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Yeshua
is the King who came from Heaven to save His people
from sin and death and Hell. He is a great teacher,
who is able to teach us what life is really about
and wants God really wants from us. We find Him
teaching often, in various circumstances and locations.
He began to teach again by the sea. And such
a very large crowd gathered to Him that He got
into a boat in the sea and sat down; and the whole
crowd was by the sea on the land.
Yeshua
is teaching by the shore of the Kinneret - the
Lake of Galilee. Although the action has moved
from the city to the shore of the lake, huge crowds
continued to follow the popular miracle-working
Rabbi. Let’s find out what the One who is the
Word of God, the One who came from Heaven to Earth,
the One who knows reality better than any other
human being, taught them.
And
He was teaching them many things in parables,
and He was saying to them in His teaching,
"Listen to this! Behold, the sower went out to
sow; as he was sowing, some seed fell beside the
road, and the birds came and ate it up. Other
seed fell on the rocky ground where it did not
have much soil; and immediately it sprang up because
it had no depth of soil. And after the sun had
risen, it was scorched; and because it had no
root, it withered away. Other seed fell among
the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked
it, and it yielded no crop. Other seeds fell into
the good soil, and as they grew up and increased,
they yielded a crop and produced thirty, sixty,
and a hundredfold." And He was saying, "He who
has ears to hear, let him hear."
OK - so
everyone here understood everything, right? No?
Well, it seems that His disciples needed some
clarification as well.
As
soon as He was alone, His followers, along with
the twelve, began asking Him about the parables.
A parable is short story that is designed
to make a comparison and teach a lesson. “Parables
were told by Messiah for opposite effects: on
the one hand, to make the truth more engaging
and clear to those who were willing to hear and,
on the other, to make the truth obscure to those
who lacked spiritual concern” (Charles Ryrie).
And
He was saying to them, "To you has been given
the mystery of the kingdom of God.” A mystery
is a kind of hidden knowledge that is being revealed.
The Lord speaks in parables because He wants those
who are committed to Him to know the mystery of
the kingdom of God - what God is doing in this
world, how He is working in history, and what
He wants from us. He wants His followers to understand
the Big Picture, and be informed and equipped
to take part in what He is doing.
But to
those who are outside - outside of Messiah committed
community of followers; those who refuse to believe
and trust, they are better off if they don’t learn
these mysteries. “But those who are outside
get everything in parables, so that while seeing,
they may see and not perceive, and while hearing,
they may hear and not understand, otherwise they
might return and be forgiven."
“This
part troubles many. It does indeed sound as though
Yeshua is saying, ‘I don't want them to turn to
God. I've hidden this truth so that they won't
turn to God. The last thing I want is for them
to be forgiven.’ But we know that is not true;
that can't be what this means. God’s will is that
all men repent, turn to Him, and come to a saving
knowledge of the truth. To understand what
Yeshua means you must know that Yeshua is not
originating this statement; He is quoting from
the book of Isaiah. Yeshua is speaking in parables
because what happened in the time of Isaiah is
happening again. History is repeating itself.
In Isaiah's day, the hearts of the majority of
the Jewish people had grown insensitive to God,
their ears dull, and their eyes dim. Who closed
the eyes of the majority of the Jewish people
in the days of Isaiah? Not God. The people closed
them. And why did they close their eyes? Because
the majority didn't want to be healed and turn
to God with all their hearts and souls. And the
same thing was happening in the days of Yeshua”
(paraphrase of Ray Stedman).
I think
Yeshua may be speaking in parables because He
knew that gaining knowledge, without the willingness
to put in into practice only makes one’s spiritual
condition worse. You are better off never knowing
the truth, than hearing the truth and rejecting
it. To whom more is given, more is required. The
more you know, the guiltier you are if you don’t
embrace and act on that knowledge. So, this can
be seen as mercy, not wanting them to be judged.
We too
need to be careful not to throw our pearls of
truth before swine, and be cautious as to how
much we tell those who are committed not to embrace
the truth, lest we add to their damnation.
And so,
to enlighten the committed, but not give truth
to those unwilling to commit themselves to the
truth, King Messiah spoke in parables.
And
He said to them, "Do you not understand this parable?
How will you understand all the parables? This
first parable is a simple, basic parable. Yeshua
seems disappointed that the disciples don’t understand
it.
The
sower sows the word. Yeshua is the Supreme
Sower of the Word. He gives us the truth that
comes from God, that helps us be reconciled to
the Creator, and live a life that is genuinely
pleasing to the Holy One. But a sower can be anyone
who brings human beings the truth.
People
are like the four different kinds of soils, and
can respond to the truth in four different ways.
It is the level of commitment to the truth that
is the distinguishing factor, and make the difference.
The
First Response Is The Seed Beside The Road No
Commitment
These
are the ones who are beside the road where the
word is sown; and when they hear, immediately
Satan comes and takes away the word which has
been sown in them.
