Editor's note: Dallas Willard was a very much beloved philosopher and systematic theologian who had an uncanny knack of teaching complicated biblical truths in simple, understandable language for everyone to learn. The Scandal of the Kingdom (the follow-up to his seminal work Divine Conspiracy) is a call to live by the gems in Jesus' parables. Enjoy this excerpt. * |
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. —Colossians 2:6–7 When Jesus came, He essentially told people to forget what they thought they knew about God, because no one "know(s) the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him" (Matthew 11:27). This idea is crucial to keep in mind as we study the Bible. To say it a different way, we are not going to understand God or his Word by being clever, intelligent, and scholarly, or even by studying very hard because the interaction of God with us through His Word is a personal matter. It depends on the condition of our hearts, our minds, and our lives. As we study the Parable of the Sower, we will see just how important this is. |
The First Parable The three aspects of Jesus' ministry during His earthly life included teaching, preaching, and healing:
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. — Matthew 9:35, emphasis added The flow of Matthew's gospel from chapters 4–12 shows us how this worked. In Matthew's fourth chapter, we see that when Jesus preached and ministered the Kingdom of God, saying "Repent, for the Kingdom of the heavens is at hand" (Matthew 4:17, paraphrased), He drew in masses of people from all over the area. In Matthew 5–7, Jesus taught about the nature of the Kingdom of God in the Sermon on the Mount. As soon as He came down from the mount,* He began to heal, and we read stories of how He ministered the power of the Kingdom of God in His healing (Matthew 8–9). Chapters 10–12 contain discussions about the continuation of His ministry and how He sent out His followers to do what He did. - That is the disciples' way of ministry then and now — to do what Jesus did.
This aligns with Luke 10, where Jesus sent out His apprentices two by two, saying, Now go do what I've been doing. When they came back rejoicing that even the demons are subject to us in Your name, He responded, Don't rejoice over that. Rejoice that your names are written in the Book of Life. — Luke 10:17, 20, paraphrased An extended record of Jesus' teaching, especially about the Kingdom of God, begins in Matthew 13, where the Parable of the Sower appears to be the first recorded parable. That's not to say He never told a parable before, but it does mark a significant change in His teaching ministry. As Jesus' ministry had progressed to this point, He began to notice people's varied reactions to what He was saying. Not everyone could receive His words, and those who did receive them received them in different ways. Those whose hearts were set against God and concerned simply to have their own way were hardened by the message of Jesus. He sensed their resistance, and the Parable of the Sower portrays the different reactions to His teaching. |
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Jesus just told a story in the context of the ordinary life of a farmer who was sowing seed. |
Jesus just told a story in the context of the ordinary life of a farmer who was sowing seed. |
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Seeds Versus Weeds The "seed" in this parable is the Word of God: Therefore hear the parable of the sower: 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. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy. — Matthew 13:18–20 When the Word of God comes into an individual's life, it begins to feed upon the soil that is there. This is why it's so important to understand the Parable of the Sower. If the person is too busy with other things to receive the Word of God, the Word will not take root. Or if it does take root, it will be starved and anemic. I'm something of a farm boy myself, and I have done a lot of planting and harvesting. I remember going down into the creek bottoms in South Missouri where we plowed in the spring and planted corn. The dirt was so black; it was like chocolate. It had so much good stuff in it. But the weeds seemed to know about that rich soil too, so they came and occupied the same ground. By the middle of July, we could hardly tell the corn stalks from the weeds because the corn stalks were little starved, spindly things. They were not able to produce any good corn. In the fall, we picked the corn, but when we pulled the husks off, there were only three or four grains of corn on each cob because the plants were starving to death. A lot of folks are like those starving plants today. |
Free Will The Parable of the Sower is one of the most important parables Jesus gave about the Kingdom of God because it answered the question, "Why doesn't the Word — the logos — have the effect on people we might hope for?" It moves us to ask again why God doesn't just change people. This does not reflect a lack of power on God's part. In fact, if God wanted to turn me into a helicopter and fly me out the window, He could do it. Please understand that if God wanted to, He could have rewired every one of us to be faithful followers like Job, Hannah, and Daniel. This is not a question about what God can do; it is a question about what God will do. It is a question about the precise manner of how God chooses to interact with people to accomplish His purposes. It's true that the God of all the earth can do anything He wants to do, but there are a lot of things He doesn't want to do. If we're going to work with God in the Kingdom of God, we have to find the ways He has chosen to work, and then work with Him in those ways. The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of love and understanding and maturity, where people live together under the governance of the most glorious Being in all of reality — God Himself. It will never be a Kingdom of people who are knocked on the head or rewired to become religious robots. It is a Kingdom of God's creatures whom He made to learn and grow freely. |
* Editors' note: Dallas believed that Matthew 5–7 are the contents of one sermon, not a collection of Jesus' sayings See Willard, Divine Conspiracy, 132–34 Excerpted with permission from The Scandal of the Kingdom by Dallas Willard, copyright Willard Family Trust. * |
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Why did Jesus teach in parables? Has that question ever confused you? Doesn't it make sense that Jesus would teach people what was commonly understood by them in stories that made sense to their personal lives? Just like we try to communicate clearly, so does Jesus! He loves us enough to speak in ways that we can plainly understand. ~ Devotionals Daily |
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This is not just a book--it's a call to action |
The Scandal of the Kingdom: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God |
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+ Free shipping with code EARLYBIRD |
+ Free shipping with code EARLYBIRD |
A major new work by Dallas Willard, the highly anticipated follow-up to his seminal work The Divine Conspiracy. In this groundbreaking book based on teachings he delivered to a church community, Willard delves into the transformative power of Jesus's parables, revealing how they show us how to live right now in the kingdom of God. Drawing from his extensive teachings on spiritual formation, Willard illuminates the timeless wisdom contained within each parable, revealing their profound relevance to contemporary life. With clarity and depth, he guides readers through the subversive messages embedded within these seemingly simple stories, urging us to break free from the grip of worldly values and embrace the radical teachings of Jesus. The Scandal of the Kingdom is not just a book--it's a call to action. Willard challenges readers to move beyond passive acceptance of comfortable dogmas and instead to actively engage with the values of the kingdom of God. He reminds us that the kingdom is not some distant future destination but a present reality, beckoning us, as the parables of Jesus did, to live with a new purpose and intentionality in the here and now. |
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Through insightful analysis and practical wisdom, Willard empowers readers to transform their lives and communities by embodying the radical love, compassion, and justice exemplified in Jesus's parables. This book is a beacon of hope for Christians seeking to deepen their faith and live more authentically in accordance with the teachings of Christ. Willard empowers us to: - Become more passionate about living the gospel in the full scope of Jesus's vision for us
- Better share the faith of Jesus with those disillusioned with Christianity
- Unlock the excitement of living in the upside-down kingdom of God
- Share the gospel of Jesus in the way he did
A significant new resource for Christians worldwide, this book offers a road map for spiritual growth and renewal in an increasingly complex and challenging world. With its profound insights and transformative message, it is destined to leave a lasting impact on the hearts and minds of believers everywhere. |
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The Scandal of the Kingdom Workbook: How the Parables of Jesus Revolutionize Life with God |
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Divine Conspiracy: Rediscovering Our Hidden Life In God |
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