Let me set up the scene about the gospel. I want to make this into sort of a “mini bible study.”
First of all Jesus is not in a good space. Previously he was thrown out of his hometown, Nazareth, treated like a mad man in another town not too far away, Capernaum, Pharisees want to get rid of him, and followers are consider leaving him. All right, so how does your past couple of months compare to his?
Next, Jesus does his teaching with a parable. Why a parable? Well, there were common in his day (i.e. he didn’t invent this style of preaching). Remember, back then there were no newspapers, no books . . . just sacred scrolls. So one of the best ways for people to remember something, was to tell it in the form of a story (or parable). And remember that parables aren’t based on facts, they are meant to teach something. And Jesus uses parables to get people to pause a moment, think a bit, ponder and hopefully have some kind of breakthrough, or “ah-ha.” An example is not telling someone what they need to do, but instead to present something for them to think about and come to the conclusion themselves.
So with the gospel, probably the people listening were ordinary people, who did NOT have lots of riches or nice clothes. And most (if not all) would be familiar with farming techniques. One big difference from today is that farmers, today, plough first then plant, back then they sowed first (which is simply throwing out the seed) and ploughing or hoeing the ground.
OK we are in chapter 13 of Matthew’s gospel. In verse 3 and 4, the farmer or sower (that is one who sows, or throws the seed) is the one bringing God’s message. This could be a preacher, a teacher or Jesus himself. The sower is sloppy. Some seed doesn’t even hit the dirt, it’s wasted it falls onto a path and not dirt, and birds come and eat it. God’s message is NOT just for those who are doing it right, who are respective. God’s message is for everyone. But thinking of sloppiness . . .
How are you attending to the things that need attention? Are you sloppy with your prayer life, your health? Are there things you could be doing that you are putting off?
Did you know that that #1 thing we all can do, to live a longer life . . . is to eat less?
Are there things that you waste? Like throwing out food? Leave the water running too long
when brushing your teeth or shaving?
Do you need to water you lawn so much?
Verse 5, “some seed fell on rocky ground where it had little soil. It sprang up at once because the soil was not deep, and when the sun rose it was scorched.” Now this could be ground that’s full of rocks, mostly likely soil thinly covering a rock ledge for the seed sprouts immediately because it is warmed by the rock. So let’s just say that the rock underneath the thin layer of soil is hot, but you can’t see it.
What issues are just burning under your surface?