Sexagesima Sunday
KJV 2 Corinthians 2:19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. 21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool ) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: 33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. 12:1 It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. 2 I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. 3 And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) 4 How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 5 Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. 6 For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. 7 And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8 For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9 And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
KJV Luke 8:4 And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: 5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it. 6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it. 8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold. And when he had said these things, he cried, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. 9 And his disciples asked him, saying, What might this parable be? 10 And he said, Unto you it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand. 11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection. 15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
Collect
Lord God, heavenly Father, we thank You that through Your Son Jesus Christ You have sown Your holy Word among us: We pray that You will prepare our hearts by Your Holy Spirit, that we may diligently and reverently hear Your Word, keep it in good hearts, and bring forth fruit with patience; and that we may not incline to sin, but subdue it by Your power, and in all persecutions confront ourselves with Your grace and continual help; through Your beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Sexagesima
The Hymn #123
The Invocation p. 15
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 2 Cor. 11:19ff
The Gospel Luke 8:4-15
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #295
The Sermon
The Sower
The Offertory p. 22
The Hymn #294
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #49
The Sower
This is one of the easiest parables to understand and one of the most important. Jesus explains each section, but people ignore His explanation or substitute their own.
The disciples wanted to know what this parable meant, indicating that there were two levels of teaching. Jesus taught the Word to the masses and explained His Word in detail to the disciples. That is why people heard and did not comprehend. The same continues today. Many people are glad when they first hear the Gospel. They do not receive continued instruction and never really grasp the Promises of God.
Luke 8:11 Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
So we have directly from Jesus that the seed represents the Word of God. Seed is quite a marvel in itself. Seed is completely alive and yet only a potential plant. The seed will germinate with just a little water. There is a whole industry in making sprouts from the germination of certain seeds. The sprouts are quite fragile and need tender care to take root and grow.
One of the first errors of new gardeners is to plant seed in good soil, water the seed, rejoice when it pokes above the ground, and neglect it at its most fragile time. I used to do that until I learned to keep watering the new seed.
The Word of God is alive and full of potential, but it needs to be scattered. When I bought seed, I got large amounts of it. Knowing that certain kinds of seed, like lettuce, will grow like grass, I scattered it wherever there was soil and sun. One person asked, “Is there lettuce growing in your planter?” Lettuce was growing everywhere.
When people get timid about the Word of God, they fail to spread the Word as they might. The big fear, stoked by Reformed doctrine, is that God’s Word is ineffective unless it has man’s help, man’s reasoning power, and man’s marketing ability. Jesus used the metaphor of the seed for a good reason. Seed is just waiting to grow.
5 A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
Luke 8:12 Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
The Word of God is effective (efficacious – same word) but Satan pounces on every opportunity to get rid of it. This can be seen in every faithful congregation. As soon as the Gospel begins to take root, people rush in to invent turmoil and destroy it.
This part of the parable, as Luther said, includes those who begin to have faith and lose that faith. They are apostates, fallen from the Christian faith. A biography about John D. Rockefeller describes one such Baptist. The young man was brilliant and graduated from Harvard, winning a prize in philosophy, a chance to study in Europe. The rationalism at Harvard began to eat away at his faith. At one point he told his father, a Baptist seminary president, that he no longer believed in the basic truths of the Christian faith. This also happened to a lesser extent to the Baptist theologian (Yale professor) who helped found the University of Chicago. The man became fascinated with the higher criticism (so-called) and had many doubts about the Bible. He was supposed to establish a school of Baptist orthodoxy, but he was cautioned not to speak about his views. Thus the ultra-traditionalist Rockefeller created a school run by and for liberals.
Now there are many young people with no background in the Bible. When they are converted by the Word they are like seedlings needing protection and nourishment. One big foot of rationalism will crush that fragile faith. Cults know that and take advantage of new Christians. Apostates who cannot teach God’s Word but still teach religion work hard to destroy that faith. I told one college class how I did not fit in with world religion departments because I believed in God. One woman who took world religion classes at the school I mentioned said, “That’s true. They are atheists.”
Another Baptist-Evangelical example is Billy Graham’s early professional friend, Templeton. He was so well known as an evangelist that he was able to enter Princeton as a graduate student, without going to college. Templeton was thrown to the wolves who took over Princeton after its liberal-conservative split. Guess who won that one? Templeton lost his faith completely. Late in life he was asked about Jesus. Tears filled his eyes and he said, “I miss Him.” There is some evidence that he died in faith.
There are many ways that Satan crushes the Word growing in people’s hearts. It’s good to remember that the word sabotage comes from the French word for wooden shoe. Sabot is still used as a military term. When the peasants were angry with a farmer, they used their wooden shoes to stomp the fields where the new grain was growing – sabotage. Now they make crop circles and charge for tours.
