Seasons of
Elijah-Cross-Moses
Second Sunday of Elijah: Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23
INTRODUCTION
Taking an example from the experience of
farmers, Jesus taught the impact of preaching the Word of God depending
upon the listeners’ disposition. Jesus came as a sower of the Word of
God. He selected the disciples to continue his role as sowers. The
negativity of the listeners or the challenges and persecutions that the
church would face should not discourage them. The good hearts would
produce grains in abundance, and even a hundredfold. Our call as
Christians is to prepare our hearts to be fertile soil for the Word of
God to germinate and bear outstanding results. The hurdles of spiritual
growth should not disappoint us.
BIBLE TEXT
The Parable of the Sower
(Matthew 13:1) That same day Jesus left the
house and sat down by the lakeside. (2) So great a crowd gathered around
him, that he got in a boat. There he sat while the whole crowd stood on
the shore, (3) and he spoke to them in parables about many things.
(4) Jesus said, “Listen! A sower went out to sow and, as he sowed, some
of the seeds fell along the footpath and the birds came and ate them up.
(5) Other seeds fell on rocky ground where there was not much soil, and
the seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was not deep. (6) When the
sun rose the plants were scorched and withered because they had no
roots. (7) Again other seeds fell among thistles; and the thistles grew
and choked the plants. (8) Still other seeds fell on good soil and
produced a crop; some a hundred times, others sixty times, others thirty
times what was sown. (9) If you have ears, then hear!”
The Explanation of the Parable of the
Sower
(18) Now listen to the parable of the sower.
(19) When a person hears the message of the kingdom but refuses to
understand it, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his
heart. This is the seed that fell along the footpath. (20) The seed that
fell on rocky ground stands for the one who hears the word and accepts
it at once with joy. (21) But it has no roots in him and lasts only for
a short time. When he is harassed or persecuted because of the word, he
soon gives up. (22) The seed that fell among the thistles stands for the
one who hears the word, but then the worries of this life and the love
of money choke the word, and it does not bear fruit. (23) But the seed
that fell on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it;
this bears fruit and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times
more.”
INTERPRETATION
(Matthew 13:1) That same day Jesus left
the house and sat down by the lakeside. (2) So great a crowd gathered
around him, that he got in a boat. There he sat while the whole crowd
stood on the shore.
Jesus was teaching at Peter’s house in
Capernaum, where people showed up as a crowd to listen to him (Matthew
12: 46-50). By the time Jesus spoke to Peter’s family and friends, more
people had arrived. Since the crowd kept coming in, he found a better
way to communicate by sitting down by the sea of Galilee on a boat while
the crowd could sit on the mountain side of the shore. While on the
boat, the crowd would not press on to Jesus and he could manage with
enough visibility and breathing space. That was also a natural
sound-amplifying system to address a large assembly. People could hear
Jesus better as he was facing from the sea to the valley where the
people stood. Though there was an enormous crowd, Jesus taught sitting
because the Rabbi sitting and the listeners standing or sitting was the
custom of the Jewish teaching.
(3) And he spoke to them in parables
about many things.
Jesus used parables
to illustrate the spiritual truth to ordinary people. They were
excellent teaching aids because the people could remember them. Synoptic
gospels give 35 parables. The literal meaning of the parable is “cast
alongside.” Jesus used the parables to illustrate a spiritual truth by
casting it alongside an earthly model that his followers could remember
and hand over to all nations and future generations. It can be a
comparison or similitude of a spiritual fact to characters and
situations of everyday life. Parables are also expanded proverbs because
proverbs are condensed similitudes serving a similar purpose.
In the early part of his ministry, Jesus
taught without parables. Later, when the Pharisees confronted Jesus, he
taught in parables. The higher-class Jews who were against Jesus were
close minded. So, Jesus wanted to conceal the truth from them, while he
continued communicating the truth to his disciples. He even explained
the meaning of some parables to his disciples as he did in this case.
There was a time when he said everything in parables (Mark 4:34, Matthew
13:10). They served also as a secret way of communication during the
crisis.
(4) Jesus said, “Listen! A sower went
out to sow and, as he sowed, some of the seeds fell along the footpath
and the birds came and ate them up.
(18) Now listen to the parable of the
sower. (19) When a person hears the message of the kingdom but refuses
to understand it, the devil comes and snatches away what was sown in his
heart. This is the seed that fell along the footpath.
A sower went out to sow.
Jesus used the example of a farmer’s
experience to illustrate the future growth of the church he would
establish. The seed came from a former plant of the same species. Jesus
based the Word of God on the original teachings of Moses to the
Israelites. The late Jewish teachers had manipulated them and thus made
them less fruitful. So, Jesus cleaned up the seeds and replanted them in
the world that has a variety of people.
