1/5/25 “Soil Test”

“Soil Test”

Matthew 13:1-23

I…love…maps.

As a kid – In the Wintertime when there wasn’t much to do outside -  I would spend hours just gazing at maps….

…Road maps, political maps, topographic maps, relief maps, thematic maps, climate maps, economic maps…if it was a map – I wanted to see it.

I was a certified geography nerd.

Years ago, there used to be a map shop near the industrial park over in Reedsburg – I used to find myself going there quite often.

For awhile in college, I actually thought about becoming a cartographer – someone who makes maps – but ultimately, I ended up going in a different direction.

My love of geography is probably why I enjoy going on adventures to distant areas when I have the opportunity.

So….This morning I have a few maps for all of us to look

(Display USA Map)

This happens to be a map showing the pH level of soil across the entire USA.

The reds and oranges indicate soil that is naturally quite acidic…

While the blues and purples indicate soil that is generally the opposite of acidic - called alkaline…

Yellow and light green indicate soil that is neutral – it’s neither acidic or alkaline….this is soil that measures around 7 on the pH scale – usually right where you want soil to be in order to see the best crop yields.

(Display map of Wisconsin)

Here’s another map – this one displays the types of soil found throughout the state of Wisconsin.

Most soils in WI are made up of the particles: sand, silt, clay, and loam.

(Show map of Sauk County)

Finally, here’s a map of Sauk County, showing the permeability of the soil here…in other words, how quickly water drains through the soil.

Orange indicates high permeability, while the green color represents soil that holds water to a higher degree.

All of these maps were developed through data collected by some sort of soil test.

The different classifications of soil were determined only after the soil had been tested for specific qualities.

In our passage of scripture for today, we see another kind of soil test.

But rather than being a physical soil test, it’s a spiritual soil test.

Matthew chapter 13 begins a large section of this gospel containing numerous teachings of Jesus in story form…these stories are called - Parables.

Just as we can learn many truths about the physical world through pictures such as maps…

…We can also learn many truths about the spiritual world through these picture stories called parables.

Technically speaking, parables are elongated similes or metaphors containing a distinctly spiritual lesson within the analogy.

Jesus began teaching through the use of parables about 2/3 of the way through his ministry….

…And this would become his primary method of teaching throughout the remainder of his ministry.

Jesus was a master at weaving stories using commonplace objects, incidents, or people in order to convey profound spiritual truth.

The word ‘parable’ itself (Gr. Parabole) contains the idea of ‘laying something alongside of something else for the purpose of comparison.’

Jesus would use familiar objects such as those we see in our passage for today: a farmer, seed, and soil….to teach important spiritual lessons that dealt with God’s Kingdom.

Jesus used the familiar….to teach people about the unfamiliar.

…And the beauty of parables are that – because they are in story-format – the lessons contained within them are generally very easy to remember.

 For instance, if I mention names like “The Mustard Seed” or “The Talents” or “The Good Samaritan” or “The Prodigal Son”….

…Many of you could tells these stories to someone else – including the spiritual lesson (Or lessons) they contain.

Parables help make the abstract more concrete – and in so doing – they help us to continually apply spiritual lessons to our daily lives.

There was another reason why Jesus began to teach in Parables near the end of his ministry…

Not only were parables for revealing truth to those who genuinely wanted to learn about the kingdom of God…

….But Jesus also used these same parables to demonstrate that hard-hearted individuals – such as the Pharisees, for example – were left unable to understand the spiritual lesson within the story.

This is what Jesus tells his disciples in verse 11 (Matthew 13:11) of our passage for today.

When the disciples ask Jesus why he has begun to speak and teach in parables, he tells them this: “….The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.”

In other words, those whose hearts had been prepared by the Holy Spirit to hear and respond to the gospel message would understand the spiritual truth contained within a parable…

…while those who were currently antagonistic toward Jesus and his message would not understand the spiritual truth contained within the story.

It reminds me of the verse a couple of chapters earlier in Matthew where Jesus is praying to the Father and He says “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.” (Matthew 11:25)

In other words, someone could be a genius with an IQ of 200 and still not understand the lessons being taught in many of Jesus’ parables…

Why? …Because their spiritual eyes are not open to seeing the truth behind the words they are reading or hearing.

