The Parable of the Growing Seed

Mark 4:26-29:

²⁶ He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. ²⁷ Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. ²⁸ All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. ²⁹ As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”

It Is A Human Ministry
Notice who sows the seed in verse 26. It is sown by a “man”. For His Own reasons, God has chosen to grow His kingdom through human ministers. God could have chosen angels to do this work. He could have created other beings, but He chose to use us! He saved us to use us - Eph. 2:10; 2 Cor. 4:7. Each of us was saved because some believer somewhere sowed Gospel seed. That seed fell into the good soil of our heart. There it germinated and produced life, new life, within our hearts. Now, we have been given the task of carrying the Gospel seed wherever we go and we are to sow it as we go, Mark 16:15; Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8.

After the farmer has sown the seed, he has done all that he can. He cannot bring life out of the ground, he can only sow the seed. He cannot make it germinate nor can he make it bear fruit. So, he places it into the ground and waits to see what will become of the seed. That is humbling work! The farmer is at the mercy of the seed, the soil and the elements. Yet, he is able to go about his daily routine without worry for the seed. Why? Because he knows that God has placed within the seed everything that is necessary to produce life! Therefore, even though he may not be able to make the seed grow, he can rest assured that the seed will do exactly what God has prepared it to do! You see, the seed grows totally apart from any human agency! 

It Is A Humbling Ministry
So it is with the Gospel of grace! The witness can but sow the seed and then he must leave the results in the hands of sovereignty! You see, the Gospel has power, Rom. 1:16. God has placed within the Gospel seed everything necessary to being life out of death. And, when that seed is sown into a prepared heart you can rest easy knowing that God will produce His harvest in His time, Isa. 55:11. So, let us spread the Gospel seed around liberally, knowing that when God brings His good seed into contact with a prepared heart, the result will be the salvation of that soul!) (Note: Why doesn’t every witness produce a saved soul? Not all seed falls into good soil, Matt. 13:1-9! All the sower can do is sow the seed, the condition of the soil is not his worry!)

Verse 28 points out that there is a progression in the growth of the plant that is produced by the germination of the seed. It starts off small and fragile, and in that state, it would be easy to crush, but in time it matures and produces fruit. It has the potential to multiply itself many times over as it reaches maturity. This is a picture of how a Christian is to grow in grace. After the seed has been planted in the soil of our heart, it germinates and produces new life. This new life is tender and easily damaged, but as the Lord gives grace to that life and as He waters it and feeds it, it grows strong in the Lord and bears much fruit for His glory! Let’s take a moment to look at each of the stages mentioned here:

When the fruit is formed and the time for harvest is come, the farmer receives the return on his investment and he receives the glory for the things that have been achieved! When a person is saved and lives his life to the fullest for God’s glory, when he reaches his true potential for Jesus, it honors the Lord and accomplishes what He intended all along! Our goal as we live for Him should be to bring honor and glory to the name of the Lord, 1 Cor. 10:31. Nothing honors Him like a redeemed life and a life that grows in grace and honors Him!)

The Parable Of The Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30: -

²⁴ Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. ²⁵ But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. ²⁶ When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.

²⁷ “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

²⁸ “‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

²⁹ “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. ³⁰ Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’”

Matthew 13:36-43 - The Parable of the Weeds Explained

³⁶ Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

³⁷ He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. ³⁸ The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, ³⁹ and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

⁴⁰ “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. ⁴¹ The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. ⁴² They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. ⁴³ Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. Whoever has ears, let them hear.

Parable Of The Sower

Matthew 13:3-23:-

I. The Wayside
a. Jesus said that some of the seed sown by the sower fell along the wayside—the road, the path, the highway, the footpath. This is a trail that was worn by foot traffic. The ground had become impacted due to the foot traffic. Therefore, it was hard so the seed could not penetrate the ground. He said that the Wayside heart is one that hears the Word and rejects the Word because he/she did not understand what they heard. The word “understand” means to put together, to comprehend. To them, the Gospel makes no sense so they reject it.
b. Perhaps you’ve seen ground where people feed birds. They throw out the seeds and immediately a flock of birds come and eat it up. This is the scenario described by Jesus.
c. Matthew 9 and John 9

II. The Stony Ground
a. Some seed fell on stony ground. This ground is that rocky ground. It is similar to driveways that are paved with gravel. The seed falls between the gravel where it is able to take root. From there a plant springs up but the sun kills the plant because its roots are not deep and it doesn’t get the nourishment it needs to survive. Jesus said this is a heart that hears the Word, receives the Word, but dies out or forsakes the Word because of tribulation or persecution. The term used is “skandalizo” from which we get scandal, shame. Because of persecution (ridicule) tribulation (trouble), that person becomes ashamed of the Gospel. Literally, he/she falls away.

