August 13, 2011

What Kind of Soil Are You?

8th Sunday after Pentecost, 8/7/11
Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23


What Kind of Soil Are You?


People tend to categorize things and other people. Manufacturers will categorize their own product line as “good, better and best.” Retailers will inform you that, of all the choices they offer you, this one particular item is categorized as the best value. We also categorize things such as sports teams and musical groups from worst to best.

We even do it with individuals. As open-minded as we try to be with others, as accepting as we may think we are, as non-judgmental as we try to be, we have a natural inclination to gently or not-so-gently place that person in a certain category, especially after we have come to know them. We do it with our fellow-employees, with our business and social contacts, with our neighbors, and even with our fellow-members here at church. And I’m not saying that this is a sinful activity which we should avoid. I’m simply saying that’s the way we operate. We place this person here and that person there and this other person over there in the grand assessments we inevitably make of others.

This morning we have before us what is likely the most well-known of all the parables that Jesus spoke—the Parable of the Sower. That’s the title of it here in our version of the Bible. That title isn’t in the original Greek. Others have referred to it as the Parable of the Sower and the Seed. In it, Jesus categorizes the soil into four different types and then explains each type. Have you ever asked yourself why he would do that? After all, Jesus did everything for a reason. And while Jesus doesn’t explicitly tell us why, a hint is given to us here in Matthew’s Gospel.

That hint is found in the context. The first three words of our text tell us, “That same day.” What same day? The one treated in the previous chapter. On that day Jesus had healed a man who was demon-possessed. The reaction to this miracle by the Pharisees was that he did this miracle by the power of Satan. Jesus pointed out how foolish and ridiculous such a statement was. The Pharisees and teachers of the law then asked Jesus for a miraculous sign from him, one from the heavens, proving that he had come from heaven and not from hell. Jesus told them they would be given the sign of the prophet Jonah, meaning, they should watch for his resurrection from the dead after three days. Jesus was astounded at their hard hearts.

And then came what was likely the most difficult situation Jesus had yet faced. His mother and brothers stood outside the home where Jesus was speaking to a crowd of people and wanted to speak with him. About what? Mark informs us that they considered Jesus to be out of his mind and wanted to get him the help that he needed. In other words, at this point they didn’t at all support Jesus and his ministry. They opposed what he was preaching and teaching about himself. Jesus must have been crushed. This was the response his word was receiving! This was the kind of soil his seed was falling on!

And so, with a large crowd of people standing on the shore, Jesus got into a boat, sat down and said, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.” In Bible times, farmers didn’t carefully place one seed after another into the soil and then cover it as you and I might do in our vegetable gardens today. That took too much time. They simply reached into a bag, grabbed a handful of seed and scattered it about them. And in Bible times, it was common for footpaths and animal paths to cut right through a particular field. As he scattered the seed, some inadvertently fell on that path where the ground was too hard for the seed to fall into the soil. That’s exactly what the birds were waiting for. They quickly came and ate it.

Jesus explains, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart.” He doesn’t understand it. Why not? Not for lack of teaching, but for the individual’s refusal to acknowledge its truth. All this talk about sin and its punishment and God and his grace in sending a Savior from sin seems like utter nonsense. The person refuses to acknowledge their sin or their need for such a Savior, perhaps even refusing to acknowledge the existence of the one true God himself. Satan has won this heart with his lies, and, in keeping with his hellish work, he takes the truth of that word away.

Jesus continues with the parable, “Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.” Don’t think here of soil with a few stones in it such as is common here in our area of the country. Think of a shelf of rock or a field with an out-cropping of rock. Such rock might have a thin layer of soil on it and some vegetation might be able to grow there. When the seed falls there, it germinates and a plant grows, but not for long. When the dry weather and the hot, summer sun come along, the plant dies because its roots have been unable to sink down deeply into the soil.

Listen to Jesus explain this type of soil. “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.” This person is overjoyed to hear the message of forgiveness through Jesus. But they haven’t considered the cost of being a disciple of Jesus and when things get rough, they fall away.

Jesus moves on to yet a third situation. “Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants.” With any plot of ground weeds are inevitable. They grow up along with the desired plants. And, unless removed, hinder the growth of the desired plants, and, in this case, actually choked the plant. The weeds grew over the top of the plants, preventing the plants from receiving proper sun and water. In the course of time, the plants died.

Jesus explains this situation which, tragically, is all too common. “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.” The weeds that choke the plant are the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth. In other words, the things of this life and the other pursuits this life has to offer, make the word of God seem less and less important to the Christian, until, slowly and imperceptibly, their faith in Jesus is dead. They no longer make the effort to hear the word, receive the Lord’s Supper or study God’s word on their own and their faith in Jesus withers away. How tragic!

