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Ears to Hear – Being Woven

Yeshua [Jesus] wants to know. Jesus has a question. What do we make of this? Do we understand? Are we listening? Do we have ears to hear what Jesus is saying?

  • I know I want the Word of God to prosper in my heart and produce a harvest beyond my wildest dreams.
  • I don’t want to be the one who has no firm root in myself and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately I fall away from Jesus.
  • I don’t want to be the one who who hears Jesus, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the good news of the Messiah. I really don’t.

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. 2 And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 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, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.”

English Standard Version. (2016). (Matthew 13:1–9). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

We know from Jesus’ own explanation later:

10 Then the disciples came and said to him, “Why do you speak to them in parables?” 11 And he answered them, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

English Standard Version. (2016). (Matthew 13:10–13). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

The Parable of the Sower does not begin with “The kingdom of heaven is like” because it describes how the kingdom begins. It begins with the proclaim the Word, the planting of the seed in the hearts of people. When we say, “Let me plant this thought in your mind,” we express the idea of this parable. The seed is God’s Word; the various soils represent different kinds of hearts; and the varied results show the different responses to the Word of God. Jesus explained this parable so there is no doubt of its meaning.

Why compare God’s Word to seed? Because the Word is “living and powerful” . Unlike the words of men, the Word of God has life in it; and that life can be imparted to those who will believe. The truth of God must take root in the heart, be cultivated, and permitted to bear fruit.

It is shocking to realize that three fourths of the seed did not bear fruit. Jesus did not describe an age of great harvest, but one in which the Word would be rejected. He was not impressed with the “great multitudes” that followed Him, for He knew that most of the people would not receive His Word within and bear fruit.

Is Satan winning? Nope, the test is at the end of the age, not during the age. Thank God that “Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” We can and will be fruitful.