the seed and the soils

 My name is Trey Holmes. My wife is a musician, and our home is full of singing and music almost all the time. I however, am not a musician, nor can I sing, but I do it enjoy it. Having three kiddos under six, a lot of the songs are nursery rhymes and other little diddies. A lot of my time is spent reliving my own childhood as we read stories and sing songs. One character we’ve recently rediscovered is a guy named John Chapman. You don’t know who he is? Maybe you know him by his nickname, Johnny Appleseed. Oh yeah, the lightbulbs just went off! Johnny Appleseed was originally born in Massachusetts, but he would travel West when he came of age. He really did spread apple seeds wherever he went, but he did so in orchards, which he would start and then leave a neighbor to tend while he returned every few years for his share of the profits from the trees and produce. He died in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and if you ever happened to be in Leominster, MA, or Fort Wayne, IN, you can visit his birthplace, see his gravestone, play in Johnny Appleseed park, and watch the minor league baseball team, the Tincaps as they play. John Chapman the nurseryman wove himself into American folklore as he travelled about, and grew quite famous. That tends to happen when someone is doing work that people appreciate. As a matter of fact, Jesus gained quite a following as he travelled around the area of Galilee, preaching the word of God, healing the sick, and performing miracles. He became so popular that he didn’t need to travel- the crowds came to him by the thousands. Let’s look in Luke chapter 8 to see one particular time Jesus drew a crowd, and what he had to say.

When we pick up in verse 4, Jesus had a large crowd around him. We know from Mark’s gospel that Jesus was by the sea of Galilee, and the crowd was so large that he had to climb in a boat and go out on the lake for the crowd to hear him.  Along with the crowds, a close group of his followers (including the 12 disciples were with him), and they probably rowed him out far enough for Him to be seen and heard by the crowd. As the boat stopped and one of the disciples threw out an anchor, the crowd hushed, and he began to tell the following parable. “A farmer goes out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell on the path; it was trampled on, and the birds of the sky ate it up. Other seed fell on the rock; when it sprean up, it withered, since it lacked moisture. Other seed fell among thorns; the thorns sprang up with it and choked it. Still other seed fell on good ground; when it sprang up, it produced a crop: 100 times what was sown.”

When we think of agriculture today, we think of big tractors and equipment, seedbed prep, exact measurements, fertilizer, and specially selected seed to produce the highest yield. But the farmer of Jesus’ day would have had a much simpler setup. He would have walked along the area covering his field with a loose bag slung over his shoulder, rhythmically throwing handfuls of seed out as he walked up and down the field. (Perhaps it was planting season as Jesus taught the crowd, and they watched farmers in the distance as he spoke.) They wouldn’t have needed the visual, though. Most of them lived as farmers and farm workers, and would place themselves right in the story. They would know the land they lived in and probably recalled memories of sowing seed, watching it bounce on hard paths and eaten by birds. They would feel the coolness of the breeze on their sweaty brow as the chopped weeds. Their nostrils would recognize the smell of the freshly plowed soil as they walked over it. The bright green of the early sprouts would be seen in their mind’s eye, and the dry stalks as it died in rocky areas. But they would also know the camaraderie of men who work hard together during harvest. Perhaps they rubbed their lower back, remembering sore muscles and aching backs from sleeping on threshing floors. The feeling of accomplishment as the harvest was finished, and they celebrated Firstfuits.

There was one thing they wouldn’t know, though- what it was like to bring in a hundredfold harvest. The average yield was tenfold, and their ears must have perked up and they leaned in when Jesus told of such a bountiful harvest, hoping to hear where they could get such seed!

But as they leaned forward with interest, shushing children and neighbors sitting near them, Jesus yells out, “Anyone who has ears to hear should listen!”  Then he sat down in the boat and instructed the disciples to row him to shore. The crowd must have been confused. They came to hear about the kingdom of God, and they were told a farming story- one about a seed they would never hold, and a bountiful harvest they would only see in their dreams!

Fortunately, the disciples save us all, as in their bewilderment one of them pipes up to ask, “What does this parable mean?” Jesus replies, “The secrets of the kingdom of God have been given for you to know, but to the rest it is in parables, so that Looking they may not see, and hearing they may not understand. Even in their confusion, the small crowd in the boat would have recognized the reference to the prophet Isaiah, who preached to the nation of Israel, a people who would hear, but not listen to the word of God that came from his lips, and they would ultimately perish because of their hardness of heart- just like many of the people in the region Jesus had been preaching in!

Jesus explains the parable to his followers, noting that the seed is the word of God. The seeds on the path are those who have heard the gospel, but the Devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so they do not believe. These would be people who brush the gospel off like water off a duck’s back- it may penetrate to the heart, but they’re not going to let it get that far. The rocky soil is those who hear and welcome the word with joy, but they have no root. When troubles come, they depart. You may recognize this type of believer- they “dive in” to Christianity, but soon become disenchanted by the effort, and when things get hard, they are out. The seed that grows among thorns are those who hear the word, but are choked with worries, riches, and pleasure of life. These are people who lead double lives, talking a good game, but playing a bad one. Then there is the good soil- the ones who, having hear the word with an honest and good heart, hold on to it and by enduring, bear fruit. (100 times more than they began with.)

The disciples must have looked bewildered because Jesus changes illustrations: “No one, after lighting a lamp, covers it with a basket or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a lampstand so that those who come in may see its light.” For Jesus, it is common sense, because “gospel seed that takes root grows fruit.” “For nothing is concealed that won’t be revealed, and nothing hidden that won’t me made known and come to light. Therefore, take care how you listen. For whoever has, more will be given to him; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him.”

The “seeds” of the gospel- the good news that Jesus, the son of God, died for our sins, was buried, and resurrected, are for everyone- but not everyone will believe the Gospel. The good soil, the person who takes ownership of the gospel message and is steadfast in living with gospel intentionality will bear fruit. This doesn’t mean that you will go around with a pocketful of tracts asking everyone if they know Jesus, but you will live with intentionality! Because “gospel seed that takes root bears fruit!” Sure, we will face rejection, but we shouldn’t give up because of it. Jesus, like the farmer casting seed upon the field, and wasn’t worried the loss of some of the seed, or the hard work of sowing, because he knew harvest time would come! His disciples must have had a check in their spirit, though, as he told them to watch their own lives to make sure they “good soil.” It should give each of us a check in our spirits.

Most people know the stories of Johnny Appleseed, and think of a somewhat goofy looking caricature from the Disney cartoon, throwing apple seeds right and left as he walked through the forests of North America. Most people don’t know that John Chapman travelled because he was a missionary, and he used his nursery business as a catalyst for missions. Unfortunately, John Chapman was a missionary for a heretical sect that called themselves The New Church. If John Chapman, who spent his life preaching a false gospel, could persevere, shouldn’t followers of Jesus be able to endure hardship for the gospel, looking forward to the harvest? Don’t be discouraged when people reject the message of our Savior, because “Gospel seed that takes root bears fruit!”—and there will be a harvest! Let me pray for us!