Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 (Parable of the Sower – Part 2)

So let's go ahead, go into our text, we'll read it, and get into it.

Matthew 13, starting in verse 1, says,

And then down to verse 18,

Matthew 13, starting in verse 1,

Before we get into it, let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

He also is providing us a promise.

Jesus provides a promise that there will always be people who will not respond to his message.

There are those who will simply not accept it.

But at the same time, there are those who will, and he promises that they will produce an abundant harvest.

No amount of weed-infested soil or untenable ground will be able to stop that.

This is what we can expect from the kingdom of heaven.

Matthew further expounds on these ideas, and he presents Jesus' teaching on the parable of the sower.

But before we get to the parable itself, Matthew sets the scene for us.

At the very beginning of our text, Matthew mentions that same day.

So it's all happening on the same day, and for good reason, because quite a lot has happened up to this point.

Before the event of our text, Jesus has performed a number of miracles, ranging from healing to casting out a demon.

He has also engaged with scribes and Pharisees, and on a couple of occasions called them an evil,

or on one occasion called them an evil and adulterous generation because they asked for a sign.

This work and this routine of Jesus' healing, performing miraculous signs, and teaching was more than just some attractional method.

It was to prove his divinity and his authority.

Matthew has recorded the day full of events to further validate Jesus' message and prove that he is the Christ.

Matthew is saying that as difficult as they may be, Jesus' words have authority.

Just before the events of our passage, and literally right before it, in Matthew 12, 46-50,

Jesus' mother and brothers were seeking him, but instead of rushing out of the house to see them,

he took the opportunity to talk about the nature of the kingdom of heaven.

In that text it says,

Notice in that text both the exclusive nature of the response in addition to the visual imagery of separation.

Those who do the will of Father being inside the house, while even Jesus' own family are on the outside.

Matthew is helping to prime his readers for this type of exclusive language that is about to follow.

So, let's pick up where the narrative starts in our text.

Matthew records for us that,

Our passage begins with Jesus leaving the house to go and sit beside the sea on his own.

In all cases, Jesus knew what was about to happen next,

but Matthew does not tell us why exactly he does this in the text.

From a practical standpoint, Jesus may have been seeking some time alone.

He often does this to pray, to prepare for the next task, before making a decision, to grieve, and even just to rest.

As is often the case, though, the crowds find him and gather all around.

In order to alleviate some of the chaos of the amount of people,

and perhaps allow the crowd to hear better,

he gets into a boat while the crowd stands on the beach.

Although it is not mentioned, we see that later in the text,

the disciples are able to ask him a question privately,

so it would seem that they were able to join him in the boat as well.

Here is yet another distinction being made,

this time between the crowd and his disciples.

Lastly, one other thing to notice.

After getting to the boat, Jesus does something significant.

He sits down.

If you are an astute Bible reader,

you may have noticed that this was something he does a lot before he begins to teach.

He does this in rabbinic fashion, as was common for teachers of the day,

as an authoritative stance.

If the signs were not enough,

even the way that he sits expresses his teaching authority.

The words that are about to come forth are profitable,

so we would do well to listen.

So let's do that.

Let's begin starting in verse 3,

and see what he begins to teach the people.

Verse 3 says,

And he told them many things in parables,

saying,

A sower went out to sow.

This image would be quite familiar to the listeners,

and they would have easily pictured a farmer

utilizing what is known as broadcast sowing.

This is taking seed by hand

and then scattering it over the surface of the field.

In this context,

the most common seed would probably have been some kind of wheat or barley,

and that was very common in that region.

Jesus then goes on to talk about where these seeds fall.

And that will be where we take most of our time,

and how we will unpack the rest of our text.

We're going to talk about,

firstly, the soils.

That will be our first point,

is the soils.

And then secondly,

we'll have the interpretation.

We'll talk about the situations that are presented to us as they come,

and then we'll discuss their meaning afterwards.

So, point number one,

we have the soils.

Starting in verse 4,

Jesus says,

So, our first soil that we're going to talk about is the path.

The first soil will be the path.

This is found in verse 4.

See, these types of paths would have been all over the area.

With much of the land being used for farming,

these paths were used to cut between plots of land during travel,

either from one farm to another,

or just simply going through the country.

They were well used,

and the dirt on it would be well packed down,

and pretty hard.

