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TAKE HEED HOW YOU HEAR.
In
the name + of Jesus.
The parables of Jesus are not like Aesop’s
Fables. Aesop told stories with animals speaking
to each other. Sometimes they were lessons
in virtue, other times warnings about vices.
Aesop’s Fables are useful for promoting integrity and curbing destructive
behavior. The parables of Jesus, on the
other hand, do not have talking animals.
Jesus used the activities of every day life, witnessed and lived by his listeners. So, when Jesus spoke of a sower going out to
sow his seed, it was something the people witnessed every fall. When it was time to sow wheat or barley or
some other grain, the sower would take his sack and scatter the seed in the
field. The sower in Jesus’ parable scattered
his seed recklessly. A careful farmer
would be sure to get his seed on decent ground and not on ground that was all
but guaranteed to be unproductive. It is
not, however, a lesson in farming. Like
all parables, this is about the kingdom of God.
The seed is the word of God. Jesus gave this command to his apostles and, subsequently,
to the Church: “Go into all the world and proclaim
the gospel to the whole creation. Whoever
believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does
not believe will be condemned” (Mark 16:15-16). There is nothing
in Jesus’ command about being stingy or strategic in our preaching. While a farmer’s seed may be limited, God’s
word is not. Just as the seed was scattered
carelessly, so the word of God is to be proclaimed generously and recklessly. We don’t know when or where it will please
the Holy Spirit to produce faith by our preaching. And even if it does produce faith, Jesus warns
that a budding faith may not become mature and flourish. But none of that mattered to the sower who went
out to sow the seed. He scattered the
seed recklessly, confident that some would bear fruit. By God’s grace, it does; and it has in you.
This parable is not just about how the
word of God takes root and grows. To be
sure, it does that. But Jesus concluded
this parable with these words: “He who has ears, let him hear” (Matthew 13:9).
Jesus urged people to take these words to heart because the parable
serves as a warning as much as it does instruction. Jesus wants us to take heed how we hear so
that the word will not be lost to us and so that faith will not perish.
Take heed, then, how you hear. Whenever the word of God is preached, the
Lord as at work. Preaching is always
effective. This is what the Lord says: “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there
but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower
and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it
shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:10-11). This is not saying that God’s
word will always produce faith. God’s
grace can be resisted by stubborn and impenitent hearts. Many atheists do not reject God’s word
because they are ignorant of it. Many vocal
atheists used to be Christians. They can
tell you what God’s word says, but they have rejected it. They accuse God’s word of being oppressive,
hateful nonsense.
So, what purpose does the word of God serve
for such people? How is it effective on people
who bitterly reject it? In their case,
God hardens them in their unbelief. If
they are determined to reject God and live without him, God lets them have what
they want. They will perish. Their eternity will be in hell where they will
never have God’s blessings, God’s mercy, or God’s love. They will be free from light and life and
dwell in darkness and eternal death. But
it will not be God’s fault that they have gone there. God, spare us from such a wretched fate! Take heed how you hear; and be sure that you
continue to hear so that the devil will not snatch the word away from you so
that faith dies.
The other three examples of the sower’s
seed being scattered saw God’s word taking root, even if it was just for a
little while. Jesus said, “As for what was sown on rocky ground,
this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet
he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or
persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away”
(Matthew 13:20-21). Take heed how you hear. Based on recent legislation and popular
sentiment, it appears that days of persecution may be close for those who hold
to all of God’s word. Right now, you have
the freedom to prepare for darker days.
It is good, right, and salutary to prepare for them. That means giving more attention to the word
of God. It means praying, probing, and pondering
God’s word so that you become more deeply rooted in the faith, and so that you can
give a testimony to any who would accuse you or misrepresent you.
We probably do not take warnings of persecution very seriously because
we never have had to face it, at least, not with any intensity. We are like the apostles who boasted to
Jesus, “I will never fall away. …Even if I must die with you, I will not deny
you” (Matthew 26:33,35). Such boasts are easy to make when there is no
threat. But in the Garden of Gethsemane,
when they saw that there was a cost for following Jesus, they failed and fled. We should rather be like the apostles earlier
that same night when Jesus warned them, “‘Truly, I say to you, one of you will
betray me.’ And they were very sorrowful
and began to say to him one after another, ‘Is it I, Lord’” (Matthew 26:21-22)?
