The Secrets of God’s Kingdom
What Happens When We Hear The Word of God
Last Sunday, I preached a sermon on Luke 8:4-15. This text is the parable of the sown seed that Jesus tells. The parable, I suggest, isn’t about how we sow the seed of the gospel but what kind of soil the seed, sown in us, has landed in. But to understand the parable, it will be helpful to do a little reflection on a very familiar prayer and the kingdom of God.
Our Father, in heaven, holy is your name. Your kingdom come, and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer is a prayer we should probably pray at least once every day. After all, in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says that when we pray, we should pray like this (Matt 6:9).
When I’m asked what is the kingdom of God, I start with the line about the kingdom as God’s will done on earth as in heaven. What more could we want than for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven? In your life, as it is in heaven. In my life, as it is in heaven. But praying for the coming of God’s kingdom begs the question of how the kingdom comes.
So, who better to learn about how the kingdom of God comes than from Jesus? After all, Jesus is all about calling people to repentance as he proclaims the arrival of God’s kingdom. Among the Synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark, and Luke—the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven is mentioned ninety-one times. Thirty-two of those mentions are in the Gospel of Luke because Jesus had a knack for talking about God’s kingdom.
In the Gospel of Luke, we’re told that Jesus is going from town to town. “Proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God” (Lk 8:1).1 Remember that because whatever the gospel or good news is, it involves the kingdom of God—God’s reign or rule—his will done upon earth as it is heaven.
One of Jesus’ preferred ways of teaching is to tell a parable. A parable is a little story or saying that illustrates a truth.2 In the case of the parable, Jesus tells about a farmer who lavishly sows seed—seemingly anywhere and everywhere. Thus, some seed falls on good soil, but not all. It seems like a lot of seeds fell on bad soil, along a walking path, as well as among rocks and thorns.
After Jesus finishes the parable, he says, “Whoever has ears, let them hear.” In other words, listen up and pay attention. If we want to know how the kingdom of God comes, then pay attention because Jesus is about to reveal what he calls the secrets or mysteries of the kingdom.
“Jesus doesn’t say one word about stifling the power of the devil or stifling any threats of persecution or concerns with the problems of this world. All Jesus says is that a seed planted in good soil, those with a noble and good heart, are the ones who will produce a crop.”
Explaining the parable, Jesus says, “The seed is the word of God.” It’s the message Jesus has proclaimed about the good news of God’s kingdom, which comes with an invitation for us to believe this good news and repent so that we can follow Jesus as participants in God’s kingdom. But not everyone will. For some, the seed just never takes root. Maybe the devil snatches it away. Maybe the challenge of following Jesus is too difficult, and when tested, it’s just easier to give up on Jesus. Or it could be that there’s just more concern for the things of this world that keep the seed from ever maturing.
The silver lining is that some do hear the word of God. Those who hear the word of God are like a seed planted in good soil because the seed produces a crop. However, when Jesus told the parable, he said the crop would produce a hundred times (v. 8), but now, in explaining the parable, Jesus doesn’t say a word about how much the crop produces. Instead, Jesus says, “the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop” (Lk 8:15).
If I understand what Jesus is getting at, he is talking about how we live. How we live has everything to do with our faithfulness in following Jesus—even when it seems difficult. Our faithfulness in following Jesus is the secret to seeing the kingdom of God come. Jesus doesn’t say one word about stifling the power of the devil or stifling any threats of persecution or concerns with the problems of this world. All Jesus says is that a seed planted in good soil, those with a noble and good heart, are the ones who will produce a crop. They are the ones who, because of their faithfulness in following Jesus, see the kingdom of God.
This is an important point to ponder because we might question how the kingdom can come with all the evil, troubles, and concerns of the world. Wouldn’t it be easier if we formed some sort of Christian coalition and sought to elect politicians who would support laws that favor Christianity? Some voices within Christianity have sought to do just that. Then there’s Jesus, who was offered all the kingdoms of this world if he would just serve Satan. Yet, Jesus refused such an offer because he knew the kingdom of God comes only through faithfulness to God, hearing the word of God that summons him (and us, as his followers) to the cross.
I don’t know what the near and intermediate future will look like in the United States. Ask ten people, and you’re likely to get eleven different opinions. But what I do know is that we are still called to follow Jesus as participants in the mission of God. Whatever that entails, I believe the kingdom of God will flourish as we hear the word of God that Jesus proclaims. No ballots and certainly no bullets are necessary for following Jesus because they never have been necessary. All that is necessary is for us, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to remain steadfast in our commitment to following Jesus.
Will the seed fall on good soil?
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature, 3d ed., rev. Frederick William Danker (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 759, the entry for parabolē describes a parable as a story or saying that points beyond itself to illustrate a truth through comparison or simile.