Matthew 13:10-17 (Parable of the Sower – Part 1)

For the next two weeks, there's a two-week gap between us ending John's Gospel, just chapter 6, and Advent.

So get excited for that. But in these two weeks, this week and next week, we'll be doing a parables miniseries.

So part one is me, that's this week, and next week is Alex Kohler doing part two.

And if you look at Matthew chapter 13 with me, you see it's the parable of the sower.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

And so the parable of the sower, part one and part two. And Alex is going to actually take the first nine verses.

And then he's going to take the parable of the sower explained, which is after our text this morning, from verses 18 to 23.

But, so it's going to be a sandwich, and you get the meat of the sandwich today. You'll get the bread next week.

So our verses will be 10 through 17.

But before we jump into this, I want you, let's trace some of the points in this text back through scripture.

And so, as an intro, keep your finger here, but turn with me to Deuteronomy.

Deuteronomy 29.

Do that for me.

So here we're looking at Moses.

This is the law, the Torah.

And in here, there's a very significant verse here for our text today.

So if you're looking at Deuteronomy 29, verse 4, Moses writes to Israel,

Deuteronomy 29:4

But to this day, the Lord has not given you a heart to understand, or eyes to see, or ears to hear.

This is somewhat of a curse to Israel here.

And notice there's three organs.

You have the heart.

You have the eyes.

And then you have the ears.

So just keep that in mind as we spend our time this morning in Matthew 13.

Now, one more text, and then we'll jump into the Gospels.

Isaiah 6.

Turn with me there.

Isaiah chapter 6.

Isaiah 6 · chapter mention

If you have heard a sermon on Isaiah 6, you probably have heard it from the first half of that chapter,

because it is the great Isaiah's vision of the Lord.

Remember, there's seraphim.

There's the angels flying around.

There's the throne of God.

And there's the holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts.

The whole earth is full of his glory.

That text.

It's glorious.

It preaches.

But you probably have not heard a sermon on the last half of the chapter.

So from verse 8 on, it says, it's the call of Isaiah.

And I heard the voice of the Lord.

This is verse 8 of Isaiah 6.

And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, whom shall I send?

And who will go for us?

Then I said, here am I.

Send me.

And he said, go and say to this people, keep on hearing, but do not understand.

Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.

Make the heart of this people dull and their ears heavy and blind eyes.

Blind their eyes.

Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their hearts and turn and be healed.

And he goes on.

Now, what's significant about this?

Keep this in mind too.

So you can flip back and you can stay.

Don't worry.

In Matthew chapter 13.

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

Notice the three organs show up again.

And with the New Testament writers, this text of Isaiah, the second portion of Isaiah 6 is quoted three times in the New Testament.

So for the New Testament authors, it was a very important text.

The call of Isaiah and what he is to, was Isaiah to say to Israel.

And if you look in your cross references, there's no quoted text in the first half of chapter 6 of Isaiah.

The one that's most famous.

But it is here in the parable of the sower explained.

The purpose of the parables in chapter 13 of Matthew and at the very end of Acts.

And throughout portions of that show up throughout the New Testament.

So it's very important, this message.

So we have seen Moses.

We have seen Isaiah.

And now we are to Jesus in what Jesus says.

So there's four parts to this message today.

And I say four parts to this text.

And one is a question.

The disciples ask a question.

And then Jesus answers it in three different parts.

So I'll read our text.

Verse 10 of chapter 13 of Matthew.

Then the disciples came and said to him,

Why do you speak to them in parables?

And he answered them,

To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

But to them it has not been given.

For to the one who has, more will be given.

And he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.

This is why I speak to them in parables.

Because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear.

Nor do they understand.

Indeed, in their case, the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says,

You will indeed hear, but never understand.

And you will indeed see, but never perceive.

For this people's heart has grown dull.

And with their eyes they can barely hear.

And with their eyes they have closed.

Lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears.

And understand with their heart.

And turn, and I would heal them.

But blessed are your eyes, for they see.

And your ears, for they hear.

For truly I say to you,

Many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see,

and did not see it.

And to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

Pray with me as we begin to dig into this text.

Father, thank you for giving us this text for us this morning.

And I ask that you would help me to make the text clear.

Make that meaning clear to all those who hear.

And I ask that you would give us ears to hear,

eyes to see, and hearts to understand your message.

Amen.

Amen.

So, why this text, I talked a little bit more about it,

it's important to the New Testament.

Hearts, eyes, ears.

You'll see even more.

It's an important theme throughout Scripture.

And it's pointing to faith, belief, wholehearted trust.

That's what this wholeheartedness, hearts, eyes, ears is pointing to.

