Sermon
for Pentecost 7, July 16, 2023
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Amen.
Matthew 13:1-9 &
18-23 That same day Jesus left the house and was
sitting by the sea. 2A large
crowd gathered around him. So he stepped
into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore. 3He told them many things in
parables, saying: “Listen, a sower went out to sow. 4As he sowed, some seed fell along
the path, and the birds came and ate it.
5Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much
soil. Immediately the seed sprang up,
because the soil was not deep. 6But
when the sun rose, the seed was scorched.
Because it had no root, it withered away. 7Other seed fell among
thorns. The thorns grew up and choked
it. 8But some seed fell on good ground and produced grain: some one
hundred times, some sixty, and some thirty times more than was sown. 9Whoever has ears to hear, let him
hear. … 18“So listen carefully to the parable of the sower. 19When anyone hears the word of
the kingdom and does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away
what has been sown in his heart. This is
the seed that was sown along the path. 20The
seed that was sown on rocky ground is the person who hears the word and
immediately receives it with joy, 21yet he is not deeply rooted and
does not endure. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away. 22The seed
that was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worry of
this world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it produces no
fruit. 23But the seed
that was sown on the good ground is the one who continues to hear and
understand the word. Indeed he continues
to produce fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and some thirty times more than
was sown. (EHV)
Treasure
the Living Seed (The Word).
Dear fellow redeemed,
In our area of the world, a parable like this doesn’t
really need any introduction. As you
journey down nearly any road, you will see pheasants and other birds cleaning
up the grains that have dribbled out of passing trucks. With light rains so far this summer, it isn’t
hard to find pockets of corn fields where the corn is flaming from the bottom
up for lack of moisture. Not so much any
more with modern chemicals, but most farmers well remember the days when the
tougher weeds choked out large areas of certain fields, and finally, those same
farmers recognize how much a corn crop can withstand when the soil of a field
is of highest quality. So, we see Jesus’
parable vividly pictured all around us, and the message for you and me is to Treasure the Living Seed (The Word).
In this
parable, Jesus is teaching us, at least partially, why some people come to
saving faith and others do not. Now, it
is always risky to talk about the doctrine of election—God’s decision to choose
one person or another to be saved—but the truth is, God desires all people to
be saved. He wants all of us to be the
good ground in which the seed of His Word will grow into a bountiful
harvest. Therefore, the parable shows us
that the fault for those who are not saved always falls on themselves. To say that, we must first recognize that no
one comes to faith on his own accord.
Jesus’
words clearly show that the soil itself doesn’t produce the fruit. The life, and the produce, always comes from
the seed the Sower implants wherever and whenever He wills. Obviously, the
Sower is the Lord Himself through the work of the Holy Spirit in Word and
Sacrament. Apart from the seed, the soil
does nothing. This too won’t surprise
any farmer. Leaving a field fallow
(unplanted) brings about weeds at most, and the apostle confirms that “No
one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ except by the Holy Spirit.” (1 Corinthians
12:3)
Jesus
clarifies for us that He is talking about valuing the power of the Gospel in His
Word. God’s Word is intended to give
life and salvation through its hearing.
St. Paul wrote, “Faith comes from hearing the message, and the
message comes through the word of Christ.” (Romans 10:17) Now, we can’t say why God motivates the
proclamation of the Gospel in some areas and not all, but His intention to save
cannot be denied. We also cannot say why
God will sometimes make the hardest of hearts into hearts of flesh that readily
hear the Good News and believe. Remember
the great persecutor, Saul, seeking to wipe out Christianity among the Jews
shortly after the message of Jesus’ kingdom began to spread. On the road to Damascus, the Lord Himself
intervened and called Saul to faith and made him the great apostle to the
Gentiles, Paul. Why is outside our
jurisdiction.
However,
in this world, God gives the Gospel its power to save. Paul wrote, “I am not ashamed of the
gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.”
(Romans 1:16) Yet, Jesus’ message in
this parable is to be aware of how easy it is for the weak sinner to lose out
on the hope of salvation by his own ignorance, laziness, or carelessness. Therefore, the encouragement to Treasure
the Living Seed (The Word).
To His
disciples, Jesus explained, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and
does not understand it, the Evil One comes and snatches away what has been sown
in his heart. This is the seed that was
sown along the path.” This pictures
what happens when the message of salvation through the life and death of Jesus
Christ on our behalf is ignored or rejected.
So many people have preconceived notions that there is no God or that
God would never be willing to share His good will, and thus, they ignore what
the Gospel says. Here, too, is where
those who love their sin often reject the love of God who took away their
guilt. For all of these, the seed of the
Gospel is wasted and stolen away by the devil’s trickery and lies.
