“The Power of the
Seed” Mark 4:1-20
SCRIPTURE INTRO:
We’re about to read one of the most famous passages in
Scripture—
the Parable of the Sower.
This is the only parable of Jesus that is recorded in
Matthew, Mark, and Luke.
Usually, when this parable is preached, the question is
asked:
Which soil are you?
Are you the hard soil of the path,
the shallow soil,
the weedy soil,
or the fertile
soil?
That’s a powerful question.
This parable can
search you very deeply if you ask that question.
But I’d like us to go in a different direction this morning.
We’re not going to
focus as much on what Jesus says about the soils,
but what he says
about the seed.
What does this parable teach us about the Word of God?
What does this
teach us about the power of the Gospel?
How can we tap into
that power for real change in our lives?
Credit where credit is due:
Excellent sermon on passage by Dr. Tim Keller.
INTRO: There was an English minister named
Bertram Hardy
who was born in a
little village in
When he was 8 years old he saw something that he never
forgot—
that was
instrumental in his later call to the ministry.
There was a funeral in the village.
The widow of the
man who had died was weeping bitterly.
And as 8 year old
boys will do, he was staring at her,
intrigued by her
raw display of emotion.
Then the minister began to read the Scripture—
and as he read, she
lifted up her head, and a change came over her.
Her grief was softened and her face began to
radiate hope.
Young Bert drank it all in—the words of Scripture and the
change
that came over this
woman as the Word penetrated her.
And even as a little boy he began to realize the power of
the Word
to change people.
I think that’s the secret of the
Jesus said had been
given to his disciples—the Gospel can change people.
It can change families, it can change tribes and nations—
and closest to
home, it can change you.
It can take your bitter grief and fill it with hope.
It can take your fear
and turn it to courage.
It can take your
unhappiness and turn it to contentment.
As Paul put it in Romans—
the Gospel is the
power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
And through this parable Jesus reveals to us an even deeper
part of this
secret—the power of the Word of God that changes us
is like the power
of a seed.
There is something about the Gospel that is seed-like.
A seed little, its
easily lost, crushed, brushed aside—
But if it gets in, and goes in deep, it has the power of
life.
It comes alive—it
sprouts, takes root, grows, and produces fruit.
And that fruit
produces its own seeds, and there is multiplication.
Jesus doesn’t call the Word of God a sword or a fire—
although the Bible
uses those images in other passages.
The Word is a sword and a fire—and that is one way of
changing people—
by burning them and
piercing them and cutting them.
But in this parable—obviously important to the Holy Spirit
for its repetition
three times in the
Gospels—the image is a seed. Let’s focus
on that.
Look at this parable under three points:
1. The Word, like a
seed, produces new life.
2. The Word, like a
seed, must be planted.
3. The Word, like a
seed, is weak and powerful.
MP#1 The Word of God, like a seed, produces new
life
Seeds may look like little rocks or grains of sand—but out
of a seed
comes a tree or a
flower, or a vine or some other plant.
And the power of a seed is not limited to that one plant—
because then that
plant produces more seeds, and more plants.
If you had enough time and the right conditions—
one apple seed
could produce hundreds of apple orchards,
or one kernel of
corn could produce thousands of acres of corn.
That’s the power of a seed to produce new life.
Jesus is saying that in our lives,
the power of God
comes in through the Gospel and produces new life.
Peter put it this way in 1 Peter 1:23:
“You have been born
again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable
by the living and
enduring Word of God.”
And just like a seed, that life takes root and grows and
starts to produce things.
Ways of seeing
yourself and the world and God that you didn’t have before.
New attitudes. New abilities. A tremendously expanded life.
One preacher explained it this way.
Plants have a form of life that enables them to sense
moisture and light
but they can’t see
objects.
Animals have a higher form of life that enables them to see
objects,
but they can’t see
the difference between instinct and cruelty.
People have a still higher form of life that enables them to
see right and wrong,
and love and beauty
and all sorts of things, but because of our fallen condition,
we are unable to
see higher spiritual realities.
But when the Word of God comes into a person it moves him or
her
to an even higher
order of life that the Bible calls the new life,
or participation in
the divine nature.
And when that happens you are able to see things you never
saw before.
The love of God the
Father.
The reality of
heaven and hell.
Your own sinfulness
and need for repentance.
Your infinite
personal value in the eyes of God.
The righteousness
of Christ.
The hope of the
resurrection.
All these great realities that you were once blind to.
Now it’s not that people don’t know about these things—
about God and Jesus
Christ and heaven and hell.
But before the Word brings life—these things don’t really
matter to you.
They don’t make any
difference.
So they don’t have
any power to change you.
But when the Word of God comes into your life—
you start to see
things differently.
If you’ve failed badly.
If you are under intense criticism.
How do you respond?
Is your knowledge
of the love of God for you more real than the criticism?
Is your sight of the righteousness of Christ so vivid that
you can say—
In the big picture,
my failure does not matter. Doesn’t even
count.
