The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted! - Matthew 13:23
Matthew 13 opens with an introduction to Jesus’ parable teachings. He would use similes and metaphors to get His point across when He perceived that the minds of the people were not ready to hear His words without creative linguistic decorations. Jesus’ use of parables was brilliant. His stories, derived from everyday life in the ancient world, still have an impact on people today. They are compelling, yet simple. Genius, yet easy to understand. Deep, but so natural and relevant. No one taught quite like Jesus. No wonder the people loved to listen to His words for hours.
Christ’s arsenal of fictitious narratives span multiple areas of human life. He commented on farming, economics, business, housework, herding, fishing, the weather, family, work ethics, marriage, clothing, industry, government, loss, food, compassion, death, and more. Every truth He taught was related to some heavenly ideal brought down into common language, described through common things, and spoken to common people. Jesus was a subversive character. He knew that eyes would glaze over and minds would wander if he spoke to the crowds in purely theological and doctrinal terms. So He fascinated the people with narratives and tinkered with their imaginations. He planted ticking time-bombs into the minds of mankind. Once the sneaky parable found its way inside, it would explode and the hearer would never be able to see things the same again.
But none of this was done for the purpose of mere entertainment. Jesus was dealing in eternal truths. His stories were critical to helping the people develop an accurate concept of God. These were not simple analogies and comparisons that had no consequence on the soul. No, the theme of salvation was at the core of every parable. Jesus and the gospel were embedded into every single one. And how they were received would determine the listener’s standing with God. Think about this…have you ever listened to a sermon or read the Bible, and while you may have felt a certain attraction to the message, the words never really made a difference in you? Now, you could easily blame the speaker. And sometimes we are to blame for lame messages. But maybe the problem is closer to home, maybe it is with your heart? You hear the word but don’t hear it. You see the truth but don’t really see it. You understand the words but do not fully understand. You see, sometimes there is something in the way and the word (seed) cannot penetrate into our hearts (soil) and produce any good (fruit). It is entirely possible to be entertained by church and by preachers, but never really experience life change or an increase in righteous devotion towards Christ. If this is you, I urge you to check your soil. Is it trampled down by the world’s ideas? Is it superficial and full of stones? Is it choked up with the thorns of secularism or anxiety? Is it so distracted and deceived that it cannot receive the words of Jesus speaking to your heart?
Join us this Sabbath as we dive into The Life and Teachings of Jesus: Parables. Our study will take us into Matthew 13 and we will review the hidden meaning behind Jesus’ many parables. Our hope is to comprehend not only the metaphors and the mysteries, but the goodness and greatness of Christ our Savior. Many of these parables are judgment centered and speak to the urgency of the end times we are living in. We’ll jump into that too. See you this weekend!
Pastor Dean