The Word of the King (Matthew 13:1-23)
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
At the turn of 2014 into 2015, I had the unique opportunity to visit the city of Istanbul in Turkey. I went to visit friends serving on the mission field and to explore if Turkey could be an option of where the Lord was leading me as I was pursuing overseas missions.
My time in Istanbul including many things, from observing the people and culture, observing a gathering of Muslim believers on their Friday gathering, being questioned by a government spy that was poor at his job in trying to tie my connection to my friends as he was trying to find out why they were in the country.
But one of the most beautiful experiences was getting to gather with some saints in Istanbul for a gathering on the Lord’s Day. In that gathering, they sang the word, read the word, prayed the word, and preached the word just like we do here. But there was an issue, though I was aware that this was all happening, my understanding of all that was sang and heard was not possible. For everything that was said that day was in Turkish, a language that I do not speak or understand. So hearing I did not hear and seeing I did not perceive.
God’s word went forth, but for me that word was not able to work in the same way as for my Turkish brothers and sisters in Christ that Lord’s Day morning. The problem was not with the word though, it was with me. It was with me because I was unable to understand the language of the people in which they spoke.
And while that is certainly a reason to not fully understand what is being said with different languages at work, it is another to hear the same message in the same language and the results be completely different. That is what I want to talk about this morning as we continue our study through the Gospel According to Matthew.
Please then take your Bible and open with to Matthew 13:1-23. That can be found on page #972 in the Red Pew Bible there in your seats.
Back in Matthew 3, when John the Baptist came onto the scene, he was preaching the message of the kingdom of heaven. Jesus quickly followed as he began his public ministry of preaching the same. For we previously read from Matthew 4:17 “17 From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.””
Yet as this message went forth, over and over again, there were those who believed, such as the disciples, at least 11 of them did. But then there wasn’t some mass belief either. In fact many were hostile to Jesus and his preaching, while many others remained indifferent to Jesus. Therefore the question was beginning to wonder, was Jesus truly the Messiah who was to bring about God’s Kingdom, because it just didn’t seem to be coming.
And so, as we enter Matthew 13, we will move from a narrative genre of seeing Israel stumble over the teaching of Jesus to hearing Jesus teach on why some hear and some stumble as he teaches on the Kingdom of Heaven and the working of that kingdom.
Before we read our passage, let me make a few notes here on Matthew 13. In total, we have 7 parables given, with two explanations of parables, a purpose of the parables is given, along with the parables being fulfillment of God’s promises. So, with these 7 parables, there can be many ways we could labor to unfold these. In one sense, Matthew 13:1-43 makes perfect sense for a unity, tying together nicely with the ending of He who has ears, let him hear in verse 43, just as the ending of the first parable in verse 9.
But, we aren’t going to do that. We are going to spend the next three weeks, Lord willing, working our way through Matthew 13:1-52 and these parables and seeing the progression in understanding the things of the kingdom of heaven.
(Read Matthew 13:1-23).
Main Idea: True Christians are those who not only hear and receive the word of God, but they endure and bear fruit as a result of the word.
Typically, as we unfold the main idea we seek to work our way in the order of the text. Not today. Because we have the parable of the sower, the giving of the purpose of the parables, then the explanation of the sower as the order of the text, we are going to try and help ourselves, both me as the preacher and you as the hearers by first considering the why of parables, then the parable itself. So, here are the points of the sermon and the order in which we will seek to unfold this main idea:
The Purpose of the Parables (13:1-3a, 10-17)
The Parable of the Sower (13:3b-9, 18-23)
I. The Purpose of the Parables (Matthew 13:1-3, 10-17)
I. The Purpose of the Parables (Matthew 13:1-3, 10-17)
Opposition has been increasing against Jesus. There has been the opposition from the religious leaders seeking to question his ministry, his proclaiming of God’s coming kingdom. As we ended our time last week, we even saw Jesus’ mother and brothers try and pull him away from the teaching because of the increasing opposition. Yet, none of this persuaded Jesus to leave his work. Jesus was to continue with the mission of proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom which was coming about. Look with then at V.1-3a…
Another great crowd surrounds Jesus to hear him as he begins to teach. A great crowd large enough to force him from the shore and into the boat. But as Jesus teaches, he teaches the crowds in parables.
What is a parable though? To borrow from Jonathan Pennington in his book Come & See, “Parable is really a general term we use to describe a range of ways of speaking that all use analogy. Parables can be lengthy allegorical stories…or they can be simple, pithy aphorisms…The consistent element is that they all use some comparison or analogy.” [1]
And that is what we see in Matthew 13 from Jesus’ parables. They are comparisons of what the kingdom of heaven is like using various comparisons. Yet in the comparing, Jesus is teaching those with ears to hear what the kingdom of heaven is like.
