“The Sower and the Seed”
Luke 8:4-15
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 8:10 And [Jesus] said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it has been given in parables…”
Dear fellow redeemed in Christ our Lord… Have you ever wondered why Jesus spoke to the people in parables? Have you ever wondered why He told stories like the Sower and the Seed in today’s Gospel? Many people falsely believe that Jesus did so to illustrate the spiritual truths He was proclaiming, but that is not really the case. Jesus wasn’t just being folksy; He wasn’t presenting the Gospel in a simple way that everyone could grasp; He wasn’t dumbing things down. He said, “To the rest it is given in parables, that ‘seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'” Those who heard the parables had the truth right in front of them, but they didn’t get it and they couldn’t get it by their own reason or strength. And the reason is this: they did not believe.
In many ways our Lord’s parables were more like riddles or mysteries. They had the dual purpose of both revealing and concealing; they drew the line between faith and unbelief. The only people who understood the parables were those to whom God gave understanding. To the rest they were a riddle.
St. Luke tell us that great crowds were coming out to see Jesus, people from every city. But Jesus’ purpose was not to satisfy the curiosity seekers. His teaching and miracles were not about impressing the crowds; they were about ushering in the kingdom of God. So, to the crowds who came with different agendas, Jesus spoke in parables, mysteries, riddles; and He did so in order that the unfaithful who do not seek the kingdom of God would be driven away and left in their own ignorance. In this way the true disciples would be drawn in to discover and grasp the meaning hidden in Jesus’ words. To them it was given to know those mysteries.
Let us rid ourselves of the notion that great sermons are full of interesting and humorous stories and anecdotes and illustrations from contemporary life. Now, those things can sometimes be helpful in making a point, but that is not the kind of story-teller Jesus was. His stories were not instantly and easily understood; they weren’t “user-friendly,” and they most certainly were not pathetic attempts to be cutesy and relevant. Quite to the contrary and as Mark tell us (1:22), “He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.” And boy, did that get under their skin! Jesus‘ stories presented the mysteries of the kingdom of God, mysteries revealed only by the Holy Spirit.
The disciples themselves asked, “What does this parable mean?” And Jesus gave the clear answer. The Sower is God. The seed is the Word of God. This Word and preaching of Christ is living and powerful, and gives new life to those who hear it. Christ Himself is the Word made flesh. Though the seed appears small and unimpressive, it contains within it the very power of God to save.
You and I are the dirt in this parable, for we are children of Adam, who was created from the dirt, the “adamah,” the dust. The problem is that this dirt has become infested with problems – hardening and rocks and thorns. These things represent that unholy trinity of the devil, the world, and our sinful nature – the very things that constantly work against our Lord’s planting.
In the first instance the seed falls on the path – the hard, worn soil. The Word of Christ makes it into the ears, but it is not received or inwardly digested. It bounces off a hardened, impenitent heart – a heart that says, “I can do without Jesus or forgiveness or preaching or the Sacraments for a while or maybe longer.” “Yeah, I’ve heard all this stuff before; I learned it as a kid. Whatever. Give me something new.” This is the result of our stubborn will, our attempts to deny our sinfulness and our need for Jesus’ help. Seed that falls on the hardened path is gobbled up by the birds. God forces no one to listen to the Gospel; and in a truth that may be hard to grasp, He allows the devil to come and snatch it away.
In the second instance, the seed falls on rocky soil – a thin layer of dirt over hard rock. This represents a shallow faith, a superficial religion which is based on feelings and emotions instead of a deeply-rooted faith in the truth. And it is a comfortable version of Christianity that fits in with a person’s lifestyle rather than calling that lifestyle into question and calling that person to account. The Word is heard with lots of joy and uplifting worship, but there is precious little in the way of real repentance and faith. This is the religion of the easy chair, the Barcalounger, instead of the cross. It is the wide road rather than the narrow one.
Everything happens quickly in shallow soil. The seed sprouts up fast and grows fast. This is the kind of faith that wants to see instant results. It is a practical spirituality, a spirituality that seeks “how-to’s” for living in this world more than or even at the expense of seeking life with God in the world to come. “I’ll believe in God as long as He keeps coming through for me by giving me success at work or good health or a good marriage or a happy family. But, boy, if things start to get sketchy, if this religion thing stops paying off, well then just forget it.”
This is a plant with very little root, quick growth, but is spindly and weak. It cannot survive the heat of the noonday sun. The Word of Christ is heard and received with immediate enthusiasm: “Woo-hoo! Praise God! I’m doing great! I love you, Jesus!” But when truly following Christ begins to jeopardize friendships or jobs or a comfortable lifestyle, that joy and excitement is shown to be what it really was – a shallow and temporary zeal that quickly dries up and dies under testing and the cross.
