March 24, 2024
Matthew 13:1–9 & 18–23

Title: The Soils Of The Word.

We know from the Scriptures that Jesus expressed numerous emotions. He was sad and cried; He felt disappointment; He felt righteous anger; He was empathetic. I wonder how He was feeling this day of the narrative. Perhaps His own temporary rejection by His own family was blunted by the truth He had already taught, that families would divide over Him. ¶ Before he preached this parable, that we will look at this morning, He seemed to want at least some moments alone, but the people often pressed Him for more, and He was always willing to give it. (EBC) ¶ So this morning, as we pick back up in our passage today, we remember that we are on the heels of Jesus’ family thinking He was crazy, the crowds not responding well to His messages and the pharisees utterly rejecting Him. These are at least three of the reasons for this parable.

A few things regarding parables before we begin our text this morning.

• Surely you have heard that “Parables are earthy stories with spiritual meanings.” This is a good way to remember what a parable is.
  • But the English word parable is transliterated from the Greek word parabole (par-ab-ol-ay’). Technically it means “a placing of one thing by the side of another, … as of ships in battle.” >> (Thayer)
  • So metaphorically it means “a comparison of one thing with another.” (Thayer)
  • "… in the Synoptic Gospels a parable denotes [a comparison] between nature or life and the things involving the spiritual life and God’s dealings with men."¹ >>
  • So understood, a parable “does not carry its meaning on the surface.” Parables demand “thought and perception if the hearer is to benefit from it.” [1069, France, The Gospel …, p. 502]
• As a teaching method, parables were very common in the first century.²
  • Remember that the ears of the people were very dull, so Jesus told them stories. Jesus taught the Disciples plainly. >>
• One must take care lest one miss the purpose of parables. !Most of the parables are stories relating to their immediate context! >>
  • Also, generally a parable will have only one point. >> (cf. Barclay)
  • “A parable is not an allegory. An allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning …” We must always caution ourselves not to assign a meaning to every object or person in a parable. Parables are intended to make one truth resonate and be remembered in the mind of a man at the point it is heard. (Barclay)
  • ILLUSTRATION: You have already heard my comments about the Prodigal Son. … The focus of the parable is the oldest son not the younger. The purpose was to teach the pharisees that they did not have the right attitude about sinners repenting and coming to God.

The Parable of the Sower

13:1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 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, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

• Before we get started on the text, I have a SIDEBAR: “Some expositors have seen symbolism in Jesus’ physical movements as described here. They believe that by going “out of the house” He was leaving the house of Israel. “Sitting by the sea” represents going to the Gentiles.” (Constable) ¶ This seems to a prominent view for many who study in a Jewish context. COMMENT (Messianic Jews)
• Look at 13:1 … by using the phrase “that same day” in the text, as I mentioned in the introduction, Matthew linked this first parable (in chapter 13) with all of the contention surrounding Jesus in chapter 12 (ESV). These parables were given in response to the crowds’ general rejection of Jesus as Messiah and—unfortunately—His family thinking He was crazy. (Constable)

Interpretation Of The Parable

Here, Jesus doesn’t leave the interpretation of the parable up to the disciples; He tells them plainly what He had in mind with the early and heavenly parallel.

Here we are jumping to v. 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 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. 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 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. 22 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. 23 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.”

• The context is that all of the listeners—of Jesus’ day—fell into four classes of listeners. (cf. Constable)
• “The field is the world”; the seed is “the word of the kingdom.” It is “good seed,” and therefore it ought to be welcome; but there are serious obstacles in the way. >> (EBC)
• We have field obstacles.

Look at the packed soil in verse 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower: 19 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.

