Matthew 13: Let the Word Take Root in You

Introduction

Citykyrkan in Stockholm is starting a new preaching series on the parables of Jesus. Judith Gallardo Lantz opens the series with the parable of the sower. A parable, she explains, is a story Jesus uses to help us understand something about the kingdom of God. Many of them begin this way: "The kingdom of God is like…"

She has often heard this parable in connection with evangelism: why do some people receive the Word and others don't? But she believes this text has something important to say to those who already follow Jesus. What becomes of God's Word in your life? What is the difference between hearing the Word and letting it take root, grow and bear fruit?

Her message follows the parable soil by soil, then ends with an image she received in prayer: Jesus, forehead to forehead with her, bringing her back to him every time she gets distracted.

Message Outline

1. Bearing Fruit, an Invitation for Everyone

The text is read in Matthew 13:1-9, followed by the explanation Jesus himself gives in verses 18 to 23. "He who has ears to hear, let him hear." Do you have ears? Then this is for you.
In the Bible, fruit refers to the visible results, the actions and the qualities that grow in a person's life when they live close to God.
The goal is not just to believe in Jesus or to know things about him, but for it to change the way we live: to live as Jesus lived, to walk, think and act like him.
This is not reserved for a Christian elite, for pastors or for a few chosen people. You have an invitation to become his disciple, or, if that word speaks to you more, his apprentice.
It is not about doing more. The preacher often hears after a message like this: "That's so many demands, how am I going to do it all?" It is rather about changing how you look at the life you are already living: how you spend your time, what you focus on, who you choose to follow.

2. Jesus Sows Generously

The sower throws the seed everywhere. He doesn't choose the exact spot where each seed lands. He sows on the path, among the rocks, among the thorns and on good soil.
This says something about God's generosity: he is generous with his Word, with his kingdom, with his revelation. He doesn't wait for you to be perfect. He doesn't hold back his Word because he isn't sure you will receive it.
"Jesus speaks, calls and keeps on sowing."
In this world, you have to earn everything: a raise, a promotion, your friendships, maybe even love. God doesn't work that way. He keeps making his Word available even when, in our own eyes, we don't deserve it: that is grace.
It is also Jesus who takes the initiative. We cannot change or live more like him by our own strength. Everything begins with the one who sows the Word, and it is to him that we keep returning to be filled.
So if Jesus sows so generously, why don't we always see his Word bearing fruit in our lives? Jesus describes three kinds of soil, three reasons why the Word doesn't always take root.

3. The Path: Do I Understand the Word?

"When anyone hears the word of the Kingdom, and doesn’t understand it, the evil one comes, and snatches away that which has been sown in his heart" (Matthew 13:19).
What does what I hear from Jesus mean for my life? Am I ready to let his Word challenge my ideas? When Jesus sows, we still have to receive that Word and understand what it implies for us.
Paul prays that God would give "a spirit of wisdom and revelation" and enlighten "the eyes of your hearts" (Ephesians 1:17-19). When we receive the Holy Spirit, he reveals who Jesus really is.
You may have read your Bible without understanding anything, or even been shocked: how can Jesus say that if he is good and full of love? With humor, she notes that nobody in the room recognizes themselves in this, "everyone here is so holy."
When we read the Bible with Jesus, and not only in our own strength, and when we read it with other believers, he guides us and helps us understand. "Don't stop wrestling with the Bible." That is good and important, but it takes an open heart so that God can shape you.
Sometimes we don't want to understand: we don't want his truth to disturb ours, because we are comfortable in our own truth. That is human. But the more we are filled with Jesus, the more we discover that his ways are good, and the less room the enemy has to steal the Word.

4. The Rocky Places: Where Are Your Roots?

The one who receives the Word with joy but has no root endures only for a while, and distress or persecution make him stumble (Matthew 13:20-21).
What becomes of your faith when life gets hard? What do you turn to first when you need security, strength or answers? Where are you planted? Where do you draw your nourishment, your first sense of security, your truth, your life?
Judith Gallardo Lantz admits that, when facing difficulties, she often takes refuge in this thought: "If only I had this, my life would be pretty good." Materialism, to put it briefly, which doesn't produce more of God's kingdom in her life.
When your life is in crisis, what rises to the surface? That fruit says a lot about some of your roots. She doesn't say this to rap anyone's knuckles, but because she carries this burden for herself and for everyone who believes in Jesus while having their roots somewhere else.
You can believe in Jesus your whole life and go to church every Sunday, and yet, when the crisis comes, it is as if Jesus didn't exist. He is not the first one we turn to, sometimes not even the last.
Her desire: to live a life where opposition always stands in the light of who Jesus is, where suffering makes us run straight into his arms rather than toward everything else. When he becomes the first source of rest, truth, life and strength, worry and fear are no longer the loudest voice.
Paul prays that we would be "rooted and grounded in love" and "filled with all the fullness of God" (Ephesians 3:16-21). Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18): rooted in Jesus, we become bold.
"God never promised us an easy life, but he promised to be with us right in the middle of the mess, if I can put it that way." Things will happen, there will be storms and waves. Where are your roots? What fruit do you want to produce when opposition and suffering come?

