Salvation Is Jesus

Matthew 13 - Part a

Matthew chapter 13 records a series of parables told by Jesus. We will cover the first parable in this post, and take a look at what Jesus says about why he starts teaching using parables. First Jesus tells what’s commonly known as “The Parable of the Sower” found in verses 3-9.

The disciples then come to Jesus and ask why he is speaking in parables. Jesus replies in verses 11-17:

He replied, “The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
” ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’ But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For I tell you the truth, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Let’s break down what Jesus tells his disciples.

1. The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to the disciples, but not to others…
2. which fulfills a prophecy in Isaiah 6:9-10 which says that people will hear Jesus’ words, but won’t really understand what he’s talking about. This is because…
3. their hearts have become calloused. But if they could soften their hearts…
4. they could turn, and they would be healed.

Then Jesus tells the disciples that many prophets and righteous men throught history have longed to see and be shown the level of revelation by which disciples are now being blessed. We too are included in this blessing. All who have the knowledge of Christ and can read God’s revelation of himself to us through the Bible have such a tremendous blessing in our lives. It is the will of God that we share this blessing with the world.

In verses 18-23, Jesus explains the Parable of the Sower:

Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.

Jesus tells us four different ways that people react when they hear the message of Christ.

1. The seed sown along the path represents people that hear, but don’t really understand. It seems they might be intrigued, but easily get distracted by things that Satan might throw their way and soon, their heart is no longer concerned about the matter.
2. The seed that is sown in the rocky places represents people that hear the message of Christ, and really like the way it sounds. But it seems these people were only looking for a the latest fad or a quick fix to their problems, and wasn’t really devoted to Christ in his heart. For as soon as trouble comes, he quickly falls away.
3. The seed that is sown among the thorns represents those that hear the message of Christ, but can’t seem to stop worrying about the temperal things in their life like the desire to be wealthy. While there’s nothing intrinsically wrong with wealth, desiring it over Christ will make a person unfruitful.
4. The seed that falls on the good soil represents the people that hear Christ’s message and it becomes the center of their life. They will continue to share the love of Christ with those they meet and preach the Gospel, producing a great spiritual harvest for the kingdom of heaven.

These are the different ways that people respond to the Gospel of Christ. We are told that those with hardened hearts will not accept it and will be destroyed, just like Isaiah prophies. I pray every day for the hearts of friends and family that fall into one of the first three examples of the parable of the sower. Many hard hearts have been softened into “good soil” by the power of prayer.