“The First Sentence”

Matthew 13:3-8, 18-23

This week we will be looking at the parable of the sower, or we could say the farmer. You’ll notice that I have two separate sections of verses for us to read this week, that’s because this is one of the few parables where Jesus Himself explains the meaning for us. But, before we get too deep into the parable, let’s make sure we have a clear understanding of the key details in the parable, then as the week progresses, we will look at each “location” in a little more depth. First, Jesus begins His teaching with the statement, “A farmer went out to sow his seed.” There are three key details of this sentence I want you to see. Let’s look at them in reverse. The last word in the sentence is, “seed”. This is by far the main character of this parable. The seed, as Jesus points out for us in the latter verses, is the message of the Kingdom or put another way, the message about Jesus as the Messiah. We call it, “The Gospel” today. Secondly, notice that the farmer “went out” to sow the seed. This is obvious went you think about it. No farmer takes all his seed and plants it in his house! That would be silly. In order for the farmer to plant the seed where it has be highest potential of growth, he had to “go out” from where he was. Lastly, there is the farmer himself. Who is Jesus talking about. First and foremost, Jesus is referring to Himself as God’s Messenger of the Good News . However, this parable could also apply to anyone who carries the message of Jesus and share it with others. In this sense, we are also farmers if we are following Jesus’ command to go and make disciples. As we continue to dive in later this week, we will unpack it more, but for now, I want to ask you... Are you going out to share the message of Jesus with people outside your comfort zone? 

Prayer:

Jesus, I recognize that there is no greater story than that of Your love and forgiveness. Help me to have the courage to share Your story with someone in my life. Amen. 

Reflection:

What holds you back from sharing the message of Jesus with someone? 

How can you overcome it?