Getting Personal in Jesus' School Hunch 30
Again Jesus began to teach by
the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he had to get
into a boat, sitting in it out on the lake, while all the people gathered along
the shore at the water’s edge. He taught them many things by parables, and in
his teaching said: “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he scattered
the seed, some fell along the path, birds came and ate it up. Some fell on
rocky places, where there was not much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the
soil was shallow. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched; they
withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up
and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell
on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty,
or even a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him
hear.”
When he was alone, the Twelve
and the others came around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The
secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside
everything is said in parables so that, “`they may be ever seeing but never
perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn
and be forgiven!’” Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable?
How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people
are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it,
Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed
sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But having
no root, so they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes
because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among
thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of
wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it
unfruitful. Others, like seed sown on good soil, hear the word, accept it, and
produce a crop thirty, sixty or even a hundred times what was sown.”
In a Nutshell
Jesus taught that the seeds of God's Kingdom have to be sown in the prepared soil of our lives so God can enjoy His big harvest.
Question
Why did Jesus teach this parable?
The first thing we must do with this story is to listen to it. That's what Jesus said when He finished telling it. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. It's a story that should be discussed after we have heard it and thought about it. It explains how Jesus taught and what He expects of His students. He taught His disciples how to learn, how to listen and how to tell stories. Parables as like the sower's seed. They have to be spread around far and wide and then they will bring forth a big harvest.
Jesus wanted His disciples to think. He waited for them to ask questions. Then He answered them. He wanted them to listen carefully. Jesus wanted disciples who understood why they were alive. He expected them to talk together about their lives as they thought about the parables. He wanted them to really learn how to be part of the story of God's Kingdom. That's what He taught on the boat. "The secret of God's Kingdom has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is in parables so that, “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!” But what does this mean? Was Jesus saying the Twelve were more important than everyone else? I don't think so. Jesus was quoting from Isaiah and saying to them that the secret of God's Kingdom was can now being passed on to them eyeball to eyeball. The sower story already told them that the seed would not take root unless God had prepared the soil. He was also using the parables to explain to the disciples how to go about their future work. The people they will teach, people like those back on the beach, people like themselves, would never understand unless they are given the 'secret'. Jesus knew it was important that they knew it. They didn't have it and wouldn't have it unless He gave it to them. They needed it so much, but what was it?
The answer is: He was their secret. God's acceptance was the priceless treasure. And that is why it was so personal. That is why the 'secret' was something 'those on the outside' can never have. Above everything else Jesus' disciples needed this; they needed to have Him. You can't be an 'outsider' to Jesus and have Him at the same time. He's too personal for that! He brings us into fellowship with God.
Jesus' disciples are called to love their neighbours, but when Jesus was teaching them He wanted them to understand that He was preparing them, the 'good soil'. In other words to understand the sower parable is to understand who it's for. It's for you. "Don't miss my teaching," Jesus says, "by thinking you have it just because you're with me. You have to let me teach you. That's what the parable is for. Don't avoid my concern for you!"
Jesus knew they had to ask hard questions. He knew they couldn't grasp the 'secret' of why He, their Rabbi, had picked them. The parable of the sower was His way of making them His 'prepared ground', where His seed would grow really well. One day they would teach this secret themselves; then they would see the harvest multiply thirty, sixty, hundred times. But first they had to be taught - they had to know the 'secret' - He was there for them.
So we note that He taught the basic parables to the crowds. Jesus planned it that way. Later on His disciples would take what they learned from Him and give it to others. Being part of a crowd does not mean a person is prepared to hear what Jesus was teaching. But teaching the parables to the crowds was an excellent way of breaking up hard ground, a good base from which His disciples could continue His teaching later on. Like the sower, the disciples would throw these stories out wherever they went, over and over again. But first, Jesus had to get personal with them. The disciples had to become His students. Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable?” The secret of the parable is the really amazing part. It is His personal interest in each of His disciples. When He was throwing out stories all over the place, at the beach, along the road, at parties, or walking through the fields, He was preparing them. The sower does not control all the places where the seed falls, but it surely brings a big harvest wherever it falls on prepared soil. In God's Kingdom a big harvest always comes from lives in which Jesus has taken a personal interest. You have ears, so listen, and remember the secret.