Jesus: Seed, Sower, Tree of Life. Part 6 – Receive the Holy Spirit

This is part 6 of a series on the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4: 1 – 20). In this post I ask the question: why did Jesus teach in parables? In the case of this parable, the ultimate meaning of the parable was too fantastic for the disciples and other followers of Jesus to understand. You see, the parable, taken to its logical conclusion, culminates with Jesus breathing on the disciples saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit”, the Spirit of Christ, the ultimate seed.

Why did Jesus teach in parables? One reason is to fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah:

“The knowledge of the secrets of the Kingdom of God has been given to you, but to others I speak in parables, so that, though seeing, they may not see; though hearing they may not understand” (Luke 8: 10 NIV).

Jesus intended to use parables to hide truths from unbelievers. But He also used parables because they were easy to understand, an effective way to communicate His message, at least at one level; and they were easy to remember because they used scenes and objects familiar to the crowd. Parables clarified Jesus’ teaching but they also contained deeper truths that challenged the believer to dig into the parable with further thought and prayer.

Jesus also used parables, at least the parable of the Sower, because the truth He needed to tell the disciples and His other followers was so radical, so unbelievable, so awesome and fantastic that if He told them plainly what He was trying to say, they would be completely confused and stunned.

Here is what I mean.

In the parable of the Sower, Jesus sows the seed, which is Himself (see my previous post). Throughout Scripture, Messiah Jesus is called the seed. He even calls Himself the Seed (John 12: 24 NIV).

In this parable, the Farmer (Jesus) sows the seed into 4 types of soil. The first type of soil is too hard to receive the seed.

In the second type, the seed sown on rocky places, Matthew writes, “The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy“ (Matthew 13: 20 NIV).

In the third type, the seed sown among the thorns, Matthew writes, “The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it out, making it unfruitful” (Matthew 13: 22 NIV).

In the fourth type, the seed sown on good soil, Matthew writes, “But the one who received the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it” (Matthew 13: 23 NIV).

In the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th types of soil, which refer to the various conditions of the human heart, the seed is received. It grows in each type of soil, but only successfully produces fruit, which is the purpose of the seed, in the heart prepared to receive it – the man who hears and understands. Luke writes, “The seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by perseverance produce a crop” (Luke 8: 15 NIV).

Even though Jesus explains the parable to His disciples and other followers, there is plenty in the parable to ponder as they walked with Him around Galilee and Judea. And for us too. I believe Jesus was preparing them for the most important revelation of their lives, our lives also, and even the world. But until He died and was resurrected, He was not at liberty to share the full meaning of the parable of the Sower. He prepared them, but it wasn’t until the disciples had gathered in the upper room the evening of His resurrection that He showed them the true meaning of the parable of the Sower.

You remember that scene in John 20. On the evening of that first day of the week, the disciples were together (minus Thomas, and of course, Judas), behind a locked door, possibly in the Upper Room, terrified of the Jews. Miraculously, Jesus walked through the door, stood among them, and said, “Peace be with you”. After they had recovered from their shock and amazement, Jesus breathed on them and said:

“Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20: 22 NIV).

In the parable of the Sower, Jesus described how the noble and good heart received the seed, which was Jesus. Now, Jesus showed them the true meaning of the parable – their hearts were prepared by the life and travels with Jesus. They had seen and heard all He had to teach them, up to that point. They were ready. They could handle the truth. He said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit”! Jesus was going to be glorified, but He would send Himself in another form – the Counselor, the Holy Spirit – into their hearts – the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ, the real Seed.

“Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you” (John 16: 7 NIV).

The Holy Spirit, the very presence of God, will live in them. The creator of the universe, the uncreated God who is enthroned above all powers and principalities, will live in their hearts. They will be one with Him. Jesus also calls the Holy Spirit, “the Spirit of truth”. “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever – the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you” (John 14: 16, 17 NIV).

It is one thing to talk about a seed, quite another to tell the disciples what will really happen – they will receive the Holy Spirit, really God the Father, to live in them. In hindsight we can read the parable of the Sower and know, in light of the New Testament, which they did not have, Jesus is the seed. I think they pondered the question, “Who or what is the seed?”, for months after they heard the parable. Now they had their answer: the ones who received the seed that fell on good soil were the ones who received the Holy Spirit on that fateful evening.

Perhaps, for those of us who have been told “Jesus, or the Holy Spirit is in you” for most of our Christian lives, this tableau in the Upper Room is not so dramatic. But think about these Jewish men, brought up to uphold the law of a faraway and terrifying God, a God of fire on the summit of Mount Sinai. After they recovered from their shock at seeing Jesus, ALIVE!, they must have been gobsmacked, stunned, and amazed – RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT?!!  After living with Jesus for 3 years, abandoning Him at the cross, and then being blown away by His resurrection and reappearance, they had to absorb this earth-shaking, world-changing truth. They might even have been secretly asking themselves, “What, exactly, is this Holy Spirit?”. Of course, in 40 days or so they would find out.

But what about us? Are we ready to hear this? Is our heart open to this radical revelation? Do we have a “good and noble heart”, prepared for the Holy Spirit to be received, retained, and cultivated through perseverance, faithfulness, obedience, dependance, and worship? Do we really understand the magnitude of this revelation? “Christ in us, the hope of glory!”

The parable of the Sower reaches its culmination in the Upper Room on the evening of Jesus’ resurrection. The parable of the Sower reaches a culmination in the heart of every new believer who, by faith, responds to Jesus’ call on their lives and enters into the Kingdom of God to live with Him – a place where Jesus breaths on them and says, “Receive the Holy Spirit!”. We celebrate that momentous event on Easter Sunday – Christ risen to life in first century Palestine; and we, resurrected to new life in Him today. We should also bow down in awe and humility in the face of this extraordinary act of supreme trust and love – He, the original Seed, has made His home forever in our hearts. And like Thomas, encountering the risen Jesus a few days later, say, “My Lord and my God!”

But the story does not end here. After receiving the Holy Spirit, the disciples spend 40 days with Jesus learning about the Kingdom of God. Jesus told them, “For John baptized you with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 1: 5 NIV).

And so, it was 50 days after His resurrection, on the same day the Jews celebrated their own Pentecost, memorializing the end of a 50-day journey from Egypt over a thousand years before when Moses met God in a cloud of fire on Mount Sinai, tongues of fire descended on those “together in one place”, separated and settled on each one (Acts 2: 1 – 4 NIV). They had received that anointing of the Holy Spirit in the Upper Room, now they received the power of the Holy Spirit. The journey that began along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, where Jesus told the parable of the Sower to the disciples and His followers, was complete. They were ready to spread out over the world in power and tell His story, all because of a tiny seed. 

And so should we be, those of the good and noble heart, who have received the seed of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, growing into the Tree of Life in the cultivated garden of our heart – the Tree of Life producing fruit, the friut of the Spirit, fruit that contains seeds, and seeds God intends for us to sow in the name of Jesus. Because, as Paul tells, “if you belong to Christ, then you are Abrahams seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Galatians 3:29 NIV).

In the final post of this series, I look at the events in the last part of Mark 4 and in Mark 5 and ask the question, “What do they have to do with me?” The answer to this question is even more amazing.

Johnl