Sermon File

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ and may our Lord and Savior sanctify you in the truth, for His word is truth. Amen

Seventh Sunday after Pentecost (2026)                                                                   

The Miracle of Good Soil                                                                                             Rev. Toby Byrd

“As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty.”” (Matthew 13:23, ESV) 

From early in His ministry, Jesus was opposed, not only by the Pharisees, but by the people themselves. Although He spoke to thousands, and many of the people extolled His words and gave praise to Him, their praise was superficial. Our Lord testified to this lukewarm response to His words of forgiveness and reconciliation when He quotes Isaiah, saying, “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.” (Matthew 15:8–9, ESV) To many, Jesus was just another itinerant rabbi, a very good rabbi, but a rabbi none-the-less. He was not the chosen One, the Messiah of whom Moses had promised would come. When He spoke to them plainly, telling them who He was; telling them, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” (John 6:41, ESV) they grumbled against Him. But when He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” (John 6:53–54, ESV) St. John tells us, they walked away from Him, writing, “When many of his disciples heard it, they said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it . . . After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him.” (John 6:60, 66, ESV) 

However, despite this opposition, His ministry did gain disciples, but not many. Those closest to Him numbered only twelve and we see that after our Lord’s crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, in that upper room where His disciples chose Matthias to replace Judas, there were only 120 followers (Acts 2:15). So, the question is why, why were there so few followers of Christ? The question is much the same today; why are there so few, true followers of Christ? Well, today’s Gospel Reading addresses this question. For therein, Jesus answers the why of the question, that despite His ongoing ministry, words, and deeds, so many in Israel failed to respond to His call, so many failed to come to faith in Him as His disciples, seeing that in Him alone was eternal life. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus provides the answer by pointing us to The Miracle of Good Soil.

Moreover, the Parable of the Sower illustrates the that the hearts of men are opposed to the Word of God, thus, our Lord’s teaching in this parable throws cold water on all simplistic applications of “church growth” principles based on human efforts, growth that can be accomplished through modern marketing schemes, secular business models, or liberalization of the Gospel. Rather, church growth is defined by Scripture solely as the result of proclaiming the Gospel in all its truth and purity that hearts may be changed to believe in the promises of the Gospel.

Reading this parable, we see that 3 out of 4 people who hear the Gospel, reject it. Now, not all at the same time, mind you, but they all eventually reject it. Jesus begins the parable saying, “A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them.” (Matthew 13:3–7, ESV) 

In defining the meaning of the parable to His apostles, Jesus likens the seed to the Word of God, and the Sower is the one proclaiming God’s Word, and in this case the Sower is Jesus, Himself, and the soil is the heart of the hearer.

Jesus likens the soil of the first hearer to the soil of an earthen path that has long been pounded hard by the passage of many feet. It is so hard that it is like rock, seed cannot penetrate it and thus begin to grow. Whatever seed falls there is quickly devoured by birds, never given the opportunity for taking root. This soil is likened to the heart of those who when they hear the Word of God quickly repudiate it and reject it. They are hostile to the Word because their hearts have been hardened by their steadfast service to sin. Thus, Jesus says they are those who hear, “the word of the kingdom and [do] not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in [their] heart. This is what was sown along the path.” (Matthew 13:19, ESV) The hardness of their heart is a rock-solid barrier, denying the seed of faith to take root.

The second soil is likened to the thin soil of rocky ground. This soil represents the heart of those who initially receive the Word with enthusiastic zeal, and the seed of God’s Word begins to grow and saving faith begins to sprout. But their enthusiasm soon wanes. When life’s challenges, persecutions, and tribulations begin to gnaw at them; those who once shouted “Hosanna!” now shout, “Crucify Him!” These are the hearts of the emotional, superficial, sentimentalists who are initially impressed by the Word, and who are moved to tears to make good sounding resolutions of repentance. However, like rocky soil, their enthusiasm is shallow, and although the seed has taken root, there is no commitment to water the seed that it may grow. As long as the attitude toward the Word consists merely in easily aroused, pleasing emotions, all is well, but when the Word presents its demands of repentance, confession, and absolution, when the Word becomes a determining factor in the life of the disciple, exacting obedience to God, the old unregenerate heart takes control and the life of promise which the seed brought weakens. St. Matthew in the Greek writes σκανδαλίζεται, which means to fall into sin, to fall away. Where the seed of the Gospel is not watered by continually hearing the Word and receiving the Sacraments, it will quickly fade and die, and the believer will fall from grace. Jesus says of these, “As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.” (Matthew 13:20–21, ESV) 

The third soil is likened to soil overrun with thorns so thick they choke off any effort by other plants to grow. There is no room for new seed to take root. This soil represents hearts such as the rich young man who longs for salvation yet is unable to part with his worldly possessions. They are those who would have what heaven offers but refuse to give up their earthly things. These are hearts who initially hear the Gospel, believe and follow Jesus as His disciple, but they become distracted by wealth, and this seduction chokes off their desire to be a follower of Christ. They give up church attendance and Bible reading for Sunday mornings at the office and reading the latest stock market news. Soon their quest for riches and the worries of life in this fallen world smother their love of Christ and the hope and joy given them by the Gospel, and they too fall away. St. Matthew writes in Greek, they become ἄκαρπος, fruitless, unable to bear fruit. Thus, Jesus says of them, “As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.” (Matthew 13:18–22, ESV) 

In each of these three cases, the soil (the heart) is bad, it either will not receive the seed (the Gospel) or sustain its growth and bear fruit. This is why Jesus told His apostles,“This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.” (Matthew 13:13, ESV) He teaches this way because not all in the crowds are truly hearing or understanding what He is saying. He knows many in the crowds will not believe or will lose their faith because of worldly things, and each of the first three cases end up as unbelievers. Thus, the writer to the Hebrews warns, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God.” (Hebrews 3:12, ESV) St. Paul also warns, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:12, ESV) And St. Peter warns, “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.” (1 Peter 5:8–9, ESV) There is no end to which Satan will not go to destroy your faith. Therefore, beware of the cares, tribulations, and enticements of this world for they seek to pull you away from Christ. Such was the hinderance of the disciples who grumbled against Jesus and walked away from him, their worldly faith was unable to get their hearts around the truth of who He is; the Messiah, their Savior from sin, death, and the devil.

