JESUS IS… THE GARDENER – Ps Luke de Jong
SCRIPTURE
Mark 4:3-9 “Listen! 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 the 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.”
Listen!
Imagine for a minute, you didn’t have the interpretation of this parable. Do you think you could understand it? Jesus taught people by telling parables, short stories using familiar scenes to explain spiritual truth.
The word parable comes from the idea of ‘to set alongside’. As Jesus used parables, the idea was to set a spiritual truth alongside a daily truth of living.
This method of teaching compels the listener to think & listen. Really listen! We hear with our ears, but there is a deeper kind of listening with the mind and heart that is necessary in order to gain spiritual understanding of Jesus’ words.
Some people in the crowd were looking for evidence to use against Jesus; others truly wanted to learn and grow. Jesus’ used parables so that only those who were honest seekers would hear the truth of what he was teaching.
The Four Types of Soil
Following a brief explanation of why He speaks in parables, Jesus then explains the meaning of the Parable of the Four Soils.
In this parable, Jesus teaches of a farmer who went out to sow seed. The farmer represents anybody who speaks the word of God to other people. In this instance it is Jesus himself who has been sharing the word with people. The seed is God’s word, the Gospel, the Bible.
Just as a planted seed starts to grow, the word of God starts to deepen and grow within a person, cultivating new life in us. But not every seed grows into a plant and bears fruit.
The kind of soil it lands on makes all the difference!
Jesus continues to teach that there are four basic responses to the truths of God’s word, and only one type of soil in this parable produces fruit in keeping with faith in Jesus.
1. No Soil
Mark 4:4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up.
Some people are like the ground on the path. This was hard ground because people walked on it all the time and beat it down into a path or a road. The path represents people who are hardened to the word of God, and they allow no room for the seed of the word in their lives – it never enters, you could say they hear but don’t listen. They simply do not understand it and are yet to discover the truth of Jesus.
REF: Read Mark 5:14
2. Rocky Soil
Mark 4:5, 6 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.
This soil represents when people hear, listen, and understand the word, and are initially filled with joy, but troubles and challenges of this world cause them to go their own way and forget what they learned. Or perhaps disappointments
REF: Read Mark 4:16, 17
3. Thorn Soil
Mark 4:7 Other seed fell among the thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain.
The third soil also represents people who respond to God’s word with joy, and even begin to make right changes and progress in their lives based on what they heard, but the desires for wealth and pleasures of this world lure them away from the truths of the kingdom and they leave it behind.
REF: Read Mark 4:18, 19
4. Good Soil
Mark 4:8 Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, multiplying thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times
The fourth and final group listen to the truth, respond to the word, and continue to grow, resulting in a great multiplication and harvest. This is what life with Jesus looks like!
REF: Read Mark 4:20
A few things this parable teaches us!
Mark 4:9 Then Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
- Not everyone was spiritually prepared to understand Jesus’ message. Those who didn’t go to listen to Him for the right reasons would not have focused enough to truly grasp it, and the meaning of what Jesus was teaching wouldn’t have been revealed. This is a great reminder and challenge to us to listen to God’s word with a soft and open heart. If we are not hearing the point of a message, perhaps it’s because we are not listening!
- This parable teaches us that it is the condition of the heart that makes a way for us to listen & hear the Word. Since, it is God who changes heart, we need to pray and ask Him to give us good soil to understand and respond.
- We as Christians, have a responsibility is to hear well. We should be careful and wise with who we are listening to and who we are receiving spiritual direction from. Ref: Prov 4:23
- We should be aware of the thorns and weeds that so easily distract and entangle us and that might limit how much fruit we produce. REF: Hebrews 12:1
- We shouldn’t be surprised when our sharing of the message is received with different reactions. People are on a journey and on different paths just as taught in this parable. Rather then feel disappointed when we don’t get the response we hoped for, we can be aware that God is at work in every person, and we can continue to love others and share when opportunity arises.
Discussion & Reflection
- How do you hear God’s truth? What helps you listen carefully? Share a time that you have heard, responded, and seen positive change in your life.
- Which crowd are we in when hearing a message? The crowd who came with an open heart to receive or the crowd who came to find fault in what Jesus was sharing? A great reminder to check our hearts and have right attitudes!
- What speaks louder than God’s word? Have you found yourself listening to a broken record of the past reminding you of all your mistakes or disappointments? What can get you stuck or choked up in your walk with God?
- How would you describe the soil of your heart today? At times, areas in our life can be somewhere in between all four! In some areas we could have a hardened heart towards God’s truth, while in other ways we could be fully moving forward.
- What can be your next step towards having good soil? Are there thorns and weeds that need tending too? They could be attitudes, desires after the pleasure the world offers, worries, relationship disappointments, life failures, sin etc…
- Where and how can you be sowing God’s word and see multiplication in your own life and the life of others?
Sundays Message
Listen to Sunday’s message: https://www.youtube.com/c/LIFEMelbourne
Prayer
Men – 6am Tuesday at LIFE
Women – 6.30am Wednesday at LIFE