Wasted Seed?
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 ESV
That same day Jesus went out
of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so
that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach.
And he 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 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.”
“Hear then the parable of
the sower: When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand
it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This
is what was sown along the path. As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is
the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no
root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution
arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 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 proves unfruitful. 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.”
Wasted Seed?
Conflict and danger are on
either side of Jesus speaking in this passage. A passage of several Parables or
stories Jesus gives to his followers. Jesus speaks in parables because he loves
God and man. Of course, we know now that Jesus is both God and man in flesh. To
Jesus earth was a shadow of heaven. Jesus very life, suffering, death and
resurrection; were all spiritual connections of heaven to earth.
Prior to the speaking of these
parables, Jesus was speaking to the crowds and confronting and challenging both
his disciples and others with his mission and authority in both earth and
heaven. Following these parables came Jesus’ rejection in his hometown of
Nazareth, which nearly brought about his stoning.
In this Parable of the Sower,
most of the seed is wasted. It’s important, as disciples of Jesus, that we don’t
worry about lost seed. As can be seen in this parable, the seed, not the sower
is closely described. We come to understand that the seed is the Word or the
Gospel. The teller of the Good News, the Word, or the Gospel is not the main
concern here in this parable.
We see seed cast on a path. Not
much soil to bring about the fruit of the seed, and birds eat the seed. We see
seed cast on rocky ground, some soil to grow but not enough to last long enough
to produce fruit. Seed cast among thorns that don’t allow the seed to produce
fruit. And then, seed cast upon good soil, permitting the seed to produce
abundant fruit. The small number of seed that does produce fruit, produces a
harvest much greater than all the seed that was lost. Fruit a hundredfold is a huge amount!
So, we are dealing with people
that hear the Gospel, the Word, the Seed who are either casual about what they
have heard, maybe shallow about it, or fall into worldly desires and walk away
from what they have heard in the Word, or maybe they heard it and are
responsive to the Grace of the Gospel and the Word. The fruit or the grain of
receiving the Gospel produces a fruit of love for God and love for one another
through actions of love.
Although, much seed is wasted,
the harvest is abundant.
Herein lies a trap for Jesus
disciples. We all grasp the Word, the Gospel, the Seed at different times and
in different ways. As a disciple of Jesus, don’t be so presumptuous or
judgmental to think you are always of the good soil, that produces massive
amount of grain or fruit for God.
Sometimes in life we are worn out
by the path and trampled upon. We hear God’s Word but it doesn’t penetrate into
our lives. Sometimes we hear the Gospel, yet our own pride permits the devil to
snatch away the fruit of the Gospel from us and we turn away from God.
Sometimes the thorns of this world lure us into a thinking that we can make it
all on our own and have no need for God, Jesus, the Gospel or anything else.
Life is good right now, who needs God?
We are sinners and need to be
honest before God and ourselves and know that we need God more than anything
else. And we can’t waste time judging our neighbor on what kind of soil they
may be in at certain points in life.
After all, understanding the
Word, or Jesus, or the Gospel does not come from within ourselves.
Understanding must be given by God and God alone. Understanding is not a result
of my own, or your own, intelligence, status, or power.
But here is the Gospel. The sower
has cast enough Seed for it to come to you in your hearing, so that as you are
in the good soil that God gives to you, your hearing of the Gospel will be
transitioned into a fruit that bears glory to God for all that he has done for
you. God grows some good stuff in you, and through you, and for him, and to
those he gives to you to love each and every day.
You too, can sow some seed. You can toss God’s
love all over this earth in every way and on every day. God’s Seed is free to
all on whatever path or place in life people may exist.
So, produce fruit! Cast Seed! Not
a bit of that Seed is wasted. God’s Seed saves, God creates perfect beauty in
his fruit, bear witness as a Child of God and cast Seed… today… tomorrow and forever.
Thanks be to God!
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