But there are some who will hear and who will understand. So, now the question becomes, is my soil, my heart, good? If not, what does it take to make my heart good soil?

In describing the fourth and last soil, Jesus says, “Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:8, ESV) Such soil is rich and fertile, it readily receives the seed and can grow what is planted. This is the heart of a true disciple. The Word of God in the heart of a true disciple produces fruit in abundance. But now the question must be asked, “is this my heart?” If so, “How does it get to be a “good soil” in view of Scriptures definition of the human heart as not good?” Such is The Miracle of Good Soil.

As we hear this parable it is not unusual for Christians, sitting in the pews, listening to the pastor preach, to sit back, relax, and say to themselves; “boy, I’m sure glad my soil was good!” However, such thoughts are leaps of false faith leading one away from the very Word that is being preached.

If we just put our minds to the task of remembering how Holy Scriptures describes us, it will quickly become apparent that of ourselves we are anything, but “good soil” Scripture describes us as barren, fallow ground, unfit for planting. God’s Word tells us that we are dead in our trespasses and sins. Our desire is to follow the world, to follow Satan, our desire is to carry out the passions of our flesh, and we are by nature children of wrath like all mankind (Eph. 2:1-3 ESV). This is who we are from birth. The Psalmist says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5 ESV). Moreover, St. Paul drives this point home saying, “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one” (Romans 3:12 ESV). Therefore, when reference is made to the “good soil,” it is evident to anyone familiar with Holy Scripture that this is not a word-picture of the soil of the human heart found by the Word. Rather, it is a clear illustration that the Word itself must, through its divine and inherent power, produce “good soil.” It must create from unwilling hearts, hearts that are willing to believe, willing to be conformed, and willing to be obedient to God’s divine will. Our Lord, through His Indwelling Spirit, sanctifies our hearts turning them into Good Soil.

Throughout the New Testament, the Holy Spirit details the miracles performed by our Lord Jesus during His ministry culminating in the greatest miracle of all; His resurrection from the dead on that first Easter morning. In the parable of the Sower, our Lord Jesus is telling us that He continues, like He did for Lazarus, to raise the dead, and what’s more, He tells us how He raises the dead; He raises us through the implantation of His Saving Word in our heart. The Lord tells us through the prophet Isaiah, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11 ESV). God’s purpose is to save His people from their sin and reward them with eternal life. Thus, He must awaken the dead; He must regenerate the fallow ground of the human heart. He says through the prophet Ezekiel, “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh” (Ezekiel 36:26 ESV). Therefore, God, through His Word, changes that which is barren and empty, into something that is fertile and filled. His Word changes our un-producing hearts into hearts producing fruit; “good works through faith.”

As we contemplate this marvelous truth, feeling good about ourselves that God has chosen us to receive the benefits of His gracious, heart-changing Word, we cannot help but recall that before He choose us to become recipients of His divine love, we were anything but “good soil.” In fact, we never gave being “good soil” a thought. Even now, because of the sin that continues to afflict us, we easily cause the “good soil” produced in us by the Spirit to become less good by our continual sinning, our concupiscence, that leads us to fall back into one of the other three types of soil spoken of by our Lord Jesus.

Although we have been cleansed in the waters of Baptism and have been brought to faith in Jesus Christ, sin continues to plague us. Our sinful nature stays with us throughout our entire life. However, when we sin, we know we have One to whom we can turn, confess our sins and be forgiven, that One is our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ who gave Himself in death so we might live for eternity. Therefore, we must rely on the power of our Savior, Jesus Christ to rescue us, to continue to call us, to comfort us, and to regenerate us into the “good soil” He desires us to be. Our Lord, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, continues to produce The Miracle of Good Soil, sanctifying our hearts so we may become and remain Good Soil.

Jesus says, “As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty” (v.23). But the fruit bearing spoken of by our Lord Jesus is not our own, instead it is a gift of the Spirit. St. Paul tells us, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:13). 

All that we accomplish as Christians is attributed solely to the power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us, We respond to the Third Article of the Creed by saying, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith. In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers. On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.”

Although plagued by our flesh, the world, and Satan we do not despair because we have the Holy Spirit to help us every day to live the baptized life of daily contrition and repentance, drowning the Old Adam within us with its sins and evil desires, leading us through prayer and the power of faith to arouse the new man born in the waters of Baptism and grown in the “good soil” produced by the Spirit to daily emerge and produce the “good fruit” of faith. It is this urging by the Holy Spirit that gives us the desire to proclaim the Word of faith to the world; that Word which even though it falls on fallow hearts, will still have its way and produce “good soil.” St. Paul reminds us; “faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17 ESV) and Jesus says to us, “He who has ears, let him hear.”” (Matthew 13:9, ESV) 

Can we take credit for being “good soil?” No, soil is completely passive; it is subject to its environment; so, too, our hearts are subject to the outside influence of the cosmic powers, both good and evil. Yet, God has blessed us to be “good soil” through the proclamation of the Gospel, life and salvation in Christ Jesus. Moreover, He calls on us to plant the seed of His Word throughout the world in every conceivable soil so that the Holy Spirit can sanctify the hearts of others and thereby bring about The Miracle of Good Soil.” In the name of Jesus. Amen.

May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amen.