MPC, 21st September 2003.Matthew 13 - "Talking Dirty"
Phil Campbell
MPC, 21st September 2003.
There's a board game on the market; it's a bit like Trivial Pursuit. It's called Mind Trap. And it works like this. There's a pile of little cards, and each card's got a story on it. A mystery story. And everyone else has got to play detective and solve the mystery by asking questions with yes and no answers.
It's actually based on a game that's been round for ages; except now you can pay to play it. I remember some of the stories from when I was a kid. There's a guy lying dead in the middle of a field with terrible injuries and a backpack on his back. Nobody else has been there and there's no sign of anything that could have killed him. How did he die? It's all to do with what's in the backpack. You've got to figure out it's an unopened parachute. Splat.
Or the one with the guy who's hung himself. Hanging there dead, in a room locked from the inside. Trouble is, there's no chair. There's nothing he could have jumped off to do himself in. Just a puddle of water in the middle of the floor. How did he do it? You've got to work out he was standing on a big block of ice. That's melted.
They go on and on. The thing they've all got in common is they're mysteries. And when you hear them they don't make any sense. Until you start asking the right questions. Some people don't cotton on to the game at all. They just get irritated and walk away. But when you get it figured out, it's a real buzz.
Well, I'm not saying Jesus is playing Mind Trap here in Matthew chapter 13, but it's pretty close. If you can think back to what we just read, he's telling mystery stories. And he's certainly got everyone guessing. The mystery stories are called parables. They're stories with a meaning. Some people get 'em. Some people don't.
There's a common idea around that Jesus used parables to help people understand. To make his teaching easy.
But the surprising fact is, it's the opposite.
And the parables actually hide things. They're actually a test. To find out who wants to listen.
And because of that, the disciples of Jesus are peeved.
Have a look at verse 11 and you'll see what they're saying. The disciples have just come to him, and they say "How come?" They say, "What's the big idea of talking in riddles all the time? How come you're speaking to the people in parables?"
The crowds listening to Jesus that morning were so big he had to get in a boat and push off from the shore and speak from the boat, with everyone else standing back on the shore. It's a huge mob. And instead of spelling it out, instead of just dishing up what he's on about in clear and simple language, Jesus is playing games. The disciples want to know why.
And Jesus says this. Verse 11. "He says the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you - but not to them." He says "Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance; whoever does not not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables - "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."
He says, it's just like Isaiah said in the Old Testament. And he quotes from Isaiah chapter 6 verse 9 and 10. He's talking about the people of Israel. Who are the people he's come to call back to their God. And he says, the problem is, they don't want to listen. And they never did.
Isaiah says, "For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they've closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn... and I'd heal them."
See what he's saying? He's come to a bunch of people with hard calloused hearts. With hard calloused ears. With hard calloused eyes. He's come to a people who are so hardened, people who are so stubborn, people who are so fixed in their ways that they won't listen to a word he says. People who don't want to play Mind Trap, cause they just couldn't be bothered.
Now if you're a guitar player, callouses on your fingers are a good thing. Cause you can play as much as you like, and you don't feel a thing.
Your skin gets thicker so you're totally desensitised. And the way you can pick an experienced guitar player from an amateur is by the callouses on their fingers.
Jesus is talking about people with experience. But in this case, it's experience in not listening to God. So much practise that they've mastered the art of shutting him out completely.
And what the parables are going to do is sort them out. And show very clearly the ones who are going to respond to God's word. And the ones who aren't. The parables are going to sift out the ones who'll get to know the secrets of the Kingdom of God. And the ones who won't.
And we're going to see, that's exactly what the first parable is all about. It's kind of like a parable about parables. And if the people of Israel were meant to see themselves in it, maybe you'll see yourself in it as well.
We're going right back to the start of the chapter. Verse 3. The scene's been set, down by the sea of Galilee. Crowds around the shore, Jesus in the boat. And he tells them many things in parables. Here's the first one.
A story about a farmer. And he goes out to sow his seed. He's doing it the old fashioned way, it's called broadcasting; he's walking around with his seed-bag strapped round his waist, and he's sprinkling the seed with his hand.
And as he does it, some of the seed is falling around his feet along the hard rocky path, and the birds are swooping down behind him and eating it up as fast as it falls.
Some of the seed falls just off the path. The places where there's just a bit of top-soil and no depth. And after a few days, the seed springs up in the shallow soil and looks promising. But when the summer sun gets hot, says Jesus in verse 6, "the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root." The little green shoots that looked so promising are now just a bunch of wilted little brown droopy dead plants.
This farmer guy keeps walking, keeps throwing out the seed. Some of it falls in the prickly patch, it falls among thorns, and as the seed grows, the thorns grow as well. All competing for the same sunshine. And the same water. And the same patch of soil. And what happens is exactly like my back yard. The thorns and weeds grow up and choke the plants. I don't know why it is, but I tell you, I'm an expert weed grower. It's dead easy.
Now you'll notice, so far, there's not much of a crop. But here's the good news. Verse 8. Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop; a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown."
End of story. Work it out. Him who has ears, says Jesus, let him hear.
Now you've probably heard that little parable a hundred times before. And it's got that familiar ring about it. But I want you to put yourself in the place of the crowd. And the disciples. And see how you'd go.
What's it all about? I mean, it's a simple little story, but it's obviously got some sort of message to it. So what is it?
I mean, is the farmer meant to be Jesus? Or someone else? And what's the seed? And... well on it goes. And so in verse 10 to 17, you've got the disciples coming to Jesus complaining that it's all a bit too hard. And asking him to spell it out. Which is exactly what he does in verses 18 to 23.