• “The word of the kingdom.”
  • “word” is singular. I wonder if Matthew was using “the word” like John did in his chapter one account of the gospel? >>
  • Or did he see the message as a unified message or is this usage a cultural thing: teachings = the word?
• When a person does not understand the kingdom truth, the word does not root.
  • Parables are not be to taken technical but more illustrative, but it seems clear from Jesus’ interpretation that the word seems to penetrate all hearers’ hearts. COMMENT
  • No understanding = evil one snatches it away—notice—from the heart.
  • 1 Corinthians 2:14, “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”
• Here again, we see Satan as being a central figure against the word of God and him actively working against people behind the scenes.
  • In the Scriptures, we do see human responsibility, but that does not negate Satan’s kingdom working consistently against humankind.
  • Jesus credits him with much of the problems we see.
  • This complicates responsibility percentages here. COMMENT

The rocky soil. Verse 20 As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21 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.

• Here we see a false faith … a temporary, counterfeit faith.
• He has no root in himself. In John 15, Jesus says, that He is the vine (the root).
• Here, the word of the kingdom “endures for a while.”
• “sun rose they were scorched” = “tribulation or persecution”
• When persecution comes, he falls away.
• Jesus emphasizes too, that the persecution is not tolorated at all with the word "immediately" in verse 21.
• When the heat was on, these walk.
• 1 John 2:19, “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.”

The thorny soil. Verse 22 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.

• These people hear. Their ears are working but there is a problem. >>
• EBC labelled this problem well: the “preoccupied” heart.
• “this is the one who hears the word,” COMMENT
• but there are two things that MMA the word:
  • the cares of the world choke the word.
  • the deceitfulness of riches choke the word.
    • deceitful = making cunning untrue claims or promises.
  • Matthew 6:24, “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."
• “and it proves unfruitful”
  • Turn to Luke 13:6-9, "And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”
  • Every believer will have some fruit.
  • Other Fruit Bible verses: Matthew 15x, Luke 12x, John 7x
  • I will talk about fruit in the application part of the sermon.

“It is one thing to sow the seed of the kingdom; it is quite another to gather the harvest. The result depends on the soil.” (EBC)

The good soil

• v. 23 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.
• “The ‘good soil’ stands for the person who understands the message about the messianic kingdom, when he or she hears it, and responds appropriately to it.” (Constable)
• Three steps = hears, understands, responds.
• 100, 60, 30 = return on investment.
• God gave us His word. God gave His Son to redeem us. God sent our permanent Helper—the Holy Spirit.
• He expects a return.

The parable was not just for the indifferent crowds. “It was equally designed to have an impact on … the inner circle of the disciples.” (Barclay) So let us apply the parable.

APPLICATION

• Obviously, the application of this parable is not limited to the first century. In other words, I do believe that this describes the situation today as well as it did in the first century.
• What is fruit?
  • John 4:31, Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps.’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
    • Here we see, spiritual fruit is properly investing in other people towards kingdom ends. >>
    • E.g., Evangelism, discipleship, agape relationships.
  • Matthew 3:8, Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.
    • NT repent = change your mind = proper living and actions.
  • Broadly = kingdom impact.
• Evangelist application
  • We share the gospel in confidence no matter the responses of the listeners.
  • “The farmer sows in the confidence that, even if some of the seed is wasted, none the less the harvest will certainly come.” >> (Barclay)
  • We need to be ready for many not to be the good soil.
  • Caution: one may think that 25% who hear the gospel respond to it. But for many people in ministry, they would say that that does not seem to be the case. McGee said 1 out of 10 was a good average for his ministry. McGee also said that a prominent evangelist of his day testified that they considered only 3% of responses to their gospel ministry genuine. (p 184)
  • My own experience is that at least 50% of people that attend church regularly cannot even articulate the gospel accurately.
• We need to remember the things working against the word.
  • Satan looks to steal the word out of people’s hearts.
  • Unbelievers persecute believers to stifle the word.
  • The cares of the world are distracting the listeners.
    • “There is the hearer who has so many interests in life that often the most important things, get crowded out.” Just as this was the case in the first century, this is still often the “characteristic of modern life.” Barclay said men like this become "preoccupied with many things … His business can take such a grip of him that he is too tired to think of anything else. It is not the things which are obviously bad which are dangerous. It is the things which are good, for the “second best is always the worst enemy of the best.” (Barclay)
  • Deceitfulness of money misguides believers.
    • 1 Timothy 6:10, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
• Are we the good soil this morning? Are we responding to the word as we should?
  • 30, 60, 100 fold. God, knowledge and people.

