Summary:
In this sermon, the speaker expounds on the second type of seed in the parable of the sower - the seed that fell on stony places. What kind of seed is this? And what should we do, that we may be rooted in faith and not become a seed in the stony places?

Turn to Matthew 13:5-6;

5 ‘Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. ‘

In the previous encouragement, the speaker shared about the seed that fell on the way side; taken from the parable of the Sower. The second type of seed that fell on the stony places will be discussed in this sermon.

After the parable, Jesus Christ explained the meaning to His disciples. Read v20-21;

20 ‘But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. ‘

Jesus described the seeds falling on stony places as those who have heard the Word and received it willingly; they also receive in joy. However, there is a flaw in their development of faith; such a faith does not have root. To not have root means that this is only temporal and will only last for a short while. When persecution arises, he stumbles. The Lord Jesus here used the analogy of a plant development but it is not a mere theory or an analogy, rather, a warning. The Lord Jesus here is speaking about one of men’s inherent characteristics.

When Jesus first went out to preach the gospel, He performed many miracles and healed many diseases. His reputation spread quickly. In Matthew 4:23-25;

23 ‘And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of disease among the people. 2 4Then His fame went throughout all Syria; and they brought to Him all sick people who were afflicted with various diseases and torments, and those who were demon-possessed, epileptics, and paralytics; and He healed them. 25 Great multitudes followed Him—from Galilee, and from Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond the Jordan.’

When Jesus first embarked on His ministry, He went about Galilee preaching about the kingdom. The region of Galilee would refer to the Northern part of Israel, around the sea of Galilee. Jesus’ fame spread quickly (remember that they did not have technology like now to transmit messages. Messages are transmitted by word of mouth, people, or foot). Jesus in His ministry performed ministry and naturally people brought those ill to Him. News of Jesus spread rapidly and even reached places like Deacapolis and Judea which weren’t nearby. When Jesus Christ first embarked on His ministry, He had a strong and attractive influence on others. Of course, Jesus is God and if God appeared, people would go before Him. As for these people themselves, why were they attracted to Him? Why did they seek Jesus?

1. The people wanted to seek physical peace
In v24, they brought the sick to him; wanted to receive physical peace.

2. Jesus performed things the people had never seen before
In Matthew 7:7-8;

7 ‘“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.’

Jesus had many teachings and one of it was, “Ask and it will be given to you”. Who doesn’t want to receive what he wants to ask for? Not only were Jesus’ words not empty and not baseless, it will also be fulfilled abundantly and exceedingly. In Matthew 14, there was an occasion when Jesus Christ was teaching the multitude and there were 4000 men following him (excluding women and children); Jesus fed all of them, provided free bread and fish. It is true, ask, and you will receive. Jesus wanted them to ask for the grace of God and for God to fill their spiritual lives abundantly. Jesus mentioned 3 things here,
(1) Ask
(2) Seek
(3) Knock.

It is hence not about asking alone but just asking alone brings you many things. The people then had many lacks and hence needed to be satisfied. This is why these people received the teachings of the Lord and were attracted to Him. We read Matthew 9:32-34;

32 ‘As they went out, behold, they brought to Him a man, mute and demon-possessed. 33 And when the demon was cast out, the mute spoke. And the multitudes marveled, saying, “It was never seen like this in Israel!” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He casts out demons by the ruler of the demons.”’

Here we read about Jesus performing a miracle; He cast out a demon causing the man to be mute. After casting out the demon, the mute spoke. When the multitudes saw this, they marvelled for they had never seen such a thing like this in Israel. Jesus performed things the people had never seen before. When you’ve seen things you’ve never seen before, you will be amazed and want to focus things fresh on you. However, not everyone had the same reaction to Jesus Christ. The detractors reckoned that they cast out demons by the power of demons. Nevertheless, many were amazed by the word of Jesus and this is aroused by the curiosity of men because the things that Jesus had done seemed to be the traditions of then. It also seemed that Jesus Christ was rising up the traditions that were held then and therefore there was a good show coming up. This is why people thronged to the Lord Jesus.

Read Matthew 9:36;

‘But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.’

Here Jesus sympathised with the people because He saw that they needed a shepherd. Therefore, the Lord Jesus was moved with compassion. It is true that those people then did not have a leader. When Jesus came to preach the gospel, it was deliverance to the people then because they were being taught on how to succeed in regards to their faith and how to lead their lives as people (they should not become like slaves as they were under the Roman rule but rather be victors in faith). Such teachings were unheard among the Pharisees and therefore the authority which Jesus spoke with was great for it could fill the emptiness in God’s heart. That is why people were attracted to Jesus. The 4 experiences mentioned satisfy:

1. Physical needs
2. If you ask, you will receive
3. Having seen a sight causing great amazement
4. The emptiness of your heart will be filled.

