Doing The Ministry

Luke 8:1-15

Sometimes I hear pastors complain about the lack of men in the church. As we look at Jesus’ ministry, we see that human nature has not changed. Women seem to be more open to biblical teaching by nature than men. Perhaps that is because as mothers, more women tend to focus on the future while more men tend to focus more on the immediate problem. This is purely a generalization, and not true in every case, but as we look, we find that more women followed than men. The twelve apostles were the exception. rather than complaining about the situation, we need to focus on properly doing our ministry.

“And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God: and the twelve were with him, And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.” (Luke 8:1-3)

As he passed from place to place, groups would gather to hear what Jesus had to say. Even when they had no basis for understanding the underlying teaching, parables caught and focused peoples attention, because they understood and related to the subject. In the book, Life is a Series of Presentations, Tony Jeary stresses that people tend be drawn to those who appear to have a similar background, because they share common experiences and understanding. Israel was an agricultural society, and understood agricultural stories immediately. Suburban and urban dwellers find them less clear.

“And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” (Luke 8:4-8)

While everyone could understand and enjoy the story, and even that it had a deeper meaning, only a few would be interested enough to seek out the deeper meaning. Those with only a superficial interest would not benefit, and might be confused by more in depth teaching, because they were not prepared to understand it. The disciples, those who followed him, both the apostles and others asked for more explanation, and Jesus explained his reason before explaining the parable.

“And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.” (Luke 8:9-10)

As Jesus explains, this parable is about ministering to others, and the result it will have in people’s lives. For those with no interest beyond hearing a good story, it would serve little purpose. He starts by explaining what the seed is.

“Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.” (Luke 8:11)

Too many churches and people do not understand this very basic fact. We are not to plant church doctrine, politics, self help programs, or the pastor’s convictions. The seed is the Word of God, the Bible. Only the proper seed can produce proper results. To produce wheat, wheat must be planted. Nothing else will work. One reason the church is in the present state is because the wrond seed is too often planted. Jesus then explains that the results are going to depend on the hearers.

“Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.” (Luke 8:12)

Before the seed was sown, the field would be tilled and prepared to receive the seed. Broadcast seeding, or sowing involved scattering the seed across the prepared ground. Usually the ground would then be raked to bury the seed. Along the edges, some seed would fall on unprepared ground. Since it never got buried, it was exposed to every bird that came along, and was never allowed to grow. We need to understand that unprepared people are unlikely to receive the gospel and become Christians. Just telling the parable without explaining it would be a preparatory step for those who were not interested in the deeper meaning at that time, but they would promptly forget any deeper explanation. The book of Hebrews focuses on this group.

“They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.” (Luke 8:13)

Even the best prepared field may have some rocks in it. The rocks prevent the plant from putting their roots down into the soil, and while the plant may sprout and appear to grow, it has little chance of survival. There are people who make a quick decision to receive Christ, based on an intellectual assent to his claims, but have no deep sense of sin, or of faith in him. Though they may have prayed and asked the Lord to save them, they never yielded to his claims on their life. They never truly receive him as Lord and Savior. While they often seem initially to do better than the real Christians, they only stay for a while before they turn away. They did not lose their salvation, they just gave the illusion of having it for a while.

“And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.” (Luke 8:14)

Weed seeds drift into the best prepared fields, and much of a farmer’s work involves removing the weeds by hoeing or pulling. It is nearly impossible to kill all the weeds, and those that survive hamper the growth of the main crop by taking away nutrients and moisture, or by blocking the sunlight. The production of the plants is directly related to the success in controlling the weeds. The weeds are typified by such things as working overtime or getting kids involved in extracurricular activities that require missing church or neglecting our time with the Lord. Some church activities become weeds.

“But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.” (Lu 8:15)

Ground that has been properly prepared, that doesn’t have rocks and that the weeds have been carefully removed from produce fruit. Even then the quantity of fruit varies with the individual plant, and the rainfall it receives.

Doing the ministry God expects requires far more than most seem willing to do in our day. Preparing the field and pulling weeds is less exciting and harder work than sowing, but is crucial to the final product. Many today just throw out seed, and bring nothing to fruition. Worse yet, some choke out good crops by planting weed seeds among them.