Seeking the Truth of the Kingdom, chapter one
Greetings from Orissa, India. Running water has just been restored after the recent cyclone. Here there was great persecution in 2008.
1. THE
KEY PARABLE
“Behold, the sower went
out to sow; and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road and the birds came
and ate them up. Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much
soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. But
when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they
withered away. Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked
them out. And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a
hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty” (Matthew 13:3-8).
TRUTHS CONCERNING HARVEST
Before
we consider one-by-one the different conditions of the soil, first let’s talk
about some of the basic truths concerning harvest, which we must understand
correctly. The most basic principle of all is that a sower sows in order to
reap. The whole purpose of agriculture points to harvest. If there is no fruit,
then the plan, effort and money invested are in vain. Nothing is worthwhile, if
there is not a satisfactory end, and that which ends well, must begin well. The
success of harvest depends much on the preparation of the soil.
In
the work of evangelism, the ministry of John the Baptist is absolutely
necessary. His work was, precisely, to prepare the soil. “The voice of one
crying in the wilderness, make ready the way of the Lord, make His paths straight!”
(Mt. 3:3). The great majority of evangelistic efforts ignore this cry
completely. They announce the good news with words such as, “Jesus loves you
and wants to save you”, without taking into account at all the condition of the
soil, which is to say, the condition of the heart of the listener. It was not
that way in New Testament times or at any period in the history of the church
among those that had true success in the harvest of souls.
The
only sowing that is worthwhile is that which falls on soil prepared by God.
What do these words of Jesus mean? “No one can come to Me unless the Father
who sent Me draws him” (Jn. 6:44), “He who practices the truth comes to
the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God” (Jn.
3:21), and “Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice” (Jn. 18:37).
All these verses point to a work of preparation before receiving Christ and
those of us, who proclaim the gospel, have to collaborate with it.
The
soil represents the heart. The seed is as good and better than we have
described it in the introduction to this book, but it will be badly received in
unprepared soil. In the end, nothing good will result. It is an error to think
that in the three cases, where the soil was poor, that there could have been
any kind of genuine work of God, resulting in salvation.
In
the end, if the results are not good, it means there have been problems since
the roots were formed and a gospel that is presented, without taking Matthew
three into account, is defective. The preaching of John the Baptist included:
1) The exclusion (until they repented) of a generation of vipers that were not
sons of Abraham, 2) an axe laid to the root of bad trees, and 3) a floor swept
clean of chaff by a winnower (Mt. 3:7,10,12).
We
have to clear up one more matter: Salvation is of the Lord. A harvest, in which
Jesus is not directly involved, can never produce a crop for eternity. When
Jesus gave the interpretation to the parable of the wheat and tares, he left us
no doubt that the Sower is one: “The one who sows the good seed is the Son
of man” (Mt. 13:37). Jesus spoke of Himself as the vine and of us as the
branches, saying, “He who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit,
for apart from Me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).
In
the work of evangelism there must be a recognition of the limitations of man
and therefore be strongly supported by prayer, because if it is not, it will
only produce wood, hay and stubble. Duncan Campbell, a Scottish revival
preacher, called such results “harvests of infidels”. Jesus must speak
personally to the heart of each individual. The Good Shepherd “calls his own
sheep by name”, and Jesus said, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never
perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand” (Jn. 10:3,27,28).
THE FOUR SOIL CONDITIONS
“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 one on
whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky
places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with
joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when
affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls
away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who
hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth
choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on
the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who
indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some
thirty” (Mt. 13:19-23).
If
seed is sown by the road, it falls on hard ground and cannot penetrate. Men’s
footsteps have packed the soil and it is not useful for planting. The heart of
the person, which is simulated by this kind of ground, is one which pays no
attention to the word and gives it no importance. The cords of his heart are in
tune with the world. He is highly influenced by the ideologies of the “experts”
and convinced that they are right. When the word of God falls upon his heart,
evil spirits come immediately to make sure that no trace of it is left behind.
It is impossible for anyone to believe God and the world’s experts at the same
time. They walk on opposite roads.
In
the second case, the seed penetrates all right, but the soil has no depth.
Underneath there is solid rock (in Luke 8:6,13: The Greek word is petra,
meaning simply a large rock), and for that reason, when the sun shines on it,
the earth rapidly heats and the seed sprouts quickly. However, the same heat
that causes it to sprout destroys the tender roots and the plant wilts and soon
dies.
