The Book of Matthew • Matthew 13

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Good morning.

It is so good to have you guys here.

If you have your Bible, and I hope you do, I want to invite you to join us in Matthew

Matthew 13 · chapter mention

chapter 13, which is where we will be today.

In just a moment, we will get there.

A couple things that I want to emphasize, maybe give you guys some updates on.

I want to echo what Pastor Dave said about our Sunday nights in August.

Really want to encourage you to be there.

They're going to be a little bit different than how we've done them before.

You can see on here, it's got the menu.

It's got everything, it's got the time.

Five o'clock, we'll be back here.

I want to kind of explain a little bit of how the night is going to work.

Number one, this is an event, this is a gathering time for those of all ages.

And so, we want you to bring your family.

We'll gather together.

We'll have a meal together.

And then after the meal time is over with, one of the things that's been kind of neat in

our senior adult luncheons is a few weeks ago, I guess a few months ago now, Micah Hood

came to talk about going on mission and what that looked like.

And me and Micah just sat there on the stage and kind of had a conversation, a little interview

back and forth.

And got a lot of feedback about how people enjoyed that in there.

And so, that's what we're going to have here on the stage.

We're going to talk each night about an aspect of living out our faith that if we're being

open and honest with each other can be difficult and hard to do in that initial faith step.

But when you do it, you see how God responds in faithfulness over and over and over again.

So, I'm going to have some people up here on stage that are walking in that road right

now and we're going to talk to them about what that looks like in their life.

And hopefully, that'll be encouraging for you to take that step if you haven't as well.

Then after the interview is over with, the kids will dismiss.

Aaron and I will take the elementary age kids and go do some fun activities with them.

And then Dawn has got coordinated for the younger ones and we'll have things taken care of for

them.

And then you guys will have an opportunity to sit around the table and we'll have a few

questions for you guys to discuss right there about what we have talked about from that morning

and from that evening.

And then the night will end in a very spirit-filled way as we will partake in desserts together.

All right.

And so, if you're curious, will the kids be in here for desserts?

Yes, they will because I will be with the kids and I want to be in here for the banana

pudding.

All right.

So, we want you to come and we want you to be a part of that.

Well, as you guys know, I wasn't here last week.

I want to thank Josh for preaching last week.

We had Black Mountain Week.

I think there were 60 middle school, high school, and adults who journeyed up there.

And Aaron and I had the wonderful privilege to be a part of that team and to go up there

and to serve.

It was wonderful.

It was a great week.

It was filled with games.

It was filled with laughter.

It was filled with tubing down a river.

But it was also filled with worship services and word from God's word.

And your kids and your adults worked so, so hard.

As you, I was part of a team that worked in the kitchen.

But the rest of them went out there.

They painted.

They stained.

They cut down trees.

They weed-eated.

They ran weed eaters.

They cleaned.

They deep-cleaned, folks.

So, moms and dads, when you're like, why is your room so dirty?

We need you to do like you did in Black Mountain, all right?

They can go up there.

They can get that done.

They organized things.

Just a wonderful, wonderful, absolutely exhausting week.

Yesterday, Aaron fixed us a wonderful dinner of stuffed peppers.

And it was ready about 5.30.

And we went and we ate dinner together.

And when we were done, I looked and said, and now I am heading to bed.

And at 6 o'clock, I tucked myself in.

And I went to sleep.

About 8.30, woke up with two extremely difficult, hard, painful leg cramps.

So, I sent Emma a text message, because, I mean, it's 2026, right?

I was like, hey, could you bring your dad a banana and some water?

So, she responded.

She brought him up there.

And, guys, she looks at me.

I don't know if you tell.

I've got, like, some allergy stuff that's going on.

I'd been in bed early, and now there's theirs.

She looked at me.

She's like, she parented me.

She said, how much water did you drink this week?

Not a lot, sweetie.

Not a lot at all.

And then she looked at me, and she said, do you think you're going to be able to preach tomorrow?

I was like, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Yeah, we can.

We'll get through this.

Power of the Holy Spirit and sleep.

So, there we go.

But, yeah, so, great week.

Great week.

Thank you guys for being a church that sends.

Thank you for being a church that funds.

Thank you for being a church that disciples.

And I want to thank, you know, publicly also Joel Van Ham for the time and the effort and the energy that he puts into 52 weeks out of the year with pouring and investing into these students.

And we don't have to look to the church of tomorrow to see that it's in good hands.

We can look at the church today and see these young people who are discipling others and investing in others and on mission for others.

And it's just wonderful to see all that God is doing in their life.

So, thank you for allowing us to be a part of that.

And Aaron and I love being a part.

