A Story about a Farmer
That same day Jesus left the house and went out beside Lake Galilee, where he sat down to teach. Such large crowds gathered around him that he had to sit in a boat, while the people stood on the shore. Then he taught them many things by using stories. He said:
A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was scattering the seed, some of it fell along the road and was eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on thin, rocky ground and quickly started growing because the soil wasn’t very deep. But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched and dried up, because they did not have enough roots. Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. But a few seeds did fall on good ground where the plants produced a hundred or sixty or thirty times as much as was scattered. If you have ears, pay attention!
Jesus Explains the Story about the Farmer
Now listen to the meaning of the story about the farmer: The seeds that fell along the road are the people who hear the message about the kingdom, but don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches the message from their hearts. The seeds that fell on rocky ground are the people who gladly hear the message and accept it right away. But they don’t have deep roots, and they don’t last very long. As soon as life gets hard or the message gets them in trouble, they give up. The seeds that fell among the thornbushes are also people who hear the message. But they start worrying about the needs of this life and are fooled by the desire to get rich. So the message gets choked out, and they never produce anything. The seeds that fell on good ground are the people who hear and understand the message. They produce as much as a hundred or sixty or thirty times what was planted.
Matthew 13:1-23 Contemporary English Version
Ploughing, Cultivating, Seeding, Rolling
As a teenager I spent a summer working for my brother on the family farm. Priority number one was the preparation of ground for crops and grass. The first step in this process was ploughing, breaking up the turf. Next was ‘cultivating’ – cutting up the ploughed surface. Then came the seeding stage – sowing grass and swedes in the respective paddocks. Finally the soil was rolled to ensure the seed was kept in the soil and not eaten by the birds. Nothing was left to chance.
Jesus’ approach in contrast was to sow the seed in rocky, thorny and weed-infested soils as well as in cultivated soils. There’s both realism and idealism at work here.
The followers of Jesus are called to take the good news of the kingdom of God to people who on the face of it might not be interested. They are not to second guess the action of the Holy Spirit. Who knows where the Holy Spirit has been acting in the lives of those around us? Here’s a challenge to our discrimination on the basis of compatibility with the church’s culture.
At the same time though we’re given a dose of reality. Many will have no capacity to engage with Jesus. They may not have the mental or spiritual frameworks needed to listen. Others may show initial interest but in fact are more interested in comfort or prosperity than in following Jesus wherever he goes. The good news is that some will be ready and will grow to maturity.
As a man of the land, I respond with a commitment to continued cultivation of interest in the lives of my family and friends. It takes time in conversation and demonstrated integrity. It takes humility. It takes patience. It takes trust in the work of God’s Spirit.