A Story for the Hard of Listening, Part 1

It's one thing to hear someone read the Bible.

It's quite another to understand what the words actually mean. Listening to someone quote God's Word is a healthy exercise, but it's the Spirit of God that illuminates, or turns the light on, in our comprehension. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll is teaching from Matthew chapter 13. In this passage, the writer describes a story Jesus told. It was a parable that explains how the seed of God's Word takes root in our lives. Chuck titled today's message, A Story for the Heart of Listening. God's Word is alive and active and sharper than a two-edged sword, and it's able to pierce where no surgeon's scalpel can ever touch.

Write to the soul. Any other book that you could use would not do that, but you could put a page of the Bible in a bottle in the middle of the sea, plug it up, drop it in. When it washes ashore and someone pulls out that sheet, that sheet that has a part of God's Word on it is alive and active and able to change the life of the one who reads it. We are going through the book of Matthew, and we've come to a place where Jesus changes his approach.

I sometimes use the words, he goes a little more underground, behind the scenes, and now he begins to speak in words that are not that easily understood. We might call them riddles, but he calls them parables. And we are there in chapter 13 of Matthew, and we have the privilege of looking through the first 23 verses. I'll not read all of the verses, but just a select number. Please locate Matthew 13.

I'm reading from the New Living Translation. Later that same day, Jesus left the house and sat beside the lake. A large crowd soon gathered around him, so he got into a boat. Then he sat there and taught as the people stood on the shore. He told many stories in the form of parables, such as this one.

Listen. A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the birds came and ate them. Other seeds fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because the soil was shallow, but the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since they didn't have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among ferns that grew up and choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil.

They produced a crop that was 30, 60, even a hundred times as much as had been planted. Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand. His disciples came and asked him, why do you use parables when you talk to the people? He replied, you're permitted to understand the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but others are not. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge.

But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them. That's why I use parables. Verse 18. Now listen to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds. The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the kingdom and don't understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy, but since they don't have deep roots, they don't last long.

They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God's Word. The seed that fell among the thorns represents those who hear God's Word, and all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of wealth, so no fruit is produced. The seed that fell on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God's Word and produce a harvest of 30, 60, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted. Interestingly, all four types of soil are represented in a gathering this large.

We can't tell by looking, only you know. And hopefully, as God's Word is explained, you will understand what that means. This is Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck called A Story for the Heart of Listening. Some days are just non-stop from start to finish. Not just at sunup, but before sunup and long after sundown. They just go on and on and on. When Cindy and I have a day like that, we will often say as we're turning the covers down on our bed at night, this is one of those 20-second nights. By that we mean I need about 20 seconds with the time my head hits the pillow. So it's also saying don't bring up some subject that will require a lengthy discussion or I'll be going to sleep on you. I won't be able to make it. I think Jesus had one of those non-stop kind of days when I look back through chapter 12.

And I invite you to do that. Go back and see, beginning at verse 2 of chapter 12, they are eating grain and he's called on the carpet. He's confronted by the Pharisees. That same day, that same group found fault when he healed a man's deformed hand at the synagogue.

They criticized him for that. The same group of critics called a secret meeting in verse 14 of chapter 12 and the meeting was about finding a way to kill him, to give you some idea of the condition of their hearts. They were religious, but they were totally out to lunch spiritually. Knowing of that meeting, Jesus escaped and kept right on healing as the crowds followed.

And is there anything more draining than the constancy of crowds? That's in verse 15 of chapter 12. And then he encounters a demonized man who is not only blind but is not able to speak.

Jesus casts out the demon as well as gives the man sight and speech. Again, the Pharisees accuse him of operating under the power of Satan and there is this heated dialogue between him and them, verses 24 and 25. And it finally winds up where he says to them in an exasperated moment, you brood of snakes, verse 34.

And then the Pharisees set him up to do a great sign and they wanted to find fault in that. That's verses 38 to 45. And wouldn't you know it, by the time you get to verse 46 to 50, his own family shows up from Nazareth and they want to remove him and rescue him from himself because some of them believe he's lost it.

Like I said, he must have been exhausted. When you face a day like that, look at verse 1 of chapter 13, it makes sense that Jesus would leave the house and sit beside the lake. Sounds like a great place for a little R&R.

