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Four Soils

Four Soils. Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, August 23. Matthew 13:1-9.

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Four Soils

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  1. Four Soils Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard Sunday, August 23

  2. Matthew 13:1-9 1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach. 3 And He spoke many things to them in parables, saying, “Behold, the sower went out to sow; 4 and as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and the birds came and ate them up. 

  3. Matthew 13:1-9 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they did not have much soil; and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them out. 

  4. Matthew 13:1-9 8 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.” (Very similar in Mark, a little different in Luke)

  5. Followed by talk about why Jesus speaks in parables (for another day . . .) • Then an interpretation is given

  6. Matthew 13:18-23 18 “Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 

  7. Matthew 13:18-23 21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. 

  8. Matthew 13:18-23 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.”

  9. Pirke Avot (Chapters of the Fathers) Many groupings of four • Four periods during the 7 year Sabbatical cycle that are most prone to plague (each one is because the poor are forgotten) • Four types of people • Four temperaments • Four types of new student

  10. Four types of donors • Four types of longtime student • Four types of disciple

  11. Four Types of People • The Average: “What’s mine is mine and yours is yours” (predominant in Sodom) • The Fool: “What’s mine is yours and yours is mine” • The Saint: “What’s mine is yours and what’s yours is yours” • The Wicked: “What’s mine is mine and what’s yours is mine”

  12. Four Types of Donor • Those who give and want others not to (robbing others of merit) • Those who want others to give but not themselves (robbing themselves of merit) • Those who give and urge others to give (the compassionate) • Those who don’t give and urge others not to give (the wicked)

  13. Four Types of Disciple • Those who absorb everything, both true and false (sponges) • Those who take it all in and let it all out (funnels) • Those who take in the wine but keep only the sediment (strainers) • Those who take in both wheat and chaff but retain only fine flour (sieves)

  14. What is Jesus saying? • Listen, treasure, obey My words . . . Let them grow deep within you • They are the path to life; do not ignore them

  15. Early Church Fathers • The Careless (received the seed and lost it) • The Superficial (received some seed and betrayed it) • The Rich (received other seed and choked it) John Chrysostom, Archbishop of Constantinople (lived A.D. 349-407)

  16. Church Fathers: The Good Soil • 30 fold: those who refrain from evil and do whatever good they can • 60 fold: those who show contempt for worldly goods and try to serve God • 100 fold: those who are afflicted by a bodily infirmity and put up with it patiently (and have contempt for all goods, fast regularly, suffer bodily deprivations, and practice celibacy)

  17. My (old) Assumption • Some people are 30, some 60, some 100 • Maybe the 30 are regular God-lovers, the 60 like missionaries to difficult places and the 100 like Mother Theresa • (I’ve hoped and prayed to make it to the 30!) • Now I think this is as nutty as the interpretation of the anonymous Church Father

  18. Luke 8:11-15 11 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 

  19. Luke 8:11-15 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.

  20. We are all the parts • We can be careless, superficial, and selfish (devoted to the wrong things) • We are also the 30, the 60, the 100 • You hear something Jesus says about forgiveness or giving or peace-making or trusting God, or you think about the way He accepted outsiders • You treasure it and obey it in a real life . . . It grows in you and changes you forever

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