These 4 experiences will result in different effects in different people. Some will because of these follow Jesus closely for the next 3 years. The 12 disciples Jesus chose followed Him all the way until he was crucified but not everyone is like that.

Read John 6:60-61;

60 ‘Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?” 61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you?’

Prior to this, Jesus Christ was talking to them about the bread that came from heaven and His flesh was indeed food. When the people heard this saying, they found it difficult to accept. Hence, Jesus knew that the disciples were complaining and it probably went through in their mind, “Why would Jesus say such words?” The word ‘complain’ here can be translated to ‘make one stumble’ in its original language. What Jesus said pertained to matters concerning the spirit and not referring to physical hunger. Read v63-64;

63 ‘It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him.

What Jesus really wanted to impart to them was concerning the spirit and salvation because the flesh profits nothing. Though the Lord Jesus satisfied their physical hunger, this was not the work of the Lord Jesus Christ but rather done out of compassion. The work of the Lord is to give them spiritual bread so that they could revise the true gospel. However these people who heard the words of Jesus didn’t believe and among those who didn’t believe included Judas, one of those specially chosen by people. There were also many others who didn’t believe. Hence, the conclusion in v66;

‘From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.’

When Jesus started to expound on teachings more difficult to understand, people started to leave Him. When Jesus said, “Does this offend you?”, how did these feelings come about? Is it the case where the words of Jesus were too hard to comprehend or were their hearts too hard to accept? We always hope that teachings are easy to hear. Sometimes people may react like this, “Why didn’t the sermon speaker speak in an easier manner? He should simplify things more so we can understand!” Jesus says that such seeds are those that fell on stony places where it is shallow. Because of that, the seeds on these shallow soil will not be able to grow their roots deep. There are teachings which are simpler and easier to understand; though they may be easy to understand, there are more significant meanings when gone deeper.

For example, Jesus said, “Ask and you will receive.”
This refers to righteousness as well. How is it that you ask and you receive but others ask they don’t receive; concerning justice. On one hand while this teaching is simple, we need to go further and understand the words of Jesus. This is attained only by studying the word of God and through prayer. This is how you are able to cultivate your personal faith. Such a cultivation will not allow your faith to be easily snatched away. But if you’re not watchful and not search the scripture diligently, you will lose what you thought you had. Once you meet with obstacles, challenges, hindrances, or if someone takes you down and persuades otherwise, your faith will be over and that is how it’ll be snatched away. This is mentioned by the Lord Jesus in Luke 8:18;

‘Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

Jesus here warns us to take heed on how we hear. After we’ve heard, we need to ponder about this and keep it in our hearts. If you’re able to ponder and meditate on His words, it becomes a part of your faith. Because of this, your faith will grow and more will be given to you; this ‘more’ refers to your understanding of God’s words. But if you haphazardly listen and assume that you already understand, here it says, “Even what he seems to have will be taken from him” because the things he heard does not have any effect. As a result, a person with such faith will lose it quickly. We need to learn to be like Mary. In Luke 10:42, Jesus Christ praised Mary;

‘But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.’

What did Mary choose that will not be taken away from her?
She chose to sit by the feet of Jesus to listen to Him, she was not distracted by the work going on in the household. She was fully devoted to the words of Jesus and perhaps she asked to correct her misunderstanding; if she understood, she kept the teachings in her heart. Such a diligence is how you make your faith your own.

There is a difference between diligence and a lack of diligence.
If you are diligent you will receive double the result for half the effort. If you lack diligence, you may have to put in double the effort for half the result. Unless you are an AI programme or have high IQ, the rest of us will have to put in our due diligence. The adversary of diligence is distraction. When you are distracted, it is hard for you to be diligent.

The pace of life presently causes us to be distracted by many things. Especially for those of us who use our brains to work, or if we have to multitask. For example, the speaker’s company has about a dozen engineers. Each of them have to handle client projects. In the morning, they will discuss Project A and they’d have to list down their next steps. On the same day in the afternoon, they will discuss Project B. Such are not simple assignments and there is still a list of things to do. On the day next, they’d have to attend courses to learn about new affairs, and you are expected to become an expert after attending the course. It seems like you are a superhuman able to juggle many things but no one is able to do this for a prolonged period. Sometimes, the results aren’t ideal and the clients will find faults.

Including students, many have to multitask. We also have devices that constantly pop up notifications. Because it vibrates, you feel strongly to want to have a look. You may have reminded yourself before the sermon to focus solely on the sermon but in the end you forget to put your phone on silent mode and your worship is distracted. Then, you have a quick glance at your phone and you miss an important point.

Paul exhorted Timothy that in the Last Days, there will be people constantly learning but not understanding anything. This is in 2 Timothy 3:7;

‘always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.’