In fact, this happens quite often in our world today.

Many highly educated people who are considered to be very worldly wise are – at the same time - completely ignorant of spiritual truths.

…many of these people deny even the existence of anything metaphysical – things that cannot be detected by their 5 senses.

…But when we choose to humbly place our dependance upon Jesus Christ, God brings the spiritual realm into full view in our lives…

…And it becomes just as real as anything our 5 senses can detect.

Remember the ‘Magic-Eye” pictures I’ve mentioned in the past…

…Where if you concentrate on an image long enough, a new-distinct image suddenly appears within the picture…one that is not initially seen?

To me, these pictures do a nice job of illustrating the way in which spiritual truths come into focus for those who look intently upon the gospel message.

So, today we are beginning a 15-week sermon series on the parables of Jesus.

I’m extremely excited to go through these amazing stories that were taught by our savior with all of you…

…And I guarantee we will all be brought into a closer walk with Jesus after we are finished with them.

So, with that, let’s dive into our first parable.

The parable of the Sower in Matthew chapter 13 – this parable is also found in the gospels of Mark and Luke.

(Mark chapter 4, and Luke chapter 8)

Surprisingly, the Gospel of John does not include any parables as the focus of that book is more on Jesus’ identity and His relationship with the Father.

…But the synoptic gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) contain many parables…

…and a few – like our parable for today – are included in all three synoptic gospels.

Jesus begins this parable in verse 3 (Matthew 13:3) by describing a farmer who went out to sow some seed.

In first century Palestine, they obviously didn’t have any mechanical corn planters like we do today…No John Deere’s, Dewey 😊

…So a farmer would strap on a large bag over his shoulder and he would throw seed onto the ground while walking through his field.

As you might imagine, wind would often blow these seeds in every direction…

…Including along field roads which would have been around the perimeter of many fields

…seeds would also fall in areas where the soil would be just a few centimeters thick, with solid rock underneath.

…There would also be areas of heavy weed pressure in certain fields where seeds would eventually land

And finally, seed would land on fertile soil…soil that was free of hardness, rocks, and weeds….soil that would produce a bountiful harvest.

Verse 4 (Matthew 13:4) describes the seed that would find its way to hard, impenetrable places, such as the pathways that surrounded many of the fields.

Jesus tells us that seed landing on this hard ground has no chance of sinking into the soil, and therefore, it would never germinate.

While the seeds are sitting in plain sight, it would be easy for birds to swoop by for a snack and gobble them up.

Luke’s account of this parable adds the idea of these seeds also being trampled underfoot as people would walk the hardened pathways…

…Yet another way for the seed to end up destroyed.

Verse 5 (Matthew 13:5) describes some seed landing on rocky places where the soil itself would have been very shallow.

Now…these would not have been small rocks that could have easily been picked and thrown out of the field…

…Rather, the ‘rocky areas’ would have been parts of the field where there would have been just a few centimeters of topsoil, with underlying beds of solid limestone just below the surface.

…This impermeable rock base would have made it impossible for a crop to take root – and because the soil was so shallow – there would have been no way for a plant to retain the moisture needed for it to survive very long.

…Plants that cannot establish much of a root system generally grow upward very quickly, but when they are exposed to the intense heat of the mid-day sun….they also quickly wither and die…

…These plants simply have no way of accessing life-sustaining moisture, because they lack a deep root system.

Verse 7 (Matthew 13:7) describes seeds that fall in thorny, weedy areas.

Any farmer knows that if you have a lot of weed pressure in a certain area of a field - and nothing is done to destroy those weeds –

….a fragile grain crop won’t stand a chance amongst such powerfully aggressive & invasive plants.

Weeds tend to grow faster and stronger than small grain plants, therefore they tend to choke out the grain by receiving more sunlight and water.

 Finally, verse 8 (Matthew 13:8) describes seed that falls on good soil. This is soft, deep soil that is free of weeds and a rocky underlayer.

Jesus tells his listeners that this is the only soil that will produce a crop…

…the only soil that will produce its own fruit.

…the only soil that will produce sustainable life.