You see it from Moses, we've seen, to Isaiah and the prophets,

to Jesus and the Gospels.

So, it's important for us to stop before we take a closer look

at one of Jesus' most famous parables,

the parable of the sower that you probably know,

and pause and take a closer look at what he does in the middle of that parable.

I think it's important for us to do.

And we'll take a closer look at it with Alex next week.

But, also, there's a connection here I don't want you to miss out on.

We had a, I don't know when it was,

but we had a summer sermon series,

wow, three S's,

of the parable,

of parables,

and I chose the parable of the talents,

which is the last parable in Matthew.

And the parable of the talents,

at the very end of that parable,

if you flip there,

if you read it this afternoon,

I encourage you to do that after we take a closer look at this.

He repeats,

word by word,

what he says in this section we're taking,

we're taking a look at this morning.

So, the first parable,

the parable of the sower,

is connected to the last parable in Matthew.

So, there's a connection there.

And I always thought that was,

why is that?

And we'll get into it.

But what he repeats

is verse 12.

For to the one who has,

more will be given,

and he will have an abundance.

But from the one who has not,

even what he has will be taken away.

And that's in the last parable of Matthew.

So, there's a connection there.

That's on purpose.

So, let's dig in.

And let's dig in in verse 10.

So, the first part,

there's a question.

Then the disciples came and said to him,

why do you speak to them in parables?

Genuine question from the disciples.

If you look up in the beginning of chapter 13,

he said,

many parables.

So, this is just the first one that Matthew records.

And then, after,

there's a question that the disciples ask.

Why do you speak to them in parables?

Parables.

So, parables is,

parables,

parable is a Greek word,

and it's parables.

That's where we get the word parables in English.

And it literally means comparison.

And so,

the meaning in the New Testament,

how parables is worked,

is a little elastic here.

It could be proverbial,

like a proverb,

a symbol,

symbolic,

comparison.

But in this text,

in this context we're in,

it's more of a story embodying some truth.

So, there's a story about the sower,

and there's some truth in that.

That's the context here.

And so,

they ask this question,

why this type of way of answering,

or speaking to these people?

He says,

he uses parables on purpose.

And the rest of the text

is Jesus' answer to their question.

So,

second part here,

verse 11.

And he answered them,

and Jesus answered them,

to you,

it has been given

to know

the secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

But to them,

it has not been given.

I hope you see the contrast here.

There's lots of contrasts in this text.

It's you and them.

To you,

it has been given.

But to them,

it has not been given.

So,

what is it?

Well,

it's to know the secrets

of the kingdom of heaven.

You have a middle here.

You have,

on the one hand,

to you,

it has been given.

But to them,

it has not been given.

And in the middle,

the content is what the content is.

So,

let's take that to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven,

but let's work backwards.

So,

let's ask some questions about that line,

but backwards.

So,

first,

kingdom of heaven.

This kingdom of heaven,

close Bible readers,

I'm sure you know,

this is unique to Matthew.

You don't really see it anywhere else.

And kingdom of heaven,

we kind of can just breeze through that quickly,

but it's the heavenly kingdom.

It is from heaven,

it is also heavenly.

Meaning,

there's a kingdom,

and in a kingdom,

someone reigns

in every kingdom.

But,

heavenly kingdom,

kingdom of heaven,

who reigns?

And that is God.

God reigns

in the heavenly kingdom.

So,

we could say,

of the heavenly kingdom.

So,

working our way backwards here,

secrets.

Secrets of the kingdom of heaven.

Now,

it's interesting,

most translations have secrets,

but it's the word

where we get the word

mysteries.

So,

you could easily say,

mysteries.

So,

this idea of mystery

is here.

So,

you could say,

the mysteries of the heavenly kingdom.

But,

here's something you need to

have in mind always.

Our modern notion of mystery

is not what they

intended.

Not what Jesus intended here.

They meant something different.

So,

in our modern context,

just how it has

happened,

mystery has

evolved into

something

completely unknown.

It's something that

close to no one knows

the content of.

That's the modern use.

So,

we can't read that into

when we see mystery

in the New Testament,

especially.

But,

the ancient way,

the Greco-Roman

context,

it was more of,

it was once

concealed,

but is now

revealed.

That's,

that's more of the,

the mystery,

when you see the word

mystery,

here in the Bible,

think that.

Think,

once concealed,

but now has been

revealed.

Very important to

understand that.

So,

I'm going to keep the word

mysteries here,

but have that in mind.

So,

last bit here

is knowledge.

It's to know

the secrets of the

kingdom of heaven.