Because I am united
with the perfect Son of God.
Is that how you respond to failure and criticism—or do you
fall apart?
Or let’s take the thing that struck young Bertram Hardy.
In the face of
death—the death of a loved one.
Is your hope of the
resurrection so vivid that it softens your grief?
Are you able to see that one day there will be a beautiful
sunrise—
and everyone who
has fallen asleep in Christ will rise as He did—
and all tears will
be wiped away?
Or do you suffer from a hopeless grief?
Are you able to look at your money and say—
this is not my
security, its not my self worth.
This money is just a tool God has given me to use and enjoy
during my brief
time on earth to provide for my material needs,
and the needs of
others. I don’t trust it or worry about
it.
Or does your security and worth ride on your finances?
The Word of God produces new life.
It’s a seed. It’s a little acorn that produces a massive
oak tree.
It’s grain that
produces a field of wheat.
It can give you a new life that enables you to see and live
by
the great spiritual
realities.
How do you tap into this power?
That brings us to
the second point.
MP#2 The Word of God, like a seed, must be
planted.
You know that the only way for a seed to release its
creative power
is for it to be
planted. It has to go into the soil.
It’s the same way with the Word.
If it’s not
planted, nothing will come from it.
That’s the problem with the 3 soils that don’t produce any
lasting growth.
The three soils are
three kinds of people.
The first soil, the hard path the Gospel doesn’t go in at
all.
They are people
absolutely unwilling to question or doubt themselves.
So the Gospel
message of sin and salvation through Christ doesn’t appeal.
In the second soil, the Gospel goes in, but not deep enough.
There is some initial positive response to the Gospel—but
then dies.
These are people
who say: Good, Jesus going to fulfill my agenda for happiness!
And they have a
list of things that they have to have to make life worthwhile.
For a time, the religious excitement carries them along.
But when Jesus
doesn’t produce and they suffer some losses, they fall away.
Because they didn’t
really want a Savior, they wanted a Blesser.
In the third soil, the Gospel goes in—goes in deep—real
growth.
But it goes in at
the same level as other concerns—thorns.
It never takes priority in the person’s life, so there is
never fruitful growth.
Jesus calls these
thorns worries, wealth and desires.
There are other things in person’s life that compete with
Christ—
other affections and loyalties--
In all three of these people, might say there is a depth
problem with the seed.
The only way the living power of the Word can be released in
your life—
so that you can
face troubles, criticism, grief, wealth, desires
in a totally
different way—is if the seed goes in deep.
In other words, it takes listening to, thinking about,
reflecting on, and applying
the Word of God to
your life—over and over again.
Imagine you are in the garden, scatter some seeds—take rake
and work them in.
That’s what you
have to do with the Word—has to be worked in.
So that what comes out of the soil—the words that come out
of your mouth,
the decisions you
make, the things you do—are the outgrowth of that seed.
Now, what am I talking about? I’m talking about knowing the Bible.
But it’s more than
that. It’s not just bare knowledge of
the Bible.
It’s working the
Gospel down deep into your heart.
There are Christians that you will sometimes meet who know the
Bible.
They can quote Bible
verses at the drop of a hat.
But they use the Bible in one way—to get the rule
right. Make sure doing it right.
And then, depending
on their personality—
they constantly aim
it at themselves or other people.
If aim it at themselves, depressed and anxious Christians.
If they aim it at
other people, proud and self-righteous Christians.
They know the Word,
but it functions like a rule book.
For the seed of the Word to be planted in you, you do have
to know the Bible.
There has to be
content in your brain. There has to be
knowledge.
You should know 10
Commandments, Psalm 23, John 3:16, Romans 8:28.
And about King
David, Prophet Daniel, history of
You should be growing in your knowledge.
But not to know the rules better—to have a deeper
understanding of the Gospel.
Jack Miller, Presbyterian minister, professor at Westminster
Seminar
had a very
memorable way of expressing it:
The Gospel is that I am more wicked and sinful than I ever
dared to admit.
And in Christ I am
more loved and accepted than I ever dared to hope.
My own preaching professor in seminary, Dr. Chapell used to say:
Every passage of
Scripture is about two things:
Man needing
salvation and God providing salvation.
Also used to
say: Remember, God is the hero of every
story.
And the great Puritan John Own said, The Scriptures teach me
three things:
Who I am. Who Christ is. And who I am in Christ.
That has to be
planted deep. Has to be worked in.
One reason why the church,
and the weekly
rhythm of church life Lord established so important.
It’s a way of working it in.
You hear the in the words, in the songs.
You see it acted
out in sacraments. You see it put to use
in lives of members,
as you talk to them
about struggles and victories and pray for each other. Works Gospel in deeper and deeper. Our sin.
His righteousness. Our faith in
him.
And it is all about Jesus. That brings us to the last point.
MP#2 The Word of God, like a seed, is weak and
powerful.
