10 But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. 11 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, 12 “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.’ ”
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 “The sower sows the word. 15 “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. 16 “These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 “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. 18 “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 “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. 20 “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.”
Devotional
This is the follow up to the previous post of the parable of the Sower. It begins with the twelve and those near Jesus after He had spoken to the multitudes asking the Lord Jesus why He spoke to them in parables. This is Jesus’ prelude then to explaining the parable of the sower to us. Matthew also records Jesus saying at this time: “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” Matt. 13:12 That is why Jesus’ quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10) to His disciples in Mark 3:12 is so important. People should never take lightly the Lord Jesus or the Words He speaks, for He is God's Prophet who speaks in God's Name (Deut. 18:15, 18-19). Therefore Jesus is making a marked distinction between those who know Him, who are inside the Kingdom by their believing in Him as He declares Himself to be, and those who are outside, who for whatever reasons do not. The parable of the Sower then is not describing the way into the Kingdom, it is describing potential processes that take place in people's lives when they hear the Word of God that Jesus speaks. For the gospel is a simple message: God loves you so He sent Jesus Christ His Son to die on a cross for you, then Jesus rose from the dead, and after forty days ascended back to the Father in heaven so that all who repent and believe in Him will have forgiveness of all their sins and everlasting life. Now Jesus' exhortation here is given in His and the disciple’s native land of Galilee; where Jesus' ministry began in Nazareth His hometown. But they rejected Him as the Messiah so Jesus went on to Capernaum, Herod's city, and taught in the synagogues there, doing many mighty deeds and miraculous works, healing people even in the synagogues on the Sabbath, and now by the Sea of Galilee.
And thus as Jesus’ fame spreads far and wide people increasingly are coming to Him from farther locals. Even beyond traditional Jewish territories, to be healed by Him, or to hear Him speak, or see a miracle performed by Him etc. And with the peoples came the Jewish religious leaders to investigate this Man who seemed to be turning the world; or at least their world upside down. Often refuting their interpretations of the Scriptures, which they held to be authoritative and binding on the people, and instead preaching the Kingdom of God and His Lordship of it. Therefore you have scribes (who copied and interpreted the law of Moses and thus were held in very high esteem by the people) coming up from Jerusalem, to not only investigate Jesus, but now more than ever to refute Him before the people, to discredit Him, which is what they were trying to do when Jesus warned both them and the crowds about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. So Jesus for a time withdraws from them and the Synagogues of Capernaum and goes to the nearby shores of the Sea of Galilee and begins teaching again to the multitudes that follow Him there, but now in parables (See Matthew 13). The first parable Jesus speaks to the multitudes is the “parable of the Sower” which carries with it profound insights as well as warnings. So now when Jesus was alone with His disciples; that is the twelve Apostles and others who were following Him they asked Jesus what the parable meant. "And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?" Vs. 13
Now in explaining the parable of the Sower Jesus will reveal basically four different types of responses when people hear the Good News about Him. Jesus begins by saying: “The sower sows the word.” 15 “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." Vs. 14-15 In Jesus' first analogy He declares it is Satan who takes these seeds of faith away from those people’s hearts who are by the wayside. And thus the Word of God does not even begin to take hold in their hearts. Therefore don’t be surprised when seeds of faith are sown, wherever they are sown, and then the enemy comes with his own means seeking to undermine what was sown. That pattern is played out time and again in the gospel just as it is in our very lives who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ when we try to evangelize for Him. For wherever seeds of faith are sown there will be obstacles as well opposition to them taking root.
In the next instance, you may recall, Jesus said the seed that fell on the stony ground immediately springs up, but when the sun arises it is scorched and soon withers away. Now this symbolizes those who hear the gospel, rejoice over it's good news, as Jesus say's here, they "immediately receive it with gladness". But “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.” vs. 16 These people then do not come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ either. Though they initially rejoice in hearing about Jesus. Inwardly they never let the Lord Jesus Christ take root in their hearts (See Rev. 3:20). And sadly when tribulation or persecution arises for the Words sake immediately they stumble, meaning they give up their faith, or maybe it would be better to say they give up their pursuit of faith in Jesus Christ and fall away (vs. 16-17). In explaining the third instance Jesus says: “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 “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.” vs. 19-20
Now in stating that Jesus is warning us about the Word of God being choked out by three possible things: “cares of this world”, (see Matt. 6:25-34), the “deceitfulness of riches” (See Matt. 6:19-24) and “the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (See Mark 8:36-39). These three things can be grave obstacles to a person finding their God given purposes in Jesus Christ. Their faith journey then never comes to fruition. Instead it gets chocked out, as Jesus says here. In the first instance by the “cares of this world”, which can be an innumerable amount of worldly concerns that draws people’s time and energies in a hundred different directions. Now in regards lifes' daily worries and needs the Lord Jesus tells us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matt. 6:33-34
In essence what Jesus' is warning about is ones faith in a loving God who promises to provide for all our needs becomes supplanted and the choked out by the “cares of this world”, by one trying to secure their own future by their own means rather than trusting in Jesus Christ who has already secured it. And that is a grave pitfall when people let life's worries dictate their lives affairs rather than the Lord of Life.
