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Jesus reveals truth already in our midst

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And when a great crowd was gathering and people from town after town came to him, he said in a parable, “A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell along the path and was trampled underfoot, and the birds of the air devoured it. And some fell on the rock, and as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up with it and choked it. And some fell into good soil and grew and yielded a hundredfold.” As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

 

Town after town, Jesus spoke in parables. Every story had a moral and every story beheld a mystery. Matthew’s gospel even notes, “[Jesus] said nothing … without a parable” (Matthew 13:34). Unlike some itinerant preaching, it seems as though Jesus’ strategy was not to pull apart life’s mysteries didactically, but to masterfully display simple patterns intricately placed in the world he already created. In so doing, Jesus reveals truth already in our midst as he fulfills the prophecy to “utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world” (Matthew 13:35).

In Luke 8, notice how Jesus begins by describing an incredibly generous farmer throwing seed everywhere. It appears the farmer isn’t very careful, but he is very active. He actively goes out to sow his seed and he actively spreads seed over all kinds of soils. After setting the scene, Jesus boldly declares, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” With this pivotal phrase, it’s obvious Jesus’ words are prophetic and allude to something far beyond gardening. No longer do Jesus’ words refer to the simple farmer with buckets full of seed, but to an Almighty God whose words must be heard and received.

Old Testament prophets proclaimed similar resounding messages every time they said, “Hear the Word of the Lord” (Isaiah 1:10, Jeremiah 29:20, Hosea 4:1). In Acts, followers of Jesus intentionally “gathered to hear the word of the Lord” (Acts 13:33). Just as the farmer lavishly spreads his seed, so our Almighty God continues to spread his words – throughout all generations, to all people, all tribes, all tongues and all nations. God is like the generous farmer who is always active and expectantly desiring his seed to be met with fertile ground. Today, reflect on a time when you received God’s words with fertile ground. Tell someone about how it felt for God to sow his seed in you.

 

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.
-Luke 19:10

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By Yvonne Biel 

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