Knowledge of the

mysteries of the

king,

of the heavenly

kingdom,

is what separates

has been given

and has not been given

to you,

talking to the

disciples,

and to them,

others.

That's what

differentiates

those who have,

have,

and have not.

The next verse

makes clear.

But let's dwell on

the to know.

Knowledge

is also a tricky one

that if you could

just read through it

to know,

but let's,

there,

if you think about it,

there are

multiple ways of

thinking about

knowledge.

There,

and here,

I just want to

highlight two I

think is important

to this text.

It's,

one,

it's a cognitive

knowledge,

meaning you know

of something,

you know it exists.

Doesn't really have

anything bearing on

your life.

But then,

I want to highlight

volitional

knowledge here.

And in the context,

and especially if

scripture generally

and more specifically

here,

knowledge is just

not a flat

I know something,

like,

think cognitive.

But there's also

volitional.

And what I mean by that

is that there is a

desire there

to know,

to know something,

to want to know

someone.

one,

it's not merely

knowing of God,

cognitive,

but a desire

to commit

to God,

volitional.

And this,

we have to be careful

to think about

every word

of the text here.

and I think

there's a lot

here when you

think about

just knowing

about God,

but personally

knowing and

desiring him.

This reminds me

of a sermon

I read in college

by Jonathan Edwards.

And he was not

a Puritan,

but he was

influenced by Puritans.

So,

naturally,

this sermon

that I read

in college

was called,

True Grace

Distinguished

from the Experience

of Devils.

We need

more of those titles.

I don't have a title,

I'm sorry.

I should have thought

about something like that.

But his text,

I remember

where I was,

what time of day

it was,

when I read this sermon.

It affected me

so greatly.

And it's on this

idea of this

knowledge.

And his text

was James

James 2:19

chapter 2,

verse 19.

I'll read it

to you real quick.

His text was

the text that says

in James,

you believe

that God is one,

you do well.

Even the demons

believe

in Shudder.

So,

Jonathan Edwards,

he's living

right before

the revolution,

think First

Great Awakening

in New England,

and he asks

his congregation

a question.

what is the difference

between man

and demons?

What is the difference

between you

and a demon?

And I thought

to myself,

that's a good question.

Because if we're

talking about

one type of knowledge,

they might know

better than I.

knowing about God.

And he teases

this out a little bit,

and he finally

gets to the

end,

and he says,

what demons

have

is a knowledge

of God

that is

cognitive.

cognitive.

They know

things about

God.

But,

what demons

do not have,

he says,

this is what he says,

he says,

they do not have

a,

when looking

upon Christ,

they do not

have a sense

of divine

beauty

when they look

upon Christ.

There is no,

they do not see

beauty

when they look

at Christ.

they feel

dread,

guilt,

hopeless fear.

It's a point,

there are no

atheistic demons.

There's no

agnostic.

It is impossible

because they know

who God is.

But the difference

is,

this volitional

knowledge of God,

this looking

at Christ

and seeing beauty,

and knowing

Christ

and desiring

to submit

and to commit

fully to him

because we see

him as good.

And he goes on,

he says,

this is,

this sense

of divine

beauty

is the first

thing

in the actual

change

made in the

soul

in true

conversion

and is

the foundation

of everything

else belonging

to that

change.

He's saying,

he's talking

about what

is true

conversion?

The foundation

of this

is this

sense

of divine

beauty

when looking

to Christ.

So,

if we ask

ourselves

the same

question,

what do you

see

when looking

at Christ?

do you

have merely

cognitive

knowledge?

Think

cultural

Christianity.

That's what

I'm really

thinking about.

That is not

saving faith.

That is something

that the demons

even have.

But do you

desire

to see

him?

You desire,

when you look

at Christ,

do you see

divine

beauty

in the cross?

All good

questions,

I think,

from this.

And to

know the

secrets

of the

kingdom

of heaven

is at

the center

of this,

of those

who have

it and

those who

do not

have that.

And what

is it?

It's knowledge

of the

mysteries of

the heavenly

kingdom.

Remember,

once concealed,

now revealed

in Christ.

Next verse.

is verse

12.

It goes

further than

this here,

continues on

in the same.

So,

verse 11 and

12 are

connected.

And it

says,

for to the

one who

has,

more will

be given,

and he

will have

an abundance.

But from

the one

who has

not,

even what

he has

will be

taken away.

This is

more of a

proverbial,

like saying

here.

And this

is the

one that's

quoted in

Matthew 25,

29,

the parable

of the

talents.

If you

want to

write that

down and

look at

that later,

Matthew 25,

29.

And I

think he's

using this

the same

way he's

using it

later.