In next warning Jesus warns about “the deceitfulness of riches”. Now there is no greater spiritual deception than that which goes with allurement of wealth. Jesus warned in His Sermon on the Mount that no one can serve God and mammon. Mammon being an Aramaic word for riches, often translated money. The Lord Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matt. 6:24
Suffice it to say that Apostle Paul also warned us in his first epistle (or letter) to Timothy to beware of those who make the godliness into a pursuit of gain (1 Tim. 6:5-9). "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Tim. 6:10
The last of the three that Jesus presents to us is: "and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." This is the answer to the analogy where the seed falls amongst the thorns. There are a great many things that say give me your attention, give me your focus. And unless a person is proactive in prioritizing their lifes affairs it is likely their faith journey will fall victim to this. In Luke "desires for other things" is more specifically mentioned as the "pleasures of life" (See Luke 8:14) and thus the Word of God gets choked out and they bring no fruit to maturity.
Now in the finial example Jesus reveals the essential nature of those who truly believe in Him. Who don't fall away when living For Jesus Christ gets hard, as He promises it will (John 16:33). For God's blessing is only on those who endure (Matt. 5:10-12). Or those who don't have any real faith in God. God being more of a concept to them, than a Person of Trinity who both creates, provides, and governs the affairs of all life. Who can intercede into any person's or nations circumstances at anytime, to accomplish anything.
Remember Jesus Christ's resurrection and ascension is God's Personal victory over Satan, sin and death accomplished for us and in us. All things have been made subject to Jesus Christ who is our Lord. Therefore there is nothing that can ever remove us from God's grace once we have come to saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus and a personal faith in Him. That is why the Apostle Paul boldly declared:
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now the Lord declares in the finial exhortation of the parable of Sower: “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.” Notice where the good seed finds good ground, they accept it, and bear fruit some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then will bear fruit in His Name.
Scripture Quotations
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
‘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.’ ”
13 And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables? 14 “The sower sows the word. 15 “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. 16 “These likewise are the ones sown on stony ground who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with gladness; 17 “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. 18 “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 “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. 20 “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.”
Devotional
This is the follow up to the previous post of the parable of the Sower. It begins with the twelve and those near Jesus after He had spoken to the multitudes asking the Lord Jesus why He spoke to them in parables. This is Jesus’ prelude then to explaining the parable of the sower to us. Matthew also records Jesus saying at this time: “For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.” Matt. 13:12 That is why Jesus’ quoting from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 6:9-10) to His disciples in Mark 3:12 is so important. People should never take lightly the Lord Jesus or the Words He speaks, for He is God's Prophet who speaks in God's Name (Deut. 18:15, 18-19). Therefore Jesus is making a marked distinction between those who know Him, who are inside the Kingdom by their believing in Him as He declares Himself to be, and those who are outside, who for whatever reasons do not. The parable of the Sower then is not describing the way into the Kingdom, it is describing potential processes that take place in people's lives when they hear the Word of God that Jesus speaks. For the gospel is a simple message: God loves you so He sent Jesus Christ His Son to die on a cross for you, then Jesus rose from the dead, and after forty days ascended back to the Father in heaven so that all who repent and believe in Him will have forgiveness of all their sins and everlasting life. Now Jesus' exhortation here is given in His and the disciple’s native land of Galilee; where Jesus' ministry began in Nazareth His hometown. But they rejected Him as the Messiah so Jesus went on to Capernaum, Herod's city, and taught in the synagogues there, doing many mighty deeds and miraculous works, healing people even in the synagogues on the Sabbath, and now by the Sea of Galilee.
