Matthew the apostle wrote how Jesus told His disciples, “Hear you therefore the parable of the sower. When any one hears the word of the kingdom, and understands it not, then comes the wicked one, and catches away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side”, and in chapter thirteen and verse twenty of his book, Matthew wrote how Jesus tells His disciples about, “he that received the seed into stony places” where we read:
But he that received the seed into stony places,
the same is he that hears the word, and anon with joy receives it;
The verse reads, “But he that received the seed into stony places, ...” Matthew began with the word, “but” which means “moreover and” “he that received” or “the person who got, acquired and obtained” “the seed” which means “the scattered seed” “into stony places” or “in rocky ground or a ground full of rocks”. Matthew shared how Jesus referred to the person who “obtains” the “seed” but has infertile and rocky ground in which to plant it.
The verse goes on to say, “... the same is he that hears the word, and anon with joy receives it;” Matthew continued with the word, “the same” which means “this one” “is he” or “is the person” “that hears” which refers to “who is given the faculty of hearing, attending to, understanding and perceiving” “the word” or “the speech, utterance, decree, mandate or order”, “and anon with joy” which means “and straightway, immediately and forthwith afterward having exceeding gladness” “receives it” or “gets, acquires and obtains the word”. Matthew shared how Jesus said this person is one who “hears the word” and immediately “accepts” it with an exceedingly joyful heart.
When we think through Matthew's words in this verse, we see how the word of God may go forth and people accept it with “joy”. Jesus likened these people to the “stony ground” upon which “seed” was scattered. Many people listen to God's “good news” of salvation through His Son Jesus, and they may even make a profession of faith and trust in Him. However, there is no depth of “fertile soil” within them by which the “word of God” may grow. God desires to have a loving and growing relationship with every person, and those who yield their lives to Him in more than a superficial way shall know the fulness of eternal life with God.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus told His disciples how the person who receives the word quickly, “when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, by and by he is offended”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
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; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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