5. The Thorns: Who Is Lord of Your Life?

"The cares of this age and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful" (Matthew 13:22). What gets so much attention in your life that Jesus' Word is pushed aside?
For the preacher, the question is one of lordship. What is lord in your life is what has influence, and maybe even the power to decide. As soon as something other than Jesus takes the biggest place, it can choke the Word.
She wants to be clear: it is not wrong to look for a good life on earth, to want food on the table, a job to provide for yourself, to enjoy what God has created, to spend time with friends or family.
The cares of the world are not always obvious sins. They are real, permitted, important things, but they take up so much room that they compete with Jesus. Many things are important. Which one is the most important?
These things are deceptive: they lie to us. "If only I had this, or that, or that other thing, then I would be happy." That is a lie. Jesus is the only one who can satisfy.
Who is your lord? The cares of this world, deceitful riches, or Jesus, the Savior of the world? "Seek first the kingdom of God, and everything else will be given to you" (Matthew 6:33).

6. Look to the Source Rather Than the Fruit

Hearing all this, it is easy to focus on the fruit: I'm too stressed, I should pray more, be less envious, less materialistic, read my Bible more, have more patience, be a better person.
All of that may be true. But Jesus doesn't want you to focus on the fruit: he wants you to focus on him. We spend a lot of time cutting off the bad fruit, forgetting that it is the roots that need to move. You can't make fruit grow by sheer willpower.
Jesus wants to give you more of his heart, and he wants more of your heart, your attention, your life. When you give him that, you take root in him, your life is shaped after his, and good fruit grows over time.
Time matters. We don't like it when things go slowly. "I read my Bible, so why am I not more patient?" Maybe you need to keep going, and keep going again, and when you think of giving up, keep going a little longer. And one day: "Wait, I was more patient!" Above all, don't give up.
We are not always the same soil. You can be receptive one day and completely distracted the next, truly want to follow Jesus and at the same time let other things take more and more attention. It all comes back to this question: what are we focusing on?

7. Forehead to Forehead: Jesus Brings You Back to Him

The Tuesday before, during a time of prayer with the team, Judith Gallardo Lantz received an image. She struggled a bit with this image, but she believes it was not only for her, perhaps also for God's people.
She was standing with Jesus, Jesus' forehead pressed right against hers. She looked him straight in the eyes, and he held her firmly, "with an iron grip." She heard him say to her: "Judith, I'm here."
Yet she kept turning away: looking elsewhere, behind her, down, everywhere but at Jesus. And Jesus brought her back, again and again. Every time she was distracted, he brought her back to him.
He didn't say to her: "Pull yourself together, stop looking at those things." He only said: "I'm here. I want to do life with you."
Her prayer: that Jesus would become real to us, not just someone we know about or believe in. He is there all the time, not only when we feel him or when the worship was beautiful, even when you are focused on something else or no longer know what to do with your life. Not someone we call when things go wrong, but someone who walks beside you all the time.
Being easily distracted doesn't make us bad Christians. It shows how much we need him, because he is the one who brings us back. Remember: he sows generously, all the time.
The question then becomes less "What do I need to stop looking at?" than "Who am I missing when I'm busy with everything else?"
When we let him bring us back, he shapes our lives and the fruit comes: we grow in love, peace, joy, patience, kindness and self-control. We look at people the way Jesus looks at them, we love, serve, pray for the sick, stand up for justice, love our enemies. Not because we forced it, but because Jesus lives his life through us. "Not in five, ten or fifteen years: here and now, in Stockholm."

Key Takeaways

Jesus sows his Word generously, everywhere, without waiting for you to be perfect: that is grace.
For the Word to bear fruit, you have to understand it, with the help of the Holy Spirit and other believers, and accept that it challenges your own truth.
What rises to the surface in a crisis reveals where your roots are. Rooted in Christ's love, you stand firm in the storm.
Good and legitimate things can choke the Word when they become lord of your life.
You don't force the fruit: you look to the source. Jesus brings you back to him again and again, and the fruit comes with time.

Personal Application

Is there a passage in the Bible that troubles you right now? Who could you reread it with, asking Jesus to explain it to you?
The last time your life was in crisis, what or who did you turn to first?
What good and legitimate thing takes up so much room today that it competes with Jesus?
What fruit are you focusing on so much that you forget the source?
This week, at what specific moment in your day can you remind yourself that Jesus is there and wants to do life with you?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the parable of the sower only about evangelism?

Judith Gallardo Lantz admits she has often heard it in that context. Yet she believes the parable also speaks to those who already follow Jesus: what becomes of God's Word in your life, and what is the difference between hearing it and letting it take root, grow and bear fruit?

What do the three soils where the Word bears no fruit represent?

The path raises the question of understanding: are you ready to let the Word challenge your ideas? The rocky places raise the question of roots: who do you turn to when life gets hard? The thorns raise the question of lordship: what takes up so much room that Jesus' Word is choked?

How can you bear fruit without falling into a list of demands?

The preacher invites us to look to the source rather than the fruit. You don't force fruit by cutting off the bad ones: it is the roots that need to move. When Jesus receives more of your heart and attention, good fruit grows over time. He is the one who brings you back to him, again and again.