But finally, some good news! Jesus makes mention of the situation we all hope for and look for. “Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” This is exactly what the sower intended when he scattered the seed. The seed found good soil where it was able to take root deeply and received nutrients from the soil and rain and sunshine from the sky. The plant grew as God had created it to grow. It produced fruit for the sower to harvest when ripe and to enjoy as food for himself and his family.

Jesus explains what is obvious to us, “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” By the grace of God this person believes the truth of that word regarding his or her sins and the punishment those sins deserve. They also believe in God’s plan of salvation through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. That faith in Jesus saves them and produces fruit in their life as they live their life of faith. They continue to hear that word and, thus, remain in their faith until Jesus calls them home to heaven.

Jesus concludes, “He who has ears, let him hear.”

Jesus has presented us with four types, four categories, of soil. But the parable isn’t about the soil. Let me repeat that. The parable isn’t about the soil. It’s about the powerful word of God. That word has the power to create and sustain saving faith in every heart. That’s also God’s highest will for every sinner—that he or she believes what his word says about Jesus as their Savior.

But we still want to categorize things. We still want to place this person here and that person there. In fact, with a little thinking, we know people who are like the hard soil of the path. We know others who were Christians for a short time but fell away. We know others who had saving faith for some time but then lost it because they let the things of this life choke their faith out. And, thankfully, as we look around this morning, we know others like ourselves who are “good soil.”

Really? Good soil? Is that the category we place ourselves in? Wouldn’t it be more accurate to say that there have been times in our lives when we have been every one of these types of soil? Have we ever said, “I know that’s what the Bible says, but I don’t believe it”? Or, “I know that’s what the Bible says, but I’m going to do this anyway”? That’s hard soil. And how many times have we concluded that being a Christian is too difficult in this particular area at this particular moment of my life? That’s rocky soil. Be careful. And has anything ever been more important to you at a particular moment than hearing God’s word or receiving his Supper? That’s thorny soil. Be careful. So, what type of soil are you?

Thankfully, the parable isn’t about the types of soil. It’s about the powerful, gracious word of our God which forgives you through Jesus and offers you eternal life with him. Praise God that he has worked saving faith in your heart! Pray that he would ever keep you in that faith through his word. And then cherish that word! Make it your greatest treasure. Gladly hear and learn it! Share it with others! Amen.

Accept the Realities of the Church in the World!

9th Sunday after Pentecost, 8/14/11


Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43

Accept the Realities of the Church in the World!
I. It’s a church under attack.
II. It’s a church victorious.


I don’t read books to small children anymore, so I don’t know if they still end with the sentence, “And they all lived happily ever after.” I suppose that, even if they don’t end with those words exactly, similar words are used or at least that’s the strong impression given. That’s because every one of us—adults included—want to live happy lives here on earth. We realize that we will encounter problems along the way, but, like a good children’s story, we want those problems solved rather quickly with all loose ends tied up neatly before too many pages pass in our lives.

And why shouldn’t it be that way? After all, our God wants us to live happy lives, doesn’t he? Surely he does!

So, you would figure that the one place we would find that to be true would be in the Church. By Church I don’t mean this building. I mean Church in the sense of God’s kingdom here on earth. His believers. Christians. If God’s greatest blessings reside in his Church (and they certainly do), then we should be happiest in the Church, shouldn’t we?

In a way, yes. Indeed here in the Church we enjoy the blessings of forgiveness and eternal life, among so many others. These blessings fill our hearts with joy. But don’t think that being in the Church means the end of all troubles. In fact, being in the Church brings on trouble.

Jesus speaks about that very thing today in the Parable of the Weeds. Perhaps you grew up calling this the Parable of the Wheat and the Tares. In it, Jesus paints a picture of the realities of the Church in the world. May the Holy Spirit cause us to accept those realities as we ponder the truths of this parable.

Part I.

If you browse through a Christian bookstore, you’re likely to find any number of books on how to be happy in a certain aspect of your life. Let me state clearly that I fully support your happiness in your marriage or family life, in your social or business life. And I suppose that these books may have plenty of worthwhile advice for you. But realize that underneath many of these books, there is what’s called the Theology of Glory. It’s the false teaching that, if you live your life in a Christian way you will be happy and successful in this life. You will attain glory here and now. If you could, try telling that to Job in the Old Testament. The Bible states that he was one of the most godly men on the face of the earth and yet he suffered far more than all of us put together.

What’s more, such a teaching finds no basis in the parable before us this morning. Listen to the details. “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.” By “kingdom of heaven” Jesus is referring not to heaven itself, but to the Church on earth. The parable involves a farmer who plants good seed in his field. Later Jesus identified himself as the farmer and the seeds as the son of the kingdom, in other words, Christians. These are people living on earth who belong to the kingdom of God by faith in Jesus as their Savior.

But notice what takes place. “But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away.” The enemy is none other than the devil himself. The Bible makes it clear that Satan works night and day every day of history to bring down the kingdom of God. He does so by bringing temptations large and small into our lives in an attempt to weaken and destroy our faith.

