Focus
Experience silence in the midst of your busy day. Take some time to relax into a time to be with God.
Read
Matthew 13:1-16(17-50)
13 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell on a path, and the birds came and ate them up. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 If you have ears, hear!”
10 Then the disciples came and asked him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 He answered, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. 13 The reason I speak to them in parables is that ‘seeing they do not perceive, and hearing they do not listen, nor do they understand.’ 14 With them indeed is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah that says:
‘You will indeed listen but never understand,
and you will indeed look but never perceive.
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull,
and their ears are hard of hearing,
and they have shut their eyes,
so that they might not look with their eyes,
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart and turn—
and I would heal them.’
16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Reflect
This chapter has many parables. The first parable in this chapter has become known as the Parable of the Sower. The function of the parable seems to be the dividing of the crowd into those who are committed to Jesus and those who are not. In the parable, Jesus speaks of four soils that receive seed from Sower. The soils are 1: the path (Birds steal the seed before it can grow) 2: The rocky soil (no depth) 3: The thorny soil (weeds choked them out), and finally, 4: The good soil (which produces a great harvest.)
This leads to a natural question from the disciples. Why are you teaching the crowds in parables? Again, parables were common, but these parables seemed difficult. They are probably thinking, “our movement is growing; why teach in this manner, this is difficult for people to understand.” The goal for Jesus is not to gather a crowd. Jesus seems to be trying to make a point about commitment to him. He is using this parable as a mirror to hold up before the crowd so that those in the large crowd can decide how the seed (teaching) will grow in their heart (soil). Jesus explains to the disciples, “For to those who have, more will be given, and they will have an abundance, but from those who have nothing, even what they have will be taken away. (13:12)
What king of soil are you?
Pray
Dear Lord, on my own, I can do nothing. I can not make myself the right type of soil. I can pray that you would convict my heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to cultivate this heart of stone and make it a fertile spot for your word to produce a great harvest. Amen
Go with God.
