LUTHERAN PARISH NURSE INTERNATIONAL

BIBLE STUDY

SEEDS IN DARING PLACES: THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER, MATTHEW 13:1-8

Dr. Daniel Paavola

Concordia University Wisconsin

Mequon, Wisconsin

August, 2011

OPENING: It’s a tale of two daisies. We planted daisies last year, putting them in a row in the back yard. I had seven but really only needed six to make a nice symmetrical lineup, two large ones in the middle, the other smaller ones on each side. Having one extra plant, I left it, the smallest, weakest looking one, and stuck it off to the side. I didn’t really plant it; I just stuck it in the ground, thinking not much would come from it.

I’m sure you can already see how this worked out. Which is the healthiest, best flower-bearing daisy in the lineup? And where did one completely croak, leaving us with a hole in the lineup? Of course, the little guy off to the side is doing great! And one of the two prime-time plants in the middle never made it through winter and had to be replaced. You saw all this coming because it’s probably happened to you too.

I suspect it happened two thousand years ago too and that is why Jesus tells the parable of the Sower. Not every plant grows and not every seed bears good fruit. That’s part of the charm and the frustration of planting and growing. Amazing isn’t it, that God allows this to happen even to himself. Let’s think about how it works for our ministry also.

When have you planted the weak and unlikely, only to have it succeed? And when has the guaranteed seed or plant let you down?

Is this uncertainty something that you embrace and even enjoying about gardening, or is it something you would get rid of if you could?

STUDY: READ MATTHEW 13:1-8, 18-23

This is the classic parable of growing and seeds. It leads off a chapter with seven parables, the first three being about seeds and growth. Matthew uses these numbers, three and seven, extensively in organizing his Gospel so we’re not surprised that he has seven of Jesus’ parables here.

Why might this parable be the one which leads them all? (It is also the first parable in Mark 4 and Luke 8) What about its length, its suspense, and its final outcome make it both the one parable that leads to others and also the parable that tells us all we need to know?

The Sower sows by broadcasting by hand, casting the seeds out intentionally towards the good soil. However, the wind and the abundance of the seed mean that seed inevitably falls in other places. That’s true for us unless we’re going to set each seed individually, and no one has time for that with a whole field.

However God has unlimited time, power, and patience. What is a bit surprising about his comparing his spreading of the Word to the broadcasting of seed? Would we expect his seed to fall into less than ideal circumstances?

The first soil is hard as rock, a common biblical image for the resistance of people to God. We might especially think of Pharaoh’s hard heart after seeing the ten plagues. But this hardness isn’t merely human. Notice that Satan comes into action even though the ground seems resistant enough on its own.

What does the urgency of Satan plucking up the seed suggest about the power of the Word to enter and transform even the hard hearted?

The next soil is eager, the complete opposite of the hardened path. This soil has a fast start and would easily be the one we would have bet on. Opposite of the hardened soil, this soil has the essential elements for initial growth. What people, places, and situations are this soil? What are the conducive elements that make for excellent first growth but which also doom that seed from long, productive life?

The third soil is perhaps the most deceptive. It is the person who can do anything. This is the Renaissance person, that ideal person who can take on five different roles or occupations and do them all well. It seems that this would grow the Word of God better than either the stony or the shallow soil. So what makes this successful soil such a failure? Why does it insist on growing not only the seed but also the weeds that doom the seed? When does our ability to multi-task, to juggle many roles, become detrimental to the growth of the Word in ourselves and our ministry?

Finally one soil bears good fruit. In placing this soil at the end, Jesus raises our suspense and also shows the patience and insight of God. Seeds may fall and fail, but he does not stop his sowing. What does the persistent planting of God say about the abundance he has, an abundance of the Word, and time, and patience?

Also, notice that the return on the last soil is tremendous. How does this compensate for what is lost in the other soils? What might this suggest about the final outcome of God’s evangelistic work and the abundance that we will see in heaven? Revelation 7:9-12 gives us a glimpse of this harvest.

APPLY: So which of the four soils surrounds you in your ministry now:

Are you especially sowing among:

The stony hearted who see the seed snatched away as soon as it comes near

The shallow but eager who promise much, but deliver little

The capable but over-committed who haven’t pruned their busy lives to what’s most important

The rich soil that patiently receives the soil and bears far more than we ever imagined

Besides the soils that now surround you, to what degree can we predict that change that might come in someone’s life? Can someone especially go from one of the first three soils to the abundant soil? Finally, is there a soil that is left out of the parable, another life situation which either bears good fruit or frustrates the planting of the Word?

So in our back yard, the cast-off daisy is looking great today, off there to the side. Though it doesn’t match anything and ruins my symmetry, I’ve got to leave it. It just proves that growth can come in the most surprising place and way, just like it does within us. Blessings on the Word planted well in all of you and the great growth that is happening in you.