Devotions with Pastor Jared Ritchey

In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus tells one of His most famous parables: the seed and the sower. In it, He compares the Word of God to seeds sown by a gardener. The seed grows differently based on the quality of soil it lands on: some people’s hearts are like a path that allows Satan to come along and pluck the message away before it takes root (verses 4 and 15), others show much growth quickly and very joyful about it, but they never get Rooted (see what I did there?) and whither away quickly when the heat gets turned up (verses 5-6 and 16-17); still others have a heart very subjected to the cares of the world, and allow the troubles around them to choke out the Word (verses 7 and 18-20). Finally, there are those that have a heart ready to receive the word, put it into action, and see it increased in their lives (verses 8 and 20).

So what does this have to do with Holy Week? Well, like Holly discussed yesterday, I have always been fascinated by how quickly public opinion about Jesus changed. In the space of one week, the cries of “Hosanna” turned to cries of “Crucify Him!” Clearly, there were a lot of people with rocky soil in their hearts that week. They believed in Jesus as Messiah and were joyful to receive Him, but withered away quickly when it became clear that He was not going to live up to their incorrect expectations. And the craziest thing is that Jesus saw this coming, and chose to go to the Cross in spite, maybe even because of it!

What’s the state of your soil?
Pastor Jared