And even though it was our kids, Emma and Grayson's last one as seniors, we hopefully, we pray that they'll keep us around for a few more years to do some cooking.

All right.

We are in Matthew 13 as we continue on in our study of Matthew.

Now, I'm going to give some academic pieces for this section to help us understand what God is teaching and what Jesus is doing here in Matthew 13.

Matthew 13 starts the third of Jesus' major teaching sessions that we see in the Gospel of Matthew.

Now, chronologically, what we find in Matthew 13, most scholars believe, is about 18 months or halfway through Jesus' public ministry.

So, this is, as scholars kind of look through, it's a point for them to look and see.

As Jesus is working toward the work that he will do on the cross, that this is that halfway point, this is that halfway mark in Jesus' public ministry.

Now, as you read through, and we've been doing this together, right?

We haven't looked at every section in Matthew, but most of them in Matthew.

And what you notice is that people have flocked to Jesus.

There are people who have flocked to Jesus, who have followed Jesus, who have put their faith, their hope, their trust in him, that have taken on his teaching, like we heard a couple weeks ago, right?

Like they're experiencing that yoke that he offers, the rest that he and he alone can offer.

But then there are some who are flocking to Jesus, right, because they kind of view him as this circus sideshow who can do some really cool things.

And then there are those who are flocking to Jesus, because they've heard the things he's teaching, and it's different.

So, they're curious, or they're skeptical, or they're flat out enraged that he would say the things that he's saying.

So, what we find is people are flocking to Jesus, and then a majority of them are returning right back where they came, both physically and spiritually.

That they've had a physical encounter with Jesus, but their hearts have not encountered Jesus.

And so, they come one way, and they leave again.

We've seen already in Matthew chapter 12, I think it's in verse 14, where because of the teachings and because of the things that Jesus is seeing,

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

there's even the religious elites who have been praying for and waiting for the Messiah.

But even though he is here, they have rejected him and even are planning on how they can kill him.

And this is where we find in Jesus' halfway point in ministry.

So, in Matthew 13, Jesus begins to teach, and he's going to teach in this third section, his third major block of teaching that we see in the life of Christ.

He's going to teach, but he's going to do so through the forms and through the means of parables.

Now, I want us to understand what a parable is.

A parable is a practical story, oftentimes framed in a simile that is going to illustrate a spiritual truth.

And this is what Jesus is going to do.

Now, there can be difficulty in interpreting and understanding parables, especially for audiences today.

So, kind of three quick things.

This is really good.

If you want to jot those down, it's going to help us track through as we see not just the parables this morning,

but it'll help you in parables as you read them in the future.

So, how are we, or how do we understand, how should we read and study parables?

The first thing we should do is this, is we should listen from the original hearer's perspective.

We should listen from the original hearer's perspective, right?

Jesus is not in Lexington in 2026 speaking to a bunch of people like you and like me.

What we see is we see Jesus speaking in a context of first century Roman occupied Jewish people

who feel beaten down and feel oppressed.

They're largely rural and largely agricultural in their setting.

These are people who believe that they are part of the kingdom of God,

regardless if they are a follower of Jesus or not.

This is the audience that Jesus is teaching.

This will largely be the audience that Jesus performs the miracles.

The second thing, not only should we listen from the original hearer's perspective,

but we should look for the main point.

We should look for the main point.

Jesus will tell stories to teach spiritual truths.

Jesus is teaching in a figurative way and not in a literal way.

The danger that you and I can have as we read through these

is we can try to make everything a point

instead of trying to figure out what is the main point.

What is Jesus trying to communicate to this audience?

So once we look and we see and we understand and we're listening from the context of the original hearer,

once we look for the main point of what Jesus is driving toward in that setting,

then it is the responsibility of you and I through the power of the Holy Spirit

to let that truth change our perception.

Maybe it's a teaching of Christ, about Christ.

Maybe it's a teaching about us.

Maybe it's a teaching about the world.

Maybe it's a teaching about sin.

Maybe it's a teaching about the gospel.

Maybe it's a teaching like we'll find this morning overall about the kingdom of heaven.

And then we apply this.

Now there's an interesting little dialogue that happens.

That why does Jesus do this this way?

Like why not just come out and say what it means?

Why not just come out and say and be very direct?

Why use parables in this manner?

I want you to look back, look at Matthew 13.

We're going to start here in verse 10.

It says,

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.

In 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.

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 been 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,

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

long to see what you see,

and did not see it,

and to hear what you hear,

and did not hear it.

So what we find here

is that there's the purpose,

and there's a reason

for why Jesus

is even teaching

in the way that he does.

