Matthew 13: Kingdom Extravaganza (1)

Pray Psalm 126.4, 5.
Bring back our captivity, O LORD,
As the streams in the South.
Those who sow in tears
Shall reap in joy.

Sing Psalm 126.4, 5.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns!)
Restore our fortunes, Lord our King! Let grace like flowing streams prevail.
All they with tears of joy shall sing who sow while yet they weep and wail.

Read and meditate on Matthew 13.1-8, 18-23.

Prepare.
1. What are the different types of soil in this parable?

2. What is the seed, and who is the sower?

Meditate.
Jesus spent chapter 12 asserting that He is Lord – of the Sabbath, of forgiveness and justification, over Satan and demons, and even over death. We might expect that, on the heels of that astonishing series of assertions, Jesus would tell us something more about the Kingdom over which He rules, and which He came to bring near (Matt. 4.17). In chapter 13, He does not disappoint, unleashing a barrage of dizzying and glorious parables to capture the hearts and impress the minds of His hearers with the greatness, extent, and power of that domain over which He is Lord.

We begin with the parable of the soils, which we will consider in its entirety, skipping over for now Jesus’ explanation of why He spoke in parables.

The focus of the parable is on the four soil types, each representing a different state of readiness of the human heart, from hard and unreceptive, through shallow and easily entangled, to good and productive. It’s probably true that, at one time or another, our hearts show each of these facets. The goal, for those who are in the Lord’s household – those who hear and do His Word (Matt. 12.48-50) – is to make our hearts into good soil, so that we receive the Word eagerly, sink it deep in our souls, and cultivate it daily through faithful reading and obedience, so that it brings forth the fruit God intends.

We must not be content not to hear and receive the Word. Persistence in so doing indicates a hardness of heart that has not truly received the good seed of God’s Word. Nor must we be content for our faith to be merely shallow and without deep roots, or to become choked or snared by worldly distractions (Col. 3.16). Rather, we must ready our hearts, through confession and repentance, to receive the good seed of the Word from Jesus day by day, meditating on it, seeking ways immediately to carry out what it requires, and rejoicing in the Lord at every indication of fruitfulness. We do not expect to all bear the same fruit, or in the same quantities; but that some fruit is expected in our lives, Jesus has already explained (Matt. 12.33). We must be diligent to cultivate as much and as varied fruit as we can.

Seek the sowing of the good seed in your soul. Work it in deeply, meditating on the Word, comparing it with other passages of Scripture, even memorizing a verse, to set it in your mind. Seek the Lord for guidance and power to bring forth the fruit of the Word, and thus to prove that you are a true member of His household and Kingdom.

Seek also to sow the good seed of the Kingdom, and to encourage and help those among whom you sow it to open their hearts to the Good News of Jesus and His Kingdom.

Reflect.
1. What is your practice of sowing the Word into your soul? How might you help that Word to take deeper root in your heart, mind, and conscience?

2. Just because someone may not be “ready” to receive the Word from us, does this mean we shouldn’t sow it? Explain.

3. How can you make sure your own soul is always “good soil” for the Word of the Lord?

Even as on bad ground there were three diverse situations (by the path, upon rocky ground and among thorns), so too on good ground the diversity is of three types: fruit of one hundredfold, sixtyfold and thirtyfold. Both in one and the other there is a change that takes place in the will, not in the nature itself. In both the unbelievers and believers it is the heart that receives the seed. Jerome (347-420), Commentary on Matthew 2.13.23

Today, Lord, let me both bear fruit and sow the good seed, as I…

Pray Psalm 126.1-6.
Jesus is sowing the good seed of the Kingdom through His servants. How will you sow that seed today?

Sing Psalm 126.1-6.
Psalm 126.1-6 (Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns!)
When God restored our fortunes all, we were like those who sweetly dream.
Our mouths with joy and laughter filled, made Him our constant song and theme.

Then the astonished nations said, “The Lord has done great things for them!”
Indeed, great things our God has done, Whose Name we praise, Amen, Amen!

Restore our fortunes, Lord our King! Let grace like flowing streams prevail.
All they with tears of joy shall sing who sow while yet they weep and wail.

They who in tears of sorrow sow and cast their seed on every hand,
with joy shall reach their heav’nly home, and bring the harvest of their land.

T. M. Moore

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. All psalms for singing adapted from The Ailbe Psalter. All quotations from Church Fathers from Ancient Christian Commentary Series, General Editor Thomas C. Oden (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2006). All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (available by clicking here).