A seed is weak. It’s
small. It can be crushed. It can be eaten by a bird.
But when it is
buried. When it is treated like
something dead.
The power of life is released. Tremendous changes occur.
The Gospel is
weak.
People can reject
it. Make fun of it. Ignore it.
Crush it.
Many times in church history Word, Scripture has been
crushed.
Times authorities
have actually burned Bibles, made very scarce.
Time teachers in
the church false doctrine, unbelieving theology.
Covered up the Gospel with legalistic
traditions.
But when it is planted in a person, this weak thing releases
its power.
Lives are
changed. Nations are changed.
You know what I
mean. You’ve seen it.
But let’s go a little deeper. The seed is not just the spoken Word of God.
Not just the Gospel
message. The seed is also Jesus himself,
living Word.
3 out of 4 soils reject the seed. Isn’t that what we’ve seen in Mark so far?
Pharisees and religious leaders were the hard soil—they
rejected him.
Crowds were the shallow soil—they were excited about the
blessings,
miracles, and
healings, but lost interest in Jesus and his message.
His family was the thorny soil—they were conflicted about
him.
He was their
brother and son, but things he said and did embarrassed them.
Then there were the 12 and other disciples—they were the
fertile soil.
Verse 12 is perplexing.
Seems like Jesus saying he told parables to deliberately
keep people in the
dark. But look at the context and clear
what Jesus meant.
He was using the parables as a filter to separate people.
So that those who
wanted him would be drawn to him.
So they would come
to him and say, “Jesus, explain this to
us.”
But those who just wanted his miracles, had no interest in
knowing Jesus,
wouldn’t bother to
ask any questions.
So you see that what Jesus was interested in was people
turning to him.
He is the seed. He is
the Word.
And how did Jesus
appear? In weakness. Like a seed.
And where do we see
his weakness most? In his Passion.
Look at Jesus in the
And you see the Son
of God groaning, sweating drops of blood,
begging his
disciples to stay near him and pray for him.
Because the prospect of the terrible suffering he was going
to face—
the wrath of God
for our sins, was crushing him.
And then he prayed, Father, if it is possible, let this cup
pass from me.
And the answer came
back. This is the only way.
So he went to the cross and then to the grave and was
buried.
Then he rose again
in powerful new life. And by faith we
have that life.
In fact, in John 12, Jesus compares himself to a seed.
“Unless a grain of
wheat goes into the ground and dies it remains a
single seed, but if
it dies, it produces many seeds.”
Now, here’s what it means for you.
The real power for change in our life comes by contemplating
the weakness of
Christ for you in the cross.
When his weakness for you becomes vivid in your mind,
then there is the
power of new life for change.
Husbands, how do you love your wife?
“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and
gave himself for her.”
There’s the
command. There’s the rule. That’s what you should do.
But where’s the
power. It’s by focusing your mind on
Christ’s weakness.
How did he love you?
By dying. By joyfully giving up
what was precious to him.
Focus on that to
get power to overcome your selfishness and love wife.
Wives, how do you submit your husband?
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.”
There’s the command. There’s the rule. That’s what you should do.
But where’s the
power. It’s by focusing your mind on
Christ’s weakness.
What did he want? He
wanted the cup to pass from him.
But because of his
determination to save you, submitted to heavenly Father.
That will give you power to overcome your pride and submit
to husband.
How do you face criticism and not fall apart?
“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an
example, that you should follow in his steps.
When they hurled their insults at him, he
did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no
threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to
him who judges justly.”
He
was harshly criticized and insulted for me.
Trusted God. I can too.
CONC:
Jesus, the Word of God, like a seed is weak and powerful.
His weakness can be powerful in your life.
I had a daily reminder of the power of little seeds when I
was a boy.
In my old
neighborhood in Tuscumbia there were many places
where the sidewalks
had been pushed up by huge old oak trees.
Called them cracks,
more like steps, 8 to 10 inches.
My sister and I loved riding bikes around block,
navigating the
cracks always a challenge.
Remember first time got breath knocked out of me.
About Will’s age,
lived 3 blocks from
Running to a
football game, tripped over crack, chest hit root.
Remember rolling in persons yard unable to breath.
What started out as an acorn—something weak,
something you could
step on and crush, something a squirrel could eat—
That weak thing was buried, in a sense died, came to life,
and a powerful new
life appeared that could lift and crack concrete slabs.
What are the hard things in life, concrete slabs that need
to be lifted and cracked?
What are the
attitudes, habits, fears, griefs that are holding you
back?
What needs to grow
in their place? What strong trees, what
fruitful vines?
Gentleness,
patience, kindness, contentment.
There is this seed that you need to put under the slab.
It’s the Word of
God. It’s the Gospel. Your sin, Christ’s righteousness.
Work it in, and
then watch it grow.
It is Jesus himself.
Look to his weakness, his cross.
And let the seed of
his weakness give you the power of the new life.