Blessed Are Your Eyes and Ears
Discipleship; Disciplemaking • Sermon • Submitted
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1 On the same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. 2 And great multitudes were gathered together to Him, so that He got into a boat and sat; and the whole multitude stood on the shore.
3 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
10 And the disciples came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”
11 He answered and said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. 12 For whoever has, to him more will be given, and he will have abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13 Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. 14 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:
‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,
And seeing you will see and not perceive;
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. 23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.
As a church, I’d like to start with asking this question:
“Generally, how do we understand discipleship?”
And more specifically, “Why do we as western Christians struggle with a biblical understanding of discipleship?”
Today, I’d like to propose that:
Jesus was saying to His disciples that people didn’t know what it was to follow Him, and we too have a poor understanding.
Christ’s example of biblical discipleship is so very radical, that even today we see more who want to hear and less who hear and do.
The call toward following Christ as a disciple is a part of a believer’s identity. Disciples produce fruit.
A Poor Understanding of Discipleship
A Poor Understanding of Discipleship
The idea that discipleship comes with ease
The idea that discipleship comes with ease
In the recent past and to a great extent even today, our Christian culture has perpetuated the idea that following Christ comes without difficulty; and to some extent, can be compartmentalized as if a hobby, part-time job, weekly club meeting.
Then a certain scribe came and said to Him, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”
And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”
The idea that discipleship-or following Christ in such a way that all is forsaken relegates a certain amount of “cost counting” that all followers of His must undertake.
Listen to what one commentator says about this interaction between the scribe and Jesus:
“Nothing was less aimed at by our Lord than to have followers, unless they were genuine and sound; he is as far from desiring this as it would have been easy to attain it”. Jesus’ reply says nothing about the inquirer’s response. Strictly speaking it was neither invitation nor rebuke but a pointed way of saying that true discipleship to the “Son of Man” is not comfortable and should not be undertaken without counting the cost (cf. Luke 14:25–33). In the immediate context of Jesus’ ministry, the saying does not mean that Jesus was penniless but homeless; the nature of his mission kept him on the move (cf. Mt 4:23–25; 9:35–38) and would keep his followers on the move.
D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 208.
The idea that discipleship comes along with or secondary to my “other life.”
The idea that discipleship comes along with or secondary to my “other life.”
Then another of His disciples said to Him, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”
But Jesus said to him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”
We need to be careful here to not think of Christ one who doesn’t care that this man desires to take care of his own family any more than we would think Jesus wants us to cut our own hands off as Matt 5:30 references.
Commitment to Jesus must be without reservation. Such is the importance Jesus himself attached to his own person and mission
D. A. Carson, “Matthew,” in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Matthew, Mark, Luke, ed. Frank E. Gaebelein, vol. 8 (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House, 1984), 209.
The idea that I can do it on my own.
The idea that I can do it on my own.
As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, “Follow Me.” So he arose and followed Him.
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”
When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Christ’s Understanding of Discipleship
Christ’s Understanding of Discipleship
Biblical discipleship is based upon His calling
Biblical discipleship is based upon His calling
Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow.
knowing, beloved brethren, your election by God.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
The call to “follow” is not simply a call of repentance and faith, but of complete surrender of one’s life to the Lord.
Biblical disciples are less common than those who simply profess faith
Biblical disciples are less common than those who simply profess faith
18 “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 19 When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. 20 But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. 22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.
There are:
those who profess faith and don’t understand it. (Matt 13:19)
those who profess faith with joy and only endure for awhile due to some type of tribulation. (13:21)
those who profess faith today and yet tomorrow believe something new or get sidetracked with material things. (13:22)
Those who profess faith, hear it, understand it, and bear fruit, 100, 60, or 30 fold. (13:23)
Biblical disciples produce fruit
Biblical disciples produce fruit
Listen to how the Apostle John describes salvation in John 1:12
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name:
The Greek for the word “received” implies that the initiative for giving lies on giver, yet the focus of attention in the transfer is upon the receiver.
Believer, you and I receive salvation, yet we had nothing to do with it outside of our desparate need for it due to our sinful nature.
The believing it more of a complete trust; and moreover, a reliance.
The word is used of Abraham in Rom 4:3 how he trusted in God; and because of this faith/belief he (Abraham) was counted as righteous in God’s eyes.
For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.”
Yet, in receiving Him and believing on Him as the promised Savior, and because of the change in us through the power of the Holy Spirit, we are able to produce fruit.
These disciples aren’t simply busy going and doing, but producing fruit.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
A Call Rather than a Challenge
A Call Rather than a Challenge
16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.