Four Soils

1
Four Soils

• Peter Fitch, St. Croix Vineyard
• Sunday, August 23

2
Matthew 131-9

• 1 That day Jesus went out of the house and was
  sitting by the sea. 2 And large crowds gathered
  to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and
  the whole crowd was standing on the beach. 3 And
  He spoke many things to them in parables,
  saying, Behold, the sower went out to sow 4 and
  as he sowed, some seeds fell beside the road, and
  the birds came and ate them up. 

3
Matthew 131-9

• 5 Others fell on the rocky places, where they
  did not have much soil and immediately they
  sprang up, because they had no depth of
  soil. 6 But when the sun had risen, they were
  scorched and because they had no root, they
  withered away. 7 Others fell among the thorns,
  and the thorns came up and choked them out. 

4
Matthew 131-9

• 8 And others fell on the good soil and yielded a
  crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some
  thirty. 9 He who has ears, let him hear.
• (Very similar in Mark, a little different in
  Luke)

5

• Followed by talk about why Jesus speaks in
  parables (for another day . . .)
• Then an interpretation is given

6
Matthew 1318-23

• 18 Hear then the parable of the sower. 19 When
  anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not
  understand it, the evil one comes and snatches
  away what has been sown in his heart. This is the
  one on whom seed was sown beside the road. 20 The
  one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places,
  this is the man who hears the word and
  immediately receives it with joy 

7
Matthew 1318-23

•  21 yet he has no firm root in himself, but
  is only temporary, and when affliction or
  persecution arises because of the word,
  immediately he falls away. 22 And the one on whom
  seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man
  who hears the word, and the worry of the world
  and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word,
  and it becomes unfruitful. 

8
Matthew 1318-23

• 23 And the one on whom seed was sown on the good
  soil, this is the man who hears the word and
  understands it who indeed bears fruit and brings
  forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some
  thirty.

9
Pirke Avot (Chapters of the Fathers)

• Many groupings of four
• Four periods during the 7 year Sabbatical cycle
  that are most prone to plague (each one is
  because the poor are forgotten)
• Four types of people
• Four temperaments
• Four types of new student

10

• Four types of donors
• Four types of longtime student
• Four types of disciple

11
Four Types of People

• The Average Whats mine is mine and yours is
  yours (predominant in Sodom)
• The Fool Whats mine is yours and yours is
  mine
• The Saint Whats mine is yours and whats yours
  is yours
• The Wicked Whats mine is mine and whats yours
  is mine

12
Four Types of Donor

• Those who give and want others not to (robbing
  others of merit)
• Those who want others to give but not themselves
  (robbing themselves of merit)
• Those who give and urge others to give (the
  compassionate)
• Those who dont give and urge others not to give
  (the wicked)

13
Four Types of Disciple

• Those who absorb everything, both true and false
  (sponges)
• Those who take it all in and let it all out
  (funnels)
• Those who take in the wine but keep only the
  sediment (strainers)
• Those who take in both wheat and chaff but retain
  only fine flour (sieves)

14
What is Jesus saying?

• Listen, treasure, obey My words . . . Let them
  grow deep within you
• They are the path to life do not ignore them

15
Early Church Fathers

• The Careless (received the seed and lost it)
• The Superficial (received some seed and betrayed
  it)
• The Rich (received other seed and choked it)
• John Chrysostom, Archbishop of
  Constantinople (lived A.D. 349-407)

16
Church Fathers The Good Soil

• 30 fold those who refrain from evil and do
  whatever good they can
• 60 fold those who show contempt for worldly
  goods and try to serve God
• 100 fold those who are afflicted by a bodily
  infirmity and put up with it patiently (and have
  contempt for all goods, fast regularly, suffer
  bodily deprivations, and practice celibacy)

17
My (old) Assumption

• Some people are 30, some 60, some 100
• Maybe the 30 are regular God-lovers, the 60 like
  missionaries to difficult places and the 100 like
  Mother Theresa
• (Ive hoped and prayed to make it to the 30!)
• Now I think this is as nutty as the
  interpretation of the anonymous Church Father

18
Luke 811-15

• 11 Now the parable is this the seed is the
  word of God. 12 Those beside the road are those
  who have heard then the devil comes and takes
  away the word from their heart, so that they will
  not believe and be saved. 13 Those on the
  rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive
  the word with joy and these have
  no firm root they believe for a while, and in
  time of temptation fall away. 

19
Luke 811-15

• 14 The seed which fell among the thorns, these
  are the ones who have heard, and as they go on
  their way they are choked with worries and riches
  and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to
  maturity. 15 But the seed in the good soil, these
  are the ones who have heard the word in an honest
  and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit
  with perseverance.

20
We are all the parts

• We can be careless, superficial, and selfish
  (devoted to the wrong things)
• We are also the 30, the 60, the 100
• You hear something Jesus says about forgiveness
  or giving or peace-making or trusting God, or you
  think about the way He accepted outsiders
• You treasure it and obey it in a real life . . .
  It grows in you and changes you forever