This
soil represents people with egotistical hearts that are seeking for anything
that will be of benefit to them. They are happy to hear “the good news” and
receive it only with intentions to profit from it and enjoy the things that the
gospel offers. But when negative elements and difficulties enter, in
conjunction with the word, they are quickly disillusioned. They will not
tolerate discomfort and complications. The great rock of ego does not
allow strong roots of deep conviction and commitment to grow that can stand
against unpleasant and unpopular situations. Courage fades along with their
superficial faith and they leave the truth in search of the next novelty.
We
move on to consider the third state of soil, where the seed falls among thorns.
These rob the nutrients and moisture of the earth, so that the plant does not have
the necessary strength to become fruitful. This example might explain the
condition of many so-called Christians, such as are described in Hebrews 5:12: “By
this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach
you… and you have come to need milk and not solid food”, or situations such
as in the time of Hezekiah: “Children have come to the birth, and there is
no strength to deliver” (Is. 37:3).
One
of the characteristics of God’s seed is that, even though it is very precious,
it does not compete well. The weeds are native to the soil, but the seed of God
is imported from heaven. It is delicate and does not adapt to the world’s
atmosphere. It must be free to receive the water that falls from heaven. The
thistles are the worries, riches, desires (Mark) and pleasures (Luke) of this
life and all these belong in the same third category. We must confront, not
only the temptation that riches offer, the pleasures and desires for many
things, but also the cares of providing the basics and necessities of life,
such as clothing and food. Jesus taught that the world of people, who do not
know the Father, are preoccupied with these things (Lk. 12:30). The person who
wants to extract benefit from the word of God must give priority to it, because
if he is distracted on any side, he will not be able to have true and eternal
success in the Kingdom of God.
The
fourth type of ground is the one we are looking for. It is the good soil, in
which the seed is free to sprout and grow, strong in bearing fruit. However, to
arrive at this state, the ground has had to suffer deeply the cutting,
penetrating steel plow and has endured the blazing flames of the purifying fire
that destroy the weed seeds. Anyone in a comfortable, pleasing situation rarely
receives the word of God sincerely. We can know that God is working, when
someone is moved and desperate, almost to the point of losing heart. At this
point, we perceive that the ministry of John Baptist has been successful. The
law of God and the sentence of condemnation carry that one to repentance. Now,
he is ready for God to show mercy and will submit to any means that He might
use. How seriously and sincerely he receives the truth of the word! How he
appreciates pardon and surrenders to the lordship of Christ!
AN EXAMPLE TO ILLUSTRATE THAT THE SOIL CONDITION CAN
CHANGE
In
spite of what we have just considered, we should not be discouraged, thinking
that people who today have a hard heart, due to a good relationship with the
world, are limited by their ego or saturated by involvement in many
interests, must always remain in this condition. God can move to change these
disturbances in the unconverted. Besides, be prepared as a Christian, for God
also must soften our hearts, where there still remains a resistance to His
word. The ground by the roadside can be loosened, and the rock, no matter how
big and hard it is, can be broken. The thorns and thistles can be uprooted and
burned and the heart, which before had reacted with rebellion and ugliness to
Christ, can surrender and conform to His truth and sovereignty.
Let
us examine in detail a biblical example, in order to understand better the work
that God does to prepare the soil. A trip that Paul took in a ship will
illustrate it perfectly. We go to the book of Acts, chapter 27. Throughout the
chapter, we will see how the Spirit of God carries out the eternal purposes of
the Trinity, practically and unexpectedly, in the people involved in this
account. The immense heart of God opens to embrace people in Rome, on the
island of Malta, and 276 sailors and prisoners, who accompany Paul. He himself
is a prisoner on his way to Rome to be judged by the emperor.
A
ship leaves Caesarea and sails from port to port until, from Myra in Lycia, the
travelers board an Alexandrian ship on its way to Italy. The trip becomes
complicated, due to some strong, contrary winds, so that they arrive with
difficulty to a place called Fair Havens. For a long time, they wait for better
climactic conditions.
At
this point, we become aware of the intervention of the Lord, the Sower of the
seed. (Though this story takes place on the sea, we see similar conditions to
those in the field that Jesus described.). Paul receives a word from Him and
tells the people, “Men, I perceive that the voyage will certainly be with
damage and great loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our
lives” (vs. 10). But, the word falls by the wayside. Who is going to
believe a prisoner, against the word of the experts in navigation? “The
centurion was more persuaded by the pilot and the captain of the ship than by
what was being said by Paul” (vs. 11).