 

III. The Thorns
a. Some seed fell among the thorns. Thorns are predator plants. Their roots move in and steal the nutrients out of the soil from the roots of other plants. Jesus said that this type of heart is one that hears the Word, believes the Word, receives the Word, but because of worldly cares and the deceitfulness of riches, turns his/her back on the Word, thus becoming unfruitful. Worldly passion chokes out passion for the Lord.
b. Paul and Demas (2 Timothy 4:10 “for Demas has forsaken me, having loved this present world, and has departed for Thessalonica…”) Matthew 7:19, John 15
c. I believe we are on the edge of and may be into the beginning of the Great Apostasy spoken of in the Bible. People do not go to church like they used to. They don’t call on the Lord like they used to, until something bad happens. People, Christians, in particular, have left the church in pursuit of worldly riches. They can’t come b/c they have to work. They can’t come b/c they are too tired from working. They can’t come b/c they have to wash the car. They can’t come b/c they have to wash clothes. They can’t come b/c they have to clean the house, mow the lawn, go to the lake, go to the casino. Question is, why don’t they do these things during the week? It is because they value their jobs above God. They have forsaken Him for worldly passions. Remember the rich young ruler.

IV. The Good Ground
a. Then there was the good ground. This ground was tilled, watered, and ready to receive the seed. It was free of rocks and thorns. It produced up to 100x what was planted. Jesus said this type of heart is one who hears the Word, believes the Word, received, the Word, and lives the Word.
b. Matthew 5 says, “Let you light so shine before men…” Gandhi once said, “I like your Christ but not your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” John 15:8
c. There are three things that will surprise you when you get to Heaven. First is the fact you made it. Second is who’s there. Third is who is not there. Will you be there? Will you be in the number when the Saints go marching in? Will you be there when the roll is called up yonder? Are you saved? If the rapture were to happen right now, would you still be here? Jesus said you will know them by their fruit. What fruit does your life produce? Do you read your Bible more than just on Sundays? Do you pray when you’re not in church or not in trouble? Do you attend Bible study? Do you give God as much respect as you give your boss?

Parable Of The Fig Tree

Luke 13:6-9:

⁶ Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree growing in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it but did not find any. ⁷ So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, ‘For three years now I’ve been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven’t found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?’

⁸ “‘Sir,’ the man replied, ‘leave it alone for one more year, and I’ll dig around it and fertilize it. ⁹ If it bears fruit next year, fine! If not, then cut it down.’”

The tree appearing in this story does not yield fruit even though it has been at the fruit bearing age for fig trees. Two years go by, then three years, but it doesn't have fruit.
 
The surprising thing being said in this parable is not in the first half of it but rather the second part. The words of the owner to "chop it down" are a normal judgment call, but on the other hand the very very unusual words are those of the gardener that come after his.

So, let's take a moment to listen to his statement. The gardener answered the owner, "Master, leave it be for this year. I'll dig around the tree and fertilize it. Then, next year it may bear fruit. If it is still no good after that, chop it down," (verses eight and nine).

The gardener asked that the fruitless fig tree might stay on till next year. Were the tree to remain, there would be no particular benefit to the gardener. Instead, it would only add the extra work load for him of digging around it and giving it fertilizer. Nevertheless, the gardener petitioned the owner on behalf of the tree.

 Well, the words of the gardener end with "If it is still no good after that, chop it down." But nothing is said conclusively about a year later regarding whether the fig tree gave forth fruit or if it didn't have fruit and was chopped down. This means that the heart of what Jesus meant to say in this parable was not on whether the tree was ultimately to be cut down or to be left alone. None of that mattered. The place we ought to be looking is on the point that the tree still stood though it deserved to be cut down because of the way it was.

This parable is given in the context of "God's judgment." When we think of how that it is on God's judgment, our thoughts inevitably turn to whether we will be chopped down or saved on "the last day." However, the parable of Jesus draws our eyes so apt to turn to "the last day" back to "now, this hour." For, the main thing is not "the last day, but "now, this hour" in which we stand under the intercession of Christ and are shown God's mercy and patience. It is always the "now, this hour" that has do to with repentance. We must respond with gravity to this hour given to us as a gift of grace for now, for the very present moment. Paul had something to say on this, "Right now is the hour of grace; right now is the day of salvation," (Second Corinthians 6:2).

Faithful And Wise Servant

Luke 12:42-48 - Faithful and Wise Servant

⁴² The Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their food allowance at the proper time? ⁴³ It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns. ⁴⁴ Truly I tell you, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁵ But suppose the servant says to himself, ‘My master is taking a long time in coming,’ and he then begins to beat the other servants, both men and women, and to eat and drink and get drunk. ⁴⁶ The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers.

⁴⁷ “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. ⁴⁸ But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows. From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.

Like the master in the parable, Jesus has departed from earth and entrusted His work to us. But also like the master in the parable, Jesus will return someday to judge how well we have performed our duties.

The lesson is that Christ will judge us for what we have done or not done with the abilities and wealth we have been given. It is not sufficient for us to merely live without sinning. We must actively use the gifts we have been given to serve God and to serve other people. Each of us must honestly evaluate our gifts and prayerfully decide how they can be put to the best use. Some of us have been given small gifts and some great gifts, but we must all do our best with what we have:

... From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required; and from the one to whom much has been entrusted, even more will be demanded. (NRSV, Luke 12:48)

Each of us has something to give. We can give our money and our time to charity, be a friend to someone who is sick or lonely, do volunteer work, or be a peacemaker, teacher or minister. We may give unselfishly of our time to our spouse, children or parents. We may choose a service-oriented occupation, or we may just do our everyday jobs with integrity and respect for others.