In the Name
of the Father and of the X Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Grace
and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord
and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen
Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (2011)
Sanctified
to be Good Soil
Matthew 13:1-9,
18-23 (ESV)
That same day Jesus went out of the house
and sat beside the sea. [2] And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got
into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. [3] And he
told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. [4] And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the
birds came and devoured them. [5] Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they
did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth
of soil, [6] but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no
root, they withered away. [7] Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns
grew up and choked them. [8] Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain,
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. [9] He who has ears,
let him hear."
"Hear then the parable of the
sower: [19] When
anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one
comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown
along the path. [20] As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who
hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, [21] 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. [22] As for what was sown among
thorns, 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. [23] As for
what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands
it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another
sixty, and in another thirty."
The parable of the sower is one that is well known to Christians.
In this parable our Lord points out that the kingdom of grace, which is the
Church, has its origin in the Word of the Gospel, which is the spiritual,
living and life-producing seed for salvation. Moreover, this kingdom is founded
through the sowing (the proclamation) of that Word. However, as that Word is
sown it falls upon differing types of soils, specifically, four types of soils,
which our Lord uses to illustrate human hearts of differing conditions.
The first soil is soil that is likened to an earthen path, pounded
hard by the passage of many feet. This soil represents those hearts who,
without quickly repudiate the Word of God when it is preached to them. These
are the indifferent, those that have hardened their hearts through their
steadfast service of sin.
The second soil is likened to the thin soil of rocky ground. This
soil represents the hearts of those who initially receive the Word in wild
enthusiasm for the Savior, but this enthusiasm soon becomes a thing of the
past; they are the ones who today shout “Hosanna!” and tomorrow cry out, “Crucify
Him!” These are the emotional, superficial, sentimentalists who are so easily
impressed by the Word, who are initially moved to tears and make good resolutions.
However, they retain their contrariness of an unbroken heart, and therefore easily
lapse again into the sleep of death and destruction. As long as an attitude
toward the Word consists merely in easily aroused, pleasing emotions, all is
well, but when the Word presents its demands, that is when
the Word becomes a determining factor in the heart, exacting obedience in the
hour of trial. At such time the old unregenerate heart takes control and the
newly created life of promise sickens and dies.
The third soil is likened to soil overrun with thorns so thick
they choke off any efforts by other plants to grow. This soil represents hearts
like the rich young man; it has a certain longing for salvation, but at the
same time desires to retain the old worldly spirit in its various forms. These
are those who would have what is of heaven and what is of the earth, but who
are in reality of an earthly heart and mind. Hearts such as these quickly turn
from heavenly ways when renunciation and suffering begin calling at their door.
Life’s trials and tribulations become to them a rock of offense which hinders any
further Christian growth and leads to a fall from grace.
The fourth soil is soil that is rich and fertile, good soil able
to grow what is planted. This soil represents hearts that have the proper
receptive attitude, such as the heart of a disciple. In hearts such as these
the seed produces fruit.
As we hear this parable read it is not unusual for Christians, sitting
in the pews listening to the pastor preach a sermon on this parable, to sit back,
relax, and say to themselves; “boy, I’m sure glad my
soil was good!” However, such thoughts are leaps of false faith which lead one
away from the very Word that is being preached.
If we just put our minds to the task of remembering how Holy
Scriptures describes us, it will quickly become apparent that of ourselves we
are anything but “good soil” Scripture describes us as barren, fallow ground,
unfit for planting. God’s Word tells us that we are dead in our trespasses and
sins (Eph. 2:1 ESV) and what’s more, we have been this way from our birth. The
Psalmist says to us, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and
in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5 ESV). Moreover, St. Paul
drives this point home when he says to us, “All have turned aside; together they have
become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12 ESV).