He says that in the teaching

that there's two groups of people.

There are a group of people

who are going to get it.

There are a group of people

who aren't.

And this comes back to

not intellect.

This is going to come back

not to training.

This is going to come back

not to education,

but that what we see in this

is the work and the move of God.

And so that when we look

at the parables,

what we see in the parables

woven through each

and every one of them,

whether it's a one-verse parable

or a full-chapter parable

that we find in our Bible,

there's evidence of God's mercy.

That in our simplicity

and the plainness of who we are,

that there are secrets

of the kingdom

and that God delivers them over to us

and we can hear them

and we can trust them

and we can believe them

and we can know them.

And so as a result,

that within this,

there's a stirring up

that we know

that this isn't from me,

that this is from God.

And we praise God.

Folks, that when we look

at God's word,

that it's not an interaction

of intellect.

It's an interaction

of the spirit of God

with the heart of man.

And that you and I

praise the Lord,

look at these words

and they're not dead,

but they're alive.

Because we're alive in God.

Alive in Christ.

But then the second part of that,

the second part is that

there's evidence

of God's judgment.

And folks,

we will see this

this morning clearly.

Folks,

Jesus is not passive.

Jesus draws hard lines.

Jesus says that there are those

who cannot hear.

There are those

who cannot see.

There are those

who cannot accept.

There are those

who cannot trust.

And we can't explain it

to the heart.

And that's

what Jesus

is about.

That's what Jesus

is about.

So this morning,

we're going to look

at two

different parables

that Jesus

tells

in this

setting.

Both of these

parables

dealing

with the kingdom

and the kingdom

of God.

The rule

and reign

of Christ.

The rule

and reign

of Christ

that he

in this setting

that he is here

and the kingdom

is advancing

and you and I

live in the world

today

that our king

has come

our king

has gone

the kingdom

is advancing

but that the second

part of the kingdom

of what we will see

is that the king

will return

and when the king

returns

the kingdom

is complete.

And so you and I

live

in the advancing

part of that.

So Jesus

is going to teach

these parables

to a group

where what

he is pursuing

after

is not

an explanation

of the mind

but a change

of the heart.

So let's look at

the first one.

Jump back

with me.

Matthew 13

Matthew 13:3

verse 3

with the parable

of the sower.

It says,

And he told them

many things

in parables

saying a sower

went out to sow

and as he sowed

some seeds

fell along the path

and the birds

came and

devoured them.

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

but when the sun

rose

they were

scorched

and since they

had no root

they withered

away.

Other seeds

Jesus says

fell among

the thorns

and the thorns

grew up

and choked

them.

The other seeds

fell on good

soil

and produced

grain

some

a hundredfold

some sixty

some thirty

he

who has

ears

let him

hear.

So some things

about this

we've got

four main

aspects

that you and I

need to see

four main

characters

of what we're

going to find

in the parable

of the sower.

The first

is the

sower

so let's

identify

who is

the

sower.