If you

remember,

the parable

of the

talents is

all about

the end

times,

eschatology.

It's an

eschatological

use of

this saying

in that

context.

And I

think he's

doing the

same thing,

actually.

It's not

anything

different.

And notice

there's a

contrast here.

The one

who has

and the

one who

has not.

So,

has or

lacks

what,

we ask.

What is

it that

some have

or have

not?

So,

if we

look above,

we just,

in verse

11,

we saw

that it

was

knowledge.

Verse 13,

it is

understanding.

But,

not quite

there yet.

Let's

take a look

closer at

this verse.

For after,

he says,

for to the

one who

has,

more will

be given.

And he

says,

even further

than that,

and he

will have

an abundance.

And then,

but from

the one

who has

not,

even what

he has

will be

taken

away.

You see,

there's a

parallel for

the one

who has,

but from

the one

who has

not.

And there's

comments on

both.

So,

we could

summarize this

by saying,

knowledge

will beget,

or begotten,

if we're going

to use that

word.

Knowledge

will beget

more knowledge,

understanding,

and end

in blessing.

And that's

why he

goes on.

More will

be given,

and he

will have

an abundance.

Knowledge

will beget

more knowledge.

Conversely,

ignorance

will beget

more

ignorance.

Folly

will beget

more

folly,

and it

will end

in cursings.

And we

can see

this

looking back

to Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 29 · chapter mention

chapter 29.

If you read

that and you

remember,

at the end

of the Torah,

there's

if you

do this,

this will

happen.

If you

don't do

this,

this will

happen.

And he

predicts

everything else.

Moses

writes at

the very

end of

the Torah,

and word

for word,

it is

fulfilled

through

the coming

of Christ.

So,

the question

we have to

ask here,

you're probably

wondering

if I'm

going to

tackle

this.

Why are

there some

who have

and others

that do

not have?

Why is

that the

case?

Why have

and have

not?

It seems

not fair.

And here's

a theological

tension

here,

and let's

call it

divine

sovereignty

and human

responsibility.

Divine

sovereignty

and human

responsibility.

I think

this text

actually

addresses

that very

tension,

if we're

going to

use that

word.

So,

if you

look up

verses

11 and

12,

address

divine

sovereignty.

Verses

13 and

14,

notice that

they are

together,

and notice

that they

are both

acknowledged

and

affirmed.

They are

both

acknowledged

and

affirmed.

And for

Jesus,

we can say

this,

for Jesus,

it is

without

contradiction

that divine

sovereignty

and human

responsibility

can coexist

together

in this,

if we're

going to

say it,

mysterious

way.

And so,

more on

this below.

So,

verse 13

says,

this is

why,

Jesus

speaking

here,

as you

remember,

this is

why I

speak to

them in

parables,

because

seeing

they do

not see

and hearing

they do

not hear,

nor do

they

understand.

Notice

we have

seen

Deuteronomy,

Isaiah,

seeing,

hearing,

understanding.

but this

begins the

section on

human

responsibility,

as you

remember,

and it's

on this

little word,

because.

This is why

I speak to

them in

parables,

because.

This is a

little word

that we can

just read

and glance

through,

but let's

camp out

here.

Let's

think about

this.

The word

because

points to

human

responsibility.

We've seen

divine sovereignty

now we see

human

responsibility.

And it's

because.

But because

seeing they

do not see

and hearing

they do

not hear,

nor do

they understand.

Think about

what's not

there.

It isn't

for,

it's not

since,

it's not

the word

therefore,

nor is it

the word

so that,

but is

specifically

Matthew

through the

Holy Spirit

specifically

chose the

word

because.

And this

word because

places fault

on man's

response.

Not on

God,

but on

man's

response.

One

commentator

I found

this week

says,

unbelief

is rooted

not in

Jesus'

words,

but in

hardened

hearts.

hearts.

And here's

a challenge

that stuck

with me

when I

read it.

If few

are chosen,

it is not

because many

have not

been called.

And this

points us

to the

missionary

call that

Jesus is

pointing to.

So,

verses 14

and 15,

they read,

indeed,

in their

case,

the prophecy

of Isaiah

is fulfilled,

or we could

say completely

fulfilled,

that says,

and this is

Isaiah 6,

9,

and 10,

it's word

for word

from the

Greek

translation,

if you're

wondering why

there's

differences,

it says,

you will

indeed hear,

but never

understand,

and you

will indeed

see,

but never

perceive.

For this

people's

heart has

grown dull,

and with

their ears

they can

barely hear,

and their

eyes they

have closed,

lest they

should see

with their

eyes,

and hear

with their

ears,

and understand

with their

heart,

and turn,

and I

would heal

them.