Soil that
is right beside a road is packed down, and the
seed can’t get into the soil to geminate. It remains
on the surface of the harden soil, and so the
birds, which are Satan and the demons, are able
to immediately take away the truth. This tells
us something very important about they activity
of Satan and the demons. Since God is constantly
and graciously at work among human beings, presenting
them with the truth. He uses the witness of human
beings, and the witness of creation - like the
stars at night, the glory of a sunset, the laws
of nature, and all the incredible design that
shows the work of the Great Designer. He uses
personal contact from one human being to another,
as well as TV, radio, the Internet, books, magazines,
pamphlets, tracts, cassettes, CDs. He uses conversations
and sermons, drama, films, music and art. He uses
good things that happen to us to point us to His
reality - like the birth of a baby. He uses tragedies
and sad things that happen to us to get our attention.
On occasion, we will get flashes of insight, experience
intuitive moments, glimpses of perception of the
truth.
At the
same time that God is bringing truth to people,
the Adversary of God and his demonic assistants
are doing what they can to keep them away from
the truth. The evil spirits try to distract people
from the truth. Somehow, they are able to interfere
with their thoughts, to keep them in a state of
ignorance and unbelief. They use pleasure and
entertainments to distract them, and false religions
and philosophies to suppress the truth. They have
their own false teaching - the doctrine of demons,
that they substitute in place of the truth. They
use fear and intimidation - and the fear of man,
and the ever-present pressure from the world,
to keep people from the truth By these and other
methods, they blind people to the truth, and deceive
most of the world.
The
Second Response Is the Seed on Rocky Places Shallow
Commitment
In
a similar way these are the ones on whom seed
was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear
the word, immediately receive it with joy; and
they have no firm root in themselves, but are
only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution
arises because of the word, immediately they fall
away.
The second
category of people have a different initial response
from the first, but the outcome is the same. These
people hear the truth about God, the Good News
about salvation, about forgiveness, and atonement,
about Heaven, about living eternally with God,
and peace and joy, and it all sounds so good!
And they immediately believe it, and receive the
truth with delight!
But, this
group are like soil that is very shallow, soil
that is on top of a layer of rock. The seed is
able to get in the soil and germinate and start
growing a little plant, but the young plant is
unable to sink its roots deep in the shallow soil.
When the sun comes up, the roots are unable to
go down deep enough to remain cool and have enough
water to sustain the life of the plant.
The problem
with this group is shallow commitment. They are
committed to the truth, they committed to God
and to Messiah as long as this commitment enables
them to have pleasant experiences and a nicer
life on Earth. If the truth causes them discomfort
or results in persecution - which it will - they
turn their back on God and are no longer interested
in the truth. Although they may have believed
for a while, it wasn’t genuine belief, because
true believers remain with the truth. True believers
persevere. They endure to the end. These people
are no better off than the people in the first
category.
We can
help this group by telling people not only the
Good News - the good and positive aspects that
result from the truth, but also the difficulties
that embracing the truth in a fallen, demonically
controlled world, will bring. We need to tell
them that there is a cost to discipleship in problems
and persecution, but that cost is well worth paying.
We should forewarn people that their lives on
Earth may not be made easier by standing for the
truth, but it’s worth it.
We should
tell people that God doesn’t guarantee them a
easier, better, wealthier more prosperous life
in this world, but to reconcile them to God, and
save them from Hell, and reward them with the
true riches and eternal health in the World-To-Come
- and that should be enough for us. We should
tell them that His grace will be sufficient for
this life, and He will meet our needs, and keep
us alive until we complete our mission - and then
we will die. And, that should be enough for us.
We are
to tell people that the King of the Universe demands
that they come over to His side in this cosmic
battle between good and evil, God and Satan, truth
and error, and be loyal to Him, and do the things
He commands. We should tell them to make a decision,
make a commitment to follow and obey and serve.
But, we should also warn people about the cost
of discipleship, and realize that many who “make
decisions” never go on to become true disciples.
The
Third Response Is The Seed Among The Thorns -
Confused Commitment
And
others are the ones on whom seed was sown among
the thorns; these are the ones who have heard
the word, but the worries of the world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other
things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes
unfruitful. The third category are people
who have a better and longer response to the truth,
but the outcome for them is the same as the first
two groups. These people hear the truth, respond
positively to it, and start following the Messiah.
It seems that they stay with the truth longer
than the second group, who quickly fall away,
but this group of people also never produce the
desired result.
Over time,
those in this category lose their focus. They
start to desire other things more than God and
following Him simply and truly. They get distracted
and entangled by the things of the world, by materialism,
and a gaining a comfortable life, and money and
status, and career. They lose their first love.
They lose that singleness of sight which is so
important. They don’t keep their eye focused on
Yeshua. They become double-minded. They want to
pursue God and money, spirit and the flesh. Eventually,
their commitment to follow God and stick with
the truth erodes. Don’t get distracted from the
truth. Stay focused. Stay on target. Stay on task!
Stay the course!
We should
never cater to this desire to accept the truth
because it will make you richer or your life easier
or more comfortable in this world. We should never
make materialism part of the Good News. But, the
wretched and loathsome Prosperity Teaching does
just that - is a perversion of the true Gospel.
It is better named, “The Gospel Of The Seed Among
The Thorns” or “The Deceitfulness of Riches Gospel.”
