Mission in Jesus’ Parables of the KingdomSample

We’re continuing the parable from yesterday but concentrating on the second two soils (Matthew 13:7–8, 22–23).

The person among thorns heard the Word. However, they became choked—strangled, you might say—and ultimately killed off by what surrounded them: the “cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word” (Matthew 13:22). This is a huge temptation, whether we live in a wealthy society or in a poorer country, where it’s easy to envy the wealth of others. But disciples can also be choked: not by greed and materialism but by cares and anxieties (see Matthew 6:25–34). This remains a significant challenge in many places where people have genuine reason to worry about how they will get food, pay their children’s school fees, and afford rent on their house. We have to point them to the treasures we find in Jesus, to the path of denying ourselves and taking up our cross rather than seeking comfort—but we also have to help those in desperate need who are struggling to survive as Christians, partly because they are simply struggling to survive at all.

Finally, the good soil is “the one who hears the word and understands it” but—going further still—“bears fruit” (Matthew 13:23). The mark of genuineness in a disciple is all three: hearing, understanding, and bearing fruit. Jesus doesn’t seem to distinguish between 30, 60, or 100s as if 30 was a disappointment—perhaps each is according to someone’s ability, rather like the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14–30).

What can we learn from this parable about mission? There will be both significant opposition and tremendous obstacles to this harvest. The evil one seeks to thwart it at every turn, and there are many stumbling blocks in the path of the hearers, preventing them from going onto full discipleship and continuing until the end. But finally, there will be astonishing results. When we consider how much seed went to waste, it’s even more remarkable that the fruit of harvest was so abundant—so much greater than the average crop. God can bring miraculous growth even when our mission work appears to be in vain. It is his work; as we faithfully sow on his behalf, God will reap a great harvest.

Matthew 13:1–9, 18–23