The seeds fell on the ground,

and do not find soil to be in good condition.

It's too hard to penetrate,

and so they remain on the surface.

This allows birds to come and eat.

And in addition to that,

Luke, in his account,

mentions that not only did the birds eat,

but the seeds were also trampled underfoot

by some of those travelers.

In other words,

the seed has no chance to take any root.

So that is the path.

Our second point under soils

is the rocky ground.

This is found in verses 5 through 6.

Now, when you think of rocky ground,

you might, as I did at first,

think of soil that has just a bunch of rocks in it.

And this was not the type of rocky ground

that Jesus was referring to.

Rather, in that region,

it was common that the bedrock was quite high

and allowed for little depth of soil.

This stone, probably limestone,

would lead to shallow ground,

where plants would have difficulty

finding any actual depth,

and the roots, therefore,

would have a difficult time accessing nutrients.

What looked initially like a promising and healthy plant

that were growing at a remarkable rate

would be dead and withered away

not long after the sun scorched it,

resulting in a dead plant.

This brings us to our third type of soil.

We had the path, the rocky ground,

and now we have the thorns.

This is found in verse 7, the thorns.

This seed falls into an area

where there are competing plants to worry about.

It is less that the thorns grow around it

and literally cut and choke the plant,

and more likely that they would have been

competing thorns around it

and simply blocks too much sunlight,

used too much water,

or literally entangled its roots

with the roots of the good plant.

The soil might have been healthy.

It might have even been the best soil of them so far.

But the thorn plants grew along it

so that the good plant ended up

producing nothing worthwhile.

The case in all three of the previous soils

and the commonality between them

is that they had no yield or fruit.

Notice the progression of the three.

The first had no chance to begin at all.

The second started but withered away,

and the last grew some

but ended up producing nothing.

A good harvest cannot be gained

in any of these cases,

and all three are going to fail

to produce anything worthwhile.

Jesus mentions one other thing,

and we'll see that in verse 8.

He says,

Other seeds fell on good soil

and produced grain,

some a hundredfold,

some sixty,

some thirty.

That brings us to our last

and final type of soil,

and that is the good soil.

The good soil.

Unlike the other types,

in this circumstance,

the seeds fall on the ground

in good soil and produce a crop.

There are nutrients,

water, sunlight,

and no competition.

The plants not only grew,

but produced a significant crop

with varying levels

of a hundred, sixty, and thirty fold.

This is the main difference

between that soil

and the previous three.

These produce a grain.

Jesus then ends the telling

of the parable

with the phrase in verse 9,

He who has ears,

let him hear.

Stealing a bit from verse 10,

the narrative continues,

because the disciples

seemed to know

that Jesus was talking

about more than just

the forming practices

of the day.

They ended up coming to him

and asked him,

Why do you speak to them

in parables?

This is a good question,

as Matthew records

that following this parable

and the explanation

that Jesus gives,

then places three more parables

before the crowd.

In verse 24, 31, and 33.

And then ends in verse 34,

or Matthew ends in verse 34,

saying,

All these things Jesus said

to the crowds in parables.

Indeed, he said nothing to them

without a parable.

The disciples are curious

why Jesus would use this method

when it was clear

the crowd would not be able

to hear and understand.

The answer seems initially

pretty unfair.

Jesus tells them in verse 11,

To you, that is the disciples,

it has been given to know

the secrets of the kingdom

of heaven,

but to them it has not been given.

TJ talked in depth

about the purpose of parables

last week,

so I will not go

in that depth today.

But to answer the disciples' question,

remember,

parables are the method

that Jesus often employed

to share the mysteries

of the kingdom.

To some,

the knowledge of the kingdom

was given,

and to others,

it was not.

Both divine sovereignty

and human responsibility

are on display

simultaneously here.

So, from a narrative perspective,

picture the distinction

that Matthew is displaying for us.

You not only have the crowd

separated from Jesus

physically by the shore

and by the boat,

but the disciples,

close enough to ask Jesus

these questions,

showing the distinction

in knowledge.

Many of the people

on the shore

will not understand,

and all the while,

he is revealing to the disciples

the true meaning.

It is a visual portrayal

of the parable itself

in action,

and begins to provide

our explanation

on the polarizing response

that he is beginning

to receive.

We will see exactly

how this parable

explains the distinction more

as we continue

to our second point,

and that is

the interpretation.