You and I

often times

when we read

this and we

begin to think

through this

we can have

a tendency

I know

that I

have before

to put us

at the center

of this

and that we

are the

sower

and that this

is a call

to missions

and I'm not

going to say

that we can't

look at this

and apply

this

but what we

see is the

sower

and Jesus

is the

sower

of all

that he's

talked about

of all

that he's

pointed

through

of all

that we're

going to

find

that we're

going to

see

as he

shares

the gospel

in the

context

we find

Jesus

himself

is the

sower

so you

ask them

well what

about us

well that's

fine

we are

we can

go

and do

the work

that the

sower

has called

us to

do

as

ambassadors

is what

the Bible

calls us

and as

ambassadors

go

right

we are

to

carry

from the

king

who has

sent

us

so as

we

sow

seed

where

God

has

called

and God

has placed

us

and this

is important

that we

are sowing

the seed

as the

reflection

of the

one

who's

saved

us

who's

called

us

who's

sent

us

why does

that matter

because it's

not the

work that

I do

it's the

work that

Jesus

does

through

me

and so

we see

that

Jesus

is

the

sower

the

second

thing

in this

that we

see

is that

the

seed

is the

gospel

message

the

seed

is the

gospel

message

it's

not

works

it's

not

behaviors

it's

not

religious

attitudes

it's

not

a

government

it's

not

a

mindset

it's

not

a

mind

shift

it's

not

positive

vibes

it's

not

good

works

it's

not

any

of

things

that

we

want

to

label

that

we can

go

to

do

to

impact

the

world

around

us

the

seed

is

the

gospel

message

so

the

sower

is

speaking

of

the

importance

of

taking

the

seed

Jesus

says

here's

how

the

gospel

message

is

going

to

go

we

are

going

to

go

Jesus

says

we're

going

to

carry

the

gospel

message

when

the

seed

is

going

to

fall

onto

the

soil

during

that

day

as

the

farmer

would

have

gone

and

scattered

the

seed

he

would

have

done

so

in

a

manner

like

this

when

my

wife

goes

out

and

she

plants

green

beans

in

the

yard

right

she

goes

out

into

our

neat

little

beds

that

we

built

and

that

we've

constructed

and

that

we've

nourished

over

years

because

all

we

have

is

sand

and

so

we've

got

some

good

fertile

black

it

up

and

then

she

drops

another

seed

and

covers

it

up

and

she

drops

another

seed

and

covers

it

up

and

that

works

really

good

when

you're

trying

to

plant

20

green

bean

plants

but

when

you've

got

several

acres

of

wheat

field

the

sower

goes

reaches

into

the

bag

some

seed

falls

as

he

goes

and

he

scatters

and

he

scatters

and

he

scatters

and

he

scatters

and

it's

a

beautiful

picture

of

the

measure

to

which

we

carry

the

gospel

it's

the

ministry

that

Jesus

has

been

doing

Jesus

walks

in

town

after

town

after

town

interaction

after

interaction

grab

it

in

scoop

and

grab

it

in

scoop

and

grab

it

and

scoop

it

the

beautiful

wonderful

life

giving

message

of

the

gospel

but

then

there's

four

soils

there's

four

soils

and

it's

important

for us

as we

get

through

this

remember

this

isn't

an

intellectual

debate

that we're

getting

into

this

is

dealing

with

the

sinful

condition

of

the

human

heart

and

so

the

soil

the

soil

is

the

human

heart

and

here's

what

is

important

about

this

we

live

in a

world

you and

I

live in

a

culture

that is

getting

more

and more

godless

by the

day

we

lived

at

one

point

in

time

where

we

were the

predominant

culture

in

the

United

States

and

that's

not

the

case

any

longer

when

we

went

up

to

the

mission

trip

for

the

high

schoolers

it

was

remarkable

there

were

these

people

and

it was

very

evident

that

they

were

Asian

and

I

had

an

opportunity

to

have

a

conversation

with

one

of

them

and

asking

them

what

they

were

doing

because

they

were

standing

out

having

conversations

with

people

and

that

New

Yorkers

are

New

Yorkers

and

do

New

Yorker

things

right

and

so

we

see

people

pulling

people

aside

and

having

conversations

with

them

anyway

come

to

find

out

they

were

South

Koreans

who

had

come

to

the

U.S.