And thus as Jesus’ fame spreads far and wide people increasingly are coming to Him from farther locals. Even beyond traditional Jewish territories, to be healed by Him, or to hear Him speak, or see a miracle performed by Him etc. And with the peoples came the Jewish religious leaders to investigate this Man who seemed to be turning the world; or at least their world upside down. Often refuting their interpretations of the Scriptures, which they held to be authoritative and binding on the people, and instead preaching the Kingdom of God and His Lordship of it. Therefore you have scribes (who copied and interpreted the law of Moses and thus were held in very high esteem by the people) coming up from Jerusalem, to not only investigate Jesus, but now more than ever to refute Him before the people, to discredit Him, which is what they were trying to do when Jesus warned both them and the crowds about blaspheming the Holy Spirit. So Jesus for a time withdraws from them and the Synagogues of Capernaum and goes to the nearby shores of the Sea of Galilee and begins teaching again to the multitudes that follow Him there, but now in parables (See Matthew 13). The first parable Jesus speaks to the multitudes is the “parable of the Sower” which carries with it profound insights as well as warnings. So now when Jesus was alone with His disciples; that is the twelve Apostles and others who were following Him they asked Jesus what the parable meant. "And He said to them, “Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?" Vs. 13
Now in explaining the parable of the Sower Jesus will reveal basically four different types of responses when people hear the Good News about Him. Jesus begins by saying: “The sower sows the word.” 15 “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." Vs. 14-15 In Jesus' first analogy He declares it is Satan who takes these seeds of faith away from those people’s hearts who are by the wayside. And thus the Word of God does not even begin to take hold in their hearts. Therefore don’t be surprised when seeds of faith are sown, wherever they are sown, and then the enemy comes with his own means seeking to undermine what was sown. That pattern is played out time and again in the gospel just as it is in our very lives who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ when we try to evangelize for Him. For wherever seeds of faith are sown there will be obstacles as well opposition to them taking root.
In the next instance, you may recall, Jesus said the seed that fell on the stony ground immediately springs up, but when the sun arises it is scorched and soon withers away. Now this symbolizes those who hear the gospel, rejoice over it's good news, as Jesus say's here, they "immediately receive it with gladness". But “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.” vs. 16 These people then do not come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ either. Though they initially rejoice in hearing about Jesus. Inwardly they never let the Lord Jesus Christ take root in their hearts (See Rev. 3:20). And sadly when tribulation or persecution arises for the Words sake immediately they stumble, meaning they give up their faith, or maybe it would be better to say they give up their pursuit of faith in Jesus Christ and fall away (vs. 16-17). In explaining the third instance Jesus says: “Now these are the ones sown among thorns; they are the ones who hear the word, 19 “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.” vs. 19-20
Now in stating that Jesus is warning us about the Word of God being choked out by three possible things: “cares of this world”, (see Matt. 6:25-34), the “deceitfulness of riches” (See Matt. 6:19-24) and “the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (See Mark 8:36-39). These three things can be grave obstacles to a person finding their God given purposes in Jesus Christ. Their faith journey then never comes to fruition. Instead it gets chocked out, as Jesus says here. In the first instance by the “cares of this world”, which can be an innumerable amount of worldly concerns that draws people’s time and energies in a hundred different directions. Now in regards lifes' daily worries and needs the Lord Jesus tells us: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matt. 6:33-34
In essence what Jesus' is warning about is ones faith in a loving God who promises to provide for all our needs becomes supplanted and the choked out by the “cares of this world”, by one trying to secure their own future by their own means rather than trusting in Jesus Christ who has already secured it. And that is a grave pitfall when people let life's worries dictate their lives affairs rather than the Lord of Life.
In next warning Jesus warns about “the deceitfulness of riches”. Now there is no greater spiritual deception than that which goes with allurement of wealth. Jesus warned in His Sermon on the Mount that no one can serve God and mammon. Mammon being an Aramaic word for riches, often translated money. The Lord Jesus said: “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon.” Matt. 6:24
Suffice it to say that Apostle Paul also warned us in his first epistle (or letter) to Timothy to beware of those who make the godliness into a pursuit of gain (1 Tim. 6:5-9). "For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows." 1 Tim. 6:10
The last of the three that Jesus presents to us is: "and the desires for other things entering in choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful." This is the answer to the analogy where the seed falls amongst the thorns. There are a great many things that say give me your attention, give me your focus. And unless a person is proactive in prioritizing their lifes affairs it is likely their faith journey will fall victim to this. In Luke "desires for other things" is more specifically mentioned as the "pleasures of life" (See Luke 8:14) and thus the Word of God gets choked out and they bring no fruit to maturity.
Now in the finial example Jesus reveals the essential nature of those who truly believe in Him. Who don't fall away when living For Jesus Christ gets hard, as He promises it will (John 16:33). For God's blessing is only on those who endure (Matt. 5:10-12). Or those who don't have any real faith in God. God being more of a concept to them, than a Person of Trinity who both creates, provides, and governs the affairs of all life. Who can intercede into any person's or nations circumstances at anytime, to accomplish anything.
Remember Jesus Christ's resurrection and ascension is God's Personal victory over Satan, sin and death accomplished for us and in us. All things have been made subject to Jesus Christ who is our Lord. Therefore there is nothing that can ever remove us from God's grace once we have come to saving knowledge of the Lord Jesus and a personal faith in Him. That is why the Apostle Paul boldly declared:
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:
“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now the Lord declares in the finial exhortation of the parable of Sower: “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.” Notice where the good seed finds good ground, they accept it, and bear fruit some thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred. Those who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ then will bear fruit in His Name.
Scripture Quotations
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, (Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson, Inc.) 1982.
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