Well that doesn't last long because as soon as he's there, the crowd locates him, verse 2, and they gather around and he has to get into a boat which becomes a perfect theater setting for, there's no public address system, so his voice would carry easily over the shoreline and as they are sitting, as they are standing, he is sitting and he decides, verse 2, that he would teach them and he told them many stories in the form of a parable. A smile inside because I remember a setting in our own life as a family. Many years ago when all of our children were at home and smaller, it had been one of those non-stop periods of months. Now not just a day or two days or a week, but months and we were all sort of stumbling over our tongues trying to keep life together and I realized we all need to get away and I, Cynthia and I made plans to escape to our favorite island and among the Hawaiian chain, the island of Kauai. You can't get much further away than that and I thought nobody will know us there. That would be a great place to be and we went and it was terrific and early one morning, the boys and I went fishing. We went to the North Shore long before daylight and I remember what I'm saying as we were on our way, I thought we were going to have easier days. Well yeah, yeah, but we're going to fish now. So we get in the boat, we go out, we catch a bunch of fish.

It's great. We put them on a stringer and we get back and we wade ashore and as we're wading ashore, my two sons are on each side, we look up and there is a gathering of a group of people walking toward us and one of the boys said, they're coming for you dad, we're out of here. And I said, no, no, no, nobody even knows we're here. So the boys were gone, left me with a string of messy fish and a crowd and to my amazement, they all had Bibles and they began, brother Swindoll, brother Swindoll, we heard you were on our island and we have come for you to teach us. And I thought, where are my sons when I need them right now? And then I also thought of something I could have said, let's start with a miracle.

You close your eyes, count 45 seconds and I will vanish from you. But I didn't. But I didn't teach them. I wasn't as patient as Jesus is and I found a way to lie my way out.

Not lie, but I said we had other plans. The plans were to get away from them so that we could get some peace and quiet and I got in the car and the guy said, we told you dad, we told you what's gonna happen. Well here's Jesus sitting in a boat and he's got the crowd, ever-present crowd there and he decides to teach them in a different way. Always remember when you're reading your Bible to pay attention to unusual words.

One of them emerges in verse 3. He told him many stories in the form of parables. Parables. Interesting word, actually it's a combination of two Greek words, para, which means beside.

You place something para, something you do it beside it and ballo, which is the verb for to throw or to cast, sometime to place. Placing something alongside something else for the purpose of comparison. To teach a particular truth. Now understand, parables were spoken, they weren't written. Jesus did not tell them to write anything down.

They're not meant to be analyzed with commentaries and dictionaries and Bible atlases and all that. They're meant to be heard better, to be listened to as someone speaks them. Furthermore, the truth they teach is immediate.

Either you immediately get it or you do not. They're designed to be like that. In other words, Jesus used these parables, these comparisons, first of all to reveal truth to those who desired to get it. And then to conceal truth from those who rejected it, denied it.

It sort of separated the listeners from those who had no interest. They're not allegories. One man writes this way, generally speaking a parable will have only one point. A parable is not an allegory, an allegory is a story in which every possible detail has an inner meaning, but an allegory has to be read and studied. A parable is heard. We must be very careful not to make allegories of the parables.

I often say it this way, don't make a parable walk on all fours. Don't try to take apart every segment of it and make it mean something or represent something. You know, an allegory that comes to mind is the pilgrim's progress.

It's a book full of word pictures and you study it, you read it, and you can examine each of those things that represent something else of a deeper meaning. That's an allegory. But a parabolo or parable is designed to teach one main truth.

We'll get to it in a moment, but keep that in mind. What is the one truth that Jesus wanted to convey? So he begins with the familiar. Parables start like that. Familiar to people in the first century, though not familiar to 21st century people, some of whom have never been on a farm, most of whom have never sown seed in a field. So the story begins unfamiliar to us, unfortunately. So for that reason, I'll take a few moments to explain it. If I were to say a person sat down at the computer to send an email message to a friend, everybody here would get it.

You not only know about it, you've done it. You're involved in it, so it was with the farming community of the first century. But because we're not of an agricultural type setting in our lives, a little explanation is helpful. A farmer would have the field plowed or he would plow it and then would attach a bag of seed to the waste or would hang a shoulder bag, a strap of a shoulder bag, and he would reach inside and as he walked along, he would randomly broadcast the seed, tossing it here and there, and the seed would fall randomly on the soil. That's the picture. Could have been that there was a farmer up on a hillside and Jesus is just like that farmer.

You've all seen it, you're all familiar. There was this farmer that sowed seed. He was planting or scattering seed. With your pen handy, I want you, verse 4, to mark the footpath or beside the road. It reads, as he scattered a seed across the field, some fell on a footpath.