So, we had the first point

talking about the different

types of soil.

Now, we will get

into the interpretation.

Before we do,

let's see how Jesus

interprets the parable.

Starting in verse 18,

he says,

this evil one comes

and snatches away

what has been sown

in his heart.

This is what was sown

along the path.

As for what was sown

on rocky ground,

this is the one

who hears the word

and immediately receives it

with joy,

yet 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.

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.

Before we get

into the interpretation,

I said we would,

but before we get

into that,

first,

notice that Jesus

tells us the seed

is the word of the kingdom.

Mark makes it

even more clear

by telling us

that the seed

that the sower sows

is the word,

and Luke simply says

the seed is the word of God.

This word is the message

about Jesus Christ.

He himself says

in John 5,

you search the scriptures

because you think

that in them

you have eternal life,

and it is they

that bear witness

about me.

So,

the seed is the word

that takes root

in the soil.

The soil are examples

of different types

of hearts.

When talking about

the soil on the path,

Jesus says the evil one

comes and snatches away

what has been sown

in his heart.

The heart seems

to be the place

that the sower

sows the seed.

The sower

is the one

who is spreading

the word of the kingdom

to different types

of people.

In this case,

the primary sower

in our passage

is Jesus himself.

He is the ultimate sower,

and as the word

made flesh,

are the ultimate seed.

Any believer

who sows Christ's word

is doing so

in the sower role

on the Lord's behalf.

There is a sense

that this is a timeless

ongoing action

of sowing and growing

when he uses the phrase

when anyone hears the word.

It implies a sower

and then someone

to hear that.

And this word

of the kingdom

is referring to the time

when Jesus is reigning

as king on the throne,

but his kingdom

not fully realized.

In this parable,

Jesus has revealed

for us

some of the expectation

we should have

about the age

of the church.

So,

with all that in mind,

now let's look at

Jesus' explanation

about the different soils.

And while doing so,

take a moment

to see how we might

apply this teaching

to our lives.

So,

under interpretation,

we have the first type,

and that is the path.

It's going to be very similar

to the previous soils

because they follow

one to one.

So,

the first one

will be the path,

and that's found

in verse 19.

These are those

who hear the word

and do not understand.

There's nothing wrong

with the message.

The seed was not defective

or something like that,

but rather,

the issue is the hardness

of the person's heart.

They are not interested

in anything regarding

the gospel message

or of who God is.

They are the person

who thinks the message

to be foolish,

all the while,

they are the fool

who says in his heart,

there is no God.

The person is prideful,

self-righteous,

and under the impression

that they do not need God.

There's also a quickness

in the word snatch

that Jesus uses

when he says,

the evil one comes

and snatches away

what has been sown

in his heart.

The evil one takes

no chances

and ensures

that there is

zero opportunity

for a root

to even begin

to take root.

This person will surround

him or herself

with teachers

to suit their own passions

and assure themselves

that everything is okay,

that they are an amazing person

and no need for approval

from some God.

They have all they need

right here and now,

be it fame,

money, power,

comfort, praise,

or even a type

of self-righteousness.

Different though

from the thorns,

these vices serve less

as a distraction

and more the main focus.

There's no second thought

about the message at all.

The word is given to them

and it immediately

just bounces off.

The gospel absolutely

has the power to save them,

but their heart is too hard

to acknowledge

their own need

for a savior.

There is a sense

that this person

is unconcerned

because there's nothing

in their minds

to be concerned about.

The question for us is,

do you give up

on this type of person?

I know that I am tempted

to do so,

but the reality is

we are not responsible

for the response

of this person.

We are simply called

to provide a faithful

presentation of the message.

God can soften any heart

regardless of how packed

down and hard

the soil might be.

Our work is to pray

for the Lord

to change their heart

so that they might be able

to hear and understand.

Ezekiel 36, 26 says,

and I will give you

a new heart

and a new spirit

I will put within you

and I will remove

the heart of stone

from your flesh

and give you

a heart of flesh.

And I will put my spirit

within you

and cause you

to walk in my statutes

and be careful

to obey my rules.

It is God

who does this work.

Our next type of soil

that we are going

to interpret is,

as you guessed,

the rocky ground.

This is found

in verses 20 and 21.

The rocky ground

is the person

that has much initial

emotional excitement.

Notice the term

immediately,

it is happening quickly.

