RPG Adults
THE WAY SIDE (1)
FRIDAY, APRIL 3
Matthew 13:1-23
Memory Verse: Matthew 13:19
“When any one heareth
the word of the kingdom,
and understandeth it not…”
THE WAY SIDE (1)
Unlike modern farming, farmers farmed by casting their seeds as they traversed their fields. As the parcel of land is large, pathways are needed to cover the entire land. With constant walking over many years of farming, the ground of these paths is hardened. When a farmer sows, some seeds will fall on these hardened paths. Birds will swoop down and eat them. Matthew 13:4: “And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up.”
Jesus explains the meaning of the “way side” ground in Matthew 13:19: “When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.” The seeds represent the Word of the kingdom. The way-side hardened ground represents the hearer who does not understand. The birds that eat up the seeds (i.e. the Word) represent the wicked one who catches the Word sown in the hearer’s heart. The wicked one is the devil. The four types of ground in Matthew 13:1-9 represent the four ways people receive the Word of God, as Matthew 13:9 teaches: “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”
The truth taught here is that when a person hears the Word of God, he understands enough to have a response. Jesus describes it as “sown in his heart.” But when the response is “I am not interested” or “I do not care” or “I do not believe” or “I do not agree with what God says in His Word,” he is like the “way side” ground. He attends church or Bible Study where the Word of God is taught or preached, unlike other sinners who are uninterested in attending church or reading the Bible. However, the interest is not sincere; as he learns God’s truth, his response is not acceptance but rejection. The rejection is in his heart, for outwardly, others might think he is a believer because he attends church and Bible Study.
The “way side” ground warns professing believers to stop deceiving themselves and others.
THOUGHT: Am I willing to stop my hypocrisy?
PRAYER: O Father, help me to be true to my soul and open my ears and heart to receive Thy Holy Word, for Jesus’ sake!