3.1

Notes

Notes from above may not be in numerical order.

¹ Toussaint, Stanley D. Behold the King: A Study of Matthew. Portland, Oreg.: Multnomah Press, 1980, p. 192. Quoted by Constable. Edited for clarity; Toussaint had “extended.”

² Alfred Edersheim. The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah. 2 vols. Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1971, 1:581. Cited by Constable.

Works Cited

Scripture quotations [unless otherwise noted] are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Click here to access the works cited web-page for this document, save those marked as “Notes” or “Other Works Cited”–if any. Most of these cited works correspond to the verses they are outlined with. In the case of general background information and references, one will find cited material with the Bible books the citations are associated with. ¶ Furthermore, there may be numbered notes that are URL linked; these are usually retained numbered notes from Thomas Constable’s, “Dr. Constable’s Expository (Bible Study) Notes.” These links are preserved “as is” at the time of this work’s formation and I usually include other citation information from Constable as well (e.g. authors’ names).

Other Works Cited

Note: All of the resources below were cited in at least one of the sermons in the Book of Matthew but not necessarily this one.

Augsburger, David. Dissident Discipleship. Brazos Press, 2006.

Barclay, William. Barclay’s Daily Study Bible. Westminster Press, 1955-1960. Sourced digitally from studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb.html.

Blomberg, Craig L. Matthew. New American Commentary, vol. 22, ed. David S. Dockery, et al., Broadman Press, 1992. May be sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/matthew0000blom

________. Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation. Baker Academic, 2004. Sourced from archive.org.
(https://archive.org/details/preachingparable0000blom/page/82/mode/1up)

Bruce, Alexander Balmain. The Training of the Twelve. Ed., A.C. Armstrong and Son, reprint 1984, Kregel Publications, 1971 edition.

Carson, D. A. “Matthew.” The Expositors Bible Commentary, Frank E. Gaebelein, Ed. et al., Zondervan, 1984.

_______. The Sermon on the Mount : an Evangelical of Matthew 5-7 Exposition. 1978, Baker Book House, fifth printing, 1989. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/sermononmounteva0000cars/page/54/mode/1up

_______. When Jesus confronts the world : an exposition of Matthew 8-10. Originally published by Inter-Varsity Press in 1988, Paternoster, 1995. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/whenjesusconfron0000cars/page/n3/mode/1up

Chambers, Oswald. My Utmost for His Highest. Our Daily Bread Publishing, web ver.

France, R. T. The Gospel According to Matthew. Gen. Ed. Leon Morris, W. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1985.

_______. The Gospel of Matthew. W. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2007. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthew0000fran/page/n6/mode/1up

Gibson, J. Monro. “St. Matthew.” Expositor’s Bible Commentary. William R. Nicoll, Editor. Sourced from Bible Portal. Click here for a list of the authors of the EBC.

Harrington, Daniel J . The Gospel of Matthew. Sacra Pagina Series, vol. 1, A Michael Glazier Book, Liturgical Press (publ.), 1991. Sourced from archive.org.
https://archive.org/details/gospelofmatthew0000harr/mode/1up

Hendriksen, William. New Testament Commentary: Exposition of the Gospel According to Luke. Baker Book House, 1984.

McGee, J. Vernon. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible Commentary (Series), Thomas Nelson Publishing, 1991.

Phillips, John. Exploring the Gospels: John. Loizeaux Brothers, 1988.

Plumptre, E. H. “Matthew.” Commentary for English Readers, Charles John Ellicott, Compiler/Editor, Lord Bishop of Gloucester Cassell and Company, Limited, 1905. Sourced from BiblePortal.com. Click here for a list of the authors of the CER.

Robinson, Monte. The Way of Discipleship. Independently published, 2021. Web, aimdiscipleship.org/book.html, accessed Oct 2023.

Wiersbe, Warren. The Wiersbe Bible Commentary. 2 Volumes, David C. Cook, 2007.

Yancey, Philip. The Jesus I Never Knew. Zondervan, 1995.