And Matthew wants us

to see the speed

at which this person

accepts the message.

This response

often results

in happiness and joy

as they accept it,

as his or her feelings

are changed by the word

at a breakneck speed.

What a difference

from the previous soil, right?

Like, this is great.

But it is short-lived.

They have heard

and even received

but never fully understood.

There is no true

change of heart.

And if we follow

the parable,

it is even worse

than we think,

as the hardness

from the dirt

in the first type

of soil,

is nothing compared

to the hardness

of heart that we find

in the rocky depths

of this ground.

Their heart is as hard

as stone,

with no marks

of true remorse

for sin.

There is no repentance,

no brokenness,

and no humility.

The thing that causes

the person with rocky soil

to fall away,

as Jesus says,

is persecution

and trials.

Just as quickly

as this person accepts,

notice the other

immediately,

so immediately they accept

and immediately

they fall away,

is this persecution.

Anyone who accepts

the word, though,

we're reminded,

is promised this trouble.

Paul reminds us

in 2 Timothy 3,

Indeed,

all who desire

to live a godly life

in Christ Jesus

will be persecuted,

while evil people

and imposters

will go on

from bad to worse,

deceiving

and being deceived.

The problem is that

they have not firmly believed,

and since they have not

firmly believed,

they are not encouraged

by the sanctification

and growth

that comes after persecution.

1 Peter 5 reminds us,

After you have suffered

a little while,

the God of all grace,

who has called you

to his eternal glory

in Christ,

will himself restore,

confirm,

strengthen,

and establish you.

What causes the unbeliever

to fall away

as quickly as they came

is what actually

increases the faith

of a true believer.

This shallow acceptance

that we're talking about

is often the result

of a shallow

gospel presentation

by those that may

let a person know

about the benefits

of salvation,

but fail to talk

about the cost.

They focus on things

like being saved

from hell

or a vague idea

of the love of Jesus,

but no mention

of repenting from sin,

dying to self,

or what Christ's love

has actually accomplished.

In Matthew 16, 24,

Jesus tells us that

if anyone would come

after me,

let him deny himself

and take up his cross

and follow me.

For whoever would lose,

or whoever would save

his life,

he will lose it.

Whoever loses his life

for my sake

will find it.

This is the type of heart

that we're looking for.

John MacArthur

on this type of person

says in his commentary,

he has come to Christ

for what he thought

he would get

in the way of personal benefit,

but when confronted

with the high cost

of salvation,

he will not pay the price.

He's built his religious house

on the sand

of emotional experience,

and when the storms

of affliction

or persecution

beat on his house,

it crumbles

and washes away.

He has the foliage

of a religious experience,

but has no root

in spiritual reality,

and therefore cannot

produce spiritual fruit,

which, as Jesus goes on

to say,

is the only reliable evidence

of true conversion.

Our question for today

is,

does your life show

this evidence of fruit,

or are you simply

writing a religious experience?

If you have no concept

of dealing with your sin

or of having a true desire

to seek after God,

to know him by his word,

then you might know

something about God,

but do not know

the salvation

that this text

is referring to.

Do you perhaps know

others in this situation?

Are you being open

and honest with them

about it?

These interactions

need to be handled

with the utmost love

and care for sure,

but all these conversations

must be guided by truth.

If a life is not

evidenced by fruit

and it is hard

to find genuine faith,

the most unloving thing

that you can do

is allow them

to continue believing a lie.

Brings us to our next

type of soil

that's found in verse 22,

and that is the thorns.

So we're back with the thorns.

This person finds the world

to be more interesting

than the things of God.

Perhaps in the beginning

they grow well

and there's some promise,

but there are weeds

and thorns in the picture

that grow up with the plant.

Think of the man

with many possessions

and so turn back

from following Jesus.

But what started

as a healthy shoot

beginning to rise up

starts to weaken

and they become

more and more consumed

with other things.

Soon enough,

they find that they have

no need for the good word

when they have the world

to fulfill their needs.

All the while,

not knowing,

those needs

will never be filled

by the world

with true satisfaction.

The plant is all but

choked to death.

Their faith fails

because they're caught up

in the care of the world

and the deceitfulness

of riches.

The true difference

between the thorns

and the path

come from that initial response.

While those on the path

don't consider it long enough

to make any difference,

those in the thorns

initially show promise

for however long or short.

