Lesson 796

(Lesson 796)(10-30-13) Today's lesson begins the thirteenth chapter of Matthew, verses 1-9;

"The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. And great multitudes were gathered together unto him, so that he went into a ship, and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many things unto them in parables, saying, Behold, a sower went forth to sow; And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. Who hath ears to hear, let him hear."

In this lesson, the "seeds" Jesus refers to represent His testament, the gospel He and His disciples would preach, and that would eventually be spread throughout the world. The "ground" mentioned herein, represented the places from which His gospel would, or would not, be spread.

Jesus explained that there would be some who would ignore His word outright (those along the wayside), and others who would pretend to believe, then turn their backs of Him.(stoney ground)
There would be others, however, (the "good" ground) who would believe on Him, accept His amazing grace, and spread the good news of His redeeming power through faith in Him.

Those who today accept the responsibility to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ, should always be willing to go to any length to see to it that those who want to hear the gospel, have a chance to hear it. However, modern teachers should always be mindful that Jesus' disciples were explicitly commanded to simply move on when they came across someone who refused to listen, "And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear your words, when ye depart out of that house or city, shake off the dust of your feet."

Sadly, there are many who erroneously feel it is better to continuously rail about the sins of their fellow man/woman, while seemingly ignoring to "go" and spread the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and glorified.~