In the third instance, the seed falls among the thorns that ultimately choke out the young seedlings. Christ is preached and heard and believed, but there are so many other voices clamoring for our attention that faith in the Word of Christ gets choked off, like weeds crowding out a garden plant. And that, dear fellow redeemed, is the big temptation that our culture places before us.
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There are so many distractions offered to us that we don’t even have time for the one thing needful. You may want to pray more regularly; you may want to read the Bible more and have more regular devotions. You may consider making an appointment to see the pastor for private Confession and Absolution. But then you hardly ever seem to have the time; there’s so much else you have to do first. The thorns crowd into your life and crowd out God’s Word. Even here in church those thorns try to crowd your mind and divert your attention so that you can hardly dwell on God’s Word as you should.
Jesus says specifically that the thorns are the cares, the riches, and the pleasures of life. First there is anxiety. How will I pay my bills? How am I going to deal with a rebellious teenager or toddler or other family member? Will my car last another 100,000 miles? Anxiety is what we feel when we fail to trust that God knows what we need even before we ask Him. Anxiety is the prayer that we pray to our false gods when they aren’t coming through for us. It chokes out our prayers to the one true God who is our help in every time of trouble.
Then there is greed: the endless desire for more and better stuff. And here’s what happens: greed turns the good gifts of God into idols; it turns them into greedy little false gods that consume you until you are no longer able to hear God’s Word and His preaching, until you are no longer able to pray or to come to the Lord’s table.
And finally, there are the pleasures of life: all the recreation and entertainment that the world has to offer. These things may not be bad in and of themselves. But they can very easily dominate your life and take up huge chunks of your time because of the temporary satisfaction that they give. And in the end, they offer you nothing real, nothing lasting, nothing fruitful.
Now remember, you and I are that dirt into which the heavenly Sower plants His seed – dirt that the devil, the world, and sin want to make unfruitful so that we will remain nothing more than dust. But the Lord is now at work to make you into good soil. He has been at work in this very Divine Service through His word and preaching to apply His Law to you, and to weed out every distraction, every idol, every denial of Christ, and to clear away your boasting and pride. With the tilling blade of the Law, He cuts through your hard hearts.
Acknowledge that working of the Lord. Acknowledge your need to be tilled and turned by Him. Pray to God that He would break your pride and put a serious dent in your self-importance. Know that even through difficulties and disappointments and viruses God is at work to cultivate faith in you, to teach you to trust Him, and to receive everything as a gift from His hand. He is the Divine Roto-Tiller that turns and tills us like soil. He breaks our hearts. And into those broken and contrite hearts He plants the life-giving Gospel of Christ.
Christ and Christ alone is that fourth good soil. He alone is without sin. He is never overcome by the devil or the world. Christ was cast like seed from heaven into the womb of the blessed Virgin Mary. He is the One with the noble and good heart. He received His Father’s will. He perfectly carried out His Father’s Word and produced a bountiful harvest.
And you, dear fellow redeemed, YOU are that harvest. You are the fruit of Christ’s work. Christ is the One who has cleared away the debris from your soil through the power of His suffering, death, and resurrection. Remember: Christ literally is the Word, the seed that is cast. Therefore, whatever that seed experienced – on the path, on the rock, in the thorns – Christ has experienced for you.
Consider this: Thorns were placed on Christ’s head as He bore the sin of the world – your sins and mine. For our deliverance Jesus was crucified in the hardened and rocky soil of Calvary. There He suffered the heat of the day, the hellish fire of our judgment. There Satan, like a scavenging buzzard, hellishly hounded and devoured Him.
And because Christ suffered all of that in your place, He has destroyed the power of sin from the inside out. On the third day our Lord Jesus rose victorious from the depths of the earth, bringing with Him the abundance of His mercy and the fruitfulness of His new life for you.
Our Lord Jesus was planted in the grave in order that abundant life might spring up, and that a great harvest might be brought in through His bodily resurrection. And you, dear fellow redeemed, you are a part of that crop. You are one in whom the Word of life has been planted. In Christ, by His grace alone, you become the fourth soil. The seed was scattered on you in the waters of your baptism. It is sown in the absolution and the proclamation of the Gospel.
And the seed of Christ lands on the soil every time the body and blood of Christ are placed into your mouth for the forgiveness of your sins. The Word of Christ is at work in you now, that you may bear fruit one hundred-fold – the fruit of faith toward God and fervent love toward one another.
Thanks be to God that the Sower is still sowing His seed, here in this very place each and every Lord’s Day, in order that you may have His life forever.
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit.