Even the rich young man

was willing to follow Christ

until, of course,

he learned

what the cost was.

1 John 2 reminds us,

Do not love the world

or the things in the world.

If anyone loves the world,

the love of the Father

is not in him.

For all that is in the world,

the desires of the flesh

and the desires of the eyes

and pride of life

is not from the Father

but is from the world.

And the world is passing away

along with its desires

but whoever does the will of God

abides forever.

At some point

in the life of a person

who has heard the word,

they will come to a moment

where they discover

that being in the world

and of the world

cannot happen simultaneously.

The person must forsake

one of the two

and prove to be

a true or false disciple.

I want to be careful

and I'm not saying

that this action

is what saves a person

but I am saying

that one who is saved

will prove to be saved

by not being of the world.

This soil can look

a little bit different too.

It can look like

the anxious one

from Matthew 6

asking,

What shall we eat?

What shall we drink?

What shall we wear?

Throw in whatever question

of anxiety in there.

All the while

not remembering

that life is more than food

and the body

more than clothing.

Our Heavenly Father

feeds the birds of the air.

He clothes the grass

of the field

so there is no need

to be anxious about life

and ask such questions.

Our Heavenly Father

knows that we need them all.

Jesus calls us

to do one thing

in verse 33 of chapter 6.

Seek first the kingdom of God

and his righteousness

and all these things

will be added to you.

My encouragement

for this person

is not to give in

to temptation.

Even if what in front of you

might seem good

or be an important thing

to be concerned about

if it pulls you away

from Christ

it is not of the kingdom.

So in the case

of all three previous soils

the path,

the rocks,

and the thorns

the point is

I'm sure that you've seen

is that we see

no fruit.

The parable

gives us

harvest.

In all cases

the seed was not able

to take root,

grow,

or produce.

In other words,

they were not able

to hear,

understand,

and believe.

So,

what would it look like

for a seed

to take root?

Before we look

at what Jesus says,

let's first look

at John 15,

John 15:5

verse 5 says,

I am the vine,

you are the branches.

Whoever abides in me

and I am him,

he it is that bears

much fruit.

For apart from me

you can do nothing.

By this my Father

is glorified,

that you bear much fruit

and so prove

to be my disciples.

In this passage

from John,

not only is there

language of bearing fruit

as being the sign

of true discipleship,

but also the exclusive

nature of the relationship.

There's only those

who abide in Christ.

And who are those

that abide in Christ?

Those whose heart

has received the word

and accepted it.

And what do those

people look like?

Matthew tells us,

starting in verse 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,

and another sixty,

and another thirty.

This is our last type

of soil under interpretation,

and it is the good soil.

The good soil.

All of the other soils

heard the word,

but the difference

in this one

is understanding.

This soil has been

prepared by the Spirit

and therefore able

to receive the word.

And this is not a work

of that person

or the soil.

John 16, 8 says,

and when he comes,

that is the Spirit,

that's what he was

talking about,

he will convict the world

concerning sin

and righteousness

and judgment.

The Spirit is the one

that does this.

It is not because

of anything more amazing

or good that someone

has done to receive

this conviction,

it is simply by grace.

There are those

who have received

the word,

these are the ones

who have received

the word of God

and understood.

They not only know

stuff about God,

the difference,

if you remember,

is not knowledge,

but commitment.

This commitment

produces joy

and that produces

action and that

leads to proclamation.

This is the sign

of a true believer

and what it means

to yield fruit.

In Galatians,

Paul tells us

exactly what this fruit

should look like.

He says,

but the fruit of the Spirit

is what?

Love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

faithfulness,

gentleness,

and self-control.

This fruit leads them

to become sowers as well,

sowing the seed

of the word of God

and inviting others

to true life.

These are those

who respond,

God,

be merciful to me,

a sinner.

See,

Jesus' kingdom came

not through

a conquering king

like Israel expected,

but as a baby

born in a stable.

He came not to be saved

or serve,

but to serve,

to give his life

as a ransom for many.

Jesus Christ served

not only in his long

days of ministry,

pouring out his life

for the disciples

and the people,

but ultimately

by dying on a cross

for us.

You see,

our hardened

or rocky

or choked hearts

are the result

of sin.

We are all sinners

before God

in need of his grace.

We are,

as Paul says in Ephesians,

dead in our trespasses

and sins.

