February 3, 2012

Matthew 13:3-23

Then he told them many things in parables, saying: “A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. Whoever has ears, let them hear.”

The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. This is why I speak to them in parables: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:

 “‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

 “Listen then to what the parable of the sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart. This is the seed sown along the path. The seed falling on rocky ground refers to someone who hears the word and at once receives it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Oftentimes, especially for those of us who grew up in the church, we tend to lose our "spiritual senses"… You might be confused by what I’m saying, but what I mean by this is, we tend to lose the ability to see w/our spiritual eyes, hear with our spiritual ears. So, we miss what God is trying to tell us. It falls on deaf ears or we become so used to hearing the vocal message that we miss its spiritual appeal to us.

In this scripture, Jesus conveys a message in a parable, which brings His disciples to question why He doesn’t always speak clearly. Jesus then explains that the secrets of the kingdom are not for everyone and that those who can see, hear, and understand are blessed!

An important message was being communicated in this parable that relates to that aforementioned message. There were four categories of people:

1)    The first group was the group that failed to understand the good message; so, the devil took advantage of this and draws their heart away from the good Word

2)    The second group, you all know them, probably the loudest ones at church, “AMEN!” o_O… But the word never took root in their hearts so they forget about it, probably by Sunday night even…meaning once life sends troubles their way, these people tend to drift off into world rather than drawing closer to God.

3)    The third group hears the Word, they hear it alright; but their preoccupation with this life and the things of this world renders the Word ineffective in their lives. They are blinded by the carnal aspects of this life…

4)    But the fourth group? This group hears and UNDERSTANDS the Word. Subsequently, they pass it on and reflect the message with their words and with their lives, which results in many people coming into the fold!

Which group do you belong to? Better yet, which group should you belong to? If you’re not there, which steps will you take to get there? Think about that and open your “spiritual senses” to receive the message that God is sending you. Wouldn’t want any of us to miss something important because we used our carnal senses when we should have been using our spiritual eyes and ears :)