Matthew 13 reminds me of two dear friends talking about the challenge of dating after divorce. One is a brilliant physician and the other a pretty simple guy. The doctor gave a very clinical explanation of the physiological changes in women over 40 that reduce the desire for intimacy. The second guy turned to me and said, “See, nothing he says makes any sense!” In today’s chapter we see that Jesus taught complex concepts in a way that a child can understand. It begins, “He told them many things in parables”. I love how some of the disciples represent for the simple among us. They asked Him, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah, noting that some do not want to listen. Their “heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes”. Callouses come from repeated wounds, forming a protection. But He continues, “Otherwise they might… turn, and I would heal them”. Friend, has your heart been wounded?
Jesus explained the parable of the sower, scattering seeds that fall onto different kinds of soil. First He describes the hard ground, “When anyone hears the message about the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in their heart”. Lord, please soften hearts to receive Your healing. Next He describes those that have been hurt, or broken as “someone who hears the Word and at once receives it with joy… But… they have no root…and they quickly fall away”. Lord, please bring others beside the broken and help sustain them now. Next He describes the overwhelmed, “The seed falling among the thorns… but the worries of this life… deceitfulness… wealth choke the word… making it unfruitful”. Lord, please ease the burdens so that faith may grow strong. Finally He describes those that have been searching and are now ready for renewal. “The seed falling on good soil… one who hears the Word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown”. Father, please increase the yield that Your wisdom and Your Hope would be shared to feed many today.
For the rest of the chapter Jesus gives many parables, each one probably for a different need among the crowd. Maybe one is for you? He describes a field that had been prepared and planted, but at night “his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat”. Very often after someone hears the life-changing truth of forgiveness through Christ; their buddies attempt to sabotage their budding faith. The story continues with the Master’s solution, “Let both grow together until the harvest… First collect the weeds… to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn”. The disciples frequently demonstrate that they were not the brilliant ones in the crowd. In private, they asked Jesus to explain this. He said, “The harvest is the end of the age…The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil”. Next He told parables of seeking and finding something of great worth hidden amidst the ordinary. “Like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it”. Friend, you are that pearl! The chapter ends with one of the saddest verses in scripture. Jesus returned home and the people only saw “the carpenter’s son”. “He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith”. Is it time for healing? Friend, do you have enough faith to believe that Jesus is the Christ?