JESUS, THE SOWER, SOWS HIS WORD IN YOUR HEART
Sermon Text, St. Mark 4:1-20. And again He [Jesus] began to teach by the sea. And a great multitude was gathered to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat in it on the sea; and the whole multitude was on the land facing the sea. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” And He said to them, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables, so that ‘Seeing they may see and not perceive, and hearing they may hear and not understand; lest they should turn, and their sins be forgiven them.’ ” And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? The sower sows the word. And these are the ones by the wayside where the word is sown. When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts. These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; and they have no root in themselves, and so endure only for a time. Afterward, when tribulation or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they stumble. Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, and the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth.
Dear Lord, we thank You that You don’t get tired of sowing Your Word in our hearts. We ask You to bless Your Word so it bears fruit in our life. Amen.
Dear people loved by God in Christ, who is still sowing the good seed of His Word:
I was taught in Sunday School that a parable is “an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” We like the parables, for good reason. We like stories. Mark makes it clear that this is the first parable Jesus told. Then He taught them many things by parables, and said to them in His teaching: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. …”
This one is sometimes called a “nature parable.” There is nature in it. We meet the basic elements at a simple level: ground, dirt, rock, thorns. Rain and sunshine are in the story too, because that’s how seeds grow. All this nature – the kind you find right outside your door – makes it familiar.
But it’s easy to get stuck in the story and lose the meaning. With this parable, it can all be too impersonal. You focus on the seed, the growing, the elements of nature that stunt or stop the growth. What does it mean? Jesus says the “seed” is “the word of God.” So we think about that. As He describes three kinds of “ground” where the Word doesn’t prevail, we think about whether we fit this description. Are we “good ground” or not?
He shows the “seed,” the Word, getting lost, forgotten, trampled, withered away or choked out.
The first thing Jesus points out is that “Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts.” So here we think of how that can happen through distractions, apathy, or misplaced priorities.
The second thing Jesus mentions is that some “endure” in the faith “only for a time,” and in this case it’s a result of “tribulation and persecution,” which Jesus says comes “for the word’s sake.” We think of how we might feel pressured, intimidated, or mocked into silence about our faith.
The third thing Jesus brings up is that “cares of this world, deceitfulness of riches, and desires for other things” choke the word. Does my worry or anxiety choke out my faith? Does the struggle to get ahead or just keep from drowning financially do it? What about my focus on material things?
We tend to focus on the what, how to keep from being that kind of ground. As we do so, what – or, who – have we forgotten? Mark doesn’t forget the Who. In his version, Jesus begins: “The sowersows the Word.”
See how the attention is first on the sower. Jesus! It’s personal! He begins with Himself and you His hearer. “A sower went out to sow.” Then He explains: not just “a” sower, but “the sower” – Jesus Himself! He does send pastors to sow His Word, and He’s with us as we tell others about Jesus and sow His Word that way, but He is the Sower, we’re just His hands and feet, we are His instruments that He uses to do His sowing of the Word.
We think of how Jesus “went out.” We know He “went forth” from heaven on His mission to do His Savior work. But here He shows that His “going forth” goes on and on. “The Sower sows the Word.”
As Jesus explains how the Word fares in different people, He speaks of “the Word that was sown in their hearts.” That’s why He went forth from heaven. To find His way to your heart. It’s what His Word is for. That’s really the culmination of Jesus’ “going forth” from heaven.
Even though Jesus said, “It is finished” on the cross, the end of His going forth is not that He ends up on the cross – but in your heart, to stay with you and save you, love you, take care of you. He does this not by force, but by speaking to you, words of love. That’s the Gospel.
We’re guilty of letting other things choke out the Word in our life. That’s what the Law says. But the Law isn’t meant to get the last word. This is not a Law parable. It’s a Gospel parable. The main actor in it is Jesus. There is “good ground,” and that good ground is you! It’s by His doing.
You need Jesus to sow His Word through the Holy Spirit in your heart. He never gets tired of doing this! We can’t think Him enough. It’s how He makes “good ground” out of you. His Word has the power to silence those other voices: from the world that coaxes you, the worry and fear that shakes you, and the guilty conscience that beats you down. His Word silences those voices so that you only hear His loving voice, the Gospel.
The Word doing wonderful things in your life doesn’t just happen. We don’t love His Word just because we know we’re supposed to. But as you spend time with the Bible, as you come to church and hear His Word, sometimes when you don’t even feel like it, sometimes you feel like you’re dragging yourself and your children to church. But even when our minds aren’t right when we open the Bible or begin hearing His Word read – Who is speaking? Jesus. As He speaks, He is loving us into His kingdom, loving us into loving Him, loving us into loving His Word because it’s time spent with Him. By His grace we do grow to love the Bible and every word in it.
Being His “good ground” is not only that we “receive” His Word – that by grace we believe it – but also that we “bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred,” which is living a godly life according to it. That’s His work too. I love that Mark includes this part about how the life of faith comes out differently in each person, not everyone being “a hundred-fold” in living the faith, but even “thirty-fold” counts as good.
Sometimes we get discouraged that we don’t do more, that we don’t do better, or that we don’t do “great” things. But if you have a hard time with a sin, for now Jesus might think it’s work enough for you just to avoid that sin. It’s good to give money to hurricane victims, or to give aid to refugees, or to donate to a Caring Bridge site of someone in dire need – but it’s just as good to feed your family, do honest work, keep from giving a harsh word to your spouse, or to be patient with your child, or with a stranger.
We should remember that the difference in the “fruit” – the “thirtyfold, sixty, and a hundred” – is not how we see it, but how God sees it. He sees it all better than we can, as it truly is. And we know that on Judgment Day He will point out good works that we didn’t even count.
Also, no matter the amount, all of it is “fruit” – fruits of faith. It’s all the good being produced in your life by the Holy Spirit through His Word. It isn’t produced by your good intentions or following through. God does it, produces faith and even the fruits of faith, every good work you do.
This can only happen by you continuing to hear His voice speaking to your heart. Again it all goes back to His Word – that He comes to you still, doesn’t give up on you, never gets tired of doing this, always making you what He intends you to be. This too is grace, His undeserved love.
When you hear His Word, when you open your Bible, Jesus is speaking. He speaks to you like no one else. He tells you all that He’s done for you. He forgives you. He declares you’re acceptable to God, loved by God. He comforts you. He instructs you and teaches you wisdom. He tells you not to be afraid or to worry. He consoles you. He speaks His blessing on you. He says He’s bringing you to heaven. He tells you how great it is there.
How can we ever get tired of this? But even if you do, He’ll never tire of speaking to you His blessed words of certain hope. He does this, by His Holy Spirit, not only to tell you something true, but to create and give you the faith you need to get to heaven, so that you will “embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.” Amen!