8: 1-15 Jesus began a tour of nearby town and villages teaching those who would listen about God. He took his twelve disciples with him, along with some well to do women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases and who out of gratitude for their healings, financially supported him and the apostles. Mary Magdalene was one of the women who followed him. Jesus casted out seven demons from her. Joanna, the wife of Chuza, followed him, along with Susanna, Herod’s business manager and many others who were contributing from their own resources to support Jesus and his disciples.
One day Jesus told a story in the form of a parable to a large crowd that had gathered from many towns to hear him: “A farmer went out to plant his seed. As he scattered it across his field some seed fell on a footpath, where it was stepped on, and the birds ate it. Other seed fell among rocks. It began to grow, but the plant soon wilted and died for lack of moisture. Other seed fell among thorns that grew up with it and choked out the tender plants. Still other seed fell on fertile soil. This seed grew and produced a crop that was a hundred times as much as had been planted!” When he had said this, he called out, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
He ended his parable with a challenge to carefully consider the story and its hidden meaning and practical implications. He used parables to teach the people about God. Jesus’s disciples did not know what the parable meant and asked him to explain it to them.
In this parable, the seed is the teaching of God’s word. The seeds that fell on the footpath represent those who hear the message, only to have the devil come and take it away from their hearts and prevent them from believing and being saved. They hear it, but it does not penetrate their hearts and as a result, as they pass from this world, they do not enjoy an eternity with God.
This was me. Growing up, I allowed my pain, views, and experiences to prevent me from really learning about Jesus. When I first started attending church in my fifties, I could not even say the word Jesus. To me, it was a bad word. I felt close to God and led by Him; however, I wanted a direct connection. I did not want to go through Jesus. In my heart and from my life experiences, God was loving; however, Jesus was judgmental. I had done things that I was not proud of; however, justified them based on my circumstances. I wanted to bask in God’s love but ran away from anything Christian. I wanted a direct connection to God. The seeds were falling on the footpath in front of me; however, I kept stepping on them, wanting to connect to God my way.
The seeds on the rocky soil represent those who hear the message and receive it with joy. They don’t have deep roots; however. They believe for a while, and then fall away when life happens. They hear God’s word and flourish at first, but a strong foundation is not built and their union with God withers and dies. When faced with temptation, they fall away. I met several individuals who knew the Bible, could quote scripture and grew up in the church with good memories; however, experienced life’s challenges, and for some, traumatic experiences where they could not reconcile in their minds why such a God could allow those things to take place. I felt they were very much like me – against Christianity; however, with a much different background and understanding of God.
When I first started going to church, I started reading the Gospels and soaked up what I was reading. The story of Jesus was not at all what I had thought. I wanted to learn more and started attending a Bible Study and asking questions. I felt so behind and wanted to catch up quickly. As wonderful as I felt finally reading and learning God’s word, life still happened and when it did, I ran back to my old comfort zone, doing things myself and my way, behind a very strong wall I built up around me. I did not have deep roots at all and when challenging life experiences happened, I gave in to old habits.
The seeds that fell among the thorns represent those who hear the message, but the message is crowded out by the pleasures of this life. They never grow into maturity. They hear the word of God, but do not produce fruit through good works or helping others. Their hearts have been hardened in response to worries, riches, and the pleasures of life, and as such, they just go through the routines of going to church on Sundays because it has become a habit. For some, church is all there is. There is no sharing God’s word with others, and if they do, it is an act that they feel an obligation to do, not something that comes from their heart.
The seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest. In the last group that Jesus teaches about, they hear God’s word and receive it with an open heart, holding onto the message in their heart and sharing it with others. In my observations, a good portion of these are the same type of people that Jesus reached out to through his ministry. They are people who are really messed up, who have been knocked down over and over by life and have taken life by the reigns and tried to do things themselves as they can’t trust others. They know they are messed up and just can’t take it any longer. They have hit rock bottom, their hearts are pricked and they are searching for genuine help. The seed that is planted in their messed up and broken heart grows and begins to take over and they realize how wonderful it is to have the type of love that Jesus is, walking along side of them through life’s ups and downs.