Sexagesima Sunday, 2010
The Sixth Decade before Easter
"And when a great multitude had gathered, and they had come to Him from every city, He spoke by a parable: 'A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it. Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold.' When He had said these things He cried, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear!'
"Then His disciples asked Him, saying, 'What does this parable mean?'
"And He said, 'To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that
‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand.’
"'Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.'" Luke 8:4-15
“My Word shall not return empty.” Isaiah 55:11
We all know this parable well by now, and so, it has lost some of its terror for us. My job this morning is to restore some of that fear so that Jesus’ warning won’t be lost on you.
The first thing you need to learn is that this parable is not just an observation about people. Certainly it does describe the state of mankind. The number of faithful Christians is small compared to the number of people who can’t do anything with God’s Word. The number of fallen Christians who have let their faith atrophy and die is perhaps even greater. But this parable isn’t just about statistics. Jesus doesn’t need a parable for that. It’s a condemnation of sin and a promise of renewal and life. You are not to walk away cold this morning, thinking that this is just the way it is. Jesus is talking to you.
The first soil is the hard crusted trail through the farmer’s field. There’s more dust here than soil, and so it’s small wonder that the seed doesn’t even have a chance to dig into the earth’s warm womb. The birds come and devour it right away.
There are people who are trampled down with so much baggage about Christianity that they are immune to the Gospel. Their false assumptions about Christ and His people make them hard to break through. Year after year they hear about our God. The media, the occasional funeral or Christmas service, even the prayers they hear when we invite them for dinner in our homes, have no affect. They always have a good reason to ignore God’s Word or disagree with Him. Satan, other human beings who have been sold into Satan’s slavery and evil spirits -- they all work hard to make sure that the Gospel is gobbled up before it can take root and grow in their tough crust.
We may think this doesn’t apply to us, but we should be careful. Most of us have at one time or another questioned the power of one bit of Scripture or another to have a say in our lives. We may not like what the Bible says about forgiveness for everyone. Or we may question what it says about relationships between men and women. We may not like to hear what God has to tell us about our sinful nature. Satan is always happy to give us good excuses to take issue with God. Be careful lest you go from rich soil, receptive to the Gospel, to dry dust, good for nothing.
The second soil shows promise. Fields in Palestine have a lot of limestone rock just below the surface. This makes the ground heat up quickly. These seeds grow faster than all the others. Then the summer heat comes and sucks all the moisture out of the earth. What was a warm cradle for seedlings becomes a hellish tomb for plants.
For Jesus, these are the people who hear His words and quickly become enthusiastic. But their enthusiasm doesn’t last. Why is that? They lack repentance.
When someone lacks feelings of remorse over sin, when he has never looked straight into the dark night of his soul and seen the complete powerlessness of his every attempt on his own to be good, he remains unconvinced of his need for salvation. Until a person can say with all the saints, “I am a poor miserable sinner who deserves to be punished in this life and the next,” there is no longing for salvation. The words must be authentic and sincere or there is no hope, no matter how much excitement her first experience with Jesus may have generated. The Spirit of God must first succeed in awakening a deep and genuine repentance before Christ’s Words can bring out a long-term harvest of good works and holiness. Repentance and sorrow over sin prepares a soft, moist bed for God’s Word to grow in us.
We should be careful to think this isn’t a warning for us. We too easily take the words of repentance for granted. They are powerful, and we should say them sincerely, thoughtfully, and with a genuine longing for forgiveness and salvation. They are not a mindless form to be mumbled.
The third soil is the ground where faith is growing steadily, and works of mercy and holiness are beginning to show. But something is allowed to grow up with it. That something is unfettered, uncriticized sin.
I suppose this is the most terrifying part of Jesus’ story. These are the people who weep with the grieving and rejoice with the rejoicing, but not out of genuine conviction. They do it because they are too soft to stand up to anyone or anything. They love the Lord in the morning, but by the evening they have given themselves over to the devil.
This type of soil is full of the weeds of self-deception. In this case, peace is made with sin, not with God. One may understand the Gospel perfectly and speak better than a great preacher about it. But slowly one makes compromises with the world. The heart becomes more tolerant of things that are sinful, and the interpretations of Scripture become more open to one’s own desires. Soon there isn’t any room for God’s Word. The simple, steadfast trust in Christ is choked out by the ambitions and obligations that drive people day by day. Then the leisure and social activities choke out the rest of the life that the Holy Spirit has started to work in them. Fun, money, luxury, respect, fitting in -- all these can choke out faith and Christian living.
Beware, lest your faith be choked out and overgrown with weeds and thorns that grow as tall as a man and as hard as iron. Nothing can be done except burn that field down to the ground. What looks so harmless in the beginning will outgrow anything redeemable in that soil. That field will become a complete loss.
It would be wrong if I were only to warn you today. There is also joy in this parable, because Jesus assures us there is a soil that bears fruit. Ideally, this is what happens with God’s Word in our hearts. Everyone in the world is condemned by sin, but not everyone is unreceptive soil. The seed of the Gospel is not wasted on everyone.
Of course, we should be honest enough to ask ourselves if the seed is being wasted in our lives. What sort of fruit is growing in our hearts?
If that question has plucked your conscience, then listen to the final word on this parable. The reply holds a twofold comfort.
Dusty, crusted over paths can be turned over, rocks can be crushed and removed, thorn bushes can be burned down. God can break down a heart and make something good out of it. It is a fine thing to ask God to give you a repentant heart. The Holy Spirit still creates new hearts in men.
And along with this, the sower continues to sow. This parable isn’t just a warning. It also tells us about Jesus’ work. It is ongoing. The seeds are constantly cast. The Word is constantly preached. The mission to non-Christians goes on, but the mission to those who are falling away in the church also goes on. Christ continues to walk among His people, filling them with the power of His words.
This is a Sunday filled with power -- the power of God’s Word. It does not return empty. The rains and snow bring out life from the seeds in the ground, bringing forth a harvest. God’s Word rains down on us, bringing forth a harvest in spite of so many obstacles. It will not return empty.
The prophet is really speaking of Jesus. He came down like the rains, he watered creation with His blood to give us life. Then He sprang up from the tomb a fresh sprout, the first of a great resurrection harvest. His work is not in vain. We thank Him for the seed of the Gospel that He has caused to grow in our hearts. We ask that it root deeply, so that we will be the field that gives a bumper crop of faith, hope, charity and love. By His grace, it can be done. By His power, it will be done! Amen, Lord Jesus, make it so!
The Reverend Sean M. Smallwood
cruxprobatomnia -- the cross tests everything
I acknowledge the debt to the late Pastor Wilhelm Loehe and Bo Giertz, Bishop.
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