Jesus
next said, “The seed that was sown on rocky ground is the person who hears
the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he is not deeply rooted and
does not endure. When trouble or
persecution comes because of the word, he immediately falls away.” How easy it is for some people to be swayed
by the opinions of their neighbors, friends, or enemies. When they first hear the Gospel, it is music
to their ears, but as soon as opposition rears its ugly head, they abandon the
faith to revert to their former way of unbelief. Again, it is not that the seed of the Word
lacked power but that the soil of the heart was too shallow to value it, so the
growth and production never happen.
Likewise,
is the third soil; “The seed that was sown among the thorns is the one who
hears the word, but the worry of this world and the deceitfulness of wealth
choke the word, and it produces no fruit.”
Make no mistake, it isn’t the seed that fails in this case. Rather, this hearer let all of life’s
troubles, or good times, take precedence over the nurturing of his or her own
faith in Jesus.
This may
be the most likely weakness we see in our own congregations. This soil doesn’t outright deny God’s saving
message, but slowly and gradually, the focus on the world, and its problems or
joys, leads the person to choose other ways to spend time. Maybe it’s multiple vacations that lead to a
habit of staying away from the Word.
Perhaps it is the drive to make lots of money or to be more successful
in a person’s employment. It often comes
in the form of giving children more and more opportunities to play sports or
other activities, as our culture so “helpfully” schedules event after
event at times that used to be reserved for worship.
On the
other hand, this person may find his love for the Lord consumed by worrying
about all the troubles and dangers we may face now or in the future. It could be someone who becomes angry at a
friend or pastor who may have irritated in some way. Forgiveness sometimes seems to be impossible
to find when the offender is a fellow member of the church, or a pastor that meant
no harm. This troubled soul may desire
revenge rather than mercy, justice instead of grace, but both lead to everlasting
disgrace.
Jesus
uses this picture to warn us that we are not immune to these weaknesses. We dare not think this only applies to the
lost. Across our nation, churches
struggle with declining membership, often because the pictures in this parable
are so clearly displayed in the daily lives of our people. Some of our own congregation, and many in the
surrounding area, claim to be God’s people, but they have become so weak in
faith that they are either already lost to the devil’s schemes or are in danger
of allowing their faith in Jesus to be stolen away by sloth or neglect of the
Word and Sacraments.
This
finally brings us to the good soil.
Every farmer treasures that area of the field that always produces no
matter what the weather brings. Jesus
said, “But the seed that was sown on the good ground is the one who
continues to hear and understand the word.
Indeed he continues to produce fruit: some a hundred, some sixty, and
some thirty times more than was sown.”
Once again, this is the same powerful seed that failed to produce
anything in the spiritual life of the other soils. What is the difference? It isn’t that the soil of this person is any
better by nature. We “all have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) In ourselves, “There is no one who does
what is good; there is not even one.” (Romans 3:12)
What
makes for valuable soil in God’s kingdom is the Holy Spirit working in us the
faith to believe in Jesus, and through the continual use of that powerful Gospel
in Word and Sacrament, we are kept in the faith by the same Spirit. This soil demonstrates a gladness for God’s
kindness to us, rejoicing not that we are strong, but that “The Lord strong
and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle,” (Psalm 24:8) has chosen us out of
all the refuse of mankind to be His children on whom He pours out the
tremendous blessings of His grace and mercy.
The
central point of Jesus’ parable is this: “Whoever has ears to hear, let him
hear.” What message does Jesus want
you to hear, believe, and treasure with all your heart? He wants you to know and remember the love
God has poured out on the world through the sacrifice of His Son. God’s Son came to earth to live, die, and
rise again so that the sins of all people are removed from God’s mind
forever. Jesus took on human flesh to
live in our skin, to endure the same troubles, anxieties, hardships, suffering,
and yes, even death that we face, yet to remain without sin so that we can be
counted holy in God’s sight. Jesus made
Himself the spotless Lamb of God taking away the sins of the world with His
intercessory death on the cross, and by His rising from the grave victorious on
Easter morning, Jesus has shown the world that the victory for our souls is
complete.
Dear
friends, Treasure the Living Seed (The Word). Your sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. Your Father in heaven is now reconciled with
you forever and ready to receive you into His everlasting care at the appointed
time known only to Him. Go home in peace
today rejoicing that Jesus has made you right and holy in God’s sight and that the
Spirit has caused this marvelous life-giving faith to grow in you. Treasure the gift of that Good News for it
gives you the keys to the kingdom of heaven, and Satan cannot overcome it. Make the Word part of your daily life and
welcome with great joy every opportunity to receive the Gospel in Word and
Sacrament. Treasure the Living Seed
(The Word in all its power and glory).
Amen.
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