Godly Growth, Bountiful Harvest Matt. 13:1–9, 18–23

Grace, mercy, and peace be with you, from God our Father, and our Lord Jesus, who gives us growth through His Spirit.

Our sermon title is Godly Growth, Bountiful Harvest. It’s based on the parable of the sower.

Many of Jesus’ parables were related to agriculture, which made sense because it was a largely agrarian culture in first century Galilee.

The predominate crops in Galilee at that time were grapes, olives, figs, barley, and wheat; and the predominate livestock were sheep and goats. Jesus taught parables based on them all. 

Today’s parable uses the barley crop for its analogy.  

In chapter 12 it tells us that the disciples were plucking heads and eating the grain as they walked along.

This story is also told in Luke 7, and Luke gives us more information about when this was, late April or early May, which would make it just before the barley harvest; the wheat harvest would have been a few weeks later.

There’s very little, if any, barley raised in this area, but a little wheat and oats, and of course, a lot of corn and beans. 

All of them need to be planted, nurtured, and harvested every year. 

In the same way, we could say that faith in Christ is planted, nurtured, and harvested. When all three are done by the power of the Holy Spirit, and truth of God’s Word, the result is a godly and bountiful outcome.

Our Gospel says that Jesus was in Galilee, along the lake. A huge crowd had gathered to hear him teach. So he got in a boat, cast off from shore a ways, and spoke from there. 

That way his voice would bounce off the water, and be amplified as it rose up the shore to the hills where the people were. It was a natural PA system.

Jesus taught his listeners a number of things, including this great parable. It’s so simple, yet so meaningful. 

As we said, it’s set in an agrarian culture, but it’s applicable to all, and relevant for today. All the things Jesus talks about in this parable happen in the world today.

A man went out to plant his barley, or wheat. Along the way, he spilled some of the seed and it fell on the path, and the birds came and ate it before it could even grow. 

Then, before he got to the field, some of the seed fell on rocky ground. There was just enough soil for the seed to start, but the soil was so thin that the plants died when it got hot and dry; the roots had no soil to grow into to extract the moisture.

Some of the seed fell among the thistles; they were able to start and grow for a while, but then the weeds outgrew them and choked out the grain plants.

Finally, the rest of the seed was spread on the field, where the soil was good. It spouted and grew and thrived, bearing large heads of grain.

Jesus ended the parable by saying something he often did, “He who has ears, let him hear.” Hear and understand and believe. If you’re alive and human, then hear and believe this truth.

So that they could understand and believe, Jesus told the disciples the meaning of the parable, that they would be able to share it with others.

The sower is Jesus, the Word of God made flesh. It’s His Word, the good news about Him, that we share. 

In a broader sense the sower can be seen as the Church, all God’s people who spread the Good News: pastors, teachers, other church workers, and lay people. 

The seed is the Gospel, the Word of God that takes root, so to speak, in our hearts and minds, and we believe and follow it. 

The seed that fell along the road and was eaten by the birds, is like when people hear the Gospel but don’t believe. Maybe they don’t grasp its true meaning, and think it’s foolish, or worse yet, bad and evil. 

I’ve noticed the secular mind-set in our culture has gone beyond thinking that the Gospel is just harmless nonsense, as it used to be seen as by secular-minded people. But now many secularists see the Gospel as bad and harmful to humanity; something we need to rid the world of it. 

As Jesus said, that’s the work of the evil one, the devil and the sinful culture that hates God and can’t bear to hear the Gospel.

Jesus teaches this to us so that we’re aware of it, and prepared to defend against everything in our culture and our world that would snatch the Gospel away from us; and that would keep it from being offered to others, those who would believe and consider it the wisdom of God for the world.

In the parable, the seed that fell on the rocky ground symbolizes believing and first, but then reverting to worldly ways and beliefs.

The temptation is great to go back to a life of worldliness. That’s what our sinful nature and the worldly culture collaborate to accomplish, to steal our faith and leave us to live and die without hope.

That’s where the fellowship is so important. We need each other. Two are better than one, Ecclesiastes says, and three better yet. 

Without the fellowship of the church, we seek the fellowship of the world, the sinful culture, because we’re made for fellowship; we need others.

Being a part of the people of God, gathered around His Word, helps us from becoming a casualty of this fallen world. 

For some of us, during this time of epidemic, this might mean gathering though the internet or TV or other ways that we hear and celebrate God’s Word. Hopefully, it won’t be long before we’re all gathered together in God’s House again. 

The seed in the parable that takes root but is choked out by the thistles is when people believe for awhile, maybe many years, but after years of neglecting God’s Word and the Lord’s Supper, their faith finally fades away. 

It can be tempting to think, “Well I’ve learned God’s Word, and now I’ll just live on what I learned, and not keep on learning.” 

The problem is, the Word of God in you can run out. You can only live on the fumes for so long. You need to be refreshed frequently by God’s Word and Sacraments. 

Finally, the seed that falls on good soil and thrives and bears fruit, are those who believe and grow in faith. They share the Word of God in word and deed. They see it as their purpose to add God’s love to the world, and bring His life-saving truth to those who would hear and believe. 

As we drive past the fields, and see the corn crop growing tall… I have to admit, I tend to look at the crops  when I drive… 

As you see the corn growing tall, taking up nutrients and moisture, setting ears and filling them out, and then ripening to be harvested, be reminded to take in the Word of God, that you grow in faith and bear fruit, adding an abundance of goodness to the world, and sharing the abundance Christ’s love in the Gospel. 

And as you grow and bear fruit, the peace of God, which passes understanding, will guard your heart and mind, in Christ Jesus, who has planted the Gospel in our hearts and made it to grow. Amen.