Sexagesima
Lk
8:4-15
2/12/23
It
started with a simple request: “I want you to build a raised bed for me.” Amy wanted to raise some flowers, and so
Matthew and I built a raised bed, and Amy prepared it with the good soil and
compost. But of course, that was not the end of it. There then followed a
request for a second raised bed … and third one … and a fourth one … and a
fifth one. I vaguely remember saying
something after the fourth one about not building any more. But surely, I am
mistaken.
Before
you knew it, Amy’s Backyard Blooms was born and she was raising flowers to sell
and was making bouquets. Amy has taken to this hobby with great enthusiasm. The
amount she has learned in a rather short period of time is remarkable.
You
can see this in the precision with which she plants her flowers. First, she diagrams out where and how many
flowers she is going to plant in each area to maximize the use of space. Then the flowers are planted in rows with
military precision. It turns out that
different flowers are supposed to be planted with a different amounts of space
around them. So, using a yard stick and
tape measure, the flowers are planted in straight lines and provided with the
exact spacing that particular kind of flower requires. The result is a beautiful
picture of precision.
The
planting method used in Jesus’ day was very different. Unlike the well prepared soil and the
precision with which seeds and starter plants are placed by Amy, the planting
in first century Palestine was random and ruled by chance. Seed was cast by hand out into the field, and
then plowed into ground. Foot paths cuts
through fields, and not all the soil was of the same quality. As Jesus describes in the parable, not all
the seed fell into good soil. Our Lord
uses this feature of first century Palestinian life to teach us. We receive an explanation for why some fall
away from the faith, and in turn are urged to cling to the words of the Gospel.
Our
text tells us that a great crowd gathered from a number of towns to hear
Jesus. Jesus told them a parable. This is a word that has a rather broad range
of meaning. It can include a number of different forms of speech that
communicate some truth. However, this
one is the rather classic form that we expect – a narrative in which various
details bear a meaning that goes beyond the story itself.
Jesus
described a scene that the people knew well.
A farmer went out and sowed seed as he cast it out. Some fell along the
foot paths that bordered and ran through the field. It was trampled and birds
ate it. Some fell on rocky soil. It grew up but didn’t last and withered
because it had no moisture. Some fell among thorns, and as they grew up
together the thorns choked out the grain.
However, some fell on good soil and yielded an abundant harvest – a
hundred fold. When he was done telling
the parable our Lord said, “He who has
ears to hear, let him hear.”
This statement signaled that there was more here than just
a story about agriculture. The disciples then asked Jesus what the parable
meant. He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the
kingdom of God, but for others they are in parables, so that ‘seeing they
may not see, and hearing they may not understand.’” Our Lord said that the parables revealed and
concealed at the same time. To those who believed in Jesus they revealed the
truths of the kingdom of God. To those who were there simply to see and
experience the miracles that Jesus performed they were simply entertaining
stories.
The disciples had been called to faith in Jesus. And so our Lord explained the different
elements of the parable. He said that
the seed was the word of God. In the very next chapter Jesus will tell the
disciples, “The Son of Man
must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief
priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” The
word of God is the good news that Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sins,
and rose from the dead to give us forgiveness.
He is the Savior for all who confess their sin and believe in him and as
the crucified and risen Lord.
Christ explained that the seed on the path are those who
hear the word, but then the then the devil comes and takes away the word from their
hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved. Here faith never takes place.
On the other hand that on the rock are
those who hear the word and receive it with joy – they believe. But this is a
superficial faith, and while people believe for a while, in a time of testing
they fall away. Likewise, the seed among the thorns are those who believe. But as they live they are
choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does
not mature.
Finally, Jesus says, “As for that in
the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest
and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Here there is not just faith, but a faith
that holds firmly to the word.
Our Lord’s words this morning give us
important insight into the circumstances we see around us. They also provide us with instruction about
how we are to live in the faith so that we not only begin but also end as
believers in Jesus Christ.
The first thing we observe in our text
is that the word of the Gospel does not go out into a neutral setting. The devil does not want people to believe.
Those who are do not believe in Jesus Christ are under his power – he is their
Lord even if they don’t recognize it. They belong to him.
