Planting Seeds

Sermon 19 Feb 2023

Those of you who have heard my last couple messages know I am working on the parables of Jesus. The definition of a parable is pretty straight forward. It is a story containing a metaphor that has more than one possible meaning. Despite the simple definition, experts disagree on what is and is not a parable. Leaving us with different lists in different literature. Jesus used parables as a teaching technique, and I admitted in my last message that I don’t fully understand the lessons in all His stories. That’s OK. Scripture is a life guide. God will reveal the life lesson for each of us when we are ready to digest it. I like the next two parables listed by my study bible and will use them for my talk today.

The metaphors are about farming and making things grow. I was born and raised on a farm and would have been happy to remain there if Kansas City hadn’t grown and turned our farm into a housing addition. That, and the fact that I was ninth in line to inherit led me to seek my fortunes elsewhere, but I still feel at home and close to God when I plant my garden.

Today’s first parable is found in Matthew, Mark and Luke and is very similar in all three books. Jesus is in his first year of ministry, not too long after gathering his disciples, and is attracting fairly large crowds. Matthew says He is beside the sea. I assume it is the Sea of Galilee, and a large crowd gathered, so many that He had trouble finding room to speak. It is hard to speak to the whole group if they are pressed up against you. So, He got into a boat. We don’t know where the boat came from. I assume one of His disciples found it to provide a proper venue. Anyone ever wondered about the role of the disciples? I picture them as assistants doing whatever was needed to support the ministry of Christ. Remember the story of the Samarian women at the well. His disciples had left to go to the nearest village and take care of logistical matters. They would have been doing the same thing here, taking care of details. Thus, they found a boat to give Him some separation from the crowd and allow him to be heard by everyone. Sitting there just off the beach, Jesus began to teach. He begins by telling a story about a farmer trying to plant grain, probably wheat. It really doesn’t say, but the next story is related, and it is about wheat. At the time, there were no mechanical drills for planting, and grain was planted by casting the seed by hand. We used to do the same when we planted sedan grass. I rode on a small trailer and operated the seed broadcaster while Grandpa drove the tractor. Our ground was better prepared than the farmer in the parable. Some of his seeds fell along the path, were trampled underfoot, and the birds came and ate them. Some seeds fell in rocky places with no depth to the soil. They sprouted, but without deep roots soon withered in the arid environment. Other seed fell in thorn patches where the sprouts were soon choked out by the thorn bushes. Only the seeds that fell on good soil returned a plentiful harvest.

I find it interesting that Jesus didn’t explain the metaphor to the crowd. He let them draw their own conclusions. After Jesus had finished and the crowd dissipated, His disciples came and asked Him why He teaches with parables. His answer is indirect, but in essence I think He says that parables make people think. This is important. Jesus is talking to His disciples, and he tell then He expects them to think! Isn’t everyone here a disciple of Christ. This advice is for us. We are not supposed to follow blindly, we are supposed to think.

He then explains the parable of the soils. Jesus says the seed is the word of God. The seed that fell on the road and was eaten by the birds are those who hear the word but don’t understand and leave themselves open to being consumed by the devil (the birds). The rocky soil represents those whose faith is immediate but shallow and short lasting. The thorn bushes are the worries of the world. Things like making a living, one’s status in the community, etc. Those things that choke out our faith. The good soil are those who accept the word of God, are born again, and go on to spread the word or to influence others. The lesson as outlined by Jesus to the disciples is that love of God and Love of your neighbor can be fragile concepts and Christians must be prepared to receive the Word.

This exact story can be used to teach other lessons depending on the experience and of the listener. Jesus knew this. He was specific in his lesson to His disciples, but allows each listener to hear the lesson the listener is ready for. Brilliant! Today’s professional educators would call that “proximal learning zone.” Every lesson is built on a foundation of other lessons, so any given individual may learn a lesson different than their neighbors. For example, the seed could be love, love that needs to grow and mature with time. You can make up your own definitions for the rocks, birds and thorns. How about charity, or better yet knowledge? Knowledge like seed is cast on various students with various results. Parables. Notice in all interpretations, it is not the quality of the seed that matters. It is the quality of the soil. No mention is made of the value of the farmer’s efforts. I find that omission odd. Little can be done about what the birds ate, but rocks can be removed. I have almost always had a garden where ever I lived. We built a home north of Airway Heights back in the 70s. The ground I choose for a garden was full of rocks. The entire property was full of rocks. I had to remove a whole pile before my first planting. I removed more with each season until my garden was fairly rock free. Another part of farming is weed control. Water can make the desert bloom. Have you seen pictures of central Washington before the Grand Coulee Dam irrigation project of the 1930s? It was nothing but cactus and sage brush. The work of the farmer (planter) is as important as the soil.

While He is still out in the boat, Jesus tells another story about farming. This one includes drama and clandestine operations. It is the parable of the wheat and the tares. Tare is a grass that looks like wheat until it is close to harvest but produces a worthless crop. Timothy or wild oats are possible examples. According to the PhD commentators, if neighbors were seriously feuding, and one wanted to ruin the other, they would plant tares in the neighbor’s wheat field. You are familiar with the price doc you get from excess weeds in your wheat. Rather than try to pull the weeds out, Jesus advised to wait until harvest to sort the good grain from the bad. Then, He said to burn the weeds.

If you had no further guidance, how would you interpret the story? Once again, Jesus leaves the individuals in the crowd to determine their own lesson, while the disciples ask Him to explain this story for them. He who sows good seed is the Christ, the field is the world, and those who sow tares (weeds) are the agents of the devil. Harvest is the end of the world, the day of reckoning. The good crop will be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven and the bad will be consumed in the fire of hell. Quite a dramatic lesson. We can’t tell the good from the bad until God’s judgement. I don’t think I would have understood without the explanation to the disciples.

I have heard this lesson taught in several different ways. “Judgement is mine saith the Lord.” There are 66 references in the Bible to judgement by the Lord God.