So much so, that the harvest produced from plants in this soil will generate up to 100 times what was originally sown…

…this kind of exponential harvest was almost unheard of in that time and place.

Then, in verse 9 (Matthew 13:9) Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear.”

Another way to say this would be: “If you can understand it…then understand it!”

Jesus was pointing out to his listeners that they would have needed more than their own human understanding to interpret the meaning of this parable without furhter explanation.

Fortunately, Jesus goes on to provide that explanation.

Remember the maps we looked at earlier?

Well, most maps have a separate section  – usually located near the bottom -  that provides information about that particular map…

…Does anyone know what this section is called?

(It’s called a legend)

Verses 18 – 23 of Matthew chapter 13 is the “Legend” section, so to speak, of the parable of the Sower.

This is where Jesus meets privately with His disciples and makes sure they understand what the spiritual lesson was contained within the parable…

Even the disciples would often miss the point that Jesus was making…or the lesson he was trying to teach them.

Remember, they were ordinary human beings just like you and I…

And – like us - they occasionally needed some remedial tutoring concerning certain truths of the faith.

First of all, Jesus tells us in Luke’s account that “The seed is the Word of God” (Luke 8:11)

In other words, it is the message of the gospel…

…The good news of entrance into God’s kingdom by grace through faith.

Regarding the farmer, we are not informed in any of the three accounts as to his exact identity…

…However… Jesus does tell us in the parable of the wheat and tares later in Matthew chapter 13 that “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man.” (Matthew 13:37)

Therefore, because of the stark similarities between these two parables…

…I believe we can say with a very high degree of certainty that the farmer represents Jesus himself.

Many bible scholars also believe that – in a general sense – the farmer can represent anyone who spreads the gospel message to others…

The soils.

The soils themselves represent four basic kinds of hearers – or responses - one can expect when presented with the good news of Jesus Christ.

There will be:

1)     The Unresponsive

2)     The Superficial

3)     The Worldly

4)     The Receptive

Jesus tells us in verse 19 (Matthew 13:19) that those who don’t understand the message of the gospel – not because of any deficiency in the message itself, but because of their own hard-heartedness –

…they are like the impenetrable soil of the hard path.

…They are ‘The Unresponsive.’

Since these people have no time for matters of faith, they are easy targets for Satan to swoop in and remove the presented kernel of life-saving substance from their lives.

This is the person who has continually and consistently resisted anything having to do with faith to the point that the soil of his heart has become pounded down until it is impervious and insensitive.

Many of us know people like this…for some of us, they are even close family members.

The lack of repentance, guilt, or shame in these people’s lives leaves him or her utterly exposed to Satan’s attack.

…In hearts such as these, there is no remorse, no conviction of sin, and no desire for anything good, pure, and holy.

We would generally refer to such people today as atheistic humanists…people who see no reason to consider the merits of Christianity or the claims of Christ.

The apostle Paul describes these people as being deceived, saying “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

The second type of response to the gospel message will be ‘The Superficial.’

These people are represented by the rocky soil…the soil that will produce fast-growing plants…but they have no root system to keep them alive.

This is the person who responds immediately with great joy and excitement when they hear the gospel message.

They are often – initially – overcome by emotion-driven enthusiasm as they boldly profess to anyone and everyone around them about their newfound faith.

Like that fast-growing plant, they will be uber-zealous in their passion for worship, prayer, and bible study…

…They will – full of excitement – involve themselves in every single ministry of the church…

However….when the first hint of tribulation, affliction, or persecution comes along, he or she loses heart….and detaches themselves from the faith in which they were initially so excited about.

Unfortunately, the euphoric experience of what was thought to be a genuine born-again experience is just as quickly replaced by a denunciation of that same faith.

No real conversion ever took place…there was never any deep conviction of sin, no desire to live self-sacrificially, and no willingness to suffer for the sake of the savior.

This person rises quickly based on emotion – and, subsequently, falls quickly based on emotion – because there never was any deep taproot of faith.

Like a shooting star rapidly moving across the vast nighttime sky…one minute they are brighter than anything else in the heavens…and the next minute… they’re gone.

The third type of response to the gospel will be that of ‘The Worldly’.