We should understand the farming that Jesus
presented from the background of the sowing method of the time. Farmers
sow the seeds abundantly without separating the path, the rocky area, or
the thorny ground. They symbolize different people’s receptivity to the
Word of God.
Some seed fell on the path.
The farmers had the experience of birds like
pigeons eating the seeds lying exposed on the path. Besides, the people
walking across the field also crushed the seed underfoot. Jesus’ enemies
could manipulate the indifferent listeners and those who do not
assimilate it. For example, people who had benefitted from Jesus cried
out to Pilate, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” (Luke 23:20-23).
The birds that ate the seeds correspond to
the evil one that steals the seed. In Mark, Jesus’ interpretation is:
“Those along the path where the seed fell, are people who hear the word,
but as soon as they do, Satan comes and takes away the word that was
sown in them.” (Mark 4:15). The same thing happened with Eve. Though she
had heard from Adam, God’s commandment not to eat from the two trees in
the middle of the Paradise, Satan stole that Word of God from her
through his misguidance. In our lives, the evil one can deviate us from
the church by working through our friends or people who propagate false
views in gatherings and social media.
(5) Other seeds fell on rocky ground
where there was not much soil, and the seeds sprouted quickly because
the soil was not deep. (6) When the sun rose the plants were scorched
and withered because they had no roots.
(20) The seed that fell on rocky ground
stands for the one who hears the word and accepts it at once with joy.
(21) But it has no roots in him and lasts only for an abbreviated time.
When he is harassed or persecuted because of the word, he soon gives up.
The rock with a thin layer of soil above it
would contribute the sudden germination and growth of the seed. However,
it cannot grow further because of the rock underneath and the tropical
sun above. If the plants had more grip in the soil, they could withstand
the heat of the sun with the moisture from the soil. Some people are
enthusiastic to listen to the Word of God and respond to it. However,
when they face challenges in faith, they will withdraw.
Many people, who had seen Jesus’ miracles and
inspired by his teaching, had followed him. However, when Jesus preached
about giving his flesh to eat and blood to drink, they murmured among
themselves. “After this many disciples withdrew and no longer followed
him.” (John 6:66). During the triumphant entry of Jesus into the Temple
on the feast of his last Passover, the crowd welcomed him singing
“Hosanna in the Highest!” and acknowledged him as the “Son of David.”
However, almost the same crowd, under the influence of the Jewish rivals
of Jesus, denied him in front of Pilate and preferred Barabbas in the
place of Jesus and pleaded Pilate to crucify Jesus.
When the evangelists were finishing their
gospels, the Jews and the Romans were persecuting Christians making many
of them martyrs. Some gave up their faith. This parable was a warning
for those who were wavering in their faith. It also gave hope of future
glory for the persisting Christians. In the modern world, some people
give up faith when they face a crisis in life like a sudden death in the
family, economic crisis, or terminal illness. Some others leave the
church because of clergy scandals. Our faith should not collapse in the
failure of any apostle like Judas Iscariot. Instead, we should learn
from their failures and sanctify ourselves and the church.
(7) Again other seeds fell among
thistles; and the thistles grew and choked the plants.
(22) The seed that fell among the
thistles stands for the one who hears the word, but then the worries of
this life and the love of money choke the word, and it does not bear
fruit.
Here is another scenario of how some seeds
that germinated did not survive. Though the farmer prepared the land,
there were seeds and roots of weeds invisible and under the ground. They
grew up along with the good seed and chocked them. God is intolerant of
preserving the bad along with the good. Before the entry of Israelites
to Canaan, God had commanded them through Moses that they should totally
destroy the evil inhabitants of Canaan. God was using Israelites as a
tool to destroy the sinners there. He commanded that the Israelites
should not make any treaty with them and show any mercy to them. They
should not intermarry with the Canaanites “because they would seduce
your children to abandon me and adore other gods for which the anger of
the LORD would blaze out against you, and he would quickly exterminate
you.” (Deut. 7:4).
Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters;
for he will either hate one and love the other, or he will be loyal to
one and neglect the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
(Matthew 6:24). The Bible has several examples of people who failed
because of their interest in worldly matters more than God.
God blessed Solomon with wisdom and
prosperity of every kind. However, he violated God’s commandments and
married many foreign women. “He had seven hundred wives of royal birth,
and three hundred concubines, and they turned his heart away. In
Solomon’s old age, his wives led him astray to serve other gods, and,
unlike his father David, his heart was no longer wholly given to the
LORD his God.” (1Kings 11:3-4). His wives introduced idol worship that
chocked Solomon’s fidelity to God.