We're following this world

and carrying out

the desires of the flesh

and the mind

and by nature

children of wrath.

This is the state

of all humanity

and this is the unproductive

soil that Jesus

is talking about.

We could not do the work

of becoming good soil

on our own.

It took God himself

through his son

to save us.

Paul continues

in verse 4 of Ephesians 2,

but God,

being rich in mercy

because of the great love

with which he loved us,

even when we were dead

in our trespasses,

made us alive together

with Christ.

It is by grace

you have been saved

through faith.

This is not your own doing,

this is a gift of God,

not a result of work

so that no one

may boast.

Christ is the only one

who can change your heart

and is more than capable

of doing so.

He can change your hard

or rocky

or thorn-infested heart

and cause the seed to grow,

for he is the one

that causes the growth.

He brings forth rain

and created the sun

to rise.

As a believer,

we become his workmanship,

created in Christ Jesus

for good works

which God prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them.

This is good fruit,

works that will ultimately

bring glory to God.

If this is a new word for you,

I would ask that you

turn to Christ

for the salvation

of your soul.

Do not let it bounce off,

but take time

to truly consider

these words

in the cost.

This is also

an encouragement

for Jesus' disciples

and for us.

It would seem

that we may serve

in different measures,

some 100,

some 60,

and some 30,

but it would also seem

that we are called

to be sowers

in some capacity

or another.

Jesus provides

a promise

that through the sowing

that there will be

those who truly believe.

Think about that.

What an encouragement.

He is promising

that those who hear word

will accept it

and believe.

Jesus is promising

that in this age

we will encounter

those who will not

accept the message.

This is for sure.

He is promising

this distinction

and all of the difficulties

with it.

But by promising

that distinction,

he is also promising us

that seed will bear fruit.

He is promising us

that there will be

those who hear,

understand,

commit,

and also join in

proclaiming,

resulting in a great

harvest of faith

through the fruit

of their lives.

Isaiah 55,

Isaiah 55:11

verse 11 says,

For as the rain

and the snow

come down from heaven

and do not return,

there,

but water the earth,

making it bring forth

and sprout,

giving seed to the sower

and bread to the eater,

so shall my word be

that goes out of my mouth.

It shall not reach,

I sent it.

We are not able

to discern exactly

where all the seed

will go.

Only God knows

and changes hearts.

We are able

to be faithful

in proclaiming

to as many

as would hear it.

Jesus does not tell us

that the sower

was selective

with the seed.

Instead,

he distributed

in such a way

that the seed

would fall

on a variety

of different types

of soil.

What you might

perceive as difficult

soil or hard soil

might not be so.

Only God truly

knows a person's heart.

1 Samuel 16

reminds us,

For the Lord sees

not as man sees,

for man looks

on the outward appearance,

but the Lord

looks on the heart.

We are simply

to go as far

and wide as possible,

spreading the good seed

of the kingdom

to all soil.

For us,

we are to pray

that God would give us

the heart to do that

and for the different

types of soil

we encounter.

The Lord is able

to take that hard soil

and till it.

He can remove the stone

that is under the surface

and he can also

weed out the garden.

Our job as a sower

is to be faithful

in the proclamation

of the word,

knowing that it is the Lord

that gives the growth.

1 Corinthians 3.6 says,

I,

this is Paul talking,

planted,

Apollos watered,

but God gave the growth.

I want to end

with a quote

from Spurgeon.

He's talking about

the parable of the sower

in this.

And he says,

The preacher of the gospel

is like the sower.

He does not make his seed.

It is given him

by his divine master.

No man could create

the smallest grain

that ever grew

upon the earth,

much less

the celestial seed

of eternal life.

The minister goes

to his master in secret

and asks him

to teach him the gospel.

And thus he fills his basket

with the good seed

of the kingdom.

He then goes forth

in his master's name

and scatters

precious truth.

If he knew where

the best soil

was to be found,

perhaps he might

limit himself

to that which had been

prepared by the plow

of conviction.

But not knowing

men's hearts,

it is his business

to preach the gospel

to every creature,

to throw a handful

on the hardened heart

and another

on the mind

which has overgrown

the cares and pleasures

of the world.

He has to leave the seed

in the care of the Lord

who gave it to him,

for he is not responsible

for the harvest.

He is only accountable

for the care

and industry

with which he does

his work.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.