Gift from Creator Tells the Good Story 13
13
THE STORIES BEGIN
1Later the same day Creator Sets Free (Jesus) left that place and found a quiet spot to sit by Lake of Chief Garden (Gennesaret). 2Once again, people began to gather around him. The number of people was so great that he sat down in a canoe and pushed out a little ways from the shore. The people gathered at the shoreline on the water’s edge and sat down to listen to him.
The Great Storyteller began to tell his stories, teaching people about Creator’s good road.
STORY OF THE SEED PLANTER
3Here is one of the many stories he told them: “Listen!” he said. “A seed planter went to plant some seeds and began to scatter them about on the ground.
4“Some seeds fell on the village pathway, and the winged ones pecked at the seeds and ate them all.
5“Some of the seeds fell on the rocks where there was only a little dirt. The plants sprouted up quickly, 6but when the sun came out, they dried up because they had no roots.
7“Other seeds fell into the weeds, and thistles sprouted around the seeds and choked the life out of them.
8“But some seeds fell on good ground, grew strong, and gave a harvest. Some gave one hundred times what was planted, some sixty, and others thirty. 9The ones who have ears, let them hear and understand!”
WHY TEACH WITH STORIES?
10The ones who walked the road with him came to him and asked, “Wisdomkeeper, tell us why you use stories to teach the people.”
11He answered them, “To you the honor has been given to understand about the mysterious ways of Creator’s good road from above. This honor is not given to those who are not ready for it. 12The ones who understand will gain wisdom and be ready for more—much more. But the ones who do not understand or walk in the ways of wisdom will lose even the little they have.
13“This is the reason I tell the stories, ‘for they have eyes that do not see, ears that do not hear,’#13:13 Jeremiah 5:21 and hearts that do not understand.
14“These are the ones who give full meaning to the words of the prophet Creator Will Help Us (Isaiah) when he said, ‘They will hear but not understand the meaning. They will see without knowing what it is they see. 15Their hearts of stone have made their ears dull and their eyes dim. If only they would see with their eyes and hear with their ears, they could open their hearts to the Maker of Life and he would heal them.’#13:15 Isaiah 6:9-10
16“But Creator’s blessing rests on you, for you have eyes to see and ears to hear. 17I speak from my heart, there were many prophets and goodhearted people who longed to see what you see and hear what you hear but never did.
THE MEANING OF THE STORY
18“So then,” he said to his followers, “listen with your hearts and I will tell you the meaning of the story of the seed planter.
19“The seed in this story is the message from the Great Spirit about his good road.
“The seed planted on the village pathway represents the ones who hear but do not understand the message. The evil trickster sneaks up and snatches it from their hearts.
20“The rocky ground represents the ones who hear and receive the message with a glad heart, 21but because they have no roots, their faith is shallow and does not last. As soon as the message brings them trouble or opposition, they stumble and fall away.
22“The seed planted among the weeds and thistles represents the ones who have heard the message, but they are too busy worrying about their earthly existence. The desire for more and more possessions leads them down a false path, and they never grow into mature human beings.
23“The good ground represents the ones who, when they hear the message, understand it and let it grow in their hearts to produce a harvest, some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.”
WEEDS IN THE GARDEN
24Creator Sets Free (Jesus) told the people another story. He said, “Creator’s good road from above is like a man who scattered good seed in his garden. 25But during the night, while his family slept, an enemy sneaked in and scattered bad seeds in with the good ones. 26When the plants began to grow, the weeds also grew with them.
27“When the family’s garden workers saw the weeds, they said to the man, ‘Honored One, did you not plant good seeds in your garden? Where did these weeds come from?’
28“The man answered, ‘An enemy has done this.’
“‘Should we go and dig out the weeds?’ the workers asked.
29“‘No,’ the man said, ‘they are too hard to tell apart now. You might dig out the good plants with the bad. 30Wait and let them grow together until it is time for the harvest. At that time I will tell the workers: first go and gather the weeds into bundles for burning, then gather the grain into my storehouse.’”