It
seems that this ship carried an immense rock of egotism, manifested in the
majority of the passengers: “Because the harbor was not suitable for
wintering, the majority reached a decision to put out to sea from there,
if somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing southwest and
northwest, and spend the winter there” (vs. 12). (If this had happened in
modern times, we might think the Fair Havens Tourist Department had not been
very active and that in Phoenix there would be four and five star hotels with
the best restaurants.) “When a moderate south wind (a very
pleasant breeze) came up, supposing that they had attained their purpose,
they weighed anchor and began sailing along Crete, close inshore” (vs.
13).
Now,
after refusing the word, God’s plow, which on land must loosen the hard ground
of human wisdom and displace the stubborn rock of egotism, takes the form of a
storm on the sea: “Before very long there rushed down from the land a
violent wind, called Euraquilo (vs. 14). The fire, which burns the weeds on
land, becomes a raging sea: “The next day as we were being violently
storm-tossed, they began to jettison the cargo; and on the third day they threw
the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands” (vs. 18,19). Even though
we do not see the stern prophet in flesh and blood, dressed in camel skins, his
ministry is being carried out by Paul and nature itself. The way of the Lord is
being prepared and “all hope of our being saved was gradually abandoned” (vs.
20).
Soon
we will see all the cargo of wheat and also the ship itself lost to the storm
(vs. 38,41). Man’s entire purpose for making the trip was wasted and the cargo
of the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches was thrown into the
sea. Who now among the passengers still believed the experts? Who was dreaming still
of the comforts of Phoenix? Nothing of the sort! Now the only concern was to
save their lives and hope had been lost that even this goal could be obtained.
What remains in the desperate hearts in the ship? Nothing more than soft and
fertile soil, ready to receive God’s word. He is about to pour our His Spirit
of revival upon the ship.
Just
at that moment, in that hopeless situation, having passed the limit of what man
could do to save himself, the Good Shepherd spoke to His sheep through His
servant: “Then Paul… said, ‘Men, you ought to have followed my advice
and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now
I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among
you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I
belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, Do not be afraid… God has
granted you all those who are sailing with you. Therefore, keep up your
courage, men, for I believe God that it will turn out exactly as I have been
told… for not a hair from the head of any of you will perish” (vs.
21-25,34) – much less, would they lose their souls.
Good
news! 276 people were saved, after Paul preached the gospel. “So it happened
that they all were brought safely to land (vs. 44), but it seems to me,
according to what we have quoted from the angel in the last paragraph, more
than a physical salvation took place. When we arrive in heaven, we will hear
the sailors and prisoners’ testimonies, as well as that of the centurion, Julius
(read vs. 43 and 28:16 to see the change of attitude in this proud Roman
soldier).
THE KEY TO UNDERSTANDING GOD’S MYSTERIES
Surely,
the Parable of the Sower applies to salvation, but I believe that at the same
time it has a broader application, related to the comprehension and the
reception of all God’s truth in any situation. The key for growth in the
Christian life is also hidden in this parable. What is this key to interpreting
all the mysteries of God? Basically, it does not have to do with a correct
interpretation of symbols or ingredients, but with a heart preparation. When
the heart is soft, deeply humbled and surrendered, it opens and truth
penetrates, sprouts, grows and brings forth fruit.
“Do
you not understand this parable? How will you understand all the
parables?” The person, who constantly
misinterprets the Bible and its doctrine (doctrine simply means teachings),
has a heart hindrance. There is some hard soil, formed by prejudices or
beliefs, which he has previously adopted and now form part of his life. He
holds stubbornly to them and will not let go. He resists truth, because he is
not willing that it should change him. Not just once, upon entering into
Christ, but constantly, throughout our Christian walk, we have to be concerned
with the state of our hearts. We must permit the Spirit of truth to uncover us
and cleanse us from three hindrances that can be seen in the Parable of the
Sower: 1) A compatibility with the system and wisdom of the world. 2) The
arrogance of the ego in all its manifestations. 3) The cares of the
world, the deceitfulness of riches, desires and pleasures. The light of truth
is within reach and we can receive it, if all the obstacles are removed.
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