It's all about the message of the Kingdom. And the way it's received. It's all about the way Jesus has been preaching around Israel... and how Israel has responded. In other words, it's a parable about how different people respond to the word of God. Which means it's a parable about you as well.
So you wanna know a secret? The secret of the Kingdom of heaven? Here it is. It's a kingdom that starts with the word of God. It's a kingdom that starts with people like you and me hearing the call to repent. To turn back to God. And be part of the kingdom.
Mightn't seem like much. Just a seed. And with some people, they just hear it and ignore it. Nothing happens. They don't understand. Read verse 19. Jesus says "When anyone hears the message of the Kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown on the path."
Then there's the rocky soil. Verse 20 and 21. You get some people, there's a head-rush of enthusiasm. And then it burns off. Great starters. Bad finishers. Maybe that's you?
Or the thorns and the prickles. You've been involved. You've been enthusiastic. But somehow the realities of life just choke it out. Maybe opposition. Or tough times; when you've been disappointed with God. Or maybe just carried away by the overwhelming desire to be comfortable. The seed... choked by the weeds and prickles.
Jesus says, look around. Look at Israel. He's preaching. And so very few are listening. Read back through chapter 12 sometime and you'll see at this point, the opposition's growing. They're already lining up to kill him.
But the news isn't all bad. Because with some, the seed takes root. And it grows and grows. And before long, there's a whole new kingdom. Ready to take the place of the Israel that says no.
Which again, is exactly the way Isaiah put it. In the same chapter Jesus is quoting from, Isaiah 6, where Isaiah says they're blind and deaf, that they don't want to hear and see; that Israel's like a little kid covering it's eyes and ears... he says... there's going to be a seed that grows. Even though the place is decimated... the seed will sprout into something new.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land, it will again be laid waste. But as the terebinth and oak leave stumps when they are cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump in the land.
So Jesus says, some people hear and ignore. Some have a rush of enthusiasm that burns out. But there'll always be some where the word takes root. And grows. In a way that's quite magnificent. And the seed is planted and grows over and over again. It's been happening for two thousand years now. And that's why we're here.
And it's going to keep happening. And the kingdom's going to keep growing. Just like the other little parables say. Like a ten foot mustard tree from that tiny little seed. Like yeast working its way through a batch of dough. Like a crop of wheat among weeds. Until finally harvest day comes. And the ones who have listened to the word, the ones who have taken it in, the ones who are followers of Jesus are going to be sifted out from all the rest, and they're going to shine like the sun in the Kingdom of the Father.
And whether or not that's talking about you depends on one thing. The group you're standing in, depends on what you do with the word of God that's been sown in you.
Jesus says there are people who hear without hearing. There are people who see without seeing.
Now you know what it's like, don't you? Nathan Campbell has lost his shoes. I'm using Nathan as an example with his permission. Cause this applies to any bloke. It's a genetic thing I reckon, it's all to do with X and Y chromosomes. And I'm sure you've had the same thing at your house.
So he's lost his shoes. And his says to his mother, "Mum, I can't find my shoes." Louise says, "Look in your bedroom." Nathan says, "I have looked in my bedroom." She says, "look in your bedroom again." And he goes in and he looks in his bedroom again. And he says "they're not here."
Louise walks into his bedroom, and I'm listening from the loungeroom. I timed it. Three seconds. And I'm quoting exactly here; she picks his shoes up from under a couple of Phantom comics, and she says "Nathan Campbell - sometimes your blindness astounds me!"
There they were. Plain as the nose on his face. And he just couldn't see for looking. Because he's a bloke.
And Jesus says, there are going to be people who are exactly like that when it comes to the Kingdom of God. It was like that back then. And it's like it now.
Right there in front of you. And you don't even see it. You hear the message over and over again. You've heard the claims of Jesus Christ; you've got a sneaking suspicion maybe there's something in it. And what have you done with it?
Are you the sort of person who just hasn't understood? The soil on the path where the seed hasn't even taken root? Maybe you've heard it. But before you've got round to doing anything about it, something snatches it away. Jesus says that something is the evil one. The devil.
Or maybe you're the sort of person who had the initial burst of enthusiasm. But there's no real root there. Rocky soil.
Maybe you lasted til the heat was on. A bit of opposition, a bit of disappointment. And so as shooting plants go, you're browned off. And that's that. Maybe you've had other Christians disappoint you. Maybe you've hit a tough patch. Things not going the way you hoped. It's a real soil test isn't it? I've spent time with two Christian families this week who are going through the toughest of times. And let me tell you, tough times don't have to shrivel your faith at all. And I've been humbled to spend time with Christians with the sort of faith that actually gets deeper with the tough times.
Maybe the weedy patch? You've heard the word. You've accepted it. But life's busy, isn't it? And it's tough. And there's work to worry about, and sport, and paying off this and paying off that; or when you get past that stage, just the time it takes to lie back and enjoy it. You can't afford the time to get serious about the Kingdom of God. Or growing as a Christian. All that other stuff is so important. And so pressingly urgent. That it chokes out all the growth. And you're unfruitful.
What Jesus is looking for is the sort of soil where the word takes root. And bears fruit. People without the callouses on their ears and hearts. People who don't just hear and ignore. But who hear. Understand. Grow. And then produce more seed. And more seed. And more seed.
Don't you just love it when people tell you secrets? Well, they don't come any better than this one. The secret of the Kingdom of God. It's all yours. The seed has been sown. So what soil are you? The seed has been sown. You've heard the word of God. So what are you going to do with it?