WEDNESDAY December 11th
Out of the four gospels writers, John doesn’t record any of the parables that Jesus gave, it is to the other three that we turn to, Matthew, Mark and Luke.
Matthew takes us to the first of the parables that Jesus gave, by introducing us to it with these words ‘That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying . . .’ (Matthew 13:1-2)
From this position, sat in a boat looking over the crowd he began what we have recorded as the first parable, the parable of the Sower and it continues in verses 3-8:
‘“A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear.”’
The same parable is recorded by Mark in 4:3-8 and Luke in 8:5-8. Following on from this parable, Matthew records five more in the same chapter.
It must have been an incredible experience to hear Jesus as he taught in the various ways that he did, from the mountain with the sermon on the mount with all the various sayings that are found in it, to the different parables as he gave illustrations to reveal spiritual truth.
It must have been incredible because we see how the crowds followed him to witness and to listen to all that he was saying and doing, and yet we see that within a year or two they would turn against him! It would seem that for many as the seed of the word of God was planted in their hearts it was easily trodden upon, snatched away, or choked by the cares of the world.
But thankfully there were those who allowed the seed to take root and it is from those such as Matthew and John who were two of his disciples, that we in turn are benefitting spiritually from what they have recorded for us so that we too can read and be challenged by the sermons and parables that Jesus gave.
All I want to say for today is that we all make sure that our hearts are ready to continually receive the seed of the word of God, and that we guard it from anything or anyone who would seek to prevent it from bearing fruit in our lives.