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T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
January, 1933
from which to speak to them. Hence, the parables that He uttered are for the widest proclamation. The parable o f the sower is very simple. The people did not have to be intellectual, or religious, or cultured in order to un derstand it. There was no deep discussion with involved reasoning for them to fol low, no vague or dim theories, no meta physical philosophy. The sower going forth to sow was something with which they were familiar and which they under stood. It is a universal action which every body grasps. In this we have an illustra tion of the universally understood teaching of our Lord. It is our own darkened minds and rebellious hearts that make His teachings appear dark and hard to fathom. If there were more of the childlike mind in our listening, there would be more un derstanding of the Lord’s words. But there is a spiritual import in His teaching, and underneath His simplest words there lies a world o f meaning. “He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” ; A seed has life in it, life placed there by God, life that only He can impart. A chemist may produce a seed of the exact ingredi ents, the exact size, shape, color, and con sistency of one that God produces, but the chemist’s seed will not germinate, while God’s seed will spring forth into new life. The word of man may appear exactly like .the word of God, but the word of man rots away, without giving life to any, while the word of God brings life wherever it is al lowed entrance. II. T he I nterpretation of th e P arable (13-20). The parables o f Jesus, while spoken to and of His own times, are prophetic of the whole course and character of Chris tendom. This parable of the sower and the seed is fundamental to them all. An understanding o f this one will enable the reader to understand them all. There are certain principles here which are found in all the parables, and if these principles are applied to the other parables, they will be intelligible as they would not be otherwise. The sower is any one who publishes abroad the Word of God, be cause the seed is that Word. The seed is plentifully and promiscuously sown with out reference to the character o f the ground upon which it may fall. A ll of that seed is good, not all of our reasonings about it are good. However, wherever the seed falls, the result depends upon its reception. If there be anything wrong with the results of the sowing, it is be cause there is something wrong with the ground. In the parable, .some of the seed fell by the wayside, some upon stony ground, some among thorns, and some upon good ground. That which fell upon the way- side was eaten by the birds, that which lodged upon the stony ground was scorched and it withered away, that which fell among the thorns was choked, and that which took root in the good ground brought forth fruit. 1. Wayside Hearers. The Lord explained that the wayside hearers represent those who are thor oughly hardened against the truth, so that when the Word falls upon them, Satan has no difficulty in removing it from them. The birds are Satan!s agents and may represent any one of the swift, ^ilent, ap parently innocent interruptions that con stantly occur when the Word is preached. The hearers listen with indifference, as though the Word were addressed to people of another race than they.. Their hearts are hardened, so that the W ord cannot find
BLACKBOARD LESSON
the Lord says. Many a fruitful Christian is a rich one, but such have escaped the deceit that lies in riches. Achan was a good and valiant soldier, until he saw the wedge o f gold and coveted it ; Ananias was a good and courageous Christian, until his eyes were blinded with greed (Josh. 7; Acts 5). The “lusts of other things” is the third thing the Lord mentions. The word “lusts” means “desires,” and it covers a multitude o f “things,” all of which might be summed up in the words Luke uses, “pleasures of this world” (cf. Tit. 2 :11, 12; 2 Tim. 4:10). The “present evil world” is the enemy, and hence the rival, of God); when it and its pleasures are allowed to .usurp the place the Word should have, the Word is choked. The wayside hearers fall to Satan’s at tack; the stony ground hearers become a prey to the attack from the flesh ; and the thorny ground hearers succumb to the at tack of the world. 4. Good Ground Hearers. Finally, the Lord explains that the good ground hearers are those who hear the Word, receive it, and bring forth fruit. The “hearing” presents the idea of holding fast to what is heard; the “receiving” car ries the thought of accepting and believing; the “bring forth fruit” advances the thought of growth and production. Luke adds that such fruit-bearing is “with patience.” There is much need o f patience. “ Be patient therefore brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husband man waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it” (Jas. 5:7). It should be borne in mind that the good ground does not bear an equal amount everywhere, but some “thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.” Be satisfied to go on, simply sowing the seed, every where, knowing that a portion will bring forth fruit, and patiently waiting for it to be garnered in when the Lord comes. Lesson Questions Vs. 1-10. Which of the parables, would you say, is fundamental to an understand ing o f them all? How universally is the illustration o f a sower understood? What four kinds o f ground are mentioned? Who asked for an interpretation of the parable? Vs. 13-20. What is .represented by the seed? What is implied by its lavish scat tering? Is Satan wholly to blame for the lack of fruitage borne by wayside hearers ? Why ? Who are stony ground hearers ? Where are they often found? . What are some o f the “thorns” that choke the Word? \Vhat three things characterize good ground hearers? Does all seed falling on good ground yield the same return? If the Christian is to be a sower, what rules would you lay down for him to follow? Golden Text Illustration An instance o f extraordinary spiritual power is recorded of a good old man called “Father Carpenter,” of New Jersey, a Presbyterian layman. He became a man of wonderful spiritual power, though of ordinary intellect and very limited educa tion. Hardened sinners melted under his appeals and yielded to Christ. Once in a stage coach going from Newark to New York, he found among his fellow passen gers six unconverted men and one be liever. He began to present the claims of Jesus Christ, and so powerfully did the Spirit attend the truth that four were con verted in the coach, and the other two after reaching New York. At his death, it was stated that by a very careful in quiry, it had been ascertained that mote
entrance. They refuse its personal appli cation and appeal. They will not permit the Word to reach the conscience, thus proving that “men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds” are evil. They treat the Word with the same hos tility which their ancestors revealed when they hung the Incarnate Word upon the cross at Calvary. Thus they seal their own doom with their hatred of God. But through all eternity, they will remember that they had the Word given to them, and that it was their own stubbornness and rebellion that gave Satan his opportunity to steal it away from their hearts. While Satan is allowed much latitude by God, yet his power is limited to tempting men, and it is not unlimited in seducing men. “ In the moral nature of man, there is the powerlessness of Satan without man’s con sent.” In the sowing, God is represented as first giving men a chance to be saved; in allowing the birds to steal the seed, there is man’s attempt to keep from being saved. 2. Stony Ground Hearers. The Lord next explains that the stony ground hearers represent those who are superficial in their treatment of thé Word. They receive it with joy, their emotions are stirred by its promises of present and future good, religious excitement is al lowed tO'irun its course, and they mistake feeling for faith. The promises allure and the prospects attract, and they fill their minds with these, without counting the cost o f being separated from the world, of withstanding the attacks of Satan, and o f battling against the flesh. Hence, they “endure' but for a time.” Whqn the scorching heat of the hatred o f the world besets them, they wither away because they have no root in themselves. All the root they had was in the evangelist, or in the “special revival meetings,” or in the gen eral excitement of a religious gathering. Matthew tells us they are “offended be cause o f the word.” The Word makes certain demands upon the Christian, be cause while Christ is free, Christlikeness demands the courageous withstanding of the world’s attacks upon the believer, which would cause him, if possible, to renounce his faith in Christ as Saviour and Lord. 3. Thorny Ground Hearers. The Lord next explains that the thorny ground hearers represent those who re ceive the Word, but who allow the thorns to choke its growth. Three things are said to be thorns, “the ’cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts o f other things.” These are the most fre quent causes of failure—at least in our day ! These things, “entering in, choke the word.” The “cares of this world” are in numerable—cares of business, family, so ciety^ etc. In being careful of the things pertaining to this life, -men become careless o f the things pertaining to eternity, and so lose what otherwise they would possess. The deceitfulness of riches is another cause of the loss of the Word. The trouble is. not in riches, but in their deceitfulness,
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