OUR FATHER WHOSE WORD YIELDS FRUIT IN HEARTS THAT UNDERSTAND

The Lord Jesus, when asked why He taught in parables explained that the news of the kingdom of God was not for the multitudes to understand but rather for the ones He had selected to carry His message from Jerusalem to Judea and to Samaria and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

He then decoded the parable of the sower to His disciples in Matthew chapter 13 verses 18 - 23;

18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower:

 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”

Jesus explained that the four different  ground environments into which the seeds fell represented the four different heart conditions that people were in when they hear the word of the kingdom of God.

He then explained that what resulted when the seeds fell into the different conditions, corresponded to what happened to the word of the kingdom after it landed in the hearts of men;

• On the hard wayside where people walked
• Hearts that don't understand
• Birds devoured the exposed seeds
• Evil spirits erase the word from their knowledge

• On stony shallow soil
• Hearts that are shallow
• Seeds germinated quickly but soon died
• Word received with joy but withers when pressure comes due to shallowness

• Among thorns
• Hearts that are  immersed in this world
• Seeds were choked by competition
• Worries and attractions of this world distract from the kingdom and they are rendered unfruitfull

• In deep good soil
• Hearts that understand the gravity of the kingdom and commit themselves to it
• Seeds took root and yielded a harvest
• The seeds germinate and are able to replicate themselves 30, 60 and 100 times over

The disciples of Jesus were given the key to understand how those who heard the word of the kingdom would respond and why they would respond in the way they do.

Implied in the parable are the steps that need to be taken in order to maximize their yield. As the went from community to community spreading the word,  they would have to;

• Ensure that their message was understood
• Cultivate resilience and endurance
• Teach recipients to detach from the world
• Invest in those who understood

Amen.

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