How is it that they’re always learning but never able to come to the knowledge of the truth? There may be people who’ve believed in the Lord for many years but are unable to understand the truth. Timothy, in 2 Timothy 3:14;

‘But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them,’

Timothy understood the word from childhood (v15) because he believed all that he had learnt. Paul was reminded to keep these things in his heart and know from whom he had learnt them; he learnt from his mother, grandmother, and Paul. Hence, Paul reminded people about whom he learnt his teachings from and because of this, he will be wise for salvation. This is in contrast in v7 when we read about how people in the Last Days constantly learn but never truly understand. The crux of the matter is to believe in the teachings we learnt.

In the church, we have truth-seekers. Some are moved because of the words they heard. It could be because of certain reasons — emptiness in their hearts, someone to rely on. Therefore, they willingly listen. There are also some who listen for the first time and they’re moved; some are moved by the Holy Spirit the first time they pray. Very quickly, they request for baptism. This is a very natural response but such a response is emotional. It is true that there is a fervor in the person’s heart but it will not last long. The person may persist for a few months but the zeal will gradually cool off. He may find the Word fresh in the beginning but start to lose interest the more he hears.

Such a fervor in the man’s heart can be likened to a match.
When you first light a match, there is a bright glow. Then it continues to kinder and burn but no matter how long the match is, it will be burnt out eventually. To such a person, because of the business of the world and other factors, may find the Word of God less important. One of the reasons is that he is unable to have a deep rooted faith because his understanding was superficial and shallow to start with. We need to search to understand and never stop our pursuit in the word. If we have any doubts that will impede our faith, ask, because these questions and doubts may become our enemies. Therefore, we ought to ask the Lord for a teachable heart and put aside the old concepts to be taught by the truth. If not, the roots of our faith will not be able to grow deep. When we meet with challenges in life; when it seems that God is not listening when we pray; we may start to lose our belief. This is a common experience new believers may encounter.

What should we do?
Turn to Colossians 2:6-7;

6 ‘This punishment which was inflicted by the majority is sufficient for such a man, 7 so that, on the contrary, you ought rather to forgive and comfort him , lest perhaps such a one be swallowed up with too much sorrow.’

Since we have received the teaching of the Lord Jesus and we walk in Him, when we walk in Him, that is how we become rooted in the faith. Paul used 2 analogies;

1. Plant rooted firmly on the ground
2. Building built up high

These will help establish us in the faith. When we are able to attain that, we thank God. To be able to give thanks means that you understand the will of God. This is not just paying lip service but from the heart. If we are able to understand this and give thanks, our faith will grow.

Matthew 13:6 talks about the seed that fell on stony places.
A problem emerged is that the sun was up. We know that sunlight is one of the essential factors for growth. The irony here is that instead of the sunlight being an essential factor, it killed the plant. The problem does not lie in the sun but rather you who have not grown deep roots; you’re unable to withstand the heat from the sun and you are only able to become a plant in the greenhouse. In Matthew 13:21;

‘yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.’

When Jesus talked about the sun coming up, it referred to tribulations. It is not because of poverty, dispute with others but tribulations because of your faith. Such an analogy here is very applicable. Tribulation and persecutions add to the growth of our faith. If the flower does not receive sunlight, it will not become vibrant. Likewise if we do not go through tribulations, our faith will not be perfected.

Recall the experiences of Job and how God tested him until he came to a true understanding of God’s mercy. Imagine if Job didn’t understand the tragedies he experienced, he may still be the plant in the greenhouse because his faith is built upon the abundance God blessed him with; he would not be able to experience the life of wants/needs. People who go through tribulations may fall because they have not grown roots but they may also grow in faith because they have been moulded by God. The grace of God may become more evident in our times of weaknesses.

During this period of COVID-19, many of us have spent long hours at home. We may also find things to do to pass time. There are some who keep themselves busy and some have started to embark on indoor gardening. Some are not as successful but some were fruitful. For the unsuccessful, the initial growth is very quick but usually, it is premature joy. After the seeds spread, there is no longer growth. Then the plant starts turning colour and wither. Then you make research because you’re unsatisfied because of its lack of growth. You know that you have watered the plants, bought soil, and put it under the sun. The Lord Jesus here says that if the seed has not grown deep roots, you cannot put it under the sun. Many times, it is because of the soil. If the soil is deep, the roots can grow deep.

We are diligent in searching these matters and study more to figure out how to grow and blossom the plant. Take that same spirit and attitude to apply it to the growing of our own faith. How deeply rooted are we to understand the word? Do we truly believe in the Bible? If we believe, do we act them out? Have we done the 3 things; say, believe and carry out? Faith with actions is effective. If not, our faith will not be able to stand firm. The Lord Jesus spoke this to the remnants of the people of Judah, that they need to grow their roots deeply to sprout up high. The mention was for them to grow their words deeply when they return to Jerusalem so they may bear fruits. This also for us who are spiritual Israelites. We have to be deeply rooted in our faith so that we can grow upwards to bear fruits.