Because of the use of these many parables that Jesus was teaching in, including the parable of the sower, Jesus’ disciples come to him, V.10…
This is a fair question from the disciples. But the answer from Jesus was likely to surprise them and maybe even many of us today. V.11…
In saying the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, Jesus is talking about what Paul writes about in Ephesians 3, the mysteries of the kingdom, mysteries that Paul clarifies were hidden from the previous generations. But now, to some is given this mystery, this secret so that they may know and understand the things of God’s kingdom. However, to others, this mystery, this secret remains a mystery.
Therefore, from the outset, let me make it clear, Jesus teaches in parables to show the tension of God’s divine sovereignty in salvation, as well as man’s responsibility.
Therefore, the parables are to work to give understanding to some, while hardening others hearts. We see this from what Jesus adds in V.12…
Those to whom the LORD has called and awakens through the power of the gospel, they will be given more. They will come to understand more clearly the things of God’s kingdom and his grace. However, those who have rejected Christ, who have remained indifferent before him, the parables would work to remove what little understanding they had and further harden their hearts.
Same parable, different results. The proclaiming of the kingdom works to show God’s work of both salvation and judgment on those whom he has called and those he has not. For clearly the mystery is given to some as a means of God’s grace to them, while withheld from others. This certainly is part of the doctrines of grace in God’s predestining and choosing of all that are his.
However, as we see God’s electing purposes at work here through the parables, we also see the responsibility of man in such matters. Man is not without responsibility or excuse. For it is not as if God has changed their minds from belief to unbelief. They already were in unbelief. Therefore the parables work to further harden them in that unbelief. They work to further blind the already blind. We see this as Jesus moves on, V.13-15…
The parables work to reveal the hearts of the people, to show the dullness of their hearts, fulfilling the word of Isaiah the prophet. Earlier in our service, we heard Isaiah 6 read.
In that passage, Isaiah beholds God’s glory and feels his iniquity. He cries out in his uncleanness to then have it atoned for. And then the Lord speaks and asks for who he shall send as his messenger. Isaiah volunteers. The message that Isaiah is to take is what we read here, a warning of judgment against those who have failed to hear and perceive the things of God. That the word then will further dull their hearts.
But here we must realize, the dulling of these hearts is not some unjust and cruel act by God. The hearts of these men and women, boys and girls, servants and religious leaders were already dull and resistant to God. And so, the gospel works as a means of further dulling their minds and hearts to the point that they willingly close their eyes in their resistance to see the things of the Kingdom of God. Jesus speaks in parables to continue leaving these dull hearers and closed eyed people from being able to repent as their hearts further harden against Christ. They are given up to what they already love.
So if that is true of those who hear the gospel and do not hear and understand, what of these disciples who it has been given to them to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven? Was their salvation dependent on them? Was it dependent on them having the right mind and heart that God could save them? By no means! The sowing of the word of the gospel did a different work in these. It was planted in them, and it began to work as an act of God’s merciful grace to them. In his excellent commentary, Leon Morris puts it like this, “The disciples were not disciples because, left to themselves, they had decided that this would be a good thing. They were disciples on the Gospel view because God had chosen them. And it was the outworking of this divine choice that they came to see Jesus for who he was and for what he was doing in bringing in the kingdom of God.” [2]
We see this in V.16-17…Jesus tells his disciples they are blessed, because their eyes see and their ears see. They have the privilege of seeing what many righteous ones before them longed to see. All because of God’s grace to them through the gospel working in them to open their eyes. Charles Spurgeon here writes, “Happy men to be chosen to such a privilege! Grace has opened your eyes and ears.” [3]
The parables are a means of carrying out God’s purposes of election in salvation, while at the same time showing men’s responsibility in such matters.
Beloved, this means it is the word of the kingdom that does the dividing work. Whether you fully affirm of God’s electing purposes or struggle with the concept, the task is one and the same for you, preach the gospel of God’s coming kingdom. For it is through the word of God that his purposes will be carried out, even if it seems like a slow work. Those whom God has called will be given the ability through the word and the Spirit to understand, and those who have not been called, they will close their eyes as they drift into further unbelief about God’s king and his kingdom.
Jesus’ use of parables show us that we then have two options. We can either have ears to hear and understand or we can have ears that do not hear. We can either believe Jesus or we cannot.
Likewise, Jesus’ use of parables is a means of encouragement for us all, regardless of where we are on the doctrines of grace and God’s divine election. For the means of this work is through the proclaiming of God’s kingdom. And so, as Christians, we are to go and declare the message of the kingdom and entrust God to do his saving work through that word and the power of the Spirit.
May God give us all ears to hear and understand. But even though there are only two ways, to hear and understand or to hear and not understand, these results will come about differently depending on the different soils of our hearts. Hence, the parable of the sower.
II. The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23)
II. The Parable of the Sower (Matthew 13:3-9, 18-23)
The parable of the sower is the sowing of God’s word, but how that word brings about different results depending on the different soils of one’s own heart. The parable of the sower is aiming to teach us that those who will enter God’s kingdom are those who not only receive God’s word, but that word works in, endures in, and who bear fruit as a result of that word.
First, notice the three bad soils of those who have not received the mystery of the kingdom.
