What keeps you from hearing?

Sermon Proper 10

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Matthew 13:1-9; 18-23

Rev. Jeff Springer

In our text this morning Jesus once again teaches His future teachers and hearers.  It is apparent in our split gospel reading this morning. The first nine verses, the parable,  the audience of the parable is the crowd and in verse 18 through 23 His audience is the twelve or His future Apostles.  It is very important when interpreting the text to know who Jesus is speaking too.

It seems strange that Jesus would use parables to teach the crowd.  How will they learn from it?  It seems that it would prohibit understanding.  The disciples asked the same question and Jesus’ response is found in verses 11-13.  Where he says, “To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.  For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”

Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah  to make His point further. 

‘ You will indeed hear but never understand,

    and you will indeed see but never perceive.

 For this people’s heart has grown dull,

    and with their ears they can barely hear,

  and their eyes they have closed,

  lest they should see with their eyes

    and hear with their ears

    and understand with their heart

    and turn, and I would heal them.’

Jesus seems to know His audience too well. He knows that even at this point the crowds are not ready to hear the message.  There are things that are keeping them from hearing and this is what He is teaching His apostles. That even though the Word of God is a power, the listener in His sinful state has the ability to resist and not understand.  We cannot by our own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ or come to Him, faith is a gift!

Jesus goes on to further teach His apostles, His future teachers and preachers, about the things that impede listening to preaching.  Interestingly Jesus does not address learning styles or personality profiles of the audience.  He does not enlist them to look at demographic studies or marketing information. 

But what Jesus does teach them is to sow the Word of God liberally.  There are no places regardless of their potential to grow where the Word of God may not or should not be preached.  The sower in the parable is spreading seed everywhere over the path,  the rocks and the weedy areas. 

The trend in church growth for many years is to locate churches in places where there is new housing developments are being built. This makes sense if there is not another church located nearby.  But for some this is done because the residents are sufficiently affluent to maintain a church.  And it is true that there is a certain level of financial support a congregation needs to function.

But if we are abandoning more urban areas because the potential for financial support is low perhaps this is something we need to rethink. It may become a mission congregation that requires the support of more affluent congregations.  Where there are people, the Word of God is to be spread.

This is the message for the apostles but what is the message for the hearer?  Well this takes us back to the question, “What keeps you from hearing?”  Jesus makes this very clear.

First, Jesus says, it is the devil.  He is like the birds who snatch the seed off the path.  Certainly, we can attest to the fact that the devil exists because of the perversion of our thoughts while listening to sermon.  What are you thinking about right now?  Are you thinking about what you are going to be doing this afternoon?  Are you thinking about what you did last night?  Maybe you are thinking about that movie you should not have watched?  Whatever it is, leave it up to the devil to lower your attention span and introduce thoughts into your mind that have no business inside God’s holy house.

Second,  Jesus says it is your flesh.  Our sinful flesh looks for the next spiritual high.  As long as everything is going well in the church we are all for it. But when tribulation and persecution come we are so quick to abandon it.  This is like the seed that falls on the rocky soil. We avoid suffering which results in the avoidance of God’s Word which we substitute for something more palatable.

Third, Jesus says it is the world.  This broken world brings with it many thorns.  It is part and parcel of the original curse that man would labor among the thorns. It would be difficult. So we have many cares that steal away our joy at listening to the word. We have the toil of our work whether it be from our employer or a teacher at school.  We may be concerned about our income and the rising expenses of health care and other essentials.  We are concerned with our children’s education where some of the academic priorities exceed the importance of faith being taught. 

This flows into the deceitfulness of riches.  Mamon or money is the number one competitor with God in where we place our trust.  We are so aware  of this that even our currency attempts to redirect us with the words, “In God we Trust!”  But no comfort is truly found in riches, it is a lie and the pursuit of riches at the expense of all else one will find themselves empty and without hope.

The devil , the world and our flesh make up the unholy Trinity that keeps us from hearing.  It is the meaning to the third commandment that calls on hearers not to despise God’s preaching or His Word. Yet when listening problems with a lack of understanding happens this is what precisely occurs. God’s preaching and His Word are both despised.

Yet when it is heard and understood then it is a blessing.  Jesus said to the twelve, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.  Truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (Mt 13:16-17)”

The crowd was blind and deaf to Jesus because they lacked the faith to believe that He is the Son of God.  Yes they saw Him as a teacher and perhaps at best a prophet but God himself? No! And so they would not or could not believe it.

But you have been given the Spirit of God in Christ in your baptism. Your eyes have been opened to see that Jesus truly is the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the World. And you continue to hear God’s Word that kills the sinner inside.  Just like the seed that dies in the ground and then sprouts and grows and eventually bears fruit.  It is the listening to God’s Word and His preaching that does this. 

So when you have trouble listening to a sermon, don’t be too quick to blame the preacher or sower but examine yourself.  What is keeping you from hearing? It is the devil, the world or your flesh and recognize them and put these thoughts to death in your heart.  In turning, Jesus will heal you.

Jesus with His death on the cross has conquered the devil, the world and our flesh.  This gives the authority to pray “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil.” This evil is not just some impotent, inanimate, impersonal substance but it is the Evil One, who steals the Word from our hearts, who tempts us with suffering and coaxes the world to follow him. 

Our Lord has overcome the Evil One and it is by this faith we may pray confidently and resist the snares and traps he sets. Our Lord has chosen you to receive this gift of faith so that you may hear and understand. This is grace and grace alone. No merit on your part has caused this but our Lord and His love for you.    

Let’s give God’s Word every chance we can. After all, it is “the power of God unto salvation.” It does not return void. Its account of God redeeming us through his life, death, and resurrection works wonders on us.  “For to the one who has, more will be given.”   May your heart be filled with the Spirit of Christ.