MORE STORIES
31Creator Sets Free (Jesus) then told them more stories about the good road: “The good road from above is also like a man who plants a single grain of mustard seed, 32one of the smallest of seeds. But when planted in a garden, it grows larger than all the other plants and takes over the garden.#13:32 The mustard plant was used as an herbal medicine. It becomes a great tree with many branches, large enough for the winged ones who soar in the sky to find lodging in its shade.
33“Again, think of the good road from above to be like the yeast a grandmother uses when she makes frybread dough. She mixes a little yeast into three big batches of flour. Then the yeast spreads throughout the dough, causing it to rise.”
34Creator Sets Free (Jesus) would use only stories like these when he spoke to the crowds. He taught nothing to the crowds without using a story. 35This brought full meaning to the ancient prophecy, “I will tell many stories, stories of the ancient ways, things hidden since the beginning of the world.”#13:35 Psalm 78:2
MEANING OF THE GOOD AND BAD SEEDS
36When he was finished, Creator Sets Free (Jesus) left the crowds and went into the house where they were staying. The ones who walked the road with him went in with him and asked, “Tell us the meaning of the story about the good and bad seeds in the garden.”
37“The True Human Being is the one who plants the good seeds,” he answered. 38“The garden is all the nations of the world. The good seeds are the children of the good road. The weeds are the children of the worthless ways of the world, 39and the enemy who plants the bad seeds is the evil one. The harvest is at the end of the age, and the helpers are spirit-messengers.
40“Then, when this age ends, the weeds will be gathered together and burned in the fire. 41The True Human Being will send his messengers to remove the stumbling stones from the good road, along with all who hold onto their bad-hearted ways. 42They will be gathered into bundles and used to feed the fire of a great oven. There they will weep many tears and grind their teeth together in anger and frustration. 43Then the ones who are in good standing will shine like the sun in the Land of the Father’s good road. The ones with ears should hear and understand.”
MORE GOOD ROAD STORIES
44“The good road from above is like a hidden treasure a man finds buried in a field. He buries it back into the ground and is then happy to go and trade everything he has for that field.
45“The good road from above is also like a trader in goods who is looking for the finest of beads.#13:45 Lit. pearls 46When he finds one of great beauty and worth, he trades all his goods so he can have it.
47“Here is another way to see the good road from above: A large fishing net is let down into the great waters. Many different kinds of fish are caught in it. 48When it is filled up, the fishermen pull it to shore. Then they sit down and separate the good fish into baskets and throw away the bad fish.
49“It will be the same when this age comes to an end. The spirit-messengers from Creator will be sent to separate the ones who are in good standing from the ones who have bad hearts. 50The bad-hearted ones will then be thrown into a pit of fire, where they will weep with many tears and grind their teeth together in anger and frustration.”
51Then Creator Sets Free (Jesus) asked his followers, “Now do you understand the things I am saying to you?”
“Wisdomkeeper,” they said, “we do understand.”
52He smiled and said to them, “Every scroll keeper who has learned to walk in the ways of Creator’s good road is like the head of a family, an elder who opens the medicine pouch of his heart, sharing wisdom that is both new and old, bringing new understanding to the old ways.”
HIS OWN VILLAGE REJECTS HIM
53When Creator Sets Free (Jesus) was through telling his stories, he traveled to his boyhood home of Seed Planter Village (Nazareth). 54There he entered the local gathering house and began to teach the people, and they were amazed at his words.
“Where did this man get his wisdom from?” they asked. “Who gave him this powerful medicine? 55Is this not the son of the wood carver? Is his mother not Bitter Tears (Mary)? And his brothers He Leads the Way (James) and He Gives More (Joseph) and He Hears (Simon) and Speaks Well Of (Judas) 56and all his sisters—are they not here living among us?”
57And so the people stumbled from the path because of him.
Creator Sets Free (Jesus) with a sad heart said to them, “A prophet is given honor everywhere except in his own village, among his own clan, and in his own house.”
58So he did not do many works of power there because they failed to put their trust in him.
Currently Selected:
Gift from Creator Tells the Good Story 13: FNVNT
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright ©2023 InterVarsity Press