There, each demonstrated sorrow, humility, and
fear that he might do it. This is an
appropriate fear—that I could prove myself unfaithful when the day of tribulation
or persecution comes. Take heed, then, how
you hear. The Lord is your strength. He strengthens you through his word. That word alone will preserve you.
“As for what was sown among thorns,” Jesus said, “this is the one who hears
the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of
riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). This warning seems most applicable. We are all absorbed and distracted by world
events. We are swept up by politics or finances
or entertainment or sports. They are not
inherently evil, but they are all temporal.
We put a lot of effort into these things and give them a great deal of
attention. We may become so absorbed in
these worldly pursuits that we put God’s word off. What ends up happening is the more you miss
opportunities to hear God’s word, the less you will miss God’s word. But Jesus calls it all deceitful. No matter what worldly pursuits you take up,
even if they are successful, they will never produce the peace that you think
they will. Take heed how you hear.
Anyone who
has ever done gardening is familiar with the weeds. They always grow, no matter how well you have
tended to the soil. But you know what
happens if you leave the weeds go. They will
take over the garden. They will choke
out the good plants. Jesus compares all
these worldly interests not merely to weeds, but to thorns. Thorns not only choke out the good seed, they
cut and they cause pain. If we neglect
the hearing of the word and do not intentionally remove our reasons for this neglect,
faith will be choked out, and we will suffer harm. Take heed how you hear.
Jesus
commented on the fourth seed. “As for what was sown on good soil,
this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit” (Matthew 13:23).
The point, of course, is not that Jesus is telling you to be good soil. Soil doesn’t do anything. It just lays there. The sower has to put something on it for it
to produce anything. Likewise, we cannot
produce anything by ourselves. God must
work in us to create faith and to produce the fruits of faith. He implants the seed. He makes it grow and flourish. The Bible reminds us, “Faith comes from
hearing the message” (Romans 10:17). That is a present tense verb. Faith continues to come by hearing the message. Faith is sustained and strengthened by God’s
word. If we stop hearing, faith is not
fed. At some point, it dies.
Take heed how you hear. To put it another way: Keep on hearing God’s
word. Pray over it. Ponder it.
Talk about it with your family. Continue to faithfully listen to Jesus and
all the Scriptures. For there is no
other word which saves. This word reveals
to you not only that God loves you, but it shows you how God has proved that
love. He sent his only begotten Son into
the world to suffer and die for sinners.
For sins of neglecting God’s word and being lazy in prayer, for sins of
shrinking away from God’s word when the world pressured us to do so, for sins
of devoting more interest to worldly thrills than to heavenly joys—for these sins
and for all sins, Jesus laid down his life.
He is the sin offering which atones for our guilt. Jesus was cursed and condemned for our sins
so that we receive a full pardon and have endless peace. This word reveals that Jesus rose from the
dead to open heaven to us and to assure us of a resurrection from the dead. These corrupted minds, hearts, and bodies will
be raised in perfect and incorruptible glory.
Take heed how you hear. For,
Jesus’ sufferings, death, and resurrection are historical facts. They happened in Palestine about 2,000 years
ago. Whether people have ever heard of
it or not, whether people believe in Jesus or not, these still stand as
historical facts. These truths are preached
not just so you know them, but so that you know they are for you and your benefit. And since you and I continue to prove
ourselves sinners, we need the word which continues to prove that God’s love and
mercy rest upon us.
Take heed how you hear. Faith comes from hearing the message. This is how the Holy Spirit is at work to make you flourish in the faith. This is how the Holy Spirit roots out the weeds that would choke faith. This is how the Holy Spirit deepens the roots so that you will not wither in difficult days. This is how the Holy Spirit prevents the devil from snatching God’s truth from you. And if there are parts of God’s word that continue to befuddle you, fear not. Just keep on hearing. As time goes by, the Holy Spirit may enlighten you to the more difficult passages of the Bible. And even if you don’t understand all of the Bible (and no one on earth ever does), the Lord still makes you confident of his love, his mercy, and his salvation for you. More than anything, that is what you need to hear. And the Lord is pleased to proclaim it recklessly.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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