The Wayside Hearer

In this part of the sermon: This section details the literal facts of the wayside soil from the parable: seed falling on a hard footpath, being trampled, and then devoured by birds. Martin explains that this…

Martin explains that the 'wayside' refers to footpaths through grain fields, which were packed hard by foot traffic, making it difficult for seed to penetrate. This illustrates the hard, unreceptive heart.

Now there is a great debate among commentators, what is this wayside? Well, I will not weary you with that debate and all of the various possibilities. Suffice it to say that letting Scripture be established, and let it be its own interpreter, most likely what our Lord is describing is that which we find in chapter 2 and verse 23 of Mark's Gospel. It came to pass that he was going through this on the Sabbath day through the grain fields.

11:58 - 12:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin presents Jesus' interpretation of the wayside soil, highlighting that the hearer 'understands it not' (Matthew's addition) before Satan snatches away the word. He clarifies…

Martin recounts seeing foreigners speaking different languages at the Grand Canyon, which he and his wife could not understand. This illustrates a linguistic barrier to understanding.

They do not have insight into. Now, we might stand listening to two foreigners talking in their native tongue. This happened to us again and again at the Grand Canyon last week as visitors from all over the world were there. And on several occasions, we saw some Orientals and they were talking either in Japanese and some may have been speaking in Korean and some in Chinese.

17:08 - 17:32 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin presents Jesus' interpretation of the wayside soil, highlighting that the hearer 'understands it not' (Matthew's addition) before Satan snatches away the word. He clarifies…

Martin uses a humorous personal anecdote where his wife speaks plain English, but he still doesn't 'understand' her meaning, clarifying that spiritual non-perception is about insight, not just words.

However, there are times when my wife speaks to me in plain, simple English. And when she's all done, I say, honey, I don't understand what you're talking about. Now, it's not a problem of linguistics. It's not a problem that she's speaking in Chinese and I don't understand Chinese.

17:39 - 18:00 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

Martin compares sprinkling seed on the pulpit or macadam to illustrate how a hard surface cannot receive the seed, showing the inability of an unperceptive heart to absorb the gospel.

He does not see how in every dimension of that word of the kingdom, there is something perfectly suited to his need as a sinner. And so, with the attitude, there's nothing in that for me. His heart is to that word what hard, well-packed ground is to see. If I were to take, and to sprinkle it along the edge of this pulpit, or if I were to go out and sprinkle it on the macadam, what happens?

23:16 - 23:55 Read in full sermon

Driving home: His taking away the seed is not a pastime for personal entertainment, it is a whole-souled engagement in the damnation of souls.

He elaborates on the vivid verb 'to take away by force' (harpazo) used in Matthew, likening the birds' determined snatching of seed to Satan's forceful removal of the Word from unperceptive hearts.

So that Satan's activity, likened to the birds of the air, it's not a case of some birds, if I may make them into thinking, speaking creatures, are flying around this seed that has fallen upon the footpath, and a few people have walked over it, and they're having a little discussion amongst themselves, saying, well, are we hungry, are we not? Should we give it a little try, and swoop down, if we get one, we make it, if we don't, you win some, you lose some. No, the picture, the picture is that the birds descend and by force they take it away. In other words, there is a determination that that ...

25:42 - 26:54 Read in full sermon

The point: You have every responsibility to cry to the God who can open your eyes.

The story of the blind beggar who persistently cried out to Jesus for sight is used to illustrate the responsibility of unconverted individuals to cry out to God for spiritual illumination.

Oh my friend, yes you are. Because you have every responsibility to cry to the God who can open your eyes. Like that blind beggar who heard that Jesus was passing by and he didn't say, oh well, I'm a blind beggar. Jesus is God.

40:04 - 40:21 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God to show you where you really are. Cry to God to show you how that in the gospel the blessings held forth are perfectly suited to your need.

The analogy of the farmer never plowing the footpath, allowing it to become packed like 'flaky concrete,' illustrates the hard, unplowed heart that resists the gospel.

But the second truth that's so obvious in the passage is this. A hard, unclogged heart will never savingly understand and receive the message of salvation. A hard, unclogged heart will never savingly understand and receive the message of salvation. You see, when the plowshare bit through the various parts of that field, it never once raked over the footpath.

42:13 - 42:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Cry to God to show you where you really are. Cry to God to show you how that in the gospel the blessings held forth are perfectly suited to your need.

Jesus' Sermon on the Mount is presented as an example of Him using the 'plowshare of the law' to break up the hard, externalistic hearts of His hearers, making them ready for mercy.

What was Jesus doing in the Sermon on the Mount? He was taking, among other things, a bunch of people whose hearts were like the wayside. They had been for so long trodden upon by a religious mentality that said all God is concerned about is externals. If you're at the right place at the right time saying the right thing in the company of the right people, you're all right.

44:52 - 45:17 Read in full sermon

The point: Plead that when we come each Lord's day, God would bind the powers of darkness and resist everything that would be a tool in his hands to make your heart anything other than soft, pliable, receptive soil.

The sower's indiscriminate scattering of seed, without first testing the soil, illustrates the warrant for abundant and widespread gospel proclamation without prejudging receptivity.

When the sower went out to sow, he didn't get on his hands and knees and say, now, let me feel over here. Oh, that's a little bit hard soil. I don't want to waste the seed there. Better not put any there.

56:07 - 56:17 Read in full sermon