the Word and receive it joyfully, yet never let it penetrate the depths. Listen, some of the words of God are hard! I think He'd rather see us receive a Word, wrestle over it with tears, then let it take root, than to jump up and down with ecstatic joy for only a while. The shallow hearer believes.until the time of testing (v.13). What a terrible shame! We miss one of life's most awesome experiences if we don't see God's Word stand up under our trial. He wants to show us it works. He wants to show us He works! If we stop believing, we will never know the power and faithfulness of God. If you've developed a few deep roots of faith, you probably had times in your life that, in retrospect, you recognize were shallow, but at the time you were oblivious to your lack of maturity. Just think: in several years, if we cooperate with God and keep growing, we're probably going to shake our heads over a few things that characterize us now! The seed that fell among thorns. We've seen hearers of the Word confront demonic thievery and life's adversity. As influential as these two can be, the thorns are probably a greater daily threat. These hearers are defeated by the distractions of the world: worries, riches and pleasures. The word for "riches" is ploutos, meaning "material goods,...abundance." We don't have to be rich to be distracted by riches. You don't have to have much to want more. Working ourselves into the ground to afford more things is symptomatic of this distraction. The word for "pleasures" is hedone, from which we get our term hedonism. Hedonism views "pleasure, gratification and enjoyment" as the chief goals of life. Walking with Christ is the greatest pleasure of my life. But even this sacred pleasure cannot be my goal. Knowing and pleasing Christ must be my goal. Distraction of all kinds is my biggest challenge in this pursuit. Distracted hearers choke on their own worldly appetites. Luke 8:14 says they also don't mature, which is a tragedy. The word mature comes from two Greek words: telos, meaning "end, goal, perfection," and phero, meaning "to bring, bear." The hearers of the Word who are distracted by the constant call of the world will never fulfill God's awesome plan for their lives. According to 1 Corinthians 2:9, distracted individuals miss life's greatest treasure. No mind has even "conceived what God has prepared for those who love him." The seed on good soil. The good soil represents the one who hears the Word and retains it. "Retains" pictures chewing the Word up and swallowing it until it occupies a place in us. When God's Word is deliberately internalized, it will be authentically externalized because it's no longer what we do—it's a part of who we are. Isaiah 55:11 declares God's Word will not return void. It will accomplish the purposes for which He sent it. That's a fact. But I want it to accomplish and achieve in me, don't you? When this generation asks who Christ's brothers and sisters are, I want Him to point us out joyfully. For our kinship to be obvious, we've got to hear God's Word and do it. When He sends forth His Word, may He find fertile soil in each of us.
Greek definitions taken from The Complete Word Study Dictionary of the New Testament, Spiros Zodhiates, et al., eds., (Chattanooga, Tenn.: AMG Publishers, 1992). Adapted
from Jesus the One and Only, by Beth Moore, pages 135-140.
Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002. Used by permission. |