Matthew 13
The parable of the sower pictures the “seed” of the gospel going forth into the “soil” of the hearts of men and women. We are warned here of the types of hearts that fail to produce fruit. The gospel will appear to take root in hard hearts, shallow hearts and idolatrous hearts. While these infertile grounds might give the semblance of growth for a season, they will ultimately prove to be lifeless.
As I read through this familiar parable once again, I was struck by the description of the shallow hearts. Jesus said:
As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. (Matthew 13:20-21 ESV)
Seasons of tribulation or persecution reveal the true state of the shallow heart.
As people who are living in one of the most prolonged seasons of peace and wealth that the world has ever known, this ought to give us pause. This parable appears to suggest that there are people in the church who think that they love Jesus, but whose faithlessness will be revealed at the first sign of adversity.
They have no roots.
Their faith is casual.
And when faith becomes costly, they will exit as quickly as they entered.
As a Christian who is living in a season of peace and prosperity, my first response to a text like this is to ask the question: Am I the shallow soil? Will I continue to live for Jesus even when it costs me my reputation, my livelihood, or maybe even my family?
My second response to a text like this is a complete re-evaluation of the way I view and value pain. I want to know if my faith is authentic, and nowhere is that question answered more clearly than in a season of adversity. While we are not gluttons for punishment, we should be willing and able to accept our circumstances as opportunities for growth and clarity.
Sometimes pain is a mercy. If a man goes to the doctor for discomfort in his chest only to discover that he has a deadly cancer but that he has caught it early enough for treatment, won’t he be thankful for his chest pains? So it is with faith. If I have a shallow, inauthentic faith – if I have a faith that is unable to save me! – then I want to know that now, before it is too late! Jesus was abundantly clear that the stakes are too high for us to live in uncertainty:
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear. (Matthew 13:41-43 ESV)
Assistant Pastor Levi denBok
Isaiah 65
Isaiah 65 is a rich chapter, and we who believe in Christ will see ourselves in the mercy revealed here. This chapter reveals God’s response to the complaints of the Israelite people in the previous chapters. Their complaints of injustice culminate in this,
Will you restrain yourself at these things, O Lord? Will you keep silent, and afflict us so terribly? (Isaiah 64:12 ESV)
However, God does not stay silent. He says,
I will not keep silence, but will recompense, even recompense into their bosom. (Isaiah 65:6 ESV)
God’s silence is broken with the announcement first of his mercy, and then his judgment.
I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I was ready to be found by those who did not seek me. I said, “Here I am, here I am,” to a nation that was not called by my name. (Isaiah 65:1 ESV)
To the undeserving Gentiles who don’t seek him, God offers salvation. The Lord declared that if Israel rejected him, he would extend his love and mercy to others. The Lord Jesus spoke of this in Luke 14:16-24.
And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet.’ (Luke 14:23-24 ESV)
The Apostle Paul picks this up in Romans 10:20,
Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” (Romans 10:20 ESV)
In the opening verses, we see God’s attention and care for Israel, yet Israel responded with rebellion. Their behaviour shows their wayward hearts. They resisted and provoked God. They were involved with the occult and demons. They boasted of piety but demonstrated spiritual adultery and spiritual blindness (see 64:9). Their rejection earned God’s wrath (see verses 1-7, 11-12). The holy One of Israel judged those who ignored him but in his mercy he preserved his faithful remnant in Israel (verses 8-10, 13-16).
The true Israel (the believing remnant Romans 11:5-8) and the believing Gentiles will inherit God’s eternal blessing in the new creation (see verses 17-25). The faithless will receive destruction.
For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. (Isaiah 65:17-18)
Who do you serve, yourself or God? We must ask ourselves, “Who will inherit God’s kingdom?” It is those chosen by Jesus before the foundation of the world who have put their trust in Christ. What are you trusting in for salvation? Do you trust your piety? That you are a churchgoer? That you once said the sinner’s prayer? The saved trust in Christ alone and put no confidence in what they’ve done.
We have a great and joy-filled future waiting for us. It will be sweet beyond description. Through Christ, by grace alone, the redeemed will enjoy the fullness of God’s benefits, spiritual as well as physical.
Associate Pastor Jody Cross