But he doesn’t do this work alone. He also uses the people who belong to his kingdom. Those are the weeds that live among us. Now, I’ll be the first to admit that all too many Christians have committed and are committing great and terrible sins that bring trouble into our world. But in general, it’s not Christians who are fighting against the Church on earth. It’s non-Christians. They don’t want us to spread God’s word. They don’t want to adhere to our moral values. Some will stop at nothing, not even suicide, to kill American Christians. And the thought occurs to us, “Life should be easier than that for Christians. Why do we have to put up with all that? Why doesn’t God just rid the earth of unbelievers? Then life would be so much more enjoyable for us.”

That’s exactly what the workers wanted to do. They wanted to pull up the weeds. But the farmer responded, “‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. Let both grow together until the harvest.’” Both believers and unbelievers must remain together. Jesus states one reason here. The wheat might get pulled up with them. In other words, we Christians may suffer if God would put to death every unbeliever. Perhaps you would lose your doctor or mechanic, your friend or your neighbor. These people bring many of God’s blessings into your life.

And the other reason is that God has given every person this lifetime as the time to come to faith in Jesus as their Savior. Putting every unbeliever to death right now would end that opportunity. It would also end one of the reasons we exist—to share our faith with others. In order to do that, we must live among them. We share our world with those who don’t trust in Jesus as their Savior from sin. And they attack the Church.

Accept the realities of the Church in the world. One of them is that it’s a Church under attack.

It’s a false, misleading dream to think that the life of the Christian should be smooth sailing. The same woes and ills that befall non-Christians befall us as well. What’s more, we suffer for what we believe. We should expect the world to push back every time we stand up for the truth of God’s word. It’s going to be tough. In fact, someone once said if your Christian life is easy, then you’re probably not one. Jesus never said it would be easy. In fact, he advised us to count the cost of following him. He told us that life with him brings crosses to bear, not croissants. Shame on us for complaining about them! Shame on us for despairing over our difficult Christian lives in this unbelieving world! May the Lord lead us to see that the same Savior who died for us also died for every other person. He loved them that much! May his love for us not only comfort us and strengthen us as we face attacks from our world, but also lead us to deal in love with those who make those attacks.

Part II.

I’m sure you’ve heard the statement, “Nothing is certain in life except death and taxes.” It makes us chuckle, but it also begs us to think a little bit. What else is certain in life?

Well, from our previous discussion this morning, we can be certain of attacks on the Church. But is that all? Certainly not. Listen to the words of your Savior, “Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.” The righteous are those who trust in Jesus as their Savior. The greatest truth of Christianity is that God has justified us, he declares us not guilty of our sins because of the work that Jesus did. God placed the righteousness of Jesus on you and me all and other Christians. And rather than suffering, we will shine in glory.

When? Certainly not now with all the problems we face. Jesus tells us when. It will come on the day when he eternally separates believers from unbelievers. That will be the day of eternal and certain victory for the Church.

But how can we be so sure? Because of Christ’s victory over death and hell by his resurrection. When Jesus rose from the dead, he sealed Satan’s fate forever. Satan can’t win and his kingdom can’t prevail. It’s doomed to destruction along with Satan. Jesus wins that final victory, and the Church—all believers—wins along with him.

Until that day of final victory the Lord Jesus sustains his Church. He does so with his gospel—the good news of Jesus’ holy life and his death as the payment for the sins of the world. That gospel comes to us in his word and the sacraments. Those are the means—the only means—Jesus uses to sustain his Church until the final day of victory.

And then comes the harvest. As he explains here, Jesus will use his holy angels to gather up all those who trust in him and bring them into heaven with him. What a glorious day that will be! Jesus will declare before all people that we are his children by faith in him and thus are heirs of eternal life with him.

Can you imagine the glory that will be yours and mine on that day? No wonder Jesus describes it as shining like the sun. We’ll live forever in glory with him. Gone will be all the troubles, sorrows, aches and pains that hound us daily and make this life miserable at times.

In fact, we’re so accustomed to dealing with those difficulties, that living a life of eternal glory is hard to imagine. We often wonder whether the Church will even survive with the way things are today. But make no mistake about it! It not only survives, it wins! Accept the realities of the Church in the world. It’s a Church victorious!

Things will happen later today that will make you shake your head and wonder how much worse they can get. Wait a day or two and you will hear of some new attack upon Christianity. Go out and live your Christian life and you will take heat for it. Those are the realities. But so is the victory. Contrary to what our world would have you think, Jesus is not a fraud or a loser. He’s the eternal Son of God and the eternal victor. His death and resurrection assure us of it. As one of his followers, you share in his eternal victory. The Church may get battered, but it will never be defeated. As life gets difficult and even down-right miserable at times, find your comfort and strength in that great truth. Accept that reality of the Church by faith in Jesus. May that truth make you bold as you live for your Savior. Amen.