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The second part of
Jesus’ answer, Matt. 13:13, becomes personal, “. . . while
seeing they do not see, and while hearing they do not hear, nor do they
understand.” He now refers to the crowd directly. That is, after
hearing Him teach on previous occasions, the crowd still could not understand
spiritual truth. They could not understand because they were not spiritually
alive.
1 Corinthians 2:14 reminds us that the natural man, or
a person who does not have a spiritual relationship with God, cannot
understand spiritual truth.
But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. (NASB) 1 Cor. 2:14 Spiritual truth is foolishness to those who are not spiritually alive.
They do not have any ability to understand it. Therefore, we should not
be surprised that some seminary graduates and pastors have strange views
about the teaching of the Bible and do not believe or accept some important
truths. Seminary does not make a man spiritual. There are pastors who
are not spiritually alive and yet they confidently teach the Bible. The
Jewish religious leaders of Jesus’ day were just one example.
Then Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah as further explanation,
In their case the prophecy of Isaiah is being fulfilled,
which says, Did you notice that the prophecy predicted “the heart of this
people has become dull?” That is, they had already rejected Jesus
Christ. They had already heard about Jesus and heard His message. They
came primarily to see Him perform miracles, to do wonders, to be healed,
but the unbelieving crowd had rejected Him along with His teaching. Without
spiritual life, they could not see; they could not hear nor understand.
Therefore, Jesus spoke to them in parables.
Why should Jesus explain the parable? They were not spiritual
because they did not believe in Jesus Christ. They had rejected the light
(John 16:7-11) that God has given them.
But the disciples were different. They were already part
of Jesus’ spiritual family. They believed in Him. Then Jesus added,
But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear. For truly I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (NASB) Matt. 13:16-17
The Old Testament saints and prophets had longed to know about Jesus
and to see Him. They would have loved to have been present. Even the
holy angels had longed to know more about Jesus (1 Peter 1:10-12). The
disciples were privileged. They could see with their eyes, hear with
their ears, and touch the Son of God. They were spiritually alive and
therefore Jesus would teach them just as the Holy Spirit does today.
Some Strange Views. Some teachers and pastors
have said that the message of the parable is that we must avoid being
unfruitful since true believers are to be fruitful. Others claim that
the meaning of the parable is that reaping must be delayed in order to
allow many people to come to God. Still some say that the parable seeks
to teach us that the Word of God is not generally welcome by unbelievers.
Another says that despite all the difficulties, the kingdom of heaven
is expanding. These differences of views are not alternate or acceptable
interpretations of the parable. They miss the meaning of the passage.
Parable Explained. What is the real meaning
of the parable? Jesus starts the explanation with this,
Hear then the parable of the sower. (NASB) Matt. 13:18 Who is the sower of the seed? Is it Jesus? Is it you? The first clue
is found in Luke 8:11 where we are told that the seed is the Word of
God. Matthew 13:19 reveals also that the seed is the word of the kingdom.
This means that the Word of God is the message of the kingdom. The second
clue is found in Matthew 13:3-4 where we are reminded the sower sows
seed. That is, the sower gives out the Word of God. The third clue is
found in 1 Corinthians 3:6-8 where the Holy Spirit tells us that we are
the ones who plant or sow the seed (the Word of God), and it is God who
gives the increase. That is, He has called us to be sowers of the seed.
He has not called us to make seed or to make anyone become a follower
of Jesus or to grow spiritually. He only asks us to faithfully sow seed.
We are responsible only for scattering seed. It is God the Holy Spirit
who brings the increase.
Romans 10:15 and 17 tells us that people must hear the
Word of God in order to believe in Jesus Christ.
How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” . . . So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. (NASB) Rom. 10:15, 17 The sower is anyone who follows Jesus and faithfully teaches or preaches
the Word of God, that is, the Bible. If you are a follower of Jesus Christ,
are you a good sower of the seed? Are you faithfully spreading the message
of the Word of God about Jesus Christ? There are those who do not know
that Jesus died for their sins. There are those who do not know that
their sins can be forgiven by simply accepting Jesus’ claim that
He is God and believing in Him. God has given His followers the privilege
of sowing seed. Do you want to sow seed?
Seed Beside The Road. Jesus’ parable
is about four different soils: soil beside the road, soil containing
rocks, soil among thorns, and good soil. Each soil represents a different
type of person. Together, all of the soils represent the hearts and minds
of every living person.
Here is His explanation of the seed that fell onto the
soil next to the road,
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. (NASB) Matt. 13:18-19 We have already discovered that the seed is the Word of God. Therefore
according to Jesus’ explanation, persons whose hearts are like
this soil do not understand the Word of God. According to Luke 8:12,
they do not understand because the evil one (Matt. 13:19), Satan (Mark
4:15), or the devil (Luke 8:12), snatches away the Word of God. Luke
8:12 adds that consequently they do not believe and are not saved.
This soil represents anyone who hears the Word of God and
does not understand because of the activity of the evil one. The evil
one creates confusion by creating doubts about God (Gen. 3: 2-5), presenting
intellectual arguments (1 Cor. 1:18; 2 Cor. 2:11), and introducing the
teachings of alternative religions or different paths to God (2 Cor.
11:14; 1 Tim. 4:1). Satan will do anything he can to cause a person to
reject the truth of the Word of God. He is evil.
Seed On Rocky Soil. Then Jesus explained
the second soil. |
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| Life & Heart of Jesus | |||||
