The Seed

In Mark 4, Jesus presented His audience with the parable of the sower.  Often, when Christians discuss the sower and spreading the Gospel, they talk about how to alter the methods of the sower so that the soil will accept the seed.  Too often, this translates into altering the message with the hope that the soil will receive what humans and society perceives as a kinder, gentler message.  Is there a “one size fits all” method of preaching the Gospel? Examples provided for our learning within the Scriptures indicate that the method of teaching depends upon the circumstances in which the Gospel is being taught, but the message is never to be changed; note that in the parable of the sower, the message (the seed) is exactly the same for all different kinds of soil and, in this case, the sower even sows the seed in exactly the same manner. 

Many Christians and evangelists today advocate the preaching of a “kinder, gentler” Gospel and purport that if the soil rejects the seed then the message was not presented in a kind or gentle enough manner.  What did the sower do wrong? Was his tone or words too harsh? Did he talk too much about the cost of discipleship and not enough about the benefits? Many people assert that because Jesus had compassion and taught in a gentle manner in some instances that this is the only method of teaching; further, they too often condemn other Christians who do not adhere to this conclusion. 

Consider the example of the following teacher: like most evangelists, this man received mixed reactions to his teachings.  Some people welcomed both the man and the message, while others rejected both.  Still others would initially welcome both the man and the message, only to reject both later.  To this point, he clearly fits what Jesus taught via the parable of the sower in Mark 4.  In one particular instance, this man had a prospective convert “on the line,” but thwarted the opportunity by telling his student what the gospel would mean specifically to him.  What did this sower do wrong? How could he be so harsh? Did he lack compassion? In yet another instance, this same teacher used physical force to establish his point.  Another time, this teacher used derogatory terms to describe an entire group of people to whom he was lecturing.  By this point, it ought to be clear who this teacher was: Jesus the Christ. 

What would happen today if a Christian had enough zeal to drive out the unrighteous? Would we claim that they are too harsh? Would we claim that they would drive individuals from God rather than to Him? Would we claim that they have an anger problem? In John 2:13-22, Jesus physically drove the money changers and merchants from the Temple using a whip.  Was it anger that caused Him to do this? John 2:17 states that it was zeal that caused Jesus to do this.  Was this a rash decision on the part of Jesus? John 2:14-15 tells us that Jesus saw the merchants and money changers in the Temple, He then went and made a whip of cords, and then went to the Temple to drive them out.  It appears that if Jesus had initially been acting out of rashness or anger, He would have calmed down while He created the whip.  Likewise, what would happen if a Christian used derogatory terms to describe an entire group of people that they are addressing? In Matthew 23, Jesus calls His audience hypocrites, blind guides, fools, whitewashed tombs, and murderers.  Would we dare use such harsh terms in our own politically correct society?

Many Christians today are worried that prospective converts will be driven away if we do not present the message in a kind or gentle enough manner.  Too many evangelists assert that Christians are only to teach the good things contained in the Bible, such as salvation, the resurrection, and eternal life.  If a Christian implies that there is a cost to discipleship and that an individual must alter their lifestyle, they are deemed even by fellow Christians to be “un-Christ-like” and “un-Christian-like.” 

While the parable of the sower established for us that the message is to always be the same, are we granted a certain amount of leeway in how that message is presented? The Scriptures through multiple examples indicate that this leeway is granted.  It is clear that there is not a single, one size fits all method for teaching lost souls the Gospel.  Did Jesus always use derogatory terms towards His audience as He did in Matthew 23? Absolutely not! Did He always use physical force to establish His point? Absolutely not! Jesus had both compassion and great zeal when it came to completing the tasks that God the Father had set before Him (John 2:17).  In Matthew 9:35-38, we see the compassion of Jesus in two different ways; first, Jesus was aiding the people by “healing every sickness and every disease” that was among them (9:35) and second, “He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (9:36).  The compassion of Jesus truly showed through when He observed the spiritual destitution of the multitudes; Jesus said to His disciples that the “harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few.  Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (9:37-38).  Were these laborers intended to care for the physical needs of the harvest or the spiritual needs? Matthew states that Jesus was moved by compassion because the multitudes “were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd” (9:36).  Is the job of the shepherd to make the sheep feel safe even when there is a wolf amongst them, or is the shepherd’s job to warn the sheep of impending doom?

It is to be noted that our attitudes while teaching the Gospel do matter and we can establish this principle by examining the book of Jonah. It is clear that Jonah had a horrible attitude and that God showed His disapproval of Jonah’s attitude by dealing with it.  That being said, modern Christians need to stop seeking to lay the blame for the soil’s rejection of the seed at the feet of the sower.  If the soil is good, it will accept the seed, but if it is bad, then it will reject the seed; this principle is also established in the book of Jonah.  In spite of the fact that Jonah had the worst attitude a teacher could ever have towards his pupils, his pupils accepted the message and responded to it.  Clearly we are not to have the attitude of Jonah, but Jonah’s attitude did not alleviate the responsibility of the Ninevites to respond obediently to the message of God.  In other words, God held the Ninevites accountable to the message even though Jonah did not proclaim it with a nice enough attitude; God also held Jonah accountable for his attitude. 

Compassion and zeal should drive every Christian to teach the entire Gospel to lost souls.  Rather than determining to utilize only a single method of teaching, those same characteristics should dictate to us what method of teaching best suits the circumstances in which we find ourselves.  The message should never be altered, a principle which is also established in Mark 4; same seed, different soils.  Jesus, the Apostles, and the inspired writers of the New Testament used multiple methods of teaching; from kind, gentle, encouraging words (1 Thessalonians 4:1-2; 2 Thessalonians 1:3-5) to harsh rebukes and descriptions of destitute false teachers (Jude; 2 Peter 2).  We even have examples of nearly identical wording producing two entirely different outcomes (Acts 2:1-47; Acts 7:1-60), which indicates that the reaction depends more upon the hearer than the speaker.  Did Stephen have less compassion than Peter, or was his audience composed of the wayside soil (Mark 4:4)?

Whether we like it or not, acceptance or rejection of the Gospel depends upon the individual and what kind of soil they are.  As Christians, our compassion and zeal should drive us to ensure that they have received the entire message of God; this means that we need to show them from Scripture that there is a reward for obedience (James 1:12; 2 Timothy 4:6-8), consequences for disobedience (2 Peter 2:18-22; Matthew 7:22-23), and what the cost of discipleship may be while they linger here on earth (John 15:18-25; Matthew 10:32-39). 

Too often, we accept “it isn’t what you said, but how you said it” as a viable reason why an individual rejects the Gospel and we are successfully distracted from the real problem of sin in the life of that individual and condemn the teacher for their method of teaching.  Again, we must ensure that our attitude in teaching is in adherence with the Scriptures, but the attitude of the teacher is rarely the reason a person accepts or rejects the Gospel.  As Jesus emphasized with the parable of the sower, the message (seed) is the same, but each person (soil) is different.  We cannot control whether an individual will accept or reject the Gospel, but we can control whether or not they have had the chance to hear it in its entirety.