Scripture Reference: Matthew 13
He spoke many things to them in parables . . .
John the Baptist would pause and ask honest questions when things didn’t add up or make sense to him. We shouldn’t be afraid to do the same.
Remember, John had announced that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. He had told his audience that Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire. He had the highest expectations as he anticipated the coming of Jesus; and when Jesus began His ministry, John identified Him as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
John must have wondered what would happen next. No doubt he lay on his bed at night thinking about the privilege of actually being alive at the very time when all that God had promised was about to be fulfilled. No doubt many of the promises ran through his mind, promises such as men will “beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks . . . neither shall they learn war anymore. . . . Sorrow and sighing shall flee away. . . . For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.” (Isaiah 2:4; 51:11; Habakkuk 2:14). John must have wondered what the morning would bring.
But then something happened that must have shaken John to the core. He was arrested and thrown into prison, and when that happened, the man who had preached with such great faith found himself surrounded with doubts and questions.
If Jesus really is the Christ, then why is this happening to me? As John languished in jail, he began to wonder if he had gotten it all wrong. So:
He sent two of his disciples and said to Him, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” – Matthew 11:2-3.
You can see the point of his question. If God was fulfilling His promise through the coming of Jesus, then He was doing it in a pretty strange way.
We oftentimes ask similar questions today. If God’s promises are true, what are we to make of the war, violence, corruption, and greed that are blatantly erupting all over the world? As we look at the church, what are we to make of the compromise, sin, confusion, and complacency that are so prevalent?
If God is doing everything that He promised through the coming of Jesus, then He seems to be doing it in a pretty strange way. There seems to be a mystery to this kingdom.
We need to understand this mystery or we will drown in confusion, discouragement, and even despair. Yet we can understand it, for Jesus Himself promised, “To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven.” – Matthew 13:11 (NASB).
He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.” – Matthew 13:3.
Jesus told a story about a farmer who tossed seed on different kinds of ground. The story is so familiar that we may be in danger of missing the point. So I offer an alternative to the parable that may help us to see the power of Jesus’ story more clearly. It’s called the parable of the bomber.
A certain bomber went out to drop his bombs. He flew over an evil city with many kinds of buildings. Some of the buildings were of wooden construction, so when the bombs hit them they were immediately flattened. Other buildings were built from concrete reinforced by steel. They looked as if nothing would move them, but when the bombs hit them, they crumbled like powder too. In fact, everywhere the bombs were scattered the buildings were completely destroyed.
After the bomber had finished his work, he flew over the city to take photographs. No matter where the bombs fell, the effect was exactly the same. Bomb craters covered the ground like bubble wrap. Rubble was strewn everywhere. Enemy activity was reduced to zero. The bomber’s mission was accomplished.
Afterward, the disciples asked, “What is the meaning of the parable of the bomber?”
And He said to them, “The bombs are the ministry of the Word of God. The buildings are the evils of the world, the flesh, and the devil. Some evils are deeply entrenched, and strongly reinforced. But wherever the Word of God comes, evil is reduced to nothing!”
I sometimes wish that Jesus had given us the parable of the bomber. But He didn’t! He gave the parable of the sower, because God works by sowing seeds, not by dropping bombs.
Christ is telling us that the will of God gets done in people’s lives not by earth-shattering explosions but by the quiet teaching of the Word of God. It will be like a gardener sowing seed. The seed will not grow everywhere, but where it is received, it will produce an abundant harvest.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture taken from the New King James Version®, NKJV © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.
Where noted, Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible®, NASB © 2020 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 