Judas Iscariot followed Jesus, who selected
him as one of the 12 apostles. However, along with his apostolic
calling, Judas cultivated his longing for money. St. John the Evangelist
reports about Judas: “he was a thief and as he held the common purse, he
used to help himself to what was put into it.” (John 12:6). The devil
entered the heart of Judas to prompt him to betray his master for money
(John 13:2). After the betrayal, Judas could not repent and resulted in
his depression and suicide. Thus, the greed for money chocked the holy
apostolic calling of Judas Iscariot.
Ananias and Sapphira
are other examples of entertaining greed for money,
along with their faith that ended in failure. They sold their property
and while presenting the proceeds to the apostles, they kept some for
themselves in secret. Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan
has filled your heart that you lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back some
of the proceeds of your land? … When Ananias heard these words, he fell
down and died.” (Acts 5:3-5).
The worries of this life and the love
of money choke the word, and it does not bear fruit.
(8) Still other seeds fell on good soil
and produced a crop; some a hundred times, others sixty times, others
thirty times what was sown.
(23) But the seed that fell on good
soil is the one who hears the word and understands it; this bears fruit
and produces a hundred, or sixty, or thirty times more.
The produce from the good soil was
outstanding and compensated for all the seeds wasted in non-fertile
fields. The fertility of the soil was different and so the quantity of
the produce varied. Hundred or sixty or thirty grains on one wheat plant
is an outstanding result. The hundredfold was an extraordinary and
maximum result that could be possible only with God’s intervention. For
example, after a famine in Canaan, Isaac the son of Abraham had such a
result in the land of Gerar, a Philistine town. Isaac sowed a crop in
that region and reaped a hundredfold the same year because the LORD
blessed him (Genesis 26:12).
The seeds that fell on the good soil produced
an outstanding result. It is not the seed but the soil that made the
difference. Soil stands for the heart of the Christian. We must free
ourselves from terrible addiction and overcome the worldly anxieties and
greed. We also should be receptive to the Word of God and nurture it in
our heart and produce its fruit through our actions of charity.
The Palestinian way of cultivation was
plowing the soil after sowing the seed. So, the farmers wasted much
seed. However, the result from the good soil was an amazing harvest. So
also, Jesus and his followers preached the Word of God in abundance.
Some people ignored it, several people received it but disregarded it
later, a few gave up the faith when they faced a crisis or achieved
prosperity. However, the good-hearted people produced outstanding
results because of their receptivity and positive approach to the Word
of God.
(9) If you have ears, then hear!
Jesus used this phrase at the close of his
serious teachings. It means that God has formed us with ears to hear and
ability to understand the commandments of the Lord by the working of the
Holy Spirit. We must respond by obeying them. This hearing is not just
an external one, but listening with a receptive heart to produce its
fruit. Jesus used this phrase when the teaching was important, difficult
to understand, and to stir up the immediate attention of the listeners
for action.
MESSAGE
1. Jesus went out from the house to a public
place to preach. The people gathered around Jesus to listen to him
attentively. This gives us a lesson. Besides our family prayers, Jesus
expects us to go to our churches or retreat centers to listen to the
Word of God. And we also need to go out and preach God’s Word through
our words and actions.
2. The results of cultivation varied based on
the condition of the soil where the seeds fell. The sower and the seed
were the same for all areas. We must test what kind of soil is our heart
and make it fertile for the Word of God.
3. The footpath, were the evil stole the
seeds, symbolizes our hardened heart with concerns contrary to God’s
ways. Is our heart possessed with other interests when we hear the Word
of God? Does the Word of God motivate us to act?
4. The false ideologies, misleading
propaganda in the social media, or the antichurch people might steal the
Christian values the church implanted in us. They are like the birds
that took away the seeds that fell on the path. So, let us be careful.
5. Do we have only a temporary impact from
retreats and inspirational preaching that we attend? We should base our
faith on Jesus, the rock. Any tribulation or persecution should not make
us ruin our covenant with God. Abraham, Job, Jesus, and the martyrs of
the church should inspire us in keeping up our faith firm in stormy
situations.
6. Solomon married foreign wives against the
commandment of God. His wives led him to idol worship that chocked his
fidelity to Yahweh. Judas and Ananias cultivated greed for money that
chocked their fidelity to Jesus. Is there anything that is chocking the
Word of God in us?
7. The downfall of the church in any part of
the world or failures of a few ministers of the Word of God should not
make us give up our relationship with the church. Church faced
challenges throughout the past 20 centuries. However, let us remember,
Jesus is its head, and he is in control. Trials should help us learn and
act for the betterment of the church.
8. The maximum produce of the good soil was because it was not a footpath, nor a stony area, and did not allow thorny bushes to grow. Are we free from hurdles of bad addiction, worldly anxieties, and greed? Let us be receptive to the Word of God, nurture it in our heart, and produce its fruit through our actions of charity.