These are individuals who like the idea of Christianity, but the pull of the things of the world are simply too much for them to give their lives completely over to Christ.

This is the soil that supports a seedling of grain…but it also supports a large number of weeds….

…aggressive plants that eventually choke out the small, frail seedling.

This is the kind of heart soil that is very prevalent in our modern world.

There are so many distractions to contend with today.…

Objects/people/wealth/entertainment….Maps!

worldly lusts that Satan can use to draw our attention – and our allegiance – off of Christ…and on to the things of the world.

Idols abound in our society.

Anything (Good or bad) in someone’s life commanding more allegiance and attention than their relationship with Jesus is – by definition – an idol.

I Think about specific things in my own life over the years that have risen to the level of idolatry – or at least have come close to being an idol….

Things like sports…

there was a time growing up when playing basketball – and watching basketball on tv - was the most important thing in my life…

I wanted to be just like Michael Jordan, after all, and I would spend hours on end studying his game and trying to incorporate his moves on the court.

For a while, at least, this was all-consuming for me.

Then I heard a pastor say this about determining if sports was an idol in one’s life and it really stuck with me….he said this:

 “If you were offered free tickets to a Green Bay Packer football game that happened to take place on a Sunday morning at the exact same time as your church’s worship service, what would you rather do?”

Notice he didn’t say ‘what would you do’…he said what would you rather do?

In other words – regardless of what you ultimately decided to do - where is your heart toward the things of God vs the things of the world?

Someone could refuse the Packer tickets and choose to attend worship service…but while sitting in the church pew, they really would rather be sitting in the stands at Lambeau.

This is a struggle for many Christians today…there are so many activities that take place on Sunday mornings these days that compete for our allegiance and attention…

…especially activities for children.

One might argue: “But regular attendance at a worship service is not required to be a follower of Jesus…

…to which the reply would be: “If you are a follower of Jesus and desire to serve him, why would you not want to be worshipping him – and inspiring others to worship him – as often as you can?

The person with a weedy heart is the person who continually harbors these desires that compete with God’s will for their life.

Or to put it another way….The person who is continually absorbed & preoccupied with money, career, fashion, hobbies, gossip, sports, entertainment…this is the person with a weed-infested heart.

One of the fastest growing weeds in the entire field is the weed of money, choking the life out of many professed believers…

Again, the apostle Paul reminds us in 1 Timothy 6:10 that “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”

Our world preaches that he who dies with the most toys wins…

Don’t ever let Satan deceive you with that idolatrous ideology….

…that mindset of greed comes straight from the pit of hell….and a lifetime of allegiance to its precepts will only result in a one-way ticket to that eternal place of hopelessness, torture, and pain.

I think of the lyrics to the song “Long, Black Train”…That train is a beauty making everybody stare, but its only destination is the middle of nowhere.

Brothers & Sisters…Keep the priorities in your life in harmony with the faith that you profess.

…staying true to the disciplines of the faith on a daily basis (Prayer, Reading the Word, Service to others)…

…they will be like regular doses of Roundup upon the soil of your heart….keeping the weeds from taking over the garden.

Finally, there is the good soil…the receptive hearer.

This is the person whose heart has been prepared by the Holy Spirit to respond to the message of Christ crucified.

This is the person who – in humility – confesses that they are a sinner in need of a savior.

…they repent of their lifestyle of sin and begin to prioritize the things of God.

The ultimate mark of good soil is that good soil produces plants that – in turn - produce fruit.

The question for all of us is this:

Is your life characterized by the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…?

Is your life characterized by consistent obedience to the Will of the Father?

These are the marks of a heart containing good soil…

This parable demands that whoever hears it – or reads it – that they closely examine the fruit that is evident in their life…

…And if there is a lack of fruit, maybe its time to reassess what kind of soil is currently in the garden of your heart….and switch it our for good soil.

And lastly, let this parable also be one to remind us that – as we spread the good news of Jesus to others…

there will always be a certain percentage of hearers who will have softened hearts of good soil…ready to permanently respond to the life-saving message of salvation.

Spread the gospel seed…and watch faith grow in the lives of others.

Let’s Pray.