Notice,

this is,

we could break

this quote,

this direct

quote from

Isaiah into

three parts.

There's a

promise,

there's the

organs we've

seen in

Deuteronomy,

and then

there's another

promise.

The last

corresponds with

the first.

So,

first,

the promise.

Notice,

you will

indeed hear,

but never

understand.

You will

indeed see,

but never

perceive.

This is a

promise of

curse,

a promise

of curse.

He repeats

it twice.

Here,

you will,

but never.

You will,

but never.

Second part

of this,

three parts

in this

quote,

the seeing,

the hearing,

the understanding,

going back to

Deuteronomy,

what Moses

says to

Israel,

ends with

another promise,

but a

different promise,

if you

caught it.

Turn,

and I

would heal

them.

this is a

promise of

hope,

a promise

of hope.

I

would

heal them.

Turn,

and I

would heal

them.

The tense

is future,

and that

points to a

promise,

and that

points to

hope.

Let's

land this

plane.

last part,

verses 16

and 17

here.

Turn,

after

calling

his

heroes to

turn,

that he

would heal

them.

Blessed,

we could say

happy,

or flourishing

even,

going back

to the

beginning of

the Sermon on

the Mount,

or the

Beatitudes,

but blessed

are your

eyes,

for they

see,

and your

ears,

for they

hear.

Notice how

hope-filled

this is.

For truly,

I say to

you,

many prophets

and righteous

people longed

to see what

you see,

and did not

see it,

and to hear

what you

hear,

and did not

hear it.

notice

again,

there is

the seeing

and there's

the hearing.

There's no

heart,

but it

goes back

and connects

this to

verse 9

of chapter

13.

He who

has ears,

let him

hear.

Going back,

connecting

that.

So,

if we're

going to

ask a

question,

what is

it?

You did

not,

to see what

you see,

and did

not see

it,

and to

hear what

you hear,

and did

not hear

it.

What is

the it?

This is

the answer

that Jesus

provides to

his disciples

about why

parables.

They point,

the parables

point,

to the

eschatological

revelation

of God

through Christ

himself.

Remember that

word mystery

or secret.

It was

concealed.

but has

been now

revealed.

And I'm

ripping off

an Augustine

quote that

he said,

the Old

Testament was

Christ

concealed,

the New

Testament

is Christ

revealed.

And that's

what the

focus here

that Jesus

is pointing

to is

God's

gracious

gift

of this

knowledge.

It's not

only a

gift,

but it

is a

call to

action.

So,

if we

say,

why

secret?

Why

speak in

parables?

The

mission of

the

disciples,

those who

have,

and indeed,

if you can

say that you

are in

Christ,

you are

in this

category,

the mission

of those

who have

is to

share

through

proclamation.

We are

to

proclaim

this

knowledge,

true

knowledge,

cognitive

and

volitional

knowledge

of Christ.

and this

is connected

if we

turn

later in

Matthew

Matthew 17:9

17,

verse 9,

I'll read

it to

you.

This is,

they're

coming down

from the

mountain

from the

transfiguration.

This is

what

Jesus said,

and as

they were

coming down

the

mountain,

Jesus

commanded

them,

tell no

one the

vision of

the

transfiguration,

revealing

himself,

until the

Son of

Man is

raised from

the dead.

Tell no

one the

negative.

But,

remember,

how does

Matthew

end?

before I

read that,

Jesus uses

Isaiah's

call to

call the

nations.

Don't miss

that.

Jesus uses

Isaiah's

call to

Israel to

call the

nations.

Now,

no longer

only Israel,

but now to

the ends

of the

earth.

Think

Acts chapter

Acts 1 · chapter mention

1.

And,

thinking about

tell no

one the

vision,

until the

Son of

Man is

raised from

the dead.

Until the

Son of

Man is

raised from

the dead.

I'll end

how Matthew

ends his

gospel.

The Great

Commission.

Now,

the eleven

disciples went

to Galilee,

to the

mountain to

which Jesus

had directed

them.

And,

when they

saw him,

they worshipped

him.

But,

some doubted.

And,

Jesus came

and said

to them,

All authority

in heaven,

heavenly kingdom,

and on earth

has been given

to me.

Go,

therefore,

and make

disciples of

all nations,

baptizing them

in the name

of the Father

and of the Son

and of the Holy

Spirit,

teaching them

to observe

all that I

have commanded

you.

and behold,

I am with

you always

to the end

of the age.

Let us go

with joy

and thankfulness

and do

likewise

for the glory

of God

and for the glory

of God

alone.

Pray with me.

as