The people
in the first group, who have no commitment to
the truth, are clearly not saved. I would say
that despite their initial, limited reception,
the people in the second and third categories
are not saved either. Finally, we come to the
fourth response, the one that we are encouraged
to make sure we make.
The
Seed In The Good Soil - Full Commitment
And
those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the
good soil; and they hear the word and accept it
and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold."
The fourth
category of people are those who hear the truth,
an accept the truth, and stay committed to the
truth throughout their lives, though good times,
and bad, through persecution and disappointment,
through joy and sadness. They find out that the
Bible is divinely inspired and true, and they
believe it and stick with it. They stay close
to God, and cling to Messiah Yeshua. Though they
fall, with God’s help, they pick themselves up,
and try again. Though they sin, they reach out
to God for forgiveness, and try to do better the
next time.
What makes
the difference? Commitment. What results in the
desired, successful outcome? Commitment. Make
that total commitment to God. Be fully committed.
Love the Lord your God with enthusiasm and zeal,
and with all your heart and soul. Be whole-heartedly
committed to Him. When you find some glimmer of
truth, grab hold of it, and allow it to impact
your life - no matter what the consequences may
be. Find the truth and be committed to truth.
Be willing to suffer for the truth.
One other
thought: time is a factor in the growth and development
of living things. Time helps reveal who the true
disciples are. It’s not always possible to tell
at first, since many will show initial enthusiasm,
and make shallow commitments, or confused commitments,
and then fall away. Therefore we need to be careful
about trusting new believers with too much responsibility.
They need to be tested over time.
The
Parable Of The Mission - Declaration of the Truth
4:21-25
And
He was saying to them, "A lamp is not brought
to be put under a basket, is it, or under a bed?
Is it not brought to be put on the lampstand?
For nothing is hidden, except to be revealed;
nor has anything been secret, but that it would
come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let
him hear."
People
bring a lamp into their house to bring light into
that house - so they can see in a room that otherwise
would be dark. No one goes to the effort of obtaining
a source of light, and bringing it home, only
to hide the light under a basket or bed.
Those
of us who know the truth are like that lamp in
that dark room. After God has revealed the truth
to us, we are the light of the world, and we are
obligated to shine that light to others who remain
in the darkness.
Part of
the reason that God revealed the truth to us is
so that we can be His witnesses to others who
are in the dark - those who are religiously and
ideologically confused, who are spiritually dead,
who are demonically deceived.
Our primary
mission to the world is to declare the truth about
God, about man’s alienation from God, about the
only way of atonement through the Messiah. This
mission to declare the truth to the lost is an
essential part of the task that God has for His
children while we are on Earth.
We must
be faithful to be that light now. We must speak
the truth to the lost. One day, everything will
be made known. All secrets will be revealed. The
truth about God and Messiah and the way of salvation,
will be fully declared and understood by all.
Every knee will bow before God, and every tongue
will confess that Messiah Yeshua is Lord. But
then it will be too late for many. Then it will
be too late to witness to the lost. Therefore,
we must declare the truth now. Now is the time
to speak the truth.
Why would
we want to hide our light, and not boldly declare
the truth? The fear of man - an unwillingness
to stand up to persecution from those who hate
the truth, so that we can lead a more comfortable
life; the desire to be accepted by the majority;
an unworthy unwillingness to stand out from the
majority.
Isn’t
that what Messiah did? Messiah is the Light. He
came to this darkened planet as the Light, to
show us the way out of the darkness. He boldly
declared the truth, no matter the cost to Himself.
We must follow His example, and the example set
by His Emissaries - even if there is a price to
pay.
Commitment
to the Truth
4:24 And
He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen
to. By your standard of measure it will be measured
to you; and more will be given you besides. For
whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever
does not have, even what he has shall be taken
away from him."
Truth
is so important - especially, the truth that will
bring you to Messiah, who will reconcile you to
God. If you listen to the truth, and love the
truth, and act on the truth, God will bless you
and you will be given more truth. But if you don’t
listen to those who are telling you the truth;
if you listen to those who are twisting the Holy
Scriptures, and claiming that it teaches something
other than what it teaches - and there are so
many within the Church and Messianic Judaism who
are doing this; if you listen to false prophets
and false teachers, and the leaders of other religions,
philosophies and ideologies, then the little truth
that you do know will escape you. The little life
you do have will end in the Lake of Fire.
Faithfulness
to the truth, by recognizing it, receiving it,
and acting on it, and declaring it to others,
leads to more and more truth. It leads to greater
and greater understanding. But truth rejected,
and truth ignored, and truth not acted upon, and
not put into practice, leads to a diminished understanding,
and farther and farther distance from God and
life. If you hate the truth, you will find yourself
rejected by all that is good and true. But if
you love the truth, the truth and the God of truth,
will love you. If you embrace the truth, the truth
and the life will embrace you.
Are you
fully committed to God, to the truth, to Messiah
Yeshua? Do your values, priorities and choices
show it? What is keeping you from making that
full commitment? Your full commitment to God is
His right, and your safety! Pray that the Almighty
would help you get rid of any impediment that
would prevent you from loving Him with all your
heart and soul and strength.
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