And so he
will use everything in his power to keep people from believing. Jesus says that the “devil comes and takes away the
word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.” He
uses intellectual pride as people believe they are too smart to believe in
“fairy tales” like that. After all, they
know science and they don’t believe in anything that reason can’t
demonstrate. In doing so, they refuse to
consider the data of the apostles’ witness to Jesus Christ – a witness of words
and deeds. And they fail to recognize
that the reason operates in it own limited sphere. It cannot answer questions
about what happens in death. It cannot answer questions about eternal truths.
For all that it can do, reason can’t provide answers about the ultimate
questions – the questions that really matter.
Second, Jesus says that there will be
people who believe for a time and then fall away from the faith. Often there are those who want to blame the
Church for the fact that believers fall away.
We are told that the Church must be doing something wrong – as if it was
the Church’s fault. But on the contrary,
our Lord says that it is going to happen. We should not be surprised when believers
fall away. And his explanation squarely
places the blame on the individual in question.
Christ says that those on the rock
believe, but that their faith has no depth. They believe for a while, but in
time of testing they fall away. If faith is to survive it must have depth. It
is only God’s Word that can provide this.
Testing will come. It is hard to
live as a Christian in this world – a world that heaps disdain on those who
believe in Christ. The world praises those who don’t believe. It supports the
view that there is no truth – just what is true for you and what is true form
me. It castigates any who would speak of
sin and God’s eternal judgment. After all, that is “not loving.” And “love,”
which means the permission to do or believe anything you want, is the ultimate
truth of our world.
Our Lord says that those among the
thorns are those who hear the word. They believe. But “as they go on their way they are
choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does
not mature.” The cares and riches and
pleasures of life are all the things in this world that compete for attention
with faith in Christ. The cares and
troubles of this world can lead people to doubt our Lord’s love and power. And
so they decide that Jesus is no real help.
The riches
and pleasures of life are the attractions of this world that compete with
Jesus. These seem more rewarding, and
certainly easier. Let us be clear. The belief
that there are more important things to do on Sunday sets one on a trajectory
that threatens the choking out of faith. Anything that regularly replaces
attendance at the Sunday Divine Service has this power.
Finally,
Jesus says, “As for that
in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an
honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” Note the emphasis on “holding it fast.” This means that we cling to the word of the
Gospel. It also means that we study God’s Word. We have already heard about the
faith that has no depth – the seed that falls on the rocky soil. To have depth
of faith, we must be in God’s Word. We
must read it. We must study it. Perhaps
I sound like a broken record after last Sunday’s sermon. But I am simply repeating what Jesus says
here. We must hold fast to the word in an honest and good heart – a heart that
seeks to learn and grow. Where this is
not present, we place our faith at risk.
Our Lord also says that this faith
bears fruit with patience – or endurance as the word can also be
translated. Faith that holds firmly to
God’s word will bring forth the fruit of faith.
It will forgive those who wrong us.
It will seek the good of others, and place their needs ahead of our
own. It will support and help those
around us who are in need – those who need encouragement. Faith that bears
fruit is a vibrant and living faith. It is a faith that can be patient and
endure the challenges of living as God’s people in this fallen world.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus
explains why some do not believe when they hear the word. He also tells us that there will be those who
believe, and then fall away. We should
not be surprised when this happens. We
also know that our Lord is the good shepherd who leaves the ninety nine and
looks for the one lost sheep. Our Lord tells us, “Just so, I tell you, there
will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” Those who fall away
can be brought back. We pray for this.
We share the Gospel with these individuals. We point them to the
apostles’ witness for there they are confronted by Christ. We do this in faith
with patience and endurance for the sake of the one who has fallen away.
And in our own lives, we strive to
live as those who hold the words of the Gospel fast in an honest and good heart. We cling to this word by attending the Divine
Service and receiving Gods gifts of the Means of Grace. We read and study God’s
Word. And we bear the fruit of faith with patience and endurance. We do so
knowing that Jesus Christ is the risen Lord, who will rescue us from this
fallen world, and will give us the final victory of sharing in his resurrection
on the Last Day.
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