Day 287 (Matthew 13, Luke 8) - Year 6
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Jesus loves a good parable. It's one of his favorite teaching tools. A parable is a short story that usually has one main point or idea, though occasionally more, and it's often generalized, meaning there are no specific people or places listed, just broad facts. Today, when we meet up with Jesus by the Sea of Galilee, he's got a lot of parables for us. We'll only cover the main one today, and tomorrow we'll talk about the others. This is a parable about the gospel. Jesus compares it to a seed, the

The seed of the gospel is spread all around and it falls on lots of different types of soil. Four to be exact. So this is often called the parable of the sower or the parable of the four soils. The soils represent four different ways the gospel can be received. The bad news is three out of the four soils don't receive the gospel very well. We'll look at why in a second. But the good news is the one soil that does produces lots of fruit from the seed. In fact, it's up to a 100-fold increase.

The first soil is the path, but the birds come and devour the seed. Jesus compares this to anyone who hears the gospel but doesn't really understand it. Then the enemy comes and snatches it away. Jesus says it's not important for people to just hear the gospel, but for people to understand it. Otherwise, the enemy will come along like a bird and snatch it up before it takes root.

The second soil is the rocky ground. There's not a lot of soil there, and what exists isn't very deep. Jesus compares this to the people who respond to the gospel quickly and with joy, but as soon as tough times come, that plant can't take the heat and it withers. Those who follow Christ are promised trials, and if someone claims to have faith but isn't rooted deeply, persecution will wilt them.

Persecution is one of the ways our hearts are revealed. Are we after only the blessings God promises his kids? Or are we truly after God himself? The third soil is the thorny soil. The seed takes root, but the thorn grows up around it, choking it and crowding it out. Jesus compares the thorn to the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches. I find it interesting that both trials and abundance can overtake the seed.

Things we view as curses and things we view as blessings can both serve to reveal our hearts. Finally, there's the good soil, the one who hears the gospel, understands it, and bears fruit. If I were a Baptist preacher, I would give these four soils names that all start with the same letter. Like maybe the simple, the shallow, the selfish, and the solid.

Moving on, we just talked about the parable and the explanation. But when Jesus first tells the parable, he doesn't give the explanation. He just talks about the seeds and soil. He's talking to a big group of people from a lot of different towns, and he's all, Then his disciples pull him aside and say, And he says,

Exactly. I'm doing that on purpose. For you guys, you'll get it. For the people with hard hearts, they won't. Be grateful for the blessing of your soft hearts and open ears because you're getting to see and hear and know something that very few people have ever experienced. Then he goes on to explain the nuances of the parable of the soils to his disciples, but not to the whole crowd.

I'll be honest, on my first trip through scripture, this was the single most challenging passage for me. I almost gave up on this day. I didn't like it at all. It felt like Jesus was being mean. One of my mentors encouraged me to zoom out on everything I had learned about God from reading the Old Testament, as well as the purpose and timing of the ministry of Jesus. It was hard not to bring my own ideas of what was right and best to this passage. If you're like,

What's the big deal, Tara Lee? Then great, you're miles ahead of where I was on my first trip through the Bible. I really had to work to remind myself of what Jesus has proven so far in his ministry. Performing signs and speaking truth doesn't change hearts. Only the Spirit changes hearts.

This shook up my theology in the best way possible. So if this hits you sideways too, hang in there. The good stuff is always on the other side of your question. Press in. Don't give up on him. Keep seeing what he says about himself and his word. Keep seeing what those who know him best testify to be true of him.

After Jesus finishes telling all his parables today, he goes back to Capernaum and teaches in the synagogue. We've read about this scene before, but there are two things worth noting in Matthew's account. First, we see that he has at least seven brothers and sisters, James, Joseph, Simon, Judas, and all his sisters, which means at least three or more. The second thing worth noting is that they call his dad Joseph a carpenter, but

But this is actually a misunderstanding from the original translation. The word used here in Greek is tekton, which means a builder or a craftsman. When the good people in England first translated the Bible to English, they assumed this meant carpenter because the builders and craftsmen in England used wood. But for the most part, builders and craftsmen in ancient Israel, and even modern Israel, primarily used stone.

Almost everything there is built out of stone. I've heard estimates that most builders in Jesus' day would have worked with about 20-30% wood and about 70-80% stone. All that to say, Jesus was probably more of a stonemason than a carpenter, which makes a lot of sense when we read through the stories he tells us and the analogies he uses. Lots of places in scripture refer to him as the stone that the builders rejected who became the cornerstone.

And as a tecton, he has been shaping things out of rock since the first day of creation, starting with the earth itself. Keep your eyes peeled because you'll see him using rock imagery everywhere. Luke 8 opens by telling us that in addition to the 12 apostles, there were a few women who apparently traveled with him as well, namely Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Susanna, and more.

This is remarkable, honestly. There are some circles where this would be unacceptable even today. So for Jesus to be on board with having women as disciples who traveled with him in ancient Israel just goes to show how much he values the contributions of women in the kingdom.

It sounds like these women are caretakers of some sort because verse 3 says they provided for them out of their means. Among these women are some who probably have great wealth and status, like Joanna, who is married to King Herod's household manager, as well as women who have poor social standing, like Mary Magdalene, who once had seven demons until Jesus cast them out.

And this is where my God shot showed up today. Not just the fact that women are included, but all the diversity of his closest followers. The crew Jesus traveled with included poor fishermen, wealthy tax collectors, family members of the king's entourage, and a woman who once had seven demons. He kept a wide range of company. Jesus, as it turns out, is not just for all nations of people, but all types of people. Rich, poor, polished, and unkempt.

He proves that the thorny pleasure of wealth and status can't choke out every seed, and that the scorching trials of the demonic can't wither some seeds, and that even the simple fishermen who might not appear to have depth and who aren't just rocky soil but might even be rocks themselves, like Peter the Pebble, can still, against all odds, bear fruit. One of the beautiful things about a sovereign God is that he can take the most unlikely soil and turn it into a garden.

He's where the joy is.

Hey, Bible readers, it's time for our weekly check-in. How are you doing? First of all, you're here. You keep showing up. I'm so proud of you. Remember when I mentioned that the parable of the seeds was the passage I had the hardest time with during my first trip through the Bible? I just want to remind you, if you're stuck on a passage, any passage, whether that's from today or the books we've already read or something you read in the days to come, keep going. You're not alone and the good stuff is on the other side of this struggle.

Wherever you are, you're right on time and God is with you. He's going to meet you in your confusion and your frustration. And if you haven't been confused or frustrated, that's amazing. I'm so glad to hear that. I'm cheering you all on and I'll see you back here tomorrow to keep making our way through the New Testament together.