The of the Soils Matthew: King of Heaven :1-23 Pastor Josh Black July 4, 2021 Please open your Bibles to Matthew 13. So far in our study Matthew has made it plain to us who is. He’s the Messiah, God’s long-expected Savior and King. He is full of Spirit-anointed authority and power. Authority over sickness, and , and sin. But as Jesus preaches the kingdom of heaven and heals, he’s met with various responses. Some people seem to receive him. Others reject him outright, even saying his ministry is empowered by Satan. Why is that? Why do some people not receive the only one who can deliver them? Jesus gives an answer in our passage this morning. Matthew 13 is the third of five large teaching blocks in Matthew. These teaching blocks often explain what’s going on in the narrative. And that’s what’s happening in Matthew 13. My passage has three sections. At the beginning we find the parable of the sower. Or what I’m calling the parable of the soils. At the end, we see an explanation of this parable. Then in the middle, Jesus quotes 6 and tells us why he speaks in . This passage lays out the various responses to Jesus and gives us the reason why some respond in faith and bear fruit and why others don’t. It’s highly relevant for the church. For Jesus has commissioned the church to continue his mission through declaring the gospel to the nations. And our gospel will also be met with various responses. Matthew 13:1-231 1That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9He who has ears, let him hear.” 10Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: “‘You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. 15For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears

1 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® unless otherwise noted. 2

and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.’ 16But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 18“Hear then the parable of the sower: 19When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. 20As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, 21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. 22As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. 23As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.” This is the Word of the Lord. To keep things simple this morning, I’m going to combine the parable of the sower with the explanation of the parable. Then I’ll cover the middle portion on Isaiah 6 at the end. The parable gives us an explanation of the various responses to Jesus. And Jesus’ use of Isaiah 6 gives us the reason for these varied responses. RESPONSES (1-9, 18-23)

Let’s begin with the parable and the various responses. Jesus himself calls it the parable of the sower. But there’s another sense in which we could call it the parable of the soils. Jesus makes it clear that the condition of the soil determines what happens to the seed. There are four soils mentioned in this parable. They explain four ways people will hear and respond to the gospel. And they all have to do with the heart of the person who hears the gospel. The first soil describes a hardened heart (v. 19). This is what was sown along the path. The path is the part of the field beaten down by people walking on it; it’s hardened. When the seed of the gospel falls on their heart, it never makes it below the surface. So, the evil one comes and snatches it away. This certainly describes the Pharisees. They see what Jesus is doing and hear what he’s saying. I believe they even understand what it means. They have to know in their head that Jesus is doing what he’s doing by the Spirit of God; he must be the Messiah. But their understanding is a hardened understanding, not a true understanding. It doesn’t lead to faith and repentance. The second soil describes a shallow heart (vv. 20-21). These are the ones sown on rocky ground. They have soft hearts on the surface, but it’s like rock at the core. Shallow soil has a lot of water. So, it will allow a seed to sprout up quickly. But there’s no depth for the roots to take hold. So, when suffering comes they aren’t able to stand. They receive the gospel gladly at first—they rejoice at the good news; Jesus has come to save. But when they meet opposition for following Jesus, when they lose standing with their friends, they fall away. This is instructive for those who are engaged in evangelism with people in our community and with children in our homes or in the church. We should certainly rejoice when we see evidence of faith in anyone. But we should also remember what this soil teaches us. The true test of discipleship is not whether or not one received the gospel with joy at some point in the past. The true test is whether 3 or not a person endures in the faith. Whether or not a person is willing to take up their cross and follow Jesus even when it hurts.2 The third soil describes a worldly heart (v. 22). These are the ones sown among the thorns. They hear the gospel and seem to receive it, but then the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches take over and strangle the word. The shallow heart doesn’t endure and so it withers away to nothing. The worldly heart is different. These people are still visible in the church. But because the word is competing with the world for water, nutrients, and sunlight, the plant isn’t healthy. And so, it doesn’t bear any fruit. Jesus said you can’t serve two masters (6:24). You’ll love one and hate the other. People whose hearts are captivated by the world are trying to serve two masters—the word and the world. But you can’t. Jesus is Savior and Lord. He demands complete allegiance. I believe in our affluent society there are many people who have heard the gospel and say they are Christians. But just because a person says they’re a Christian doesn’t mean they have actually embraced Christ as Savior and Lord. One evidence of fruit or a lack of fruit may be seen in a person’s generosity or lack of generosity. It’s interesting that so many people call themselves Christians, but give very little of their income. The average American evangelical only gives 2-3% of their income to charities. Not just 2-3% to the church, but to all charities combined. And did you know that around 20% give nothing at all?3 Could that be an indication that the cares of this world are choking out the gospel of the kingdom? Jesus presents four soils, but I believe there are really only two types of people when all’s said and done. Those who reject Jesus and those who receive him, endure, and bear fruit. The one common denominator in the first three soils is none of them bear any fruit. Jesus told us in our passage last week that those who are his disciples will bear fruit (12:33). They will do the will of God (12:50). They will obey what Christ has commanded. And it will be seen in what they say and in how they live. And we can have confidence that true disciples of Jesus Christ exist. We see this in the fourth soil Jesus mentions. The fourth soil describes a good heart (v. 23). This is the one who hears the word and understands it. And the proof of a heart-level understanding of the gospel is fruit. There were three types of bad soil that all resulted in no fruit. Here we learn that the good soil will produce three different levels of fruit. Some will yield a hundredfold, another sixty, and another thirty. That is to say, not everybody will have the same level of Christian maturity. But all who truly hear and receive the gospel will bear fruit. They will not only be hearers of the word; they will also be doers of the word (James 1:22). Over the course of time, some people who appear to believe will be exposed. And over the course of time others will be proven true. Which are you? This parable of the soils show us what we should expect as we go on mission and preach the gospel. Many will reject Jesus in one way or another. Many others will receive Jesus, endure in the faith, and bear fruit in keeping with their faith and repentance.