6 And some fell upon a rock; and as soon as it was sprung up, it withered away, because it lacked moisture.
Luke 8:13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
These are the short-term believers. Paul warned against ordaining new believers as pastors. They are the ones who have great joy at first but fall back into temptation. No one can really tell at first.
Many people have dealt with shallow-rooted plants. Maple tree seeds love to helicopter down into gutters where wet leaves provide them a good start. We had a gigantic tree in our backyard in Moline. I remember a spring when we had hundred of maple trees growing in the rain gutters. Not one had a chance to turn into a tree. Likewise, bird seed on a flat roof will sprout in the soil and leaf litter, grow a little, and wither away.
Those who exploit the joy of new faith hasten the fall of their disciples. If people measure the Christian faith by a lack of trials, a life without the cross, they are mistaken. If they think believing in Christ will make them money, they may make tons of money while becoming unbelievers. (One group of professional Gospel singers confessed, if that is the word, that they did not believe what they sang. That was no surprise to me, since I noticed how choreographed they were, just too packaged.)
False assumptions make people leave the faith. The assumptions often come from bad teaching, which appeals to the Old Adam in all of us. We do not want to suffer for the Gospel, but it is pleasant to read about others who have. If we turn an experience of the cross into God hating us, then we have missed the whole lesson of the crucifixion, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believed in Him might not perish but have life eternal.
The experience of the cross deepens our faith and helps us understand, as best we can, what the true cross of Christ was. God lets the cross bear down on us for a time, but not forever. When relief comes, we see how God works.
The false assumption is – the cross is never laid on the shoulders of those who are faithful to God’s Word.
The correct teaching of the Bible is – the cross always accompanies God’s Word, because our sinful flesh, the devil, and unbelieving world rebel against the Gospel of forgiveness.
7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up with it, and choked it.
14 And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
This parable sounds ominous. People lose the Word from it being snatched away from them, from being shallow when trials come along, and even from riches.
History shows that riches and luxury destroy the Gospel by choking it, just as rank weed growth destroys a crop. Many successful ministers and congregations have fallen from luxury rather than persecution. If someone is too handsome, too eloquent, and too popular, he often falls into snares and disgraces himself along with the Gospel.
America has more Christian ministers and churches than the rest of the world combined. America is the richest of all countries where Christianity is found. But the Third Word is where the faith is growing.
I talked with one layman about the irony of a future pastor’s son paying $8,000 per year for high school, even more for college, then spending 4 years in seminary. Congregations and synods are rich, but they will not share their wealth with their future pastors. Who will sow the seed? Their millionaire donors? Not likely.
8 And other fell on good ground, and sprang up, and bare fruit an hundredfold.
Luke 8:15 But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.
In spite of all the failures, the Word grows 100 fold. This happens through birth and baptism, through the family nurturing the children in the faith, and through conversion.
First they hear the Word with an honest and good heart. That is, they do not say, “How can I use this to sell more houses, more funerals, more flowers?”
Having heard the Word, they hold it fast. That is another way to translate – keep it. They bring forth fruit with patience. The Gospel will always bear fruit, but not from man forcing or demanding it. God is a very good manager. He has been running the universe for a long time.
One time my maple was covered with cottony maple scale. Some scientists from Dow told me how to cure this. They were all wrong, as I learned later. God sent a horde of ladybugs to the tree. Yes, they were the natural predators of maple scale. No human could arrange such a non-toxic destruction of a pest, but God does this every day, with infinite complexity. Yet we doubt how He manages His Word and will.
This parable teaches patience and trust in God’s Word. Sadly, one false teacher said it teaches people to test the soil. (He was promoting the demonic doctrines of Fuller Seminary, as a Lutheran.) One thing this parable does not teach is judging the soil or judging anything the sower does. The sower scatters the seed because he knows God will bring the bounty.
KJV 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.
"Now, although both, the planting and watering of the preacher, and the running and willing of the hearer, would be in vain, and no conversion would follow it if the power and efficacy of the Holy Ghost were not added thereto, who enlightens and converts the hearts through the Word preached and heard, so that men believe this Word and assent thereto, still, neither preacher nor hearer is to doubt this grace and efficacy of the Holy Ghost, but should be certain that when the Word of God is preached purely and truly, according to the command and will of God, and men listen attentively and earnestly and meditate upon it, God is certainly present with His grace, and grants, as has been said, what otherwise man can neither accept nor give from his own powers."
Solid Declaration, Article II, Free Will, 55?56, Formula of Concord, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 903. Tappert, p. 531f.