on

a

mission

trip

to

share

the

gospel

right

so

America

as we

think

of

ourselves

in

the

Christian

context

of

sending

missionaries

and

sending

missionaries

and

sending

missionaries

that

there's

churches

all

over

the

world

who

probably

see

our

culture

more

realistic

than

the way

you

and I

want

to

see

it

Jesus

in

here

the

importance

for

us

of

what

we

have

to

hold

on

to

of

what

we

have

to

cling

to

when

dangerous

words

like

relevant

begin

to

be

thrown

around

as

the

ultimate

standard

is

that

we

have

to

understand

that

the

sower

and

the

seed

cannot

change

the

problem

in this

parable

is not

the

sower

the

problem

in this

parable

is not

the

seed

the

problem

in

this

parable

is

the

soil

the

problem

in

this

world

is

the

heart

of

man

and

so

Jesus

describes

Jesus

describes

four

soils

four soils

that would

have been

common

that people

would have

understand

they reached

in and

grabbed

down

and

scooped

and

scattered

would have

been

the

common

acceptance

rate

of growth

of a

crop

in that

area

he says

some of

it

fell along

the path

the hard

path

the path

that would

be worn

down

and beat

down

as you

walked

over

and over

and over

again

through the

rows

as you

scattered

the path

on the

sides

where people

would use

to pass

by

and this

path

is the

hard

heart

folks

what we

see

in

scripture

we should

take this

as a

warning

we should

take this

as a

warning

for

ourselves

and for

where we

live

and the

people

around

us

that the

hardening

of the

heart

is real

the

hardening

of the

heart

is real

that there

are people

no matter

how persuasive

you and

I

try to

be

that there

are people

no matter

how

influential

we try

to be

that there

will be

people

no matter

how

sacrificial

that we

try to

be

that they've

given

in to

a hardening

of their

heart

and the

seed

of the

gospel

will not

penetrate

and will

not take

root

what we see

from this

is what

Jesus

will tell

his disciples

in the

explanation

of this

is that

the birds

that come

and pick

that seed

up

that's

like

Satan

who

comes

and who

picks

it up

the

spiritual

warfare

and the

spiritual

work

that's

happening

here

we see

the hard

heart

but then

we also

see the

superficial

heart

the rocky

soil

heart

the

superficial

heart

it's the

immature

the

lacking

of

depth

the

commentator

that I

read

yesterday

about this

referred to

this as

the easy

believism

mindset

it's a

heart

that's

there

for the

good

time

it's a

heart

that's

there

for the

emotional

time

but that

within

there

is no

depth

of

relationship

no

true

life

change

that

has

happened

and with

that

is a

heart

with no

endurance

when it

comes

to the

difficult

times

that will

be in

this

world

and so

people

will

come

Jesus

says

people

will

respond

and then

when the

heat

begins

to be

turned

up

just a

little

they'll

all

scatter

away

that's

not a

failure

of the

church

if it

were a

failure

of the

church

it would

be a

failure

of

Jesus

but it's

the reality

of what

will happen

and take

place

the

fourth

that we

see

is the

divided

heart

the

divided

heart

the

thorny

soil

that while

this

heart

says

it wants

one

thing

it's

consumed

by the

ways

of the

world

and then

over time

the plant

that once

began to

grow

will be

choked

out

not

immediately

but

eventually

well it

will see

it's a

heart

that gives

in to

the

idols

and the

pursuits

it's

the heart

that says

it's not

just

Jesus

and with

him

is my

life

with him

is my

hope

with him

is my

future

that I

find

my

satisfaction

I find

my joy

I find

my purpose

in him

and him

alone

but it's

the heart

that tries

to allow

everything

else

to mesh

and come

together

and Jesus

says

that in

that heart

that there's

no growth

there's no

sustainability

and so

then Jesus

talks about

the fruitful

heart

the fruitful

heart

the good

soil

the good

soil

here's

what's

remarkable

about the

seed

that is

planted

in the

good soil

the seed

that's

planted

in good

soil

will

always

always

produce

fruit

Jesus

says

sometimes

it's

a hundred

fold

sometimes

it's

60

sometimes

it's

30

the fruit

based off

of the

season

of life

sometimes

may

increase

sometimes

we may

see

less

but that

there's

evidence

of the

working

of the

hand

of God

in the

heart

of that

individual

so Jesus

says

there's

these

four

soils

folks

the

hard

heart

doesn't

need

logic

and

reason

the

hard

heart

needs

Jesus

the

superficial

heart

doesn't

just need

more

encouragement

and a

step of

growth

the

superficial

heart

needs

Jesus

the

divided

heart

doesn't

need

a new

spreadsheet

with new

sets of

priorities

the

hard

heart

needs

Jesus

folks

the

question

I have

for you

Jesus

stands

here

and tells

this

parable

to a

group

of

people

who

believe

that

they

are a

part

of the

kingdom

of God

the

question

I have

for you

this

morning

is

which

soil

are you

which

soil

are you

is

your

heart

hardened

and you're

here

for the

appeasement

of those

around you

folks

just

turn to

Jesus

is

is your

heart

superficial

lacking

of depth

easy

believism

like man

God

I will

follow

you

as long

as you're

doing all

the things

that I

need

and you're

giving me

all that I

want

and all

that I

desire

and as

long as

life is

good

then praise

God

sign me

up

for

another

but the

moment

that life

begins

to be

difficult

you begin

to feel

that you

disengage

you don't

just need

things to

start going

well

folks

you need

Jesus

is your

heart

divided

and you've

got a lot

of categories

of priorities

in your

life

and in

the calendar

that is

your world

Jesus

finds his

spot

folks

you don't

need better

time management

you need

Jesus

are you

seeing

the fruit

of the work

of Christ

in

your

life

drop down

with me

to verse

24

parable

of the

sower

more

more

common

more

known

but now

we see

the parable

of the

weeds

a

warning

the

Bible

says

that he

put another

parable

before them

saying

the kingdom

of heaven

may be

compared

to a

man

who

sowed

good

seed

in his

field

but while

his men

were

sleeping

his

enemy

came

and

sowed

weeds

among

the

wheat

and

went

away

so

when

the

plants

came

up

and

bore

grain

then

the

weeds

appeared

also

and

the

servants

of the

master

of the

house

came

and

said

to

him

master

did

you

not

sow

good

seed

in

your

field

how

then

does

it

have

weeds

and

he

said

to

them

an

enemy

has

done

this

so

the

servants

said

to

him

then

do

you

want

us

to

go

and

gather

them

but

he

said

no

lest

in

gathering

the

weeds

you

root