Seed along the path
Seed along the path
The first soil is that of the path from V.4. We see the explanation of the path and snatching of the seed in V.19…
This first soil is the soil of hearts that have no tenderness to the gospel with no ability to hear it or understand it. And yet, notice the power of the gospel, it even with such a man or woman with such a hardened heart, the gospel is powerful enough to embed itself in such a hardened heart, yet it is unable to produce fruit as it is quickly snatched away by the enemy.
….
The rocky ground
The rocky ground
The second soil is that of the rocky ground (V.5-6). Jesus explains it in V.20-21…
There are those who seem at first to receive God’s word in the moment, yet the trials of the pilgrimage journey in following the King prove too difficult, and these fall away, proving to not have truly received God’s word. For the seed did not last and endure in them.
How many times have we seen such with our own eyes? To have seen those who get excited about Jesus and even say they delight in the gospel, to only fall away through the tribulation of this life.
We often try to downplay this by calling it backsliding. But let it be clear, the Bible gives no language for backsliding, but it does give us language here for rocky soil that prevents the gospel from taking root and being scorched by the heat of suffering. This soil is bad soil that leads to no endurance and ultimately no faith. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
Beloved, do not merely get excited about the gospel, work the soil of your rocky heart to make sure the gospel is able to continually go deeper into your heart and take lasting and enduring root to withstand the tribulation and persecution that comes with holding to the word of God’s kingdom.
Seed among Thorns
Seed among Thorns
The third soil is the soil that is surrounded by thorns as given in V.7, and then explained here in V.22…
The seed of the word at first here quickly shoots up, it appears to be growing, but is then choked out by the cares of the world and the deceitful riches of it.
As Christians, we are called to live in this present world, but not as citizens, but exiles. For in coming to Jesus, our citizenship is to be transferred to the kingdom of heaven. Yet many in hearing the gospel desire the reward of heaven while they continue to love the things of this world more than they do God’s kingdom. And so, their love of the things of this world begins to choke out the seed of the gospel.
Friends, what thorns are currently choking the gospel in your own life, in your own soul? Is a love of money choking the word out of your heart, allowing it little room while money dominates? Riches of this world will deceive you and slowly choke the eternal word of God out until it ceases to exist.
But beware, the things that choke the gospel are not merely riches, it is that unrepentant sin that you keep clinging to that too will choke the gospel. For the love of sin chokes the gospel seed out of our hearts.
Beloved, labor to root out all sin. To use John Owen’s well known line, “Be killing sin or sin will be killing you.” Do not let the word of the gospel be choked out by being negligent in ridding out the thorns in your heart that seek to choke out the gospel.
The Good Soil
The Good Soil
In V.8 we see good soil mentioned that bears various fruit with it. Then this is explained in V.23…
Different measures of fruit come, but all have heard the word and understood it. These are those who have endured the tribulations and persecutions on account of the word and had fruit despite it. These are those who have not had the word choked out, despite the attempts to. Fruit is there as evidence of the word taking root in their hearts and growing and thriving.
Beloved, this is the main application of this passage, to have ears to hear and understand is the way of the kingdom! If we are to truly be Christians, that is those who are following King Jesus, then we must hear and understand the word of the Kingdom! We must be those who even in the midst of struggling to understand seek the help of our Lord to grow in understanding, just as the disciples did.
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we leave this word from Matthew 13:1-23, let us then examine the soils of our heart and do work in our hearts to ensure the gospel has room to embed in our hearts and grow. Seek to be killing sin, seek to be strengthening yourself to endure the race so that you do not fall away from the trials of the Christian life.
Those who have yet to believe, hear these words and seek understanding, do not let your heart harden against the word of God. Those who do believe, not only keep doing work, but keep scattering the seeds of the gospel and do not grow weary from such work. The building of the kingdom does not come at once. It is a slow and steady work. But it is a work centered around the message of the kingdom. Therefore let us keep this as our main task. Let us keep proclaiming the gospel despite the many who will reject. For even as many reject, there will be those whom the LORD has appointed to believe. And we should take comfort and delight in this! Let us then be encouraged in the work that lays before us and keep sowing until the kingdom comes with the return of the King!
Let’s pray…
Endnotes
Endnotes
[1] Jonathan Pennington. Come & See. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 48-49.
[2] Leon Morris. The Gospel According to Matthew: The Pillar New Testament Commentary Series. (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1992), 341.
[3] C. H. Spurgeon, The Gospel of the Kingdom: A Commentary on the Book of Matthew (London: Passmore and Alabaster, 1893), 100.
Scripture Reading & Congregational Prayer
Scripture Reading & Congregational Prayer
1 In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.” 8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” 9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ 10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” 11 Then I said, “How long, O Lord?” And he said: “Until cities lie waste without inhabitant, and houses without people, and the land is a desolate waste, 12 and the Lord removes people far away, and the forsaken places are many in the midst of the land. 13 And though a tenth remain in it, it will be burned again, like a terebinth or an oak, whose stump remains when it is felled.” The holy seed is its stump.