Therefore, when reference is made to the “good soil,” it is evident to any one
familiar with Holy Scripture that this is not a word-picture of the soil as it
is found by the Word. Rather, it is a clear illustration that the Word itself
must, through its divine and inherent power, produce “good soil.” It must
create from unwilling hearts, hearts that are willing to believe, willing to be
conformed, and willing to be obedient to God’s divine will. Our
Lord, through His Indwelling Word Sanctifies
our hearts turning them into Good Soil.
Throughout the New Testament, the Holy Spirit details the miracles
performed by our Lord Jesus during His ministry culminating in the greatest
miracle of all, which was His resurrection from the dead on that first Easter
morning. In the parable of the sower, our Lord Jesus is telling us that He
continues to raise the dead, like He did Lazarus, and what’s more, He tells us
how He raises the dead; He raises us through the implantation of the His Saving
Word in our heart. The Lord tells us through the prophet Isaiah, “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 55:11 ESV). God’s purpose is to save His
people from their sin and reward them with eternal life. Thus He must awaken
the dead; He must regenerate the fallow ground of the human heart. He says
through the prophet Ezekiel, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new
spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of
stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV).
Therefore, God, through His Word, changes that which is empty, void, and barren
into something that is filled, valid, and fertile. His Word changes our
un-producing hearts into hearts producing “good works through faith.”
As we contemplate this marvelous truth, feeling good about
ourselves that God has chosen us to receive the benefits of His gracious,
heart-changing Word, we cannot help but recall that before He choose us to
become recipients, and chose us He did, for He says to us; “All things have been handed over
to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one
knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal
him” (Matthew 11:27 ESV). Yes, He chose us to become recipients of His Father’s
divine love even though we were anything but “good soil.” In fact, we never
gave being “good soil” a thought. Even now, because of the sin that continues
to afflict us, we easily cause the “good soil” produced in us by Christ to
become a little less good and continued, unrepentant sin will lead us to fall
back into one of the other three types of soil spoken of by our Lord Jesus.
Although we have been cleansed in the waters of Baptism and have
been brought to faith in Jesus Christ, sin continues to plague us. Our sinful
nature stays with us throughout our entire life. However, when we sin we know
we have One to whom we can turn, confess our sins and
be forgiven, that One is our Lord, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself in death so
we might live for eternity. Therefore, we must rely on the power of our Savior,
Jesus Christ to rescue us, to continue to call us, to comfort us, and to
regenerate us into the “good soil” He desires us to be. Our Lord, through the
indwelling Holy Spirit, continues to Sanctify our hearts so
we may become Good Soil.
“As for what was sown on good
soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears
fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another
thirty” (v.23). However, that
understanding and fruit bearing spoken of by our Lord Jesus is not our own, it
is a gift from God. St. Paul tells us, “In him you also, when you heard the word of
truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the
promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire
possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13).
All
that we accomplish as Christians is attributed solely to the power of the Holy
Spirit dwelling within us, We respond to the Third Article of the Creed by
saying, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus
Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the
Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true
faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole
Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true
faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and
the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead,
and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.”
Plagued
by our flesh, the world, and Satan we do not despair because we have the Holy
Spirit to help us everyday live the baptized life of daily contrition and
repentance, drowning that Old Adam within us with its sins and evil desires,
and leading us through prayer and the power of faith to arouse the new man born
in the waters of Baptism and grown in “good soil” to daily emerge and produce
the “good fruit” of faith. It is this urging by the Holy Spirit that gives us
the desire to proclaim the Word of faith to the world; that Word which even
though it falls on fallow hearts, will still have its way and produce “good
soil.”
Can
we take credit for being “good soil?” No, because soil is completely passive;
it is subject to its environment; our hearts are subject to the outside
influence of the cosmic powers, both good and evil. Yet, God has blessed us to
be “good soil” through Jesus Christ, and He calls on us to plant the seed of
His Word throughout the world in every conceivable soil so the Holy Spirit can;
Sanctify the hearts of others, turning them
into “good soil.” Amen.
May the peace
of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. Amen.