2 Douglas Sean O’Donnell, Matthew: All Authority in Heaven and on Earth, Preaching the Word 3 Craig L. Blomberg, Preaching the Parables: From Responsible Interpretation to Powerful Proclamation 4

We know the reason some will respond positively and others negatively has something to do with their heart. But Jesus has more to say about the reasons for the varied responses to him and the gospel. He picks this up in the middle of the passage. I want to turn our attention there with my remaining time. REASONS (10-17)

In the middle of the passage, Jesus tells his disciples why he speaks in parables. When we think of parables we think of the parable of the sower. Or the parable of the wheat and tares. Or the parable of the prodigal son. And all of these are one type of parable. Stories that illustrate a point. But the word parable in our Bible not only refers to these stories that illustrate a point. They can also refer to proverbs, fables, allegories, or riddles. Really any profound and difficult saying. Jesus’ disciples want to know why Jesus speaks to the crowds in ways that are hard to understand (v. 10). In verses 11-13, Jesus says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” Then Jesus goes on to quote extensively from Isaiah 6. These are some of the most difficult words in the New Testament. It seems like Jesus is saying that his teaching is designed to keep some people out. It seems like he’s saying he’s trying to blind all people, except for a select few, and to keep them from believing the gospel. But I don’t think that’s what Jesus is saying. He is giving a hard saying. And it gets to the heart of the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility. But I don’t think he’s saying he is responsible for the lack of faith. So, what is Jesus saying? If we want to understand what Jesus is saying here, it’s important to understand the context of this quotation in Isaiah 6. In Isaiah 1-5 Israel is rejecting God as their king. They are running after idols (2:8, 18-20). Then in Isaiah 6:1-7 God is seen as the king, seated on the throne, high and lifted up. And the angels were around him crying out holy, holy, holy. Then in Isaiah 6:8, God calls Isaiah to go and preach to those who have rejected God as king. That’s the context for the quotation we see in Matthew. “You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. For this people’s heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them” (vv. 14-15) God’s saying they’re going to hear Isaiah’s message, but they’re not going to understand it. Their idol worship has made them like their idols; they can’t see or hear. So, they’re going to continue rejecting God as king. God’s saying Isaiah’s preaching will strengthen the rejection that’s already there. God’s not saying that Isaiah’s preaching will create hardness and rejection. The hardness and rejection 5 were already there. We saw that in Isaiah 1-5. His preaching will simply solidify their rejection of God.4 But that won’t be true of everybody. Isaiah’s ministry will not only further harden the hardhearted. There will also be a remnant of people who do repent and believe. Isaiah’s preaching will result in burning down the tree, yes; but a stump will remain. And that stump will sprout up and bear fruit (Isa. 6:13). In the same way, Jesus’ teaching and preaching don’t create rejection of him. But it can solidify people’s rejection of him. This is establishing very clearly that when a person rejects Jesus it’s not God’s fault. They are responsible for rejecting him. And yet, at the same time, Jesus also teaches us that without God’s sovereign initiative nobody will receive him. Jesus says the secrets to the kingdom have been given to his disciples (v. 11). In order to understand, God must reveal the mystery of the gospel. Our hearts are so hardened by sin; we are dead in our sin (cf. Eph. 2:1). Without God’s sovereign grace and divine initiative, we won’t understand the gospel in such a way that it leads to faith and fruit. But the Spirit-empowered gospel will penetrate many hearts. Many people will come to faith. They will be made alive. And they will bear fruit. The same sun that melts wax also hardens clay. The same gospel that causes some to further harden themselves against God will cause others to repent and to bear fruit in keeping with their repentance. The same sun that melts wax also hardens clay. Jesus wants us to know, as we go on mission, there will be a variety of responses. Just like there were a variety of responses to him, there will be a variety of responses to the gospel. Some will certainly and ultimately reject Jesus. But others will hear, understand, and bear fruit. We don’t know who will see with spiritual eyes and hear with spiritual ears the secrets of the kingdom and who will not. God knows, but we don’t. Our job is simply to scatter seed far and wide. To tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. To declare: God has provided salvation from sins in the person and work of Jesus. To call people to believe and repent. To not hold back the suffering that will come with following Jesus. To not hold back calling people to serve Jesus alone as master. We are called to be faithful sowers. To declare the gospel. We should also pray that God will prepare the soil of people’s hearts to receive the gospel. And to do so knowing that there will be fruit in time. Some will bear fruit a hundredfold, some sixty, others thirty. And all the fruit will be the result of God’s sovereign grace in their lives. And so, all the praise will go to him.

4 See D. A. Carson, “Matthew” in Matthew, Mark, Luke, The Expositor’s Bible Commentary; and R.T. France, The , The New International Commentary on the New Testament