The Parable

Proverbs 1:5-6 “Let the wise hear and increase in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
to understand a proverb and a saying,
the words of the wise and their riddles.”

My wife and I have been watching a series on the life of Christ and His disciples. The video series is one of the most inspiring depictions of Jesus I’ve ever seen. The way it shows the practical means of how Jesus helped people understand spiritual truth through parables. Jesus used parables to illustrate concepts that were difficult to grasp and yet there was one particular parable that stood out among the rest.

Matthew 13:3-9 “Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

The parable of the sower can be described as a model for evangelism. The seeds of evangelism are given by sharing the gospel. As the faithful go out into the world, there are those who will hear but choose not to listen. The seeds might fall on deaf ears and corrupt deceivers will devour the word and leave the hearers empty.

The gospel also goes forth and might land upon hard hearts, people who have been hurt by false religion, hypocrites who deny the faith by their actions, and churches that build an empire on relics and false practices. There are those who have been injured by the world and have blamed God for their ills, they reject any notion of faith since they think it was God who brought them their trouble. The hard hearted hear the truth, they know it speaks of life and it might produce a small root of hope, but that hope is quickly extinguished as they focus on the bitterness that marks their journey.

The gospel might land among the thorns, the uninhabitable ground infected by false religions that have taken root and spread like a weed. The thorns reject all notion of truth and if a seedling forms in their midst, it is quickly choked out by false ideology and deceptive doctrine. The thorns of wickedness may resemble the pride of position, for those who have excelled in knowledge their god might be their work, their degrees, or their rank. They think they are too smart to believe in anything that doesn’t exalt themselves, since they are the god of their own world.

There are many who corrupt and steal the Truth, they are the birds who will take that which was intended for others and render it useless. There are many rocks and thorns that keep the truth from taking root, but for those who have ears to hear, they are in a position to accept the Truth of God for what it is….Eternal Life.

Matthew 13:23 “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.”

How does a person come out of the world when so much of the world tries to keep them in bondage?

The preparation of the heart is accomplished by the work of the Holy Spirit.

1 Corinthians 2:12-13 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.”

The Lost and Blind

To the lost and the blind, the Spirit of God brings conviction of sin. How can the blind see if they are not spiritually able to discern truth? The revelation of God exposes the state and position of the sinner, separation from God leads to hopelessness and despair, but revelation enlightens and gives hope.

Many times the gospel goes forth and produces a measure of hope. The Spirit of God uses the faithful witness to confirm God’s call and a spark of hope is ignited. For many, that hope is extinguished when the cares of the world press in, false teachers corrupt their thinking, and the prospect of giving up their past to embrace a future with Christ is too much to sacrifice. For the few who press on, the determination to leave the past behind pushes through the rocks and thorns of life and the strength that God provides gives the pilgrim the power to proceed.

1 Corinthians 2:9-10 “But, as it is written,

“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him”

—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.”

The hope that Christ alone provides cannot be fully realized until the Spirit of God is revealed in the life of the redeemed.

The revelation of the glory of God cannot be understated, to know the Lord, even in part, is mankind’s greatest joy. The life of the believer is drawn further, and further into an abiding walk with their Savior. The closer they draw in, the more they come to know the depth of God’s love for them.

The seeds of the gospel are more than a basic responsibility of the evangelist, they are seeds of hope, beckoning the brokenhearted, destitute, and poor to come and receive God’s goodness.

The enemy wants none of this to occur. He fires his arrows to weaken and kill, he desires to steal life from those who might taste of God’s goodness, and he strives to render useless the work of God’s kingdom people.

Press on men and women of God.

The faithfulness of God’s chosen few is not dependent on their strength, ingenuity, or tactics…the gospel goes forth in power because it is supplied by the working of God’s Holy Spirit. He prepares the hearts of those who will receive it. He leads the blind toward the light that is shared. All you must do and is be available.

Go forth in the calling of the Lord, cast off all fear and doubt knowing the Lord goes before you and He will be your strength, He will guide your way.