The Tupelo journal., 1912-07-12


Jesus tells us plainly why he taught
SO much by means Of parallels Matt.
l3:10-13) viz, to teach the truth to
those who sought 1t, and to hide 1t
from those who refused to receive It.
The truth had to be taught, hence the
parable, that those to whom 1t was
given to know the mysteries of the
kingdom might know and understand
but that to the others it might be hid
den mark 4:11-12). We have in this
lesson one of the best known of the
masters many parallels. Like all the
rest Jesus draws his picture from the
common experiences Of life. Jesus
uses the fields, the home, ETC., while
Paul in his preaching and teaching
draws from the city, the army, the
markets, etc. We have In this pic
rure the seed. the sower and the soil.
We must turn to the parable accounts
In Luke and Matthew to get the full
and the complete picture.
What is the seed? Luke records
that Jesus told the disciples that the
seed is the word of God Luke Sid.
Mark also tells us practically the same
thing in v. IA of the lesson. A great
deal is being made today of seed se-
lection and some wonderful results
have been obtained. How much more
important for us who deal with immor-
tai souls that we select the best, VIZ,
the word of God.
Sought Not Aduiatlon.
Next the sower ". ~. Notice he
went forth not to SOAR, nor IL It
recorded that he was SORE. He did
not have a crouch nor did he enter
into his work that he might receive
the adulation of. men Matt, 6:2).
1t is however the soil that seems to
be most emphasized In this lesson.
both In the direct teaching and also
in. the explanation Of. the parable,
There are four kinds Of soil and II II
also very significant tho manner by
which the seed came into contact With
each kIpd saIl ssone fsll ~ n
den. the ground Vas preoccupied. = =,
used Tor other purposes rsthef than
70 yieid harvest. It was hard to Be
broken and hence 1t was an easy mat
ter for the birds Of the air (Satan v.
15) soon to pluck 1t away. We need
to remember that II men receive with
meekness the implanted word there
will be Of course no such opportunity
for the evil one. The trouble is that
In this case the word was not implant-
cd. Thus 1t is that one-fourth OF the
seed is lost. That the result Is de-
plorable one Is shown in Heb. 2:1-4.
The seed in this case fell "by" the
wayside, in the next it fell "on" the
rocky ground. The first is the picture
of the needless, this Is a picture Of
the superficial ones. Oh for time
they did run we'll, they even received
the word with gladness ". 16) but
they had no stability; they lacked the
element Of persistence; their surround
ings we're superficial, there was no
chance for the seed to get a real grip
upon their lives.
Three Fourths Lost.
In the third place Jesus speaks Of
seed that fell among" the thorns.
Here in this worldly soil 1t is not SO
much the character of the soil as the
character of that which already occu-
pied the soil ere the sower sowed the
seed. The cares Of this world, the
deceitfulness of riches and "other
things" ". 19) had 80 entered In that
the good seed never had real chance
in the soil Of that human heart, hence
1t was choked and yielded no fruit.
There was no real grip Of the will. no
whole-hearted surrender. How often
these thorns, "the cares Of life" keep
the housewife, or the business man
away from the word. How often the
"deceitfulness of riches" snare men 80
as to choke the word that at one time
gave such promise in their lives. And
then the Gusts and other things"
which the evil one so well knows how
to use that he may keep us from the
word, for he knows that by it we may
be saved duke 8:12).