Mark that. That's the first kind of soil that he uses to illustrate his point. What is a footpath? Well, between rows there would often be provided a place for people to walk so they didn't crush the plants as they walked across the field. But imagine everybody walking a pathway, it gets as hard as a pavement. And if you drop seed on a pavement like on this desk here, it would just lie there and then blow away, which is his point.

We'll get to it in a moment, on a footpath. Now, you got your pen ready, look at verse 5. Other seed fell on, your Bible may read rocky places or rocky soil. Mine reads on shallow soil. The reason is, it's more shallow than rocky. When we think of rocky soil, we think of little stones and rocks mingled in the soil, but it's not that. This is a small shelf, almost like a skin of dirt, that lays on top of limestone, big slabs of limestone, found all over Israel. And it would be shallow soil and obviously if seed lands there, it begins to germinate, but there's no place for the root to grow and the sun comes and pounds on it and the weather beats on it and it finally withers and and it doesn't grow, it dies, says at the end of verse 6.

Now, get ready, here's the third. Other seed fell among thorns. Now, it sounds like they were throwing seed on thorns. Actually, in the plowing, it had not gotten all of the roots of thorns out of there. And here are these fibrous roots that are really a thorn and thistles that as soon as the ground begins to be watered and the sun shines, the thorns grow up along with the grain and the thorns overgrow the grain and choke out the grain so that it cannot produce. And the new sprouts are hindered from producing and we read they being these tender plants that they were are choked out and of no use. Then the fourth is market fertile soil or your Bible may read good soil.

Nice, clean, soft, well cultivated or well plowed soil that the roots can go into and then the plant grows and is healthy and becomes productive. Gratefully, we receive wonderful feedback from our listening family telling us their stories of life change. It's strong evidence that the seed of God's Word is falling into fertile soil.

Now, please stay with us because Chuck Swindoll has some good news to share. And if you'd like to learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. At Insight for Living, we understand that some of your best encounters with God occur when you're alone and have some peaceful quiet time to read and reflect on your own.

In these moments of stillness, it's easier to hear God's voice and to feel His presence. Well, in addition to your Bible reading, let me recommend a helpful book Chuck's written that complements our study through the book of Matthew. It's a biography on the life of Christ, and he's called it Jesus, the Greatest Life of All. If you're looking to rekindle your passion for God, there's nothing quite like a personal encounter with the one who changed history forever. Again, we're highly recommending the biography Chuck's written called Jesus, the Greatest Life of All. And you can purchase a copy right now by going to insight.org slash store, or give us a phone call.

If you're listening in the US, dial 1-800-772-8888. Well Chuck, just a year ago, our staff at Insight for Living huddled together, trying to figure out how to navigate through a global pandemic. It was faith building to say the least. And looking back, none of us imagined how God would provide what's needed to sustain this ministry. Yes Dave, you would think that nonprofits like Insight for Living Ministries would suffer losses during a global pandemic, but I'm pleased to give you this report that's not been our experience. God's people have stepped forward to help us meet and sometimes even exceed our expenses. And if you're among those who have given a recent donation, we are deeply grateful to you. The experts might say that charitable giving goes down during uncertain economic times, but we believe God has accomplished His sovereign plan in His way and in His time, regardless of what the experts may say. And defying conventional thinking, God has blessed Insight for Living Ministries in ways we never expected and could never have predicted. Now, lest you assume that we're flush with resources and no longer need your support, let me clarify this.

I want to dispel that notion right away. Generally speaking, we are completely beholden to the listeners who rely on our daily program. That's the way it works. We have a shared partnership that started back in 1979 and continues to this day. And our goal for the June 30th deadline is impossible to reach without the partnership and participation from friends like you. So, as you measure the value of this Bible teaching ministry in your life, and as God calls upon you to share His message of grace with others, please follow His prompting and give whatever amount God places on your heart. We always give our contact information at the close of our program, and today is no exception. Please get a pen and jot down how to get in touch with us. And join me in our shared vision to declare the gospel in all 195 countries of the world.

How exciting that is. Thanks so much for your part in this. Choose one of several ways to respond to Chuck Swindoll. To give a donation online, go to insight.org slash donate. You can also speak with someone about giving a donation when you call us directly. If you're listening in the US, dial 1-800-772-8888. That's 1-800-772-8888.

Or go online to insight.org. I'm Dave Spiker, hoping you enjoy a relaxing weekend. And be sure to join us again Monday when Chuck Swindoll continues our study in Matthew